ملف ٧٠٥/١٩١٦ الجزء ٢ "انتفاضة عربية: التقارير العربية؛ تقارير السير م. سايكس" [و‎‎٢‎٢‎٥] (٤٥٠/٤٤٧)

APPENDIX.
(1>
-THE SHERIF'S PROCLAMATION
In the name of God the most merciful, the compassionate. “0 Our Lord iuijr.-e
between ns and between our people in truth.” “ Thou art the best of Judges.”
"Ihis is a Copy of our Proclamation to all our Brother Moslems.
amo^^tThe Mnsl™ th Tf'l ,lle fir f n P e< ? ple who recognised the Turkish Government
amon st the Moslem Rulers and Emirs were the Emirs of Mecca (the blessed) in
theTate fhto 6 th % M £ slem ® m th . e w 1 0rld aild to establish their Society (Islam) because
the ate Ottoman Sultans (may the dust of their tombs be blessed and may Paradise
be their Residence, were acting in harmony with the Holy Book and the Ordinances
( unna) of the Prophet (prayers be upon him) and because they were devoted to the
carrying out of Gods Commandments; for the above exalted reasons, the Emirs
ieieiied to aie stil] . aclhcnrig tc) thcrii (The Commandments). Verity I have caused
tiie Arabs under my personal command to rise against the Arabs (in Yemen) in 1338
m order to raise the siege of Abha and to protect the honour of the Ottoman Empire.
n ■ le o owing yeai a similai using took place under the personal command of
one of my sons and he (Abdulla) is even now in command of part of my forces.
fhe Emirs were still following the Ottoman Empire until the Government of the
Union and i rogress Society was organised and laid their hands upon the Administration
o± the country and all its affairs, which resulted in its (the country’s) decrease (in
prestige) and the destruction of its grandeur, as is quite evident to the whole world,
and also owing to their entering the present war and putting their country in a state
ot commotion which is also clear to everybody.
All this wns done for certain aims which are well known, but are of such a bad
chaiacter that our feelings do not allow" us to mention them ; and also, their aims
made eveiy Moslem s heart ache and sad for the Moslem Empire, and the disruption
and murdering of its people without distinction—some by hanging, some by treachery,
and some by deportation in a cruel manner, in spite of what has befallen them (their
departed), such as loss of many relatives caused by the inflictions caused by the war,
and the Holy Land v 7 as also affected by such calamities which'made the middle classes
sell the doors of their houses, their chests of drawers, and even the wmod from the
ceilings of their houses, after selling all their furniture and clothes in order to appease
their hunger.
It seems that the Enion and Progress could not have considered this sufficient for
its object, as it has done that which would loosen the only tie between the Ottoman
Empire and the Moslems of the vdiole world, which tie is the adherence to the Book
(Koran) and the “Sunna.” One of the newspapers issued at Constantinople, El
latihad by name, had unit ten the biography of the Prophet (the prayer and peace of
God be upon him) in a very disrespectful maimer (God forbid). Such biography v r as
seen and heard by the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, and also its Sheikh-Ul-
Islam, the Ulema, the [?] Aliens, the Ministers, and the notables. This was followed by
the cancellation of God’s v'ords (concerning inheritance): “ The male must obtain the
double of the female ” and made them (male and female) equal in inheritance, and
this Government of Union and Progress stated also what should be considered the
uprooting and destruction of one of the five corner stones of Islam, and that is the
fasting of Pam a dam, as the Government (Ottoman) gave orders that the troops w r ho
are at Medina, Mecca, and Syria were not to fast, under the pretence that their
colleagues are fighting on the frontier of Rum, vdiile this statement is against the
following words of God :—
“ Those who are sick or on a journey, &e. : ” and such things are not in harmony
with Islamic principles. The law on these points is perfectly clear to everybody.
Afterwards they (the Union and Progress) destroyed the prestige of the Sultan of
Turkey and robbed him of the right of selecting a Chief for his owm Personal
Cabinet and prevented him from looking after the interest of Islam and the welfare
of his country and its people, and many other things which meant the destruction of
the Khalifate conditions v r hich all Moslems demand, and they ignored the interests
of all Moslems.
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