Loading ...Promoting Omani Heritage: The Sultan Qaboos Center
Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center. Source: Wikimedia Commons
By: Jack Moran / Arab America Contributing Writer
The Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center (SQCC) is an organization based in Muscat, Oman. In 2005, the SQCC was established in Washington, DC to promote Omani heritage and shed light on important issues facing Omani people.
Oman and the United States have a long history of trade agreements and peace talks. The first American vessel Boston Rambler sailed to Muscat in 1790, bridging the gap between Arab countries and the United States. Shortly after the US landed in Oman, the first US consulate opened in Muscat. The United States and Oman also signed The “Treaty of Amity and Commerce,” first bilateral accord between the U.S. and an Arab Gulf state.
This agreement led to decades of peaceful relations between the two countries, allowing for trade and commerce to be exchanged. At the turn of the 20th century, Oman and the United States established permanent diplomats in each country.
Ahmad bin Na’aman, the first Omani diplomat arrived in New York in 1840, with 10 more diplomats arriving in the near decade. Former Presidents Gerald Ford and Franklin Delano Roosevelt welcomed the Sultan of Oman to meet with them on different occasions, strengthening US-Oman relations in the process.
In 1973 the official Oman embassy opened in Washington DC. In 2000, President Bill Clinton visited Oman, marking the first time a US President visited the foreign nation. Shortly thereafter, the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center opened in 2005 on 16th Street in Washington, DC.
SQCC seeks to promote understanding of the culture and heritage of Oman and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. Through programs in the United States and the Persian Gulf, the Center seeks to “educate a new generation of culturally sensitive and knowledgeable experts, scholars, diplomats, and politicians in each society”.
SQCC focuses on Omani heritage and culture, they often hold events at their Washington, DC center focusing on awareness of issues between the US and Oman. They also have programs that aim to educate people on Omani traditions.
SQCC developed an interactive educational website called “The Indian Ocean in World History”, which tracks human interaction throughout the Indian Ocean region. SQCC also works closely with the Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, helping to integrate Arab dance and music into performances. OMAN…O Man!, was a play that aired at the Kennedy Center in 2009, the play featured young Omani and American dancers.
SQCC also provides an Arabic scholarship program for undergraduate students and a research fellowship for graduates. Educational materials for teachers and students are also available on the Sultan Qaboos website; additional cultural programs include lectures, symposia, performances, speaker tours, and cultural immersion programs. The Center also offers internships for university students.
SQCC boasts an impressive library, featuring Arabic and English language books, periodicals and photographic works on the history, literature, politics and religion of The Sultanate of Oman. The range of resources covers art and architecture, law, Islamic Law, Ibadi Islam, Qur’anic studies, histories of Oman and Zanzibar, Arabic literature in the form of short stories and poetry, literary criticism as well as materials on science, education and libraries.
Along with their Arabic library, SQCC also hosts Arabic language classes, placing emphasis on using the language holistically in a culturally appropriate context.
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