1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt

1972 Sharjawi coup
	Part of Decolonization
	; Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates
Date	January 24, 1972 - January 25, 1972
Location	Emirate of Sharjah25°21′27″N 55°23′27″E / 25.3575°N 55.390833°E
Result	Coup failed Sheikh Khalid Al Qasimi killed; Saqr Al Qasimi ousted by UAE and returned to exile in Egypt; Sultan Al Qasimi named Sheikh;
Belligerents
United Arab Emirates Sharjah; Supported by:; United Kingdom	Sharjawi dissidents
Commanders and leaders
Khalid bin Muhammad Al Qasimi †; Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum	Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi
Units involved
Khalid loyalists; Union Defence Force	Saqr loyalists; Egyptian Mercenaries
Strength
~2,400 UDF	25
Casualties and losses
	Khalid bin Muhammad Al Qasimi; his son Ahmad; 1 bodyguard; 1 British officer (wounded); Several scouts wounded

In 1972, shortly after the formation of the United Arab Emirates, the former sheikh of Sharjah, Saqr Al Qasimi, attempted to regain control over the emirate from his cousin Khalid bin Muhammad Al Qasimi. Although Saqr was able to secure the emirate's palace, and kill Khalid, an intervention by the UAE's Union Defence Force besieged Saqr and eventually forced his surrender.

Background

Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi was the ruler of Sharjah from 1951 to 1965, having succeeded his father, Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II. He was deposed shortly after opening an office of the Arab League in Sharjah, and welcoming one of their delegations.^[1]^[2]^[3] The British viewed Saqr and his support for Arab nationalism as a threat to their interests in the Trucial States leading to British officials, supported by the Al Qasimi family and led by Sir Terence Clark, to coordinate a coup in 1965 to crown Saqr's cousin Khalid bin Muhammad Al Qasimi.^[3]^[4] Saqr would go into exile in Bahrain and eventually Cairo.^[5] Sharjah would be the last Emirate to see a British presence following independence, with the British Royal Air Force base at Sharjah being the last physical presence of the British colonial government.^[6]

At the time of the coup, Khalid had become increasingly unpopular, especially among Sharjah's Arab nationalists, due to his handling, or lack thereof, of Iran's seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.^[7]^[8] The Greater and Lesser Tunbs had been ruled by the Qasemi since before they migrated from the Persian coast to the present-day UAE in the 1720s.^[7] Saqr's motivation to act and attempt to seize power has been attributed, at least in part, to disaffection over Sheikh Khalid's agreement to a Memorandum of Understanding, signed on November 30, 1971, allowing Iran to station troops on the island of Abu Musa.^[8]

Coup

On 2 December 1971, the Trucial States declared independence and became the United Arab Emirates. Shortly after in January 1971, Saqr smuggled himself into Sharjah with a group of Egyptian mercenaries, seeking to restore his throne.^[8]^[6] Saqr would be supported by local Arab nationalists such as Sultan Al Owais, however, due to the British withdrawal some months earlier, he failed to rally the population to his anti-Colonial cause.^[8]

At approximately 2:30 PM Saqr and his forces took control of the Sheikh's palace with reports of gunfire and grenade explosions.^[9] During the fighting Khalid would be killed, either being captured and executed, or as a combatant alongside one of his bodyguards.^[6] However, within an hour of taking the palace, Saqr would be besieged by the Union Defence Force who were based out of the former RAF Sharjah who were quickly joined by a force from Dubai.^[8]^[6] Early in the morning of January 25 Saqr surrendered himself and his forces to UAE Minister of Defence and UDF commander, 22-year-old Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.^[9]

Aftermath

Saqr would be tried and imprisoned until 1979, after which he returned to exile in Egypt where he spent the rest of his life.^[8] Khalid's younger brother Sultan would be named the new sheikh of Sharjah, passing over the older Abdelaziz which would lead to Abdelaziz to attempt to stage his own coup in 1987 which was also unsuccessful due to Emirati intervention.^[10]

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wrote in his autobiography that during the coup, the leading concern among Emirati leadership was that it would spiral into a regional conflict that would "involve foreign factions, supporters and followers" mostly due to Saqr's support for the ideals of Gamal Abdel Nasser.^[6]

References

^ Graca, John V. Da (25 November 1985). Heads of State and Government. Springer. ISBN 9781349079995. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
^ Joyce, Miriam (2 August 2004). Ruling Shaikhs and Her Majesty's Government, 1960–1969: 1960–1969. Routledge. ISBN 9781135772536. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b Peck, Malcolm C. Historical Dictionary of the Gulf Arab States. Scarecrow Press. p. 260.
^ Davidson, Christopher M. (2005). The United Arab Emirates: A Study in Survival. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 158826274X.
^ De Butts, Freddie (1995). Now the Dust has Settled. Tabb House. ISBN 1873951132.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Langton, James. "How Sheikh Mohammed set up a military force and confronted the first crisis of the Union". The National. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b Ghafoor, Ahisha; Mitchell, Paul (30 August 2022). "Secret deals ending Britain's control in Gulf revealed". BBC. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Razzaq Takriti, Abdel (June 2019). "Colonial Coups and the War on Popular Sovereignty". The American Historical Review. 124 (3): xii–xiv. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b Al Qasimi, Sultan bin Muhammad (2011). My Early Life. Bloomsbury. pp. 285–287. ISBN 9781408814208.
^ Huxley, Christian (20 September 1987). "A Central American Situation in the Gulf". Middle East Research and Information Project. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

[Heads_of_State_and_Government-1] Graca, John V. Da (25 November 1985). Heads of State and Government. Springer. ISBN 9781349079995. Retrieved 30 August 2016.

[Ruling_Shaikhs_and_Her_Majesty's_Government,_1960-1969:_1960–1969-2] Joyce, Miriam (2 August 2004). Ruling Shaikhs and Her Majesty's Government, 1960–1969: 1960–1969. Routledge. ISBN 9781135772536. Retrieved 30 August 2016.

[peck-3] Peck, Malcolm C. Historical Dictionary of the Gulf Arab States. Scarecrow Press. p. 260.

[4] Davidson, Christopher M. (2005). The United Arab Emirates: A Study in Survival. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 158826274X.

[5] De Butts, Freddie (1995). Now the Dust has Settled. Tabb House. ISBN 1873951132.

[National-6] Langton, James. "How Sheikh Mohammed set up a military force and confronted the first crisis of the Union". The National. Retrieved 23 December 2024.

[BBC-7] Ghafoor, Ahisha; Mitchell, Paul (30 August 2022). "Secret deals ending Britain's control in Gulf revealed". BBC. Retrieved 24 December 2024.

[ahr-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Razzaq Takriti, Abdel (June 2019). "Colonial Coups and the War on Popular Sovereignty". The American Historical Review. 124 (3): xii–xiv. Retrieved 24 December 2024.

[Qasimi-9] Al Qasimi, Sultan bin Muhammad (2011). My Early Life. Bloomsbury. pp. 285–287. ISBN 9781408814208.

[10] Huxley, Christian (20 September 1987). "A Central American Situation in the Gulf". Middle East Research and Information Project. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

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v t e List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
1910s	World War I Italo-Turkish War Middle Eastern theatre Battle of Robat Karim Arab Revolt Armenian genocide Assyrian genocide Mount Lebanon starvation Unification of Saudi Arabia Simko Shikak revolt 1919 Egyptian revolution Turkish War of Independence Anglo-Turkish War Al-Jazeera Front Greco-Turkish War Turkish–Armenian War Franco-Turkish War Revolts United States Mahmud Barzanji revolts
1920s	Franco-Syrian War Iraqi Revolt (1920) Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine 1922 Dhabyani coup d'état Adwan Rebellion Arab separatism in Khuzestan Great Syrian Revolt 1926 Dhabyani coup d'état 1928 Dhabyani coup d'état Sheikh Said rebellion
1930s	Ararat rebellion Ahmed Barzani revolt Simele massacre Saudi–Yemeni war (1934) Goharshad Mosque rebellion 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts 1935 Yazidi revolt 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Dersim rebellion
1940s	World War II Italian bombing of Palestine Allied invasion of Iraq Syria–Lebanon campaign Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran 1943 Barzani revolt Al-Waziri coup Al-Wathbah uprising Kurdish separatism in Iran Iran crisis of 1946 Arab–Israeli conflict 1948 Arab–Israeli War Suez Crisis 1967 Six-Day War 1973 Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War
1950s	Buraimi dispute 1952 Egyptian revolution 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising
1960s	Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Dhofar rebellion North Yemen civil war Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup Mar. 1963 Syrian coup Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1948 Palestine war First Intifada Second Intifada 1965 Sharjawi coup d'état 1966 Syrian coup d'état 1966 Dhabyani coup d'état 1969 Saudi Arabian coup attempt
1970s	Black September in Jordan 1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Yemenite War of 1972 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Shatt al-Arab clashes Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey Islamist uprising in Syria 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq NDF Rebellion Yemenite War of 1979 Iranian revolution Consolidation of the Iranian revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
1980s	Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish–Turkish conflict Turkey–PKK conflict South Yemen civil war 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Mecca massacre Abu Nidal's executions
1990s	Gulf War (1990–1991) 1991 Iraqi uprisings Terror campaign in Egypt (1990s) Yemeni civil war (1994) Iraqi Kurdish Civil War Islamic insurgency in Saudi Arabia (2000–present) Operation Desert Fox al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq
2000s	Iraq War Balochi insurgency in Iran 2004 Qamishli riots Houthi insurgency in Yemen Iran–Israel proxy conflict 2006 Lebanon War Fatah–Hamas conflict South Yemen insurgency
2010s	2011 Bahraini uprising Egyptian Crisis Sinai insurgency Insurgency in Egypt (2013–present) Syrian civil war Turkish involvement in Syria Syrian War spillover in Lebanon Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) War in Iraq (2013–2017) Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present) Yemeni crisis Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
2020s	2021 Beirut clashes Gaza war Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) Red Sea crisis 2024 Iran–Israel conflict Iran–Israel war
This list includes World War I and later conflicts (after 1914) of at least 100 fatalities each Prolonged conflicts are listed in the decade when initiated; ongoing conflicts are marked italic, and conflicts with +100,000 killed with bold.