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The Reform Movement of Dubai 153

representative of the Butti faction (three of the sons of Butti were
involved in the dispute). Sa‘id bin Butti went, no doubt impressed
by reports of the arrival of about 800 bedouin outside the town.
The ruler’s cousins continued to display contempt for law and
order once the earlier incident had been forgotten. They knew
that their unruly behaviour would be unopposed, for Shaykh Sa‘id
dreaded showdowns.7 Hussah bint Murr, wife of Sa‘id, who had
considerable commercial interests in Dayrah, was also a source
of resentment. Sa‘id bin Butti complained of mismanagement in
Dayrah, and said that the quarter had become dirty and unsafe.
In January 1936, therefore, Sa‘id bin Maktum wisely authorised r
Sa‘id bin Butti to become the wali of Dayrah,8 and immediately
the new wali began a series of reforms. He had the streets cleaned;
every householder became responsible for seeing that the frontage
of his house was clean; people were employed to clear away rubbish
dumps; prostitutes were ordered to get married or leave Dayrah;
and anyone caught loitering there after 4 p.m. was to be punished.
The effectiveness of these reforms was marked, especially as they
led to stolen goods being discovered, but Mani‘ and Hashar resented
the appointment and showed their anger by criticising the new
wali, exposing his faults, and openly defying his authority.
They instructed their servants to go out at night and to beat
Sa‘id bin Butti’s men if they tried to stop them. On the night
of 3 October 1936, Hashar bin Rashid ordered his son Butti to
go out and wait for Sa‘jd bin Butti; if the wali interfered, he
was to be attacked. The wali reported the incident to Shaykh
Sa‘id, who mildly told him to ignore it. The trouble continued
until the notables of the Bani Yas called on Sa'id bin Maktum
to intervene. At a meeting on 14 October, Sa‘id asked the majlis
to choose another wali if serious complaints about Sa‘id bin Butti
could be found. No decision was reached until the next day, when
the majlis decided that it could see no good reason to dismiss
the wali, but asked that his cousins and brothers be exempted
from the regulations he laid down.9
This did not appease Sa‘id bin Butti’s relatives.10 Rashid’s sons
resented the fact that one of their former allies was now working
alongside the shaykh. Rumour had it that they were purposely
goading Sa‘id bin Maktum in order to frighten him into giving
them one-third of the income of Dubai.11 The decline of the pearl
trade had affected their economic standing, and their unruliness
could be traced back to the diminution in their fortunes. Sa‘id
bin Maktum continued to rule over Dubai, but he had repeatedly
to defer to the wishes of his cousins, and at all times to consult
the majlis before taking any major decision. Above all, he had
to contend with British policy.