"Shaikh Zayed left us for 34 days. It felt like forever. [I felt] the UAE lonesome. The people were worried, looking forward to his return."
— Hadeeth Al Thakerah, page 201.
In this part of the book, the author, none other than His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, talks about one of the most critical periods in the history of the UAE.
It was August 1976 — four months from the fifth anniversary of the federation. On December 2, National Day, that year, the UAE's Supreme Council was supposed to re-elect Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan for a second term as president. It was the natural thing to do.
Shaikh Zayed was not just the ruler of the largest emirate, Abu Dhabi, and the president of the federation, but people also considered him the father of this nation.
But in December 1976, another crucial decision was to be taken — the adoption of the permanent constitution. The UAE had adopted a provisional constitution in 1971, when the federation was established.
The provisional constitution was to be replaced by a permanent document five years later to consolidate the unification of the seven emirates, some of which have yet to settle minor territorial disputes. Also, some emirates have yet to relinquish some essential powers to the federation, particularly in the fields of security, immigration and communication.
Shaikh Zayed, a staunch believer in unity, sought a permanent constitution that would realise the dream of all Emiratis of a united nation. The draft document was sent in early 1976 to the Federal National Council (FNC) for debate. The members suggested a few changes that were rejected by some of the rulers, according to Shaikh Sultan's book (page 197).
The Supreme Council didn't reach an agreement and decided "in its meeting on Monday, July 12, 1976, to extend the provisional constitution for five more years starting on December 2, 1976". (page 198).
According to Shaikh Sultan, Shaikh Zayed, in protest, decided to step down as president and left for Somalia on a private visit.
Shaikh Zayed returned five weeks later and was received by thousands of citizens, led by the leaders of the country. He agreed to reconsider his decision after reaching a compromise by which individual emirates agreed to transfer some authorities to the federal government by decrees issued by the Supreme Council. The rest, as they say, is history.
This important chapter in the nation's history is probably known to most of those who were old enough to remember the shocking headline on the front page of the Arabic daily Al Ettihad on August 4, 1976: "Zayed insists on stepping down". But for most young Emiratis, the story is no less than a revelation, and herein lies the importance of this new book, simply titled Hadeeth Al Thakerah Part 1 (Arabic for ‘A Talk From the Memory') released by Shaikh Sultan on the opening day of the Sharjah International Book Fair on Tuesday.
The book is basically a diary Shaikh Sultan seems to have kept since he became ruler of Sharjah on January 24, 1972, following the death of his brother Shaikh Khalid. But it is not just a diary. The 304-page book offers an important and much-needed, insight into the federation's first six years.
In the book, Shaikh Sultan, an accomplished author and historian, doesn't hide his feelings and political views. He is always the unionist (he was the first ruler to integrate the local police and National Guard with the federal forces), and the pan-Arab nationalist who resisted British and Iranian pressure to soften his views, and those of the UAE, on the issues of the occupied islands and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Leaders rarely publish their memoirs while still in power. Thus, it is a brave decision from Shaikh Sultan to offer the readers a window into his thoughts and feelings, including his first encounter in 1976 with his future wife Shaikha Jawaher Al Qasimi.
The book, similar to his last one, Sard Al That, which was released at last year's Sharjah book fair, is an attempt by Shaikh Sultan to fill a significant gap in the UAE's history.
Regional success story
The UAE is a success story. Its unity and progress withstood the challenges posed by imperial Iran and other larger neighbours and subsequent regional wars. Today, the federation is closer than ever to what Shaikh Zayed, Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and the other founding fathers envisioned when they signed the unification document 39 years ago.
Due to the lack of developed media outlets in the country at the time of negotiating and declaring the federation and the following crucial few years, many important events and stories remain untold, especially given the reluctance of many of the federation's pioneers to publish their recollection of those events.
Researchers and those interested in the history of the UAE often resort to reports of foreign diplomats and the archives of some Arab and western newspapers to get a glimpse into the early years of the only successful Arab unity experiment in the region's modern history.
But many of these reports don't offer the real thing. Most depend on the analysis of their authors. And some reports are actually based on distortions of facts. Shaikh Sultan offers the real thing, a first-hand account of those early years in an interesting narrative.
I hope his ongoing effort to document the history of the UAE and its neighbourhood will encourage others to tell their stories.
