Family Coup

Under Said Bin Taimur, the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, which lies on the southeast corner of the Arabian peninsula, remained one of the most stagnant societies on earth. The 60-year-old Sultan decreed long ago that his 600,000 subjects should not own automobiles or attend cinemas. In the capital, Muscat, the city gates are closed at sundown, when the cannon booms. People must carry lanterns at night; flashlights are banned as too blinding.

Life imprisonment in Muscat means being dumped into a 30-ft. hole in the ground. When a British visitor recently complained that such treatment was harsh, the Sultan disagreed. "It is enlightened because the man does not live long enough to suffer much," he said.

Sultan Said ruled with absolute power. He handled visa applications himself, and decided which of his subjects could hold jobs. His country's educational system consists of two primary schools because the Sultan felt that advanced Western education was unnecessary--and potentially dangerous to his regime. After the discovery of oil in 1964, he imported foreigners to fill technical jobs, but made no effort to train his own people.

In fact, the only subject for whom the Sultan provided a higher education was his son Qabus, whom he sent to Britain's Sandhurst Military Academy. Many Britons hoped that the Sultan would retire in favor of his son, but Said showed no such inclination. Once back home Qabus found himself under virtual palace arrest at Salala; he was forbidden to marry or even to receive guests without his father's permission.

The country itself was allowed few visitors, and journalists have been banned for years. On a recent trip along the Trucial Coast, TIME Correspondent Lee Griggs attempted to cross Oman's ill-defined northwest border. "I would like to let you pass," said the tall, robed Omani guard, "so you could see the country. It is little changed from the days of the Prophet. Perhaps someone will do something about it soon."

Full Amnesty. The change came sooner than anyone expected. In a palace coup two weeks ago, the 60-year-old Said was overthrown by his bodyguard --undoubtedly with the connivance of his son--and sent off to exile in Britain suffering from five minor gunshot wounds.

He was succeeded by Qabus, 28, who declared that the country's long-overdue day of reform would begin at last. "I have watched with growing anger the inability of my father to use the newfound wealth for the needs of the people," said Qabus, promising to devote the kingdom's $75 million in annual oil revenues to national development.

On his first visit to Muscat town in many years, Qabus ordered the release of 19 political prisoners. He offered full amnesty to the Dhofari rebels in the southwest who had opposed his father's regime; one group responded by congratulating him on his accession. He still faces opposition from Dhofari extremists, backed by the South Yemeni government in Aden and half a dozen Chinese advisers, but the rebel pressure will be sharply reduced. Even if Britain withdraws its 300 R.A.F. regulars by the end of 1971, as presently planned, Qabus appears capable of rallying enough support from his subjects to survive.

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