"ملف 8/15 سلسلة الجزيرة العربية - ١٩٣٣-١٩٣٩" [ظ‎‎٢‎٠‎٤] (٤٣٤/٤٠٨)

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message about the necessity for mutual comprehension of each other's diffi
culties by the two Governments. I asked His Majesty whether he had not
found, as he rose from being ruler of Riyadh to his present high position,
that at every stage the points of contact with the world increased and poli
tical questions became more complicated, and when the King said that this
was so, I asked whether he could not believe that the affairs of Great
Britain, coming as she did into touch with many countries which did not
concern Saudi Arabia seriously and having possessions all over the world,
were even more complicated than His Majesty’s. Ibn Saud pondered a
moment as though the matter had not struck him in that light before and
said that he agreed, and I hope that the argument helped to convince him
of the truth of my assurance, that it was not from failure to give careful
attention to his proposals that His Majesty’s Government had not been
able to decide upon a policy more satisfactory from his point of view.
13. The matters other than politics which were touched upon at the
interview are dealt with in my despatch No. 182, dated the 18th December.
Throughout the interview Ibn Saud showed the friendliness and desire to
co-operate with His Majesty’s Government which were shown during the
talks in March last when Mr. Rendel was here.
14. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Excellency the High
Commissioner for Palestine and Transjordan, His Majesty’s Ambassadors
at Cairo and Bagdad, His Excellency the Governor of Aden and the Hon.
the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire.
(15)
Memo, from His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda, No. 218/271/'3, dated the
30th January 1938.
Presents his compliments to the Secretary to the Government of India
in the External Affairs Department, New Delhi, and has the honour to
transmit to him the undermentioned documents.
Description of Enclosure.
To Foreign Office, despatch No. 17 of 30th January 1938 and enclo
sure.
Law relating to converts to Islam.
Letter from H. M.’s Minister, Jedda, to the. Foreign Office, London,
No. 17 (217/271/3), dated the 30th January 1938.
I have the honour to transmit herewith a translation of a law which
appeared in the “Umm-al-Qura” of January 21st, 1938, prescribing the
formalities to be fulfilled by any recent convert to Islam who wishes to visit
either Mecca or Medina. There is to be set up a religious committee in
Jedda with authority to examine such persons and any documents which
they may produce in support of their claims, and to issue a decree, where the
conversion is adjudged to be genuine, which will authorise the convert to
proceed to the Holy Cities.
2. As you are aware, there have been several cases during the last few
years where persons claiming to have been converted to Islam have been
detained in Jedda for considerable periods while their claims were being
examined, and at least one case, that of Mrs. Sterling, an American lady
(Jedda Report for February 1936 paragraph 76) permission to proceed to
Mecca was eventually refused. Article 4 of the law reserves to the Saudi
Arabian Government “the absolute right to refuse permission to enter the
two sanctuaries to any person suspected of political, military or other
[ulteiior] aims”, and even were this provision wanting, no religious com
mittee would issue a decree involving authorisation to enter Mecca without