ملف ١٩٢٤/١٧٠٧ "الجزيره العربية - تقارير عن الوضع في جدة. (١٩٢٤-١٩٣٠)" [و‎‎٤‎١‎٨] (٨٩٨/٨٤٠)

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic M a jesty’s G overnment. 1
*
EASTERN (Arabia).
a 1 O A
[July 14, 1924. J
CONFIDENTIAL.
j_y2 4-
Section 1.
[E 6062/424/91] No. 1.
Consul Bullard to Mr. MacDonald. — (Received, July 14.)
(No. 66.)
Sir, Jeddah. June 28, 1924.
I HAVE the honour to transmit to you herewith the Jeddah Report for the period
30th May-28th June.
Copies of this despatch and report are being sent to Alexandria, Bagdad, Jerusalem,
Simla, Aden and Beirout (for communication to Damascus).
I have, &c.
R. W. BULLARD.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Jeddah Report for the Period May 30 to June 28, 1924.
THIS has been a black month for King Hussein. He claims to have secured
recognition as Caliph from Shereef Yussuf-al-Hindi (C.V.O., M.B.E.), “ in the name of
himself, and of Abdul Rahman-al-Mahdi, Sayyid Ali-al-Mirghani and all the religious
leaders and the people of the Sudan,” but he has little else to bring him comfort.
No longer can even his own newspapers represent him, as they were doing a few
months ago, as bestriding the world like a spiritual Anthony, with realms and islands
as plates dropped from his pocket, and he has to make much of an oath of allegiance
from the small town of Midi, which, being a great slave-trading centre, might well
have recognised its chief customer earlier. His attempt to get round the Imam has
failed, nor has he had any better fortune with Lahej. Dr. Naji-al-Asil is returning to
the Hedjaz (or at any rate leaving England) with little to show for the £15,000
which, I believe, his two agreeable years in London have cost the Hedjaz; and while
the King hails a new recruit in Mr. Philby, he has yet to learn that Mr. Phiiby’s
nostrum for the Arab world is republicanism. On the Mahmal question he has made
a complete surrender. In a very brief notice the “ Kibla describes this stream as
flowing in its old bed, but in point of fact it is to flow in the new one dug for
it by Egypt. There is to be no restriction with regard to the number of doctors
accompanying the Mahmal, the places where they may install their hospitals, the time
they may stay or the patients they may treat, and the Mahmal question has been
recognised by the King as independent of that of the Hedjaz Wakfs.
The Wahabis are quiet. The “Kibla” published a communique about thenq in
order, it said, to* put an end to the absurd rumours which were in cnculation. I he
communique, which professes to be based on a telegram from Kunfudah, describes Ibn
Sand’s son, Feisal, as having been unsuccessful in a fight with some unspecified persons
in Wadi-al-Ukail, savs there is disorder at Bisha (on parallel 20" north, some 150 miles
south-east of Taif), and that Ibn Saud has threatened to cut down the trees there.
Cutting down trees is considered to be a low trick, for ail the Prophet did it; but it is
possible that the royal communique is not correct. In the first place, King Hussein
hates the truth as he hates the French ; in the second, a telegram from King Feisal to
his father, which is published with the communique, is not m accordance with the facts
as reported by His Majesty’s High Commissioner for Irak, in that it represents the
slaughter of the Dhafir by the Wahabis as a sweeping victory for liak, in which of
2,000 Wahabi camels only 100 escaped, and many Wahabi leaders (names given) were
“ recognised among the dead.” ^ i
The Advisory Council to the Caliphate is reported by the “ Kibla to have met
twelve times. In Ramadan it held a meeting of the very greatest importance ; it came
to the earth-shaking decision-to advise all the Moslems of the world to follow the
Koran and the traditions of the Prophet. As a matter oi fact, the report is less silly,
if less innocent, than it sounds. The game is clearly to represent certain Indian mama
as wholehearted supporters of King _ Hussein as Caliph, three of them one being
Abdul Kadir-al-Badayuni, being mentioned as present at the meeting. Any Moslem
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