'Précis of Maskat affairs, 1892-1905; In two parts: Part I 1892-1898; Part II 1899-1905 By J A Saldanha, BA, LL B' [‎29] (45/176)

29
OliAPTEE VII f.
Eebellion in Ehofar, 1895-97.
(i) Designs of Sheikh Fadhl bin Alawi, the Moplah outlaw, to assume the Govern
ment of Dhofar, 1894-96.
115. Sheikh Fadhl "bin Alawi was a Moplah priest who was expelled from
India under threat of arrest if he returned for the part he took in the Moplah
rising of 1862. He first settled in Mecca. But in or about the year 1868 he
went to Dhofar and haying gained considerable influence over the people, he
soon after was elected by them their Amir. He ruled in the name of the
Turkish Government, but his rule was found so oppressive that a rebellion
broke out in 1879 and he was expelled from Dhofar in 1879. Sayyid Turki,
Sultan of Maskat, resumed possession of the district to which he claimed a
title as old as 1829. Since then Dhofar was in the uninterrupted possession
of the Government of Maskat, until the year 1895, when a rebellion broke
out.
116. Tor about a year before the rebellion. Sheikh Padhl and his son
Becret B, Fcbra„ y 1895, No,. 430 -436. : Pasll i a had be . eI1 return to
Dnotar and resume its Government. In
October 1894 Sir P. Currie forwarded to Lord Kimberley a memorandum
placed in his hands by a friend of Sheikh Eadhl, stating that he was anxious
to leave Turkey and return to Arabia with his sons, with the view of assuming
the Government of Dhofar, Mirabad and its dependencies under British pro
tection (Sir P. Currie's despatch to the Foreign Office, dated 12th October
189 A).
117. The Secretary of State, Mr. Fowler, in sending the papers to the
lbid No 430 Government of India for opinion, observ
ed (despatch No. 51 Secret-dated 9th
November 1894)—
" It is understood that Dhofar is now under the control of the Sultan of Mascat and
this circumstance alone would render a compliance with the Sheikh 's request inadmissible."
118. The Government of India concurred on this opinion (despatch No.
ii-d No 435 Secret—External, dated 29th January
1895). They stated—
"Sheikh Fadhl bin Alawi was expelled from Dhofar in 1879 and shortly afterwards the
Sultan of Maseat, at the invitation of the people appointed a Wali and occupied the place with
a garrison. For the last 14 years the rule of His Highness over Dhofar and its dependencies
has been uninterrupted and active, and we therefore agree with you in considering that the
request of the Sheikh is inadmissible."
I '
119. In March 1895 Sheikh Fadhl's son Sahl Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. proceeded to Cairo
and tried through Shakour Beg, Chief Interpreter of the Intelligence De
partment of the Egyptian Army, to obtain an interview with Lord Cromer
and enlist his sympathies in Sheikh Fadhl's designs to re-establish his authority
in Dhofar. He expressed his intention to visit Dhofar early, and mentioned
that he had been in communication with the Sheikhs in Dhofar to prepare
them for this.
120. Lord Kimberley, after consulting Mr. Fowler, informed Lord Cromer—
" That it is undesirable that he should enter into communication with Sahl Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. and
that the territory which the Sheikh seeks to recover cannot be restored to him, as it has been
under the rule of the Sultan of Mascat for the last fourteen years."
121. When the above correspondence was forwarded to the Government
of India, they telegraphed to the Resident on 9th May 1895 :—
" Sayyed Fadhl, Moplah outlaw, desires to return to Dhofar, and his son Sahl Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. ,
lately in Cairo, is intriguing towards that end. Please warn Sultan, Mascat."
122. The Sultan stated that the object of Sheikh Fadhl and his son was
to create disturbances and excite sedition among the people of Dhofar, and
that he relied upon the British Government to take steps to prevent them from
carrying out their designs. Colonel Wilson redorted that the Sultan's position
[C973FD]