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'File 8/15 Arab Series - 1933-1939' [‎182v] (364/434)

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The record is made up of 1 file (214 folios). It was created in 31 Aug 1933-20 Mar 1939. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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55
. .u- l-nce a* which the Italian rifles were offered had now been reduced to 10#,
go d, but he had said that as the rifles he already had were of other makes he
did not wish to buy Italian rifles as that would be confusing for his army
(huad told m e on another occasion that the excuse was not strictly true, as
they already had in fact a small number of Italian rifles.) Ibn Saud said
that if he took anything from the Italians they would want something in
J’w'h- m ° r ‘ e " % ehcit his 0 P ini °ns I played devil’s advocate. I said
that His Majesty s Government were offering a stock of arms at a low price ;
'^f 0 ^ H hey A "’m 6 so “ et >nng in exchange ? No, said Ibn Saud ; the interests
of Saudi Arabia and Great Britain were identical. And would not the
Italians allege that their interests were identical with his? Ibn Saud in-
ti ^'li * h i’u dnin t care what the Italians said. When all was said,
the wt Br * tlsh ''•erethe best people. They were better than
Italians, better than the Turks—better than the Arabs. He would
even have preferred, from a purely Saudi point of view, that His Majesty’s
Government should retain the mandate over Iraq. With the British as his
neighbours he felt safe As an Arab and a Moslem he must sympathise with
the adi ance towards Arab independence, but the independence of Iraq had
created a situation which he viewed with grave anxiety. And now the
British were going to give up their responsibility for Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan !
(42)
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter No. P. Z. 5580/37, dated the <>3rd
August 1937. “ ■
Received on 11th September 1937 with Political Secretary’s letter No. 34 dated
the 26th August 1937.
Letter from British Legation, Jedda, to India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , No. 115 (E. 3720/
1022/-.O), DATED THE 15TH JUNE 1937, RECEIVED 6TH JULY 1937.
I have the honour to report the promulgation by the authorities of two
measures which appear to be part of the “ Back to Religion ” campaign about
wh.ch I reported in my despatch No. 91 dated the 8th May.
,, J ke first is an order which was issued by town crier, forbidding all
Moslems to shave their beards. The penalty for infringement of this refula
1011 is a fine of 7 nyals. Any barber who shaves the beard of a Moslem is
also liable to a fine. It was understood from the beginning that the em
ployees of foreign missions in Jedda would not be interfered with in this
respect, but a messenger attached to the California Arabian Standard Oil
Company has been fined for a breach of the regulation. It is understood
that a considerable sum in fines has been collected in Mecca, but that on at
e j? st £ ne 0( -‘ cas ion the authorities were disappointed by a Javanese who
after be]n g kept m prison and under observation for several days, was still
without the rudiments of a beard and had to be discharged unpunished.
,i 3 * Most 1 J ava nese, in fact, sometimes through natural inability, but
often fiom choice, do not wear beards, and the Netherlands Charge d’Affaires
vho is himself a Javanese, recently visited Mecca to investigate this question*
Ke was assured by the authorities that if any foreigners had been punished
M^Wirltni T 1 ' r f gU ^io? J was thr °ngh a misunderstanding, and that if
• Widjojoatmojo heard of the application of the regulation to a Nether-
rectlLri lbj TE-^ ° n 7 t0 inform the authorities to have the mistake
c titled. Jins decision is more generous than the regulation itself, which
certainly applied to all Moslems, though as it has never been put in writing
that cannotTbe proved. I may say that no case has been heard of where any
litish subject has been called upon to comply with the regulation.
4. The regulation on beards is not new, but is merely the re-enactment
°L a . measure which has been allowed to fall into disuse. The renewal of
official hostility to shaving is said to be due to Ibn Baud’s annoyance at the
oisern ery of a Saudi youth movement and to his determination^ to teach its
adherents not to be modernising toads. I learn from a good source that
there is at least one fact behind the story of the youth movement viz the
the y ai i di i Gove ™ me nt that one of the Hejazi students’in Egypt
\as in touch with Salama Musa with a view to the ventilation of Hejazi
4

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Content

The file contains the Foreign Office confidential prints of the Arabia Series for the years 1933 to 1938. It includes correspondence, memoranda, and extracts from newspapers. The correspondence is principally between the British Legation in Jedda and the Foreign Office. Other correspondents include British diplomatic, political, and military offices, foreign diplomats, heads of state, tribal leaders, corporations, and individuals in the Middle East region.

Each annual series is composed of several numbered serials that are often connected to a particular subject. The file covers many subjects related to the affairs of Saudi Arabia.

Included in the file are the following:

  • a memorandum on Arab Unity produced by the Foreign Office dated 12 June 1933 (author unknown), folios 11-13;
  • a memorandum on petroleum in Arabia produced by the Petroleum Department dated 5 August 1933 (author unknown), folios 23-26;
  • a record of interviews with Ibn Sa‘ūd, King of Saudi Arabia, conducted by Reader Bullard and George William Rendel between 20 and 22 March 1937;
  • a memorandum on Yemen by Captain B W Seager, the Frontier Officer, dated 20 July 1937;
  • several records of proceedings of ships on patrol in the Red Sea, including that of HMS Penzance , Hastings , Colombo , Bideford , and Londonderry .

Folios 213-15 are internal office notes.

Extent and format
1 file (214 folios)
Arrangement

The file is arranged chronologically.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 217; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-215; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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'File 8/15 Arab Series - 1933-1939' [‎182v] (364/434), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/310, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025548487.0x0000a5> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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