Introduction

The history and culture of Oman (‘Uman) have a number of original features and are very often misunderstood. From the second century of the Hegira (AD eighth century) and for a span of more than a thousand years, it was essentially the story of an original movement stemming from a minority Islamic doctrine, the Ibadi (Ibadhite) movement. This long period was marked by the search for a just and efficient imama (imamate) through the Ibadi model of the Islamic State.