Page 112 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

88 I/ic Origins oj the Uni led Arab Emirates

THE SEA FRONT: IRAN IN 1928
I hrcc years after the Wahhabi expedition to Buraimi that caused
such turmoil in the inland areas of the Trucial Coast, Iran diverted
attention to the coastal regions, where it precipitated two major,
direct clashes. The Iranian Government was acting in accordance
with its policy of strengthening its position in the Gulf, and the
Arabs were powerless to resist, not only because of their non-existent
military strength, but also because of their treaty relations with
Britain, which forbade them to undertake direct dealings with foreign
governments. In both instances the Arabs had to depend on the
British Government for support; and in both instances minimal
support was forthcoming.
The first of the clashes occurred in May 1928, when Iran expelled
the shaykh of Henjam. Henjam is an island off the southern coast
of Qishm; and its inhabitants, mostly living in Henjam village,
were Arabs of the Bani Yas whose main occupation was pearl-fishing.
With the permission of the Sultan of Muscat, who held a land-lease
from the sultan of Bandar Abbas, the Bani Yas had settled on
the island early in the nineteenth century. The sultan of Bandar
Abbas, however, argued that Henjam was not mentioned in the
lease and therefore not covered by it. The Persian Government
never acknowledged the Muscati rule, and reiterated its claim to
sovereignty over the island; in 1868 and in 1904, both the Govern­
ment of India and the British Government recognised the Persian
claim, thus setting a precedent for the attitude they adopted in
1928.
The Iranian Government of Riza Shah reasserted the old Persian
claims to Henjam by establishing a customs agent and a post
office there, so bringing the island under closer control. Relations
between the Arab inhabitants and the Iranians grew from bad
to worse, and in 1927 the shaykh of Henjam complained that
the stationing of Iranian customs officials was in violation of his
rights.60 The shaykh, Ahmad bin ‘Ubayd bin Jum‘ah, was the
father-in-law of Shaykh Sa‘id of Dubai, and his people enjoyed
cordial relations with the Trucial Coast, with which they had very
close ties. Ahmad’s resentment of Iranian authority reached a climax
in April 1927, when one of his dhows was seized by Iranian customs
officials. He was outraged; in retaliation his followers attacked the
customs post, and, in the fighting that ensued, the Iranian Director
of Customs was killed.61 Punitive action against Shaykh Ahmad
followed in May, 1928, when Iranian armed force expelled him
from Henjam. He fled to the Trucial Coast, where great sympathy
for his plight was shown. The feeling grew as anti-Iranian sentiments
ran high, and the inhabitants hopefully to Britain for support.