ملف ١٩٢٤/١٧٠٧ "الجزيره العربية - تقارير عن الوضع في جدة. (١٩٢٤-١٩٣٠)" [و‎‎٣‎٨‎٢] (٨٩٨/٧٦٨)

will not allow them to leave Jeddah to join Ibn Sand, unless they sign a declaration
recognising the independence of the Hedjaz under King Ali as the basis of negotia
tions. The delegates called on me (not until ten days after their arrival) in the
hope, apparently, that I would try to get them permission to go to Ibn Saud, but a
reference to the complete independence of the Hedjaz quenched that hope.
The delegates are greatly disappointed, I think, to find no British officers here.
However, they will doubtless make the most of the presence of the Palestinians, whose
enlistment in the Hedjaz army at the critical moment might rouse suspicion in more
open minds than these Indians seem to possess.
The delegates called on the Soviet agent. He attacked them at once, describing
their programme as useless and asking why the Moslems of the U.S.S.R. (who, he
said, constituted one third of the Moslems of the world), had not been consulted.
It is possible that the scene was staged for the benefit of the Foreign Secretary, who
was present, but the Foreign Secretary does not think so; and I think that if the
delegates had been in touch with the Soviet agency I should have heard of it, and
I have heard nothing. On the other hand the Caliphate Committee programme has
points which could hardly fail to attract M. Zinoviev.
8. The compulsion to observe the duty to pray five times daily, which has long
been in force in Nejd, has been extended to Mecca. The municipality have issued
an order that everyone is to go to the Great Mosque, or, if that is very far off, to
some other mosque, w T hen the call to prayer is given. Inspectors have been appointed
to see that the order is obeyed; disobedience will be punished in accordance with the
Shara’ Law.
It is pleasant to think of the idle, self-indulgent parasites in Mecca turning out
to prav an hour and a half before sunrise every morning.
F ' R. W. BULLARD.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
C orres'pon dence
between Ibn Sand and the Consular Corps at Jeddah.
(i.) Ibn Saud to Consular Corps.
(Translation.)
(After greetings.) Mecca, January 9, 1925.
OUT of respect for your subjects, and in order to safeguard their precious
lives and their property, to fulfil my undertaking, and to be free from responsibility
before history and the civilised world for what our enemies may do and attribute
to us and our guiltless troops, I have to inform you that opr brave troops have begun
skirmishing and will shortly meet the enemy in battle in order if God wills to
drive them from Jeddah. ... ^
I wish to draw you attention to the fact that during their retreat the army or
our enemv, when they have despaired of defeating our troops, may behave according
to their custom in committing acts of robbery and looting in the houses of the peaceful
inhabitants, for I fear that they may repeat the tragedy of Taif and attack your
subjects and others, and then maintain that the attacks were made by our troops.
I have also to draw your attention to the unintentional damage which our guns may
CctU-SC
We have been driven to this by the Sharif Ali taking refuge in Jeddah and
refusing to come out and fight in the open; and the responsibility for any harm that
may be done to buildings or people, will rest on him who compelled us to take this
action, . . # . .... -i i
I call upon you and upon the civilised world to witness that it is impossible that
q’qj 1 troops should (even) touch one of the non-combatant inhabitants or of your
respected nationals. I have already conveyed this to you in my letter dated
9.5.1343, but I wished to draw your attention so that you might know beforehand
about the harm which our enemy may do to us.
(Compliments.) [SeaJ of Ibn Sau(i]