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File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎156v] (321/834)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (411 folios). It was created in 1917-1920. It was written in English. 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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To sum up the present situation, ft may be said that
a state of profound peace exists in Central Aiabia. It is
as if the inhabitants were waiting apathetically to know
the will of God as to their future destiny—under which
King! To this universal peace, there seems only one excep-
tion, viz. the unsettled quarrel between Ibn Saud and the
Ajman. Only the restless spirit of Ibn Saud gives any cause;
for anxiety among the Arabs. For these reasons I myself do not
expect any startling developments of the local situation ; yet one s
opinion must remain somewhat in suspense for the present.
What will be the effect of the blockade from Kuweit, if
stringently enforced, both on the Kuweit and the Hinterland
tribes? What will the Ajman do, when turned away from
Kuweit? Above all what is Ibn Sand’s game? These are some
of the pieces to come into play.
Much depends on whether Ibn Saud continues in his present
policy of masterly inactivity en attendant a reaction against the
ISherif, or the development of the Ikhwan movement, of which
he is the patron and on which he places so much reliance. An
independent Arabia under the aegis of Nejd is his political aim
in a nut-shell (with himself, bien entendu, in the centre of the
picture as the religious and secular head of the Confederation).
What that means to the rulers of coast Sultanates, anyone can
perceive; it is for the civilized to come under the yoke of the
uncouth Bedouin, a condition of which they have a genuine
abhorrence. All the coast sheikhs will unite against him if he
attempts to put that plan into execution. We, too, should
support the coast civilization, and in such an event might
find in Kuweit, Qatr, Bahrein, as well as in recalcitrant Hasa,
unstable Qasim and even, perhaps, in Hail itself, a most useful
counterpoise. But I do not think it will ever come to that.
Abdul Aziz is not a fool, nor is he the stuff that Mahdis and Mad
Mullahs are made of. For such a campaign he would be without
resources and his Bedouins would starve. He knows this well
enough and understands that such a proposition is a very different
one from that which his Wahabi forbears had to deal with, when
they overran the Peninsula. Above all I do not believe that the
Bedouins could be induced to fight against us. They do not hate
us; they like us. 1 heir fanaticism is directed more against
Mohammedans ; Turks, Shiahs and all who venerate Mohammed
to the point of worship are blasphemers to them and anathema.
M e English are good easy-going heathen, just, kind, respectable,
and plenteously provided with the needful. 1 do not underrate
the furore of religious movements, but I do believe that Wahabism
is a spent force and unacceptable to all but the political fanatics of
.Riyadh and the hungry light-headed nomads of Central Arabia. The
Ikhwan movement would only become dangerous were we to attempt
the mad task of penetrating Arabia; then, perhaps, the dormant
national sentiment would be aroused and give substance to the move
ment, and the necessary driving force to make it a real live thing.’'

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Content

The volume consists of individual copies of the Arab Bulletin produced by the Arab Bureau at the Savoy Hotel, Cairo numbers 66-114. These publications contain wartime, and post-war intelligence obtained by British sources. They deal with economic, military, and political matters in Turkey, the Middle East, Arabia, and elsewhere, which – in the opinion of British officials – affect the ‘Arab movement’; the bulletins cover a wide range of topics and key personalities.

The volume contains the following maps:

  • A map of Central Arabia showing St John Philby's route from Uqair to Jidda 17 November to 31 December 1917: folio 103.
  • Sketch map prepared from RNAS photographs and reconnaissance by HMS City of Oxford of Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Mur February to March 1918 : folio 170.
  • Sketch map of Hejaz (1919): folio 317.
  • Tribal sketch map of the Hadhramaut ‘showing only tribes of fighting value’: folios 333v.

Towards the back of the volume is a small amount of correspondence respecting the distribution of Notes on the Middle East ; the Arab Bulletin was superseded by this publication. Copies of numbers 3-4 of this publication can also be found at the back of the volume.

Tables of content can be found at the front of each issue. A small amount of content is in French.

Extent and format
1 volume (411 folios)
Arrangement

The Arab Bulletins are arranged in numerical order from the front to the back of the file. The Notes on the Middle East follow on from the bulletins at the back of the file in reverse numerical order.

The subject 759 (Arab Bulletins) consists of two volumes. IOR/L/PS/10/657-658.

Physical characteristics

Condition: the edges of some of the folios towards the back of the volume have suffered damage to their edges due to general wear and tear. The affected folios are 389-390, 407-409, and 412.

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 413; 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. The front cover and the leading flyleaf have not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 357-363 and ff 374-412 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎156v] (321/834), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/658, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048056855.0x00007a> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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