Sharqi Family, al-

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SHARQI FAMILY, AL-

Ruling family of Fujayra, one of the members of the United Arab Emirates.

Fujayra's ruling family's Sharqiyyin tribe inhabits the Hajjar Mountains and the coastal region of the Shimailiyya district on the Gulf of Oman. The current ruler's family, the Sharqi, came to power in 1876 with the accession of Hamad ibn Abdullah alSharqi, who was part of the Qasimi tribal federation that ruled Sharjah. In 1902 the ruler declared independence from Sharjah and was recognized by the other emirates, but not by Britain. Hamad's son Muhammad continued the family's rule and its insistence on independence, which the British finally recognized in 1952. The current ruler, Hamad ibn Muhammad al-Sharqi, came to power in 1974 after his father's death. Born in 1948, he was educated at Mons Military Academy and Hendon Police College.

see also fujayra.


Bibliography

Abdullah, Muhammad Morsy. The United Arab Emirates: A Modern History. New York: Barnes and Noble; London: Croom Helm, 1978.

Heard-Bey, Frauke. From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates: A Society in Transition. New York: Longman, 1982.

Reich, Bernard, ed. Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1990.

m. morsy abdullah
updated by anthony b. toth