File 301/1921 'MESOPOTAMIA: INTELLIGENCE REPORTS' [‎261v] (533/586)

On November 25th, tJie town bad surrendered i,()4I rifles and tne toLu
number banded in by tbe tribes of Sbamiyab was 8,459.
17. On November 26th, tbe General Officer Commanding tbe troops in
tbe Sbamiyab was authorised to announce that, as the tribes had all sur
rendered and bad given token of their sincere desire to comply with the terms
imposed upon them, the state of hostility had ceased. The people are being
encouraged to return to their homes and resume their peaceful pursuits.
Proposals for the form which tbe Civil Administration of the Division will
take are under consideration. 1
18. In the Hillali Division the administrative arrangements on tne Hin-
diyah are now normal and Government officials move freely about the country
The tribes seem to realize that they have been thoroughly misled and are
anxious to make amends. 1
19. Several further attempts have been made to induce Government to
accept the_intervention of tbe mujtahids. 1
Tbe tribes in tbe Samawah and Kumaithah districts proposed on Novem
ber 11th, that Government should enter into negotiations with the Shaikh al
Shari‘ah with a view to tbe cessation of hostilities. At his order the tribes
would lay down their arms. The letter was evidently corrected by the Saiyffis
and men of religion who had supported Jihad, with the intention of forcing
Government to accept the theocratic authority of Najaf, by means of which
the tribes hoped to obtain more favourable terms.
The emissary who offered to carry tbe request to.Najaf was told (bat
Government would accept neither the Shaikh al SharPah nor any other ‘alim
as mediator and that the tribes must surrender to the military Commander.
If they would do so at once they could rely on tbe moderation and justice
of the Government not to lay on them a burden heavier than they could bear.
This attempt; having failed, on November 18th, all the Kumaithah tribes
threw themselves on our mercy, declaring that this could not stand against
Government.
In much the same way two of the leading shaikhs of ‘Afaj, after asking
that terms should be discussed through the Shaikh al Shari’ah, offered to
make surrender through ‘Ajil Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. al Samarmad, of the Zubaid. This was
permitted and they were told to come to Baghdad under the High Commis
sioner’s orders.
20. Further correspondence has passed between the Shaikh al Shari’ah
and the High Commissioner (see No. 1 para. 25). After reiterating his con-
hdence in the High Commissioner’s statemanship, the Shaikh al Shari’ah
defended the part he had played in the recent disturbances. His efforts to
effect a reconciliation between the Government and the tribes, exasperated
by Government action, were neglected and his warnings disregarded. After
the outbreak of revolt he spared no effort to find a solution which should
avert bloodshed, and save the people from destruction. Najaf, in spite of
provocation, took no part in hostilities. British prisoners were cared for
and Government property respected. He went on to urge the giving of a
general amnesty and, as required by his duties as a religious leader, requested
pt a ir m h! 1 ? r H Pr -+T U + r i e may be f Proved and bloodshed avoided. In a second
lettci he dealt with the case of Mirza Muhammad Ridha Erivani (No. 1 para
e represented the appeal to the Persian Government to be in accord-
a owed t!, tptm 01 ’ ^ and asked tllat Mirza Muhammad Ridha should be
ed to return and given assurances of safety. The Hi op Commissioner
ShSh’?coimW ber 20 t?’ nnable to°agree bli the
holv id ares in' n' f'""'i t k <)ln ^. ed <)U ^ T ^ a f fbe ‘Iraq in general and the
ouilitv undS iad pl D°y ed unprecedented prosperity and tran-
ad T 11Stratl01 i- exactions, such as the
tion was a nationnfp unknown and the goal of the British administra-
MuhammL TanfrS r ime a-- P e Fatwah issued 011 the death of Mirza
Dlmh^Sc No q i A $T dl M 2) al ? d tlle tetter written to Salman al
sioner hi anora sin J +i overlo °ked by the High Commis-
tion of 4?conntr?. I'l attlhld « the Shari‘ah. but with the early pacifica-
that friendlv rehitinn ' ' )1s ime . n t °t national institutions, he trusted
Mha as the ^ re " ard to Mirza Muhammad
the N 1 ^L^ J “fc^^ y Undertaken t0 Pay for ,,is return t0
Shateah dated’Ootnhpr'oV Commissioner from Khaiyuu al ‘irkaid of
urged that the risin g t-T ’ lecel . ved m Baghdad on November 22. He
by a desire to obtairT mVil n -° , Pne allllaa t e( t t>y hostility to Great Britain but
of misunderstandino- ^ ^ lak d was c °utrary to good sense and born
Jawad Sahib al Jawihir 'V men , among whom he mentioned Shaikh
control an excit^f^crowd ^hnV 1 ^ ’ tllem « el J es ^aken or were unable to
the mista^rof tL peopffi Thrh 0n f /-opportunity to correct
announcement of a general amnesty Militarv C ° U f d ^ be / fforded h J tlie
necessary and now is the tinm -n-t, ' ^ 1 ^ dar 7 f orce .iiad done what was
round him the best in foil i u hen the High Commissioner should gather
m“amei” ration ln the ^ him in the reform
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