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File 7251/1920 Pt 3 'Arabia: Situation and Policy; Agenda for Inter Departmental Committee Meetings' [‎212v] (61/268)

The record is made up of 1 item (133 folios). It was created in 25 Jun 1920-4 Dec 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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The fact probably is that the dolin S out of subsidies unless we are prepared to
cive every big chief a subsidy, upsets the natural equihbnum of Arabian polities.
The facT remains also that in regard to Ibn Sa’ud we are subsidising a heresy whose
control and cohesion depend solely on the fine personality of Abdul Aziz. It might
be wiser to view the situation from the point of view of Ins followers rather than that
of the particular individual Ibn Sa nd. . . TT • i in
On the other side, we have to recognise that in Hussain we have, whether we
could help it or not, backed a poor horse. Away from war conditions and the
insnira io.' of British officers of pan-Arab sentiments, he is nothing but a pampered
and querulous nuisance.” But his sphere is of the highest importance, and U rs
difficult to see what an infidel Government can put m h,s place as guardian of the
sacred shrines. Yet some policy will have to be evolved for their guardianship
whfoh will at the same time save our prestige m the eyes of the Muhammadan world
and ensure the protection of our interests for the future. Here again Arabian
no tics have lost their equilibrium. In the o d days the forces of the Ottoman
Empire were at the disposal of Mecca if it were threatened from outside. M hat have
we to put in their place, seeing that we are precluded from direct intervention?
As regards the subsidy problem for the Hedjaz, there would lie the best of
reasons fof a subsidy to a good Sharif from the greatest of all Muhammadan Powers
il the epithet may ‘be used of the Power which has the largest proportion of
Muhammadans under its protection. , c . -i ir
Then there is Faisal, who presumably will have to be fitted m somehow. He
might conceivably take his father’s place, and it would appear reasonable to ask both
Hussain and Faisal to interest themselves in their own country in preference to
meddling in the affairs of countries with which they have prima facie no concern.
The Question of previous commitments, however, adds an irritating complication to
their case, and it would lie well for His Majesty’s Government to make up their
minds what exactlv these commitments amount to, and how fay they are now pi spared
to carry them into effect in the face of French action in Syria h rench suspicions of
Faisal ” and hostile intrigues on the part of Hussain and Faisal. One cannot acquit
Faisal'for example, of tacit acquiescence in the co-operation of his Mesopotamians
with the rebels in Mesopotamia. The annoying feature of the Hedjaz situation is,
thus that there is a strong case for a subsidy in tue interests of Mecca and Medina
and’the pilgrim routes, but there is no one to whom we can assign a subsidy with
sufficient assurance that it will not be used against us, and that it will not be
interpreted by the Moslems of India as dangerous and unwarranted interference in
Muhammadan affairs. . , . . , ,,
Then there are the cases of the Idrisi and Hussain on the one side ana the
Idrisi and the Imam on the other to crown the general complexity of affairs. As
regards the Idrisi, he has recently expressed his expectation that His Majesty s
Government will settle the Qunfidhah question ; and in view of the past history of
the case it mav be difficult for us to decline.
All these considerations make it difficult to devise a suitable policy. ^We are
committed too far to leave the situation to find its own equilibrium. The only
alternative would seem to be to assemble all the lug chiefs together, not excluding
Ibn Rashid if he would consent to come, and ask them to form some kind of
confederation by agreement among themselves, and devise the strongest safeguard
for Mecca, in which they are all interested. The occasion might then be taken of
lecturing them all on Bolshevist and other intrigues, whose objects are undoubtedly
not to the interests of Arabia as a whole. If efforts in this direction met with
success, then all or none would receive subsidies as His Majesty’s Government might
find it desirable or practicable.
R. Marks.
19th October 1920.
The general proposition that the less we meddle in Central Arabian affairs the
better, will scarcely be disputed. We have no interests in the interior, and no means
of effective intervention. The growth of rival federations, such as Major Dickson
describes, or indecisive hostilities, such as have recently been reported from Kowait,
need not trouble us in the least. W r e cannot prevent these people from fighting;
and so long as one side does not gain too pronounced an advantage (and this seldom
happens), we have no special object in preventing them.

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This part of the volume contains correspondence and other papers concerning relations between Nejd, 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 , Hejaz, Yemen, and the Idrisi state, as well as policy in Arabia more generally. Correspondence comes from officials at the 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. , Foreign Office, War Office, the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Aden, the Office of the High Commissioner in Palestine, the Office of the High Commissioner in Cairo, the Office of the High Commissioner in Iraq, and the British Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Jeddah. Further correspondence comes from King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] of the Hejaz, his sons Emir Abdullah [ʿAbdullāh bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī] and Emir Feisal [Fayṣal bin Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī], the French Ambassador in London, and officials of the German and United States Governments.

This part deals with relations between Nejd and the neighbouring territories of 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 , the Hejaz, Yemen, and the Idrisi state. Matters covered include the supply of Arms to the Idrisi, control of Hodeidah and the proposed withdrawal of the British garrison there, the British subsidy to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]of Nejd, efforts to reach an agreement between the Hejaz and Nejd, trouble along the 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 boundary involving the Ikhwan and local tribes, and future British policy in the region.

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File 7251/1920 Pt 3 'Arabia: Situation and Policy; Agenda for Inter Departmental Committee Meetings' [‎212v] (61/268), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/937/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100079424931.0x000021> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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