The Bani Kaab () (singular
Al Kaabi ) is an Arab tribe in
Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
and the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, also evident in other Gulf countries.
Origins
The tribe is associated with the area around and to the north of the Omani ''Wilayat'' of
Mahdah, and to areas of the Emirates to the East of
Buraimi, including the
Wadi Kadra,
Wadi Hatta and
Wadi Qor.
Subsections of the Bani Kaab include the Drisah, Makatim, Misaid, Miyadilah, Miyalisah, Mizahamiyin, Nawaljiyin, Salalat, Sawalim, Shwaihiyin, Yidwah and Zahairat. Of these, the Drisah and Shwaihiyin were nomadic while the other sections had settled by the turn of the 20th century, a population of some 7,250 of whom 1,150 were Bedouin.
History
By 1844, the tribe had allied itself (in common with other tribes of the interior of southeastern Arabia) with
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut Al Nayhan of the
Bani Yas
The Bani Yas () is a tribe, tribal confederation of Najdi origin in the United Arab Emirates. The tribal coalition, consisting of tribes from Dubai to Khor Al Adaid in southeast Qatar, was called the Bani Yas Coalition (). The House of Nahyan, Al ...
in a tribal confederation which united to drive
Wahhabi
Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...
forces from Buraimi. Despite their alliance under the Bani Yas, the Bani Kaab were rivals to the
Na'im and
Bani Qitab, and had pushed sections of the Na'im north as far as the
Jiri plain.
In an area and time of shifting alliances, a century later the Bani Kaab were in alliance with the
Saudis
Saudis (; local dialects: , suʿūdiyyīn) or Saudi Arabians are the citizen population of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who speak the Arabic language, a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language, and share a common Ancesto ...
, the Sheikh of the tribe at the time, Obaid bin Jumah, confirming to the Governor of Saudi Arabia's
Eastern Province, "Our territories are yours." Although the Na'im and Bani Kaab were frequently opposed to each other, in the 1940s they came together when the prospect of oil concessions loomed. In this, they were opposed to the oil companies, the imposition of the rule of the Trucial Sheikhs, the
Sultan of Muscat and the British alike.
When the
Buraimi Dispute unfolded in the 1950s, the Bani Kaab supported the Saudi incursion under Shaikh Rashid bin Hamad of the
Al Bu Shamis and were involved in fighting against the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
force, the
Trucial Oman Levies.
Notable figures
*
Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi — is an Emirati politician and businesswoman currently serving as Minister of State at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
*
Amer Al-Kaabi — is a Qatar football goalkeeper who played for Qatar in the 2000 Asian Cup. He also played for Al Ahli and Al Ittihad (later renamed Al Gharrafa).
*
Ahmed Al-Kaabi — is an Omani professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Al-Nahda and the Oman national team.
*
Saad Sherida al-Kaabi — is the current Minister of Energy in Qatar, and the President and CEO of Qatar Energy, the state owned corporation which operates all oil and gas activities in the State of Qatar.
*
Mohamed Faraj Al-Kaabi — is a male hammer thrower from Qatar.
*
Ali bin Abdullah Al Kaabi — is the former minister of labour and social affairs in the United Arab Emirates.
*
Khaled Al-Kaabi — Emirati sport shooter.
References
Tribes of the United Arab Emirates
Tribes of Arabia
Tribes of Oman
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