File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎275v] (555/898)

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0 The rumour to the effect that there had been a clash in Medina between the
Neid'is and the Malay pilgrims, assisted by the townsfolk is now proved to be false,
and the various telegrams sent to India in this respect were despatched by the
recently-deported Khudam-ul-Haramain Committee, who were proceeding from Suez
o Sanaa, and so calling at several Hejaz ports where they distributed
pamphlets calculated to create division between the Hejazi, thereby causing trouble
to Ibn Sand. There is little doubt but that they wil endeavour to persuade the Imam .
of Yemen to attack Ibn Saud and gain possession of the Holy Cities for the Orthodox
Moslems and drive out the Wahabis. , , ,
10. The Bolshevik agent in Jeddah recently forwarded a telegram, ostensibly
from the Moslems of Russia, suggesting that the projected conference for the choice
of a Caliph should not be held in Egypt, where the Moslem delegates would be
subiected to British influence, but in Mecca, where such foreign influences would be
absent My Soviet colleague, who is steadily drinking himself to death recently
obtained a medical certificate from the Dutch
state of health requires a change to a colder climate. This he has, I understa d
alreadv despatched to Moscow, but states locally that he intends to remain m Jeddah
over the pilgrimage. He also states that as many as 30,000 Russian Moslems will
be making the Haj this year by ship from the Black Sea. This figure I consider is a
cross exaggeration, primarily intended to curry favour with the local authorities.
No doubt suitable excuses will be forthcoming if this number do not turn up.
11. The acting Egyptian consul held a reception on the occasion of King Fuad s
birthdav at which the foreign representatives and notables of Jeddah assisted. 1 e
acting Jonsul who is a yontL froh the secondary schools of Egypt, delivered a most
eloquent speech, recalling all the past glories of Egypt and her future aspirations
planning that King Fuad was the greatest of Moslem Kings and a true friend of the
Heiaz as exampled by the many charities received from Egypt. I rather suspect that
Kation was prepared in slypt and sent down to be read on this occamom
12 Dr. Mohammed Saleh, an Egyptian doctor attacned to the quarantine at
Suez arrived from Egypt recently and proceeded to Mecca to hand over to the
Sultan the forms used by the quarantine authorities m Egypt
13 The King of the Heiaz recently received an invitation from the i icncn
Government to attend the International Sanitary Conference to be held in Pans
during the month of May. I have not yet heard whom His Majesty intends to send
as Hejaz & caravan of 160 ca mels proceeding from Mecca
to Medina was robbed on the'way. Too much credence cannot be placed m to
reports, as many of the anti-Wahabi elements m the Hejaz seem to spend their time
in manufacturing and circulating rumours of this nature The only thing that le d
colour to the rumour is the known dissatisfaction of Shereet Khalid who, alter
quarrelling with the Shereef Abdullah in Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan , ran away and jomrf the
Wahabis, and was actually in charge of Ibn Saud s forces at the capture - js
Mecca, and for some time commanded the besieging army hr°nnd J edd .
currently stated that it was he who persuaded Ibn Saud to attack the Heja,z a d
ho rlnnbt after his military exploits, expected to receive suitable reward. H
appointment to the Governorship of Turaba hardly fulfilled his expectations and e
is now supposed on account of his dissatisfaction, to have instigated the robbery.
the distance of Turaba from the Mecca-Medina route would appear to prevent a y
effective organisation of robber bands along that route, and the reported robbery
probably represents but another false rumour. , , , oVmqpq in
1 15/ -The commercial situation shows signs oi improvement, bnt the abuses m
the customs administration .learned under the Turks a “ d P^h^be no
qbereefian regime still continue to a certain extent. There appears to be i u
nartTcularlv fixed tariff for imported goods, but it is all more or less classed under a
g 0 per cent, ad valorem tax. This gives the customs authorities a ” opP 0 ^ 111 ^^
addine anv sum to the invoice value, such sums representing fre^g
chargfs and thus leaves an open road for corruption. But, altogether even the
, merchants in the market admit that there is a distinct improvement m the Customs
Ad min is tobacco is fixed at 40 piastres per kilo in Jeddah, but tobacco
could formerly belauded at Lith or Rabigh.at a flat rate of 10 Piastres per krb|
Now that the Wahabis have more or less forbidden—or perhaps I should say b ^
discouraged—smoking in the Holy City, the Mecca merchants have been sending
their'stocks down to Jeddah for disposal. This, of course, was detrimental to the
Jeddah merchants, who protested, with the result that the old stocks i