مجموعة ٦/ ٩ "تقارير جدة يناير ١٩٣١ -" [ظ‎‎٣‎١‎٠] (٨٠٢/٦٢١)

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of action came; when he acted, then he spoke. Hitherto he had kept still, not
knowing the state of Moslem opinion, or rather the opinion of those who pretended
to be Moslems. Here Ibn Sand began to betray his bewilderment. W hen Moslems
speak against Christians, he said, they speak politely and with good manners,
but when they speak against Moslems, they accuse them as though they were
their enemies. “ There are some who have acted vindictively against us, looking
with evil eye upon what God has granted us; thus the devil tempted them to many
evil deeds. Not in one single case did I find one of the Moslems defending me.
Moslems withheld the charities from the Holy Sanctuaries, and Moslems
prevented people from performing pilgrimage. All this is against Ibn Saud.
W r hat has Ibn Saud done ? Has Ibn Saud erected an idol to be worshipped in
place of God ? Has he allowed intoxicating drink ? Has he permitted adultery
and prostitution ? Has Ibn Saud left the mischievous to commit evil upon earth ?
What has Ibn Saud done contrary to the Sharia law and Arab manliness ? By
God, he said, I fear the foreigner once, but I fear those who pretend to be Moslem
three thousand times. I hope Moslems will forgive me for saying so, but, by God,
I am true in what I say.” W^hat had Moslems agreed upon and striven for,
Ibn Saud asked, and he had hesitated to join them ? He had no use for words,
but if Moslems went forth to action, it w T ould be disgraceful for their honour,
theirs, the Arabs’, if they failed to do the same. But he did not go on to indicate
any plan of action; instead, he turned aside to ventilate other grievances. He
was censured for lack of rain in the Hejaz, he was said to be contracting a loan
with the English, he was accused of wanting to do this and that. But he had
taken nothing from the Hejaz; on the contrary he had given it peace and religious
law r . Almighty God withheld the rain, but upon Moslems lay the disgrace of
withholding charity and preventing pilgrimage (regarded, of course, as ever in
the Hejaz, primarily as commercial assets). By God, he continued, I have no
money and my only possessions are the sword and the Koran. I declare openly
that if any of the Moslem kings, princes, or merchants wishes to do a benevolent
deed for the Moslems of this country, he is warmly welcome, provided that he
does not violate the honour of our country nor interfere with our independence
or our religious affairs. I swear by God, the only One God, that I have not
contracted a loan wuth the English or others—but perhaps we may need to take
from the Moslems, or others.
114. Here is a very fair indication of Ibn Saud’s state of mind. He is at
his wits’ end to obtain money sufficient for his expensive needs. Moreover, he is
feeling insecure and his words reflect his growdng sense of the hostility which
surrounds him in the Hejaz and which is spreading in the Moslem world outside.
His reactions are alternately those of a man of action who would like to hit
somebody, and a pious beggar for unconditional alms. But his enemies, though
real to him, are impalpable, while benevolent Moslems are looking askance at
his fanatical destruction of their shrines and his spendthrift maladministration
of the Holy Hejaz.
115. After pilgrimage, Ibn Saud visited Jedda on the 30th April, but
stayed only a day and left on the 2nd May. He startled the leading inhabitants,
who assembled to pay homage to him at the Green Palace, by greeting them with
the w r ords : “I could cut the throat of every one of you.” The foreign repre
sentatives were received in audience, one by one, on the 1st May. His Majesty’s
Charge d’Affaires found Ibn Saud polite, but distant, and wuth very little ito say.
He looked a different man from what he had been eighteen months before, his
face yellowed under the skin, pouchy, puckered, and far more livid; his ill-health
was evident.
Viceroy of the Hejaz.
116. The Emir Feisal left on the 12th April on a mission to Europe
(paragraphs 53 and 127) and was replaced by Ibn Sand's third son, Muhammad,
aged 22, as President of the Council and Viceroy-to-be.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
117 Sheikh Yusuf Yasin, at the same time, became Acting Minister for
Foreign Affairs. Fuad Bey Hamza accompanied the Minister for Foreign
Affairs on mission. Current affairs in April were dealt with by letter and
telephone to Mecca. There were no interviews.