Khalifah bin Said of Zanzibar

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Sayyid Khalifah bin Said Al-Busaid (or Chalîfe) (1852- February 13, 1890) (Arabic: خليفة بن سعيد البوسعيد) was the third Sultan of Zanzibar. He ruled Zanzibar from March 26, 1888 to February 13, 1890 and was succeeded by his brother, Ali bin Said Al-Busaid.

"It is a well-known fact in Zanzibar that Barghash, as soon as he had ascended the throne in 1870, suddenly and without any cause cast our second youngest brother Chalîfe into prison. The poor fellow had to languish there for three long years in the dungeon, in heavy iron fetters weighed with chains! And why? No one could say. It may have been feared that Chalîfe, being next in succession to the throne, might plot the same treacherous plans as Barghash himself had once tried against Madjid" Emily Ruete p. 398. (Ruete wrote this in 1886.)

According to their sister Emily Ruete, Barghash did not release Khalifah before one of their sisters prepared to set out for a pilgrimage for Mecca, and "he did not want to bring down upon himself a curse pronounced in the Holy City of the Prophet. But his sister did not pardon him before he had set free the innocent Chalîfe."

According to Ruete, Barghash continued to spy on Khalifah and his friends. She notes one instance where Barghash apparently willfully ruined a wealthy chief and friend of Khalifah, so that Khalifah would be deprieved of support from rich chiefs.

[edit] References

Ruete, Emily, Ulrich Haarmann (Editor), E. Van Donzel (Editor), Leiden, Netherlands, (1992): An Arabian Princess Between Two Worlds: Memoirs, Letters Home, Sequels to the Memoirs, Syrian Customs and Usages. ISBN 90-04-09615-9