File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎266v] (537/898)

2
! 4 :
The Egyptian Government referred these matters to their religious heads and a
fetva was issued in consequence stating that these conditions were in accordance
with the Koran or traditions, and the Mahmal and pilgrims should proceed. I
attach hereto a copy of the fetva, together with the comments thereon by the “ Uninn
cll —
This action on the part of the Egyptian authorities has undoubtedly given
Wahabism a great boost, and the far-reaching effects of the fetva cannot at presenU '
be estimated. But certainly it will mean a consolidation of the Wahabi regime in*
the Hejaz, and will be the prelude to further fanatical exigencies on their part.
9. The conference which is being held in Mecca under the auspices of Ibn
Saud is to meet on the 1st June, and as far as I have been able to ascertain, and from
the tone of the article regarding the Egyptian fetva in the “ Umm-al-Kura, ,, the
work of the conference will be chiefly the dissemination of Wahabi propaganda
and a religious discussion on these points.
The question of the comfort and safety of the pilgrims has already been attended
to by the present Government, and I gather that they are not prepared to enter into
any discussion as to any sort of divided control of the Holy Places, though a
committee composed of representatives of the various elements of the Moslem world
may be elected to advise the Hejaz Government on certain points relating to the
pilgrimage.
10. The Ghut-Ghut tribe referred to above muster perhaps 5,000 fighting men,
and are commonly recognised throughout the Hejaz as the most fanatical and savage
tribe in the Arabian peninsula. They are closely allied with the Dukhana, another
fanatical tribe, and with assistance from the Arabs around Khurma and Taraba
are forcing Ibn Saud to put into effect all the Wahabi tenets. Should he fail to do
so these tribes are capable of associating with the Imam of Yemen, or anybody else
for that matter, and conniving at the overthrow of Ibn Saud, whom they openly
called an infidel. Ibn Saud’s recent actions in Medina and Jeddah will undoubtedly
appease them somewhat, and the effects of the Egyptian fetva cannot be lost upon
them, but they are nevertheless clamouring for Ibn Saud to return to Riyadh and
attend to the internal matters of Nejd, which apparently have not been so flourishing
since his departure two years ago.
Just before Ibn Saud took steps to satisfy their incessant demands for a more
strict enforcement of their religious principles this tribe looted a camel train of
300 bags of rice being transported from Hassa to Riyadh as, so they said, Ibn Saud
had not sent them any food for months.
11. The trouble would now appear to have blown over, and unless some
fanatical Indians or Bokharis become annoyed at the destruction of the various
tombs the pilgrimage should pass off without any incidents. In order to lessen the
possibility of trouble Ibn Baud has as far as possible refused permission for his own
people to make the pilgrimage this year.
12. A further incident of some importance recently was the arrest of Sherif
Mohsen-el-Mansur, uncle of the late King of the Hejaz, and one of the intriguers
who nearly delivered the Hejaz garrison and town into the hands of the Wahabis
some months back. Sherif Mohsen is practically the head of the Harb and Billi
tribes in the Hejaz, and as such had a certain amount of influence. Three days after
his arrest and departure for Riyadh thirty-four other Hejazis were arrested and sent
to Taif, where they are to be tried for treason. Prominent amongst these latter is Said
Ahmed Saggof once the private secretary and Lord Chamberlain of King Ali. This
party had apparently been holding secret conclaves and conspiring for the overthrow
of the Wahabi regime. Certain incriminating correspondence addressed to persons
in Egypt and the Yemen is supposed to have been intercepted and the plot discovered
in this manner. I have not been able to ascertain the details of this matter to date
but hope to do so later. A list of the arrested persons is attached.*
13. It appears from information received from Mecca that certain Indian an
Javanese pilgrims are availing themselves of the opportunity of openly expressing
to the mass of Moslems gathered in Mecca their ideas of external politics, and it is
feared that some of them are offending even their own people by their frankness.
Probably the worst in this respect is an Indian, by name Maulvi Sana Ujlaii, o
Amritsar, wdio loses no opportunity of addressing meetings and expressing his views
to the gathered assemblies. He is apparently extremely anti-British and continual}
exhorting the world’s Moslems to throw off the Christian oppressors and be tree^
His expressions of religion and Indian politics have apoarentlv given offence o c
* Not printed.