Coll 17/10(1) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎290v] (585/982)

7. Meanwhile, as I suggested in the final paragraph of my despatch under
j reference, the Ulama of Najaf have begun to make common cause with the anti
| Abdul Wahid sheikhs. The Sheikhs of Shamiyah and Afaj have been persuaded
: to sign a manifesto of Shiah demands and Sheikh Muhammad Hasan Kashif-al
f Ghata, one of the leading divines of Najaf, has issued a minatory fatwa
• (encyclical). Copies of both of these documents are enclosed herein.Q
8. Many, indeed most, of the demands of the manifesto appear to be
reasonable and, to a large extent, justified. If they had been advanced in a
constitutional manner, they would have deserved the early and serious attention
of all wise Iraqi statesmen. The present danger lies not in the demands them
selves, but in the attempt to impose them on the Government by force. If the
Government surrender to the tribes, they may find that they no longer have the
authority to rule. On the other hand, if they resist, they may be d°rawn into a
fatal struggle.
9. The sheikhs who have signed the manifesto and joined the Ulama have
done so not so much because they are sincerely interested in Shiah ecclesiastical
or political aspirations, but because they think that by this step they will rob
Abdul Wahid of the initiative and put him in an impossible position. They
think that he will now either have to break with the Ulama or come over to their
side, not as leader, but as a suppliant follower. Their cunning is impressive but
their recklessness alarming. I understand that, although they have signed’this
manifesto of demands, they have stipulated that it shall not be presented to the
Government until they have had a further meeting with Kashif-al-Ghita. Several
dktributed 30 ^ 168 ^ man ^ es ^° an( ^ fatwa have been printed and widely
10. It is not yet known how Abdul Wahid will react to this situation In
i 18 antlcl P ate d that he will join with the Ulama in the common
bh ah cause. In others it is believed that he will stand by his friends in the
einmen .t a y ri sk excommunication. The situation changes, however with
scopicTiew 7 fr ° m da7 t0 day that 1 find il difficult t0 g ive more th an a kaleido-
™ n A . The G ° VerlUn< ?? t appear to be without a coherent policy and to be living
out of th^rTffi n Ped T S \\ d0 n0t however ’ des P air of finding a way
process h dlfficultles ’ thou S h thelr authority may be seriously impaired in the
occurred in UiHtiUon'^ ' n se Pa''at e despatches on the deplorable riot which
tribal leaders wWh i ° n ^ U* rch and on the legation of Kurdish
troubles hIs e not m iUn OU " C ? nn f ion of ^ Kadhimain incident with the Euphrates
ivXrram onlv a b 7e™ r iS u a ^ rapidly - aS at first seemed Probable, but with
' be^the mmdem nlnnU? 8 ? T' dd ’ d ls impossible to dismiss anxiety. At the
The arrival of a Kurd Gb r| ai , 0 cause the Government serious embarrassment,
less urgent affare P Ll ^ 11 . 0 " co ; isl! ? tln g about forty chiefs, while a far
m all likeUhood lies at the Zt oUC ZublTZtTe I^hraTef fr ° m BaSdad ’
frequency witt whicUnrift 1 ^ ° f the preSent situatlon 18 the increasing
kind madelamillk bv P ZZT r ° UlarS / re a PP ea ring containing slogans of a
the overthrow of the Covprn P 10 P a ^ an ^ a - Pamphlets of this kind calling for
have, on sev^a^occasions^eTnScattered ^
1S as yet no ^^d^rSt
Bolshevik agents, but there is littU^^f^Iu are wor king in direct touch with
Soviet literature and are a Go Gfli that they obtain and are inspired by
and Tiflis. c fenced by propaganda broadcast from Moscow
to
furnish by despateh‘such detZs^as ‘SrobtainaMe l0PmentS ^ teIegram and
Tehran. am Sendlng a C0 P y of this despatch to His Majesty’s Minister at
I have, &c.
ARCHIBALD CLARK KERR.
(’) Not printed.
for
II
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