Page 63 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

The Challenge to Power: Brother, Nephew and Son 39

more far-reaching, and, as in the case of Umm al-Qaiwain, were
not confined to the capital.
In August 1922, Rashid bin Ahmad, who had ruled Umm al-Qaiw­
ain since 1904, died peacefully of pneumonia. After his death,
the shaykhdom was contested and fought over for seven years.
(See Table 5 and Figure 1.) When Rashid died, his closest male
relatives did not happen to be in Umm al-Qaiwain town, and
only his mother and slaves were with him. Consequently, the slaves
took matters into their own hands and occupied the house of
the ruler, at the same time sending word to Rashid’s son ‘Abdallah, ■
who was at Falaj-al-‘Ali, to come home. When ‘Abdallah returned,
he quickly took possession of the ruler’s house and the shaykhdom.
Afraid of the possibility that his uncles, Rashid’s brothers Ibrahim

AHMAD BIN ABDALLAH
(c. 1873-1904)

T
RASHID BIN AHMAD Ibrahim Sa*id Abdallah ‘Abd al-Rahman
(1904 22)

1
ABDALLAH AHMAD Ali HAMAD Ahmad ‘Abdallah,
(1922-3 j (19*^9- ) (>9*3 9) m. Rashid bin
Ahmad’s :
daughter

Figure i Umm al-Qaiwain, ruling family: members involved in
dynastic struggles following the death of Ahmad bin Rashid

and Sa‘id, would try to wrest control from him, ‘Abdallah bin
Rashid sent for Muhammad bin ‘Ali bin Huwayydin, the headman
of the Bani Qitab tribe,4 who were traditionally loyal to the Al-‘Ali.
Muhammad bin ‘Ali himself arrived, bringing with him 100 men
to guard the forts of Umm al-Qaiwain. The presence of the Bani
Qitab removed any opposition to ‘Abdallah bin Rashid that might
have existed in Umm al-Qaiwain, and acted as a temporary restraint
on his uncles; Ibrahim bin Ahmad decided to remain at Falaj-al-‘Ali,
where he had been when his brother died, and Sa‘id bin Ahmad
went to Ras al-Khaimah. Another possible claimant to ‘Abdallah’s
position, ‘Abdallah bin Sa‘id, who was married to Rashid bin
Ahmad’s daughter, discovered that by remaining at Umm al-Qaiwain