The Impact of the Kharijit Doctrine on the Domestic and Foreign Policies of the Sultanate of Oman

The Sultanate of Oman and its fundamental Ibadite religious sect, which is a branch of the Kharijit movement, undoubtedly stands out from other Arabic Muslim Countries, which are all either Sunni or Shia. It is also evident, as Oman is not a secular state, that the religion exerts an influence on the external and internal political affairs of the Sultanate. Just like Ibadism has its distinctive features, so has Oman always been unique in the Islamic world. It has always been following an independent foreign and domestic policy which is different from its neighboring Islamic countries. This paper will try to analyze the impact of Ibadism on Oman’s political affairs and assert that Ibadism, from the moment it became the State doctrine, had a direct impact on the Sultanate’s foreign and domestic policy. In order to support this claim, this research will investigate different links between the religious aspect of the country and different political decisions, using multi-method research design, consisting of data collection, historical, descriptive and comparative methods and the analysis of sources and literature.