Ruler of Sharjah plans to write encyclopaedia of Arab Gulf history

H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has revealed that he intends to write a detailed encyclopaedia on the history of the Arab Gulf since the Genesis.

He pointed out that the existing Gulf encyclopaedia was prepared by one of the British writers from the British viewpoint, and added that it was confined to the British presence in the Gulf.

Sheikh Sultan said his new encyclopaedia would focus on all the stages that the Arabian Gulf passed through, including the Portuguese, Dutch, the Seljuk rule and the Ottoman Empire down to the era of British rule.

This came during a meeting at the London International Book Fair 2016 in the presence of Abdul Rahman Ghanem Al Mutaiwee, UAE Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Dr. Saeed Mohammed Ali Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, Mohammed Murr, and a number of media persons.

"A historian cannot write history during events. If he did so, he would lose neutrality. When I started writing my book: Sard Al Zat (My Early Life), I was not at that time in charge, nor was I in the government authority," he said.

The Ruler of Sharjah said he wrote the documentary books about the UAE and also wrote a book about the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, but he reiterated that the proper time to write is when one is not in power.

Source:WAM