Page 125 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Throe

under his control by appointing his brother Muhammad as wali there
after Jarash had been murdered in September 1934, allegedly by a
messenger of Sultan bin Saqr. The new wali consolidated his hold on
Khan by marrying the niece of the late Jarash bin 'Ali.
The village of about 250 houses on the beach on the eastern
outskirts of Sharjah town called Hirah was inhabited exclusively by
Darawishah, a subsection of the A1 Bu Shamis part of the NaTm
tribe. Because his community consisted of one tribe alone, the leader
was in a very strong position to pursue his individualistic activities,
as was the case with 'Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad, headman for
many years during this century. Some aspects of his relations with
the Ruler of Sharjah and other Trucial Rulers will be described
elsewhere.57

2 Other means of exercising authority
Although the population in the Qasimi realm in general had little say
in the choice of a wali, particularly in areas which were treated as
fiefdoms, the tribal structure left room for grass-root democracy for
both the beduin and the settled inhabitants. In most villages,
hamlets, or quarters of a town, each tribal group had its own leaders,
and they would be the channels of communication between the
heads of families and the wali or the Ruler himself. Such a person
would lead a delegation of his people to the local wali in case of a
grievance, and he would also pass on the wali’s instructions to them.
Usually there was no formal appointment nor a regular salary, but
the local walis or the Rulers themselves rewarded services rendered
to the hukumah by gifts or favours.
Usually tribal bonds manifested in loyalty to the tribal shaikh look
precedence over the identification of an individual with the central
administration of the wali or the Ruler.50 Therefore, if a Ruler sent a
brother or a son or even a trusted slave or a secretary to represent him
when problems in a distant region became particularly acute, the
usefulness of such a person’s mission was often limited by the
delicate balance of local politics, which could often be handled only
by a locally known and respected tribal leader.
So far the description of the Qasimi administration has addressed
itself only to the settled population. With the exception of the
handful of Hindus, Persians and other foreign minorities living in the
towns of the Trucial Coast, that population was tribal. This meant
that the people lived, worked, made politics and fought in units

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