Page 183 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

Boundary Disputes: Chaos in Order >49
areas that the company wished to explore and for which it had
to determine who was in control were Buraimi and, immediately
to the south, Jabal Hafit. In the case of Buraimi, we have already
seen that Shakhbut of Abu Dhabi wielded the greatest power there,
through his wali at Al-Ain, Ibrahim bin ‘Uthman, who succeeded
after the death of Ahmad bin Hilal. The same was believed to
apply to Hafit, although it was never put to the test.
In 1937, when the geologists of Petroleum Concessions wanted
to explore the area around Jabal Hafit, Fowle decided that the
best course was to write directly to Rashid bin Hamad of Hamasah
in Buraimi and Muhammad bin Rahmah of Sunaynah, a few
miles south of Jabal Hafit—both of them leaders of the Al-bu-Shamis
—and to Muhammad and Saqr bin Sultan of the Na‘im.32 He
obviously considered that the Al-bu-Shamis and the Na‘im owed
allegiance to no one, and had to be treated independently; but,
in reply to his requests for permission, the four leaders sent him
polite refusals and made it clear that they were unwilling to discuss
the question further.33 The next year, after the inconclusive visit
of Petroleum Concessions geologists to Buraimi, the Assistant Political
Agent at Bahrain concluded that the ruler of Abu Dhabi was
the real master of the oasis and therefore of the surrounding area.34
1 his conclusion was strengthened by the fact that the party under
the auspices of the sultan of Muscat failed to achieve any substantial
results. So, w'hen Petroleum Concessions planned a similar expedition
for 1939, there could be no question as to the procedure: Shakhbut
w'ould be approached and asked to make arrangements wnth the
Na‘im and Al-bu-Shamis for the success of the expedition.35
Because of the outbreak of the war, however, all preparations
for the expedition had to be delayed until peace wras declared;
after that, the situation had altered so radically that the problem
of boundaries had acquired a totally new' dimension. Had it been
solved once and for all with the help of the British authorities
during the inter-war period, the present map of the United Arab
Emirates would not be such a puzzle.