Page 339 - Arabian Gulf Intellegence

CONCLUDING REMARKS. 297

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

The prevailing religion of the tribes alluded to in the foregoing paper
is that of the Soonee branch of Mahomedans, comprehending, however,
some sects differing more or less in their tenets, such as the Wahabees
in the interior, and on the Coast of Nnjd ; the Byazee at Muskat;
Malikees at Kowcit and Bahrein. At Bahrein, and in smaller numbers
at Muskat, where Sheeas compose a part of the population, they live in
a slate of comparative degradation ; at the former place the treatment
of them is frequently oppressive. The language throughout is Arabic.
The government of the Arab Tribes being patriarchal, justice is
administered by the chiefs, whose decisions are much influenced by
public opinion,—more especially in capital or aggravated ofFences.
Sentence is passed by the Kazee, or principal ecclesiastical authority,
whose decrees are founded on the Koran, and the traditions of the
Prophet and his companions. The election of the Kazee is seldom
formal or arbitrary, but rests upon the general recognition of the
individual’s superior learning, sanctity, and knowledge of the law.
Fine, imprisonment, and, less commonly, castigation, are the punish­
ments awarded for minor ofFences, at the discretion of the chiefs.
Adultery, which is extremely rare ; manslaughter, and other serious
crimes, are specially provided for by the Koran, of which the injunc­
tions are usually enforced.
Education is confined to reading and writing, as taught by Moollas
in the mosques, or at their own houses, and even to this extent by no
means general.
Unless immediately on the coast, vaccination and its benefits are
unknown, and probably unheard of. One or two instances have come
to my knowledge of applications being made to the surgeons of our
vessels of war, when lying off the Arabian ports, for vaccine lymph.
So great is the dread of small-pox, and so extensive are its ravages in
the region referred to, that, were the means afforded, there can be no
doubt that vaccination would be speedily universally adopted.
Fevers prevail more or less throughout the Arabian Coast, and at
Bahrein and Muskat, especially, are of a deadly character. At these
places, also, when cholera is present, the disease assumes its most
virulent type. Small-pox, as above remarked, is everywhere generally
prevalent.