Page 87 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

Maintenance of Power: Political and Social Fabric 63

no conclusive proof of his guilt was available. Thinking it highly
probable that ‘Abd al-Rahman was the culprit, Horner decreed
that, pending a final verdict, ‘Abd al-Rahman should be deported
to Ras al-Khaimah and placed in the custody of Shaykh Sultan
bin Salim.
In the meantime, Sa'id bin Maktum of Dubai had arrived at
Sharjah, in an effort to mediate, for the affair had aroused wide
consternation; together with Sultan bin Salim, Sultan bin Saqr
and some notables of Sharjah, Sa‘id wrote to the Political Resident
and asked that ‘Abd al-Rahman remain at Ras al-Khaimah until
further information on the murder was available, and that, in
any ease, ‘Abd al-Rahman should not be allowed to return to
Hirah or Sharjah for at least one year.29 But adequate proof of
the identity of the murderer was not forthcoming.
In March 1926 the Residency Agent received letters from Rashid
bin Ahmad and Muhammad bin Rahmah of the Al-bu-Shamis.
They were angry at the continued detention in Ras al-Khaimah
of ‘Abd al-Rahman, especially as no proof of his guilt had been
established. In his letter, Muhammad bin Rahmah stated that he
had been to ‘Abdallah ibn Jaluwi, who had ordered him to explain
to ‘Isa bin ‘Abd al-Latif that ‘Abd al-Rahman was Muhammad
bin Rahmah’s responsibility as a member of the Al-bu-Shamis.30
A while earlier, Prideaux, the Political Resident, had reported that
the governor of Hasa had asserted his presence in the Trucial
Coast by sending a ‘posse of police’ to Sharjah, Ajman and Ras
al-Khaimah in order to pursue a man wanted for murder in Nejd.31
In view of the increasing tension over ‘Abd al-Rahman, the threat i
i:
of Wahhabi encroachment, and the loss of British prestige because
of the attack on ‘Isa’s cousin, the British authorities decided that
‘Abd al-Rahman had to be exiled to Aden for a period of four
years. ?!
On 11 June 1926 Captain Parry went to Ras al-Khaimah with
the decision, and asked Sultan bin Salim to take ‘Abd al-Rahman
on board HMS Triad for his voyage to Aden. The next day the
Senior Naval Officer reported that Sultan, afraid of the consequences,
refused to surrender ‘Abd al-Rahman, but later claimed that he
was willing to give him up for trial provided it were before a
mahkamah,32 Prideaux refused to accept any compromise, so he dis­
cussed with the Senior Naval Officer various measures to enforce
the surrender of ‘Abd al-Rahman. These included returning him
to Sharjah and then bombarding the towers of Sharjah and Hirah,
thus laying Sharjah open to attack from Ajman; issuing an ultimatum
to Sultan bin Salim, to be backed up, if needs be, by the bombard­
ment of his town and the destruction of his pearling fleet; deposing
Sultan bin Saqr, reinstating Khalid bin Ahmad and destroying