"Before reading this book, I was passionate about Oman due to my single visit to this charming country. My hope for the Sultanate's destiny grew stronger when I learned about the religious and political ideology that has governed it for a thousand years. I was fascinated by what Dr. Hussein Ghubash wrote at a supremely high academic level. Having been educated and lived for a long time in Paris, I was raised to believe that democracy was a Western product with no parallel in Eastern political thought, until the author convinced me of the existence of an Omani democracy based on clear, cohesive principles, centered on the concept of Shura aimed at unifying the nation. The spirit and scope of this democracy is the system of the Imamate, based on the free election of the Imam. The method is the Bay'ah, the official written contract between the Imam and the nation. I understand that writing history can be interpretive, imbued with some philosophy. However, what is impressive about Dr. Ghubash's historical attempt is that it is not captive to an overwhelming philosophy. In the modern era, he has an Arabism with an Islamic flavor. But he also has, intensely, a very unique Omani entity in the Arab and Muslim worlds. It is a thesis he defends with a gentle ferocity, making Oman a great country throughout all ages. How does it appear, in the isolation of the Arabian Peninsula, as a part of it that is highly developed in its political philosophy and its devotion to Islam? If you doubt this, your doubt will vanish if you carefully read the list of Arabic and foreign references. Here we have a defense, without exaggeration, of the ideological and historical stances taken by the enchanting Omani people, whose genius Dr. Hussein Ghubash was able to reveal." - Metropolitan George Khodor

• Publishing House: Dar Al Farabi for Publishing and Distribution
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Number of Pages: 104