File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎236r] (476/898)

[1479 d—1] b 2
connived ^ ?■ 80 ^ ^ -
partisans. One reminds him when he refers to thi« U a a ?^ heisal, or their
authorities in both Transjo“and Iran who e d,u“ Ce ^ 10n . that there are British
any such encouragement of tribal raids But the irle f n f Iiite 1 lest lt Is 10 prevent
from time to time his traditional enmitv fo the wH f k 1 “ hlS mmd ' Perha P s -
this way. It ts also possible that the^L pe^ itself 111
it is to keep that animosity alight. ^ ^ ^ 1S a< ^ vlsers whose interest
entourage resent the existence^? ^Transhrda^TraTcorrid^ 1 ^? m - Ibn Saud s
off Nejd from any extension of her influence no^^
himself, cis h^s been cirsrued nbove is ^ 1 ^
at home to seek further expansion of kHMuence arreastlortb^ 8 t0 ° ? U °r t0 d °
the other hand less.certar? that some oVSSd^v^w atir^in^Sa commom
sense light. Conceivably, these persons may one day try to exert their influence to
induce the King to support Arab claims in Palestine. Against tha contkkncv
St BrMn Pr6Sent ^ S6t ^ Kmg ' S 0Wn S° od se “ se “ d htIrlendS £
dismLted fs 6 Shekb 1 Hsf?/w hh™ 8 ^ 01 ! are . alwa ys changing. The last to bo
a smisseo is bneikn Hatiz Wahba, the Egyptian, who is leavinp- shortly althnncyh
Zve^VueTcl n mfr b f 1 T f ^ Km ^ S most advisL formlr
infl 01 f- 0t M ® cca ’ a man at least some experience, and in religious affairs an
KmrkVe 0 s-% r bmrb 0d p ra h 0 l 1 p He le r s de r uncm s tlle S y rians whose advice the
i i^h Rashid Riza, editor of the Egyptian paper the ‘‘Minar”
Yasin ^ a y el_el '9 assab > Hassan Wafqi Bey, Director of Police, and Sheikh Yussef
hvenr d prayl K-?- devout iy that the y will lead the King into no hare-brained
I relives d a f bltl0 .f;, He 18 g om g b y way of India to Koweit, where he has
I he will ak for IbTsaud. are ^ 0Utstandin g matters bet ween Nejd and Iraq,
14. The status of the newly-arrived Turkish representative has now been
announced as diplomatic representative of the Turkish Republic, which presumably
implies formal recognition of Ibn Sand. His office is styled a Legation, and be has
taken precedence over the rest of the foreign agents in Jeddah. On presenting his
papers to His Majesty the King, Shevket Bey recalled the old associations, based
on brotherhood and eo-operation, which formerly existed between Turks and Arabs,
and said he hoped that such noble memories would find new expression in the revived
friendship between the two Governments. It must be conceded that the new
Imister had a difficult job on hand when he recalled the past, and perhaps took
the simplest way out of the dilemma by deliberate misrepresentation. In speaking
about present relations he was on surer ground. His private views are distinctly
contrary, nevertheless, to his public platitudes. He considers the country savage
and its inhabitants nothing less than barbarians, and laments the evil day that
brought him to the Hejaz. He can have little routine work to do here, and spends
most of his time paying calls or humbly fishing from the coral reefs. One can only
suppose that his Government’s purpose in sending him to the Hejaz was to please
the older-fashioned people in Turkey, or else to mark the Turkish Government’s
interest in the nebulous schemes of Islamic unity which are floating around the
world. There is some talk of a treaty of friendship between the Turks and Ibn Sand.
15. Ibn Sand has been pleased by the reception given to his son in Great
Britain. He has not personally mentioned the question of the Emir FeisaTs failure
to open the Ahmadiya mosque at Southfields, but an article in the official newspaper
“ Umm-el-Kura ” defined his position in the matter, and the Acting Minister for
Foreign Affairs, in a conversation, has confirmed it. Proposals for Feisal’s opening
of the mosque were begun months ago, and no objections were raised. When,
however, the prince arrived in England, the Egyptian newspapers began to discuss
the propriety of his performing the ceremony, and to write that the mosque would
be used by Moslems, Christians and Jews alike—a temple, in fact, for all religions.
Thereupon Ibn Sand instructed his son to decline the invitation. But these
instructions brought telegrams from London and India, pointing out the harmless
nature of the sect, the orthodoxy of the people using the mosque (Ahmadiyas are
not prevented from making the Haj to Mecca), and the deplorable effect, as far as
propaganda was concerned, of the King’s refusal. Finally, Ibn Sand, pulled this
way and that, telegraphed saying that Feisal must decide for himself what course
to pursue. If the mosque was to be for all religions, as related by the “ Ahram ”