Page 165 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

Territorial Claims: Saudi Arabia and Iran 13*

sense. They did, however, during the period when Abu Dhabi,
which claimed both regions, was undergoing its greatest turmoil,
seek to exact znkat from the tribes in these areas thereby claiming
control of them. Both regions were remote from the watchful eyes
of the British. Following the accession ol Shakhbut as Shaykh of
Abu Dhabi, however, the Bani Yas began to re-establish their
power, and the Saudi position became less easy to maintain. Further­
more, as the possibility that oil would be found on the Coast
became stronger, I bn Sa‘ud became more concerned to make his
presence felt in the coastal areas.
When the first indications of a possible Anglo-Saudi controversy
over boundaries became apparent, the British authorities, realising
that they knew little about the inland regions of the Coast, instructed
the Residency Agent to conduct secret investigations into the pay­
ments of znkat in Buraimi, Dafrah and the surrounding areas.19
The oasis of Buraimi was occupied by two opposing tribes, the
Na‘im and the Dawahir: the latter, under the leadership of Ahmad
bin Hilal of Jimi, were the more numerous and allied to Abu
Dhabi; the former were a Ghafiri tribe previously dominated by
the power of Zavid bin Khalifah, but after his death and the
consequent deterioration in the power of Abu Dhabi inclined to
assert their independence.20 From 1923 on, the Na‘im openly opposed
Sultan bin Zayid, and in November 1925, when the forces of
‘Isa bin Salih began to move into the Dahirah, Muhammad
bin Sultan al-Hammud, who with his brother Saqr had inherited
their father’s position as head of the Na‘im, announced to the
Residency Agent that he planned to resist any encroachments on
his district by the forces of the imam.21 The Residency Agent
heard at the time that Muhammad bin Sultan had hoped to rally
the rulers of Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain and Ras
al-Khaimah around him, but that they had not responded to his
approach; instead, it was only the bedouin sections of the Bani
Ka‘b and Bani Qitab that agreed to come to his help if ‘Isa
reached Buraimi.22 So Muhammad went to Dhank and tendered
his submission to the sultan of Muscat; afterwards, he moved on
to ‘Ibri with Hamad bin Ahmad al-Yahyayi of Dhank, in order
to help Sultan bin Rashid in his struggles against ‘Isa. When
they returned to Buraimi after the collapse of ‘Isa’s forces, Muham­
mad bin Sultan sent Muhammad bin Rahmah of the Al-bu-Shamis
to invite Ibn Sa‘ud to Buraimi.23
The pro-Saudi sentiments of the Na‘im were affirmed a few
months later when Bertram Thomas conducted an expedition to
inland Oman in order to select a landing ground for use by the
Royal Air Force. Starting from Sohar in Muscat, he was to reconnoitre
to Buraimi and then to Abu Dhabi. His party found themselves