File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎241v] (491/834)

(13). This article of Law among Moslems is scrupulously
observed at the present day, hence article 7 of the Ottoman
Constitution of December 24, 1876, says: “ The cancelling
and the appointment of Ministers; the conferring of public
appointments, of honours and decorations; the appointments
of Chiefs of privileged provinces according to their rights; the
coining of money ; the mention of his name in the khutha ;
the drawing up of treaties with foreign states; the declaration
of war and peace; the command of military and naval forces;
the carrying out of military operations; the observance of the
laws of the sharia and other laws of the State ; the drawing up
of regulations for public administration . . . the convocation
and adjournment of Parliament; the dissolving of the Chamber
of Deputies ... all these are part of the rights of His Holy
Majesty the Padishah (Sultan).
CENTRAL ARABIAN POLITICS.
Jim Saud and Turcophile Arabs in A.nr.
In the hope of winning over Ibn Saud, says Mr. Philby m
a telegram dated July 30, Muhiddin Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , Commandant and
Mutessarif of Asir, has dictated a letter to the Lmir describing
the peace and prosperity of Asir under the lurks benign^ mle.
The letter is signed by four of the leading sheikhs of Asir, by
name, Mohammed ibn Dhuleim, Sand ibn Abdul Aziz, Hasan ibn
Ali and Husein ibn Zeid. These men profess loyalty to the
Sublime Islamic Government of Turkey, and regret that Aejd
should idly look on, while the British effect the destruction of the
Faithful. ' They hope that Ibn Saud will soon bestir himself.
It must be admitted that Muhiddin has well chosen the
moment for his overtures. The prestige of the Turks in southern
Asir must, necessarily, have been augmented by the defeats the
Idrisi has suffered, though in the north some of the tribes have
kept faithful to the King. Moreover, in Sheikh Abdullah ibn
Abdul Wahhab, the leading Imam, according to .Mr. Philby, he
has found an advocate. The former states the case thus : if the
British cannot restrain the Sherif and the Ajman, they cannot be
relied on, and Ibn Saud should take action at once ; if they can
and do not, their perfidy is patent. Mr. Philby is able to report,
however, that the sheikh was satisfied that the best course would
be to await a communication from the British Government,
supported meanwhile by a written guarantee from Mr. Philby.
The first three sheikhs are extremely powerful in Asir, though
there is no reason to suppose that they are willing to risk much