Ali bin Said of Zanzibar

Ali bin Said al-Busaidi (1854–1893) was the fourth Sultan of Zanzibar of the Al Bu Said dynasty, reigning from 13 February 1890 until his death on 5 March 1893. ^{1 2}

His short reign was the moment of colonial decision for the East African coast: in it the British protectorate over Zanzibar was formally accepted, the coastal strip opposite Zanzibar island was sold to Germany, the Somali Benadir ports were leased to Italy — and Zanzibar received its first constitution, in 1891. ^{1 3 2}

The German article closes his biography with the judgement that with his accession "Zanzibar's independence ended". ²

Ali was born in 1854 at Muscat according to Wikidata and the Arabic article's infobox (the English article gives no birthplace). He was the twenty-second son of Said bin Sultan, the Sultan of Muscat, Oman and Zanzibar who founded its African empire; his mother was an Abyssinian lady named Nur al-Sabah, according to the Arabic article, citing the Royal Ark genealogy of ruling houses. ^{3 4}

He was a younger brother of sultans before him: Majid, founder of the independent Sultanate of Zanzibar; Barghash (1870–1888), builder of its modern state; and Khalifah (1888–1890), whom Ali directly succeeded. His brother Khalifah named him heir apparent on 27 March 1888. ^{1 3}

On Khalifah's death Ali succeeded on 13 February 1890, and in the year of his accession he received the GCSI (Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India). The Arabic article records that on his accession he demolished the ruined palace at Beit al-Hukm. ^{1 3 2}

On 14 June 1890 he signed a provisional agreement with the British consul Euan Smith accepting the British protectorate — the Arabic article dates the formal acceptance of the protectorate to 7 November 1890. The Anglo-German Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty of 1 July 1890 then settled the coast: the sultan surrendered sovereignty over the coastal strip leased to the German East Africa Company between the Umba and Rovuma rivers, and any right of disposal over Wituland, while Zanzibar and Pemba passed under British protection. ^{1 3 2}

On 28 October 1890 the coastal strip was formally ceded to Germany against compensation (the Arabic article dates the sale of the Tanganyika strip to 17 October 1890). His brother Barghash, the former sultan, criticised his pro-British stance. ^{1 3}

In 1892 Ali was compelled to lease the Benadir ports on the Somali coast — Mogadishu, Warsheikh, Merca and Baraawe — to Italy, extending European control to the sultanate's northern possessions. ²

In 1891 he promulgated Zanzibar's first constitution and established a constitutional government, according to the Arabic article. ³

No source used here names Ali bin Said's personal religion: his English, Arabic and German articles are all silent on it, and Wikidata carries no religion statement for him at all. What the sources attest, twice and independently, is the affiliation of his house and of the very sultanate he headed. The English article "Al Bu Said dynasty" records the house's traditions in its infobox as "Ibadi Islam", counts the Sultanate of Zanzibar (1856–1964) among the house's realms and its Zanzibar royal family among its branches. The English article "Ibadism" — a separate article on the school itself, resting on Hoffman (2012) and Lewicki (1971) — lists "Al Bu Said dynasty: since 1744", with the sub-entry "Zanzibari branch: 1856–1964", among the Ibadi dynasties, records Ibadis as present in Zanzibar, and lists the last Zanzibar sultan, Jamshid bin Abdullah, among notable Ibadis. Corroborating at the family's head, the article on his father records Said bin Sultan's own religion as Ibadi Islam. ^{5 6 7 4}

On that stated basis — the dynasty's attested Ibadi tradition as it applies to the Zanzibar sultanate he himself headed (1890–1893, within the Zanzibari branch's 1856–1964 span) — the museum records the value ibadi in his data record, noting that the attestation is of the house and its Zanzibar branch, not a statement about Ali personally. The Britannica entry on the dynasty calls it only a "Muslim dynasty" and does not corroborate the Ibadi point, so it is not cited for it. ^{5 6}

Ali bin Said died at Zanzibar on 5 March 1893, leaving — according to the Arabic article — one son, Said (born 1893), and four daughters. He was succeeded by his nephew Hamad bin Thuwaini. ^{1 3 4}

His reign is presented in the sources as the end of Zanzibar's effective independence: the sultanate emerged from it a British protectorate, without its Tanganyika coastline and with its northern ports leased to Italy — though it had also received, in return, its first constitution. ^{2 3}

• English Wikipedia article on Ali bin Said (revision 1342767958; the article has been flagged since 2018 as resting on a single unreliable source, so its facts are used only where the German or Arabic articles corroborate them); Arabic Wikipedia article «علي بن سعيد البوسعيدي» (revision 65086232); German Wikipedia article (revision 252629907); English Wikipedia "Al Bu Said dynasty" (revision 1379283091); English Wikipedia "Ibadism" (revision 1381188604); English Wikipedia "Said bin Sultan" (revision 1379282827); Wikidata item Q423643.
• A recorded conflict: the protectorate is dated by the provisional agreement of 14 June 1890 (English and German articles, citing Hertslet) versus a formal acceptance on 7 November 1890 (Arabic article); and the cession of the coastal strip is dated 17 October (Arabic) versus 28 October 1890 (English).