1. Arab Oil is not Dearer than Arab Blood
by Dalia Abdel Megeed • April 4, 2005 • 0 Comments
On November 2nd, 2004, the entire world mourned the death of one of the greatest of
Arab leaders. Entire nations watched with stricken grief the funeral of a man who I
believe was one of the most remarkable and impressive leaders of our time. A man
called by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell “a friend and a strong example of
generosity, wisdom, drive and forgiveness”. He is the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al
Nahyan.
A good part of Sheikh Zayed’s eighty-six years were spent in the service of his country;
the United Arab Emirates. Born in 1918, Sheikh Zayed grew up during a time when all of
the states along the Trucial Coast (now known as the Arabian Gulf) were under the
United Kingdom’s suzerainty meaning that the United Kingdom controlled the countries’
international affairs yet allowed it a certain independence in domestic rule. The local Arab
leaders signed the treaty with Britain in 1853 with the aim of providing their coast with the
protection of the British military and preventing pirates from staging attacks on British
ships.
Nevertheless, the region remained undeveloped, without a single modern school
anywhere and an economy that depended for the most part on fishing and trade. The
only schooling of any kind that Sheikh Zayed himself received was in the basic principles
of Islam from the local Islamic preacher who taught him the Qur’an, and the ways of the
lenient yet fair hand of the Prophet Mohammed as a leader of the Muslim people, which
greatly impressed the young Sheikh Zayed. He took to following in the footsteps of the
Prophet and became an avid learner. His thirst for knowledge sent him into the desert to
learn the traditional survival skills of the Bedouin tribesmen. I am quite certain it was
during those years of growing into manhood that the late leader came to understand
about human existence, the important need for natural resources, the natives and the
land.
He received his first official assignment in 1938 by Sheikh Shakbut, his brother and the
then ruler of Abu Dhabi. His job was to guide the first ever geological survey teams
assigned by foreign oil companies to survey the deserts of Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Zayed
handled himself with such proficiency that the success of this job earned him the position
of the Ruler’s Representative of the inland oasis of Al Ain, an area of small villages
scattered in the desert, in 1946. He took one look at the dust and poverty and, instead of
seeing the hopelessness he saw the prosperous city it would later become.

2. His plans to improve the conditions of the regions started immediately. He cleaned the
agricultural pipes and brought a steady water supply with the help of many including his
own family who turned over their own private water supply to the public. And in the late
1940s, early 1950s, the agriculture market grew and Al Ain became a flourishing market
center. Then, he got to work on bringing his life-long dream to life. He planted an
assortment of trees in the Al Ain region and after years of hard work and dedication,
these trees are now strong and mature; a strong indication of how far the Emirate of Al
Ain, has come. It is very clear to me that his success comes from thinking of different
ways of benefiting his country and his people.
In 1953, during his first trip to Europe, seeing common people enjoying schools and
hospitals left a sharp imprint on his mind. He vowed that he would provide such facilities
for his people when Abu Dhabi had money. And sure enough, like an answer to his
prayers, the first commercial fields were discovered five years later in Abu Dhabi. Yet it
wasn’t until 1962 that the first export oil cargo was to leave Abu Dhabi, placing the
Emirates forever on the world map as one of the great oil suppliers possessing nearly
10% of the global oil reserves and 4% of gas.
By 1966, the many attempts by Sheikh Shakhbut’s family and leaders of other
emirates to convince the then ruler to start investing Abu Dhabi’s oil revenues and
economic growth failed. It was agreed that it was time for him to step down. And, after a
bloodless overthrowin the royal palace, when it came time to choose a new Ruler of the
Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed was the obvious choice. As well as being of sound
political mind with years of experience in government, he also seemed to be a good-luck
charm for his country. New oil fields were being discovered one after the other, the first
formal Government structure for the Emirate was established, and the building of roads,
schools, housing, and hospitals became top priority on the Emirate’s agenda. This large-
scale program of renovation was not confined to the Abu Dhabi, it also extended to the
Bedouin settlements of the desert.
In February of 1968, Sheikh Zayed became aware of the fact that Britain would cease its
suzerainty on the region by 1971. It became the ultimate test of his ability to bring
together people into a new state. Moving nimbly on his plan to bring together the seven
emirates, Sheikh Zayed met with the then ruler of Dubai Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al
Maktoumin an effort to join the two emirates together in a federation. He also invited the
other five Trucial States, Qatar and Bahrain to join them. The latter two chose to remain
independent, while the former five agreed to join as a result of Sheikh Zayed’s
determination and willingness to compromise for the common good.

3. And in 1971, true to his word, the official United Arab Emirates (UAE) was formed,
consisting of seven emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujaira, Ras al-Khayma, Sharjah
(Shariqah) and Um al-Quwayn, with Abu Dhabi being the largest and the capital. And so,
on December 2nd, 1971, with Sheikh Zayed as the presiding President, the flag of the
new UAE was raised, a sign of the union that had taken place and the future they would
face as one. The fact that he was always drawing plans to bring Arab countries in a
fortifying union makes him unique in my opinion. Being an Egyptian, I see quite clearly
that he was special because creating a unified Arab front is something all Arab leaders
talk about yet rarely attempt to turn their words into action; Sheikh Zayed did that on
more than one occasion.
Sheikh Zayed had a clear perception of how the social and cultural status of the Emirates
plus its economy should be. His determination to implement plans to turn his country into
the success it is today can be seen in the prosperity and growth of the seven emirates,
and in his reconciliation attempts between Arab countries. Understanding Islam correctly
is obvious through his religious tolerance and liberal rulings, hence making it clear how
Sheikh Zayed has lead his country with a fair and just hand. I am in such awe of his
successes because, to me, he is the type of extraordinary president who put the interests
of his countrymen before anything else and questioned his conscience before embarking
on new plans. With his keen insight and strong political outlook, it is no wonder he was
re-elected time and again.
He is the main reason why Abu Dhabi is now known as ‘Garden City’ of the Gulf and the
‘Green Capital’ due to its dozens of parks and gardens – a sharp contrast to the dusty
coastal village of before. He is why Dubai is now the tourism and business center of the
Gulf, nicknamed the “Singapore” or “Hong Kong” of the Middle East. It is home of the
annual Dubai World Cup, the legendary horse race with prices reaching over US$
15,000,000, numerous malls with international stores and restaurants. It is the center of
service-based industries as the new Dubai International Financial Center, and an enclave
for industry-specific corporations as Dubai Internet and Media City, Microsoft and IBM,
and media organizations as CNN and Reuters. Its skyline is dotted with skyscrapers,
among them the second tallest building in the world; Hotel Burj Al Arab.
He is why Al Ain, previously all desert and Bedouin villages, is now the center of
education in the region. It is a thriving city with a population close to 200,000. There are
over 8,000 students attending the Emirates University in the “burgeoning green oasis-
city”. There are also six Higher Colleges for Technology in the areas of Al Ain, Abu Dhabi
and Dubai where several hundred more attend. Sheikh Zayed knew that the strength of a
nation stems from its up-and-coming generations. He called the youth of the country “the
real wealth of the nation”.

4. He supported the role of working women. “Islam gives women their rightful status, and
encourages them to work in all sectors, as long as they are afforded the appropriate
respect√É‚Äì,” he says. “Women have the right to work everywhere.” And true to his
word, approximately half of the country’s workforce consists of women.
To world leaders he was known as the bringer of peace to the region. In times of war and
strife, his attempts to bridge the gap between nations was tireless. One of his main
concerns was unifying the Arab countries and bridging the gap between people of a
joined culture and history. Preceding the1973 war when Egypt the Suez Canal to retrieve
Sinai (the Egyptian peninsula linking Africa and Asia) from its abductor; Israel, Arab
leaders decided to stop the import of oil to America as a way of convincing Israel to
relinquish the peninsula without the need for war. Sheikh Zayed lead the procession and
uttered his memorable quote that bolstered the Arab nations’ sense of unity, “Arab oil is
not dearer than Arab blood.”
The demise of Sheikh Zayed is a loss to the world, the Arab world in specific and
the Muslim community in general. Many of the Arabs I talked to, even those living
outside the Arab region, and I all agreed on one thing: now that the wise and confident
president of the UAE had passed on, the future of Arab countries looked bleak. They
spoke to me of their sense of panic that arose with his death. They wondered about the
fate of Palestine and what would happen to underdeveloped countries like Afghanistan
and Iraq in the face of strong nations as the United States now that Sheikh Zayed’s voice
of power and reason had gone.
Ensuing his funeral, most of the countries in the region announced one to three days of
mourning; TV and radio transmission ceased, as did work in government and private-
owned corporations. The admiration and respect for Sheikh Zayed was apparent in the
large number of people who attended the funeral on November 3rd, 2004, among them
almost every single Arab leader accompanied by Prince Charles of the United Kingdom.
And those who were not present did not miss their chance to share their feelings with the
world. French President Jacques Chirac expressed his “deep pain and sadness” over the
Sheikh’s death while German Chancellor Gerhard Schr√ã‚Ćder referred to Sheikh
Zayed as “a pinnacle in the Arab and Muslim world who did his best to unify his country
and strengthen it.”
Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said, “I hope the people of the UAE can work
together towards more development and prosperity to fulfill Sheikh Zayed’s dream” – a
plan of action the people of Emirates are diligently working on. In Dubai, for example,
plans of constructing the tallest building in the world (‘Burj Dubai’), the world’s largest

5. shopping mall in Dubailand and the world’s largest artificial island complexes are
underway. This is the Emirates’ tribute to the late, the remarkable Sheikh Zayed.