Control and Allegiance at the Dawn of the Oil Age: Bedouin, Zakat and Struggles for Sovereignty in Arabia, 1916–1955

¹ This was the culmination of centuries of both cooperation and contention between nomads and settled populations, with the processes of town-based hegemony gaining momentum after the second half of the nineteenth century; see further Anthony B. Toth (Citation2006) Last Battles of the Bedouin and the Rise of Modern States in Northern Arabia, 1850–1950, in: Dawn Chatty (ed.) Nomadic Societies in the Middle East and North Africa: Entering the 21st Century, pp. 49–75 (Leiden: Brill, 2006).

² The original text of such tribal information in Arabia, drawn mainly from reports of British officials and reflecting Britain's hegemonic role in the Persian Gulf region during this period, is J. G. Lorimer (Citation1908–1915) Gazeteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman, and Central Arabia (Calcutta: Supt. Government Printing). The periodic ‘visibility’ of Bedouin in official records was due to an intensified political interest on the part of the record-keepers (mainly government officials). The official interest in Bedouin affairs, which produced the records upon which the present study is based, arose due the territorial dispute over the Buraimi region. The urgency of this dispute was intensified due to the high stakes involved (oil). This treasure trove of documents mirrors a similarly sudden increase in records dealing with Bedouin affairs in northern Arabia during the 1920s and 1930s, especially as Ikhwan attacks began to threaten Britain's imperial plans in Iraq and Transjordan. For this latter case, see Anthony B. Toth (Citation2002) Conflict and a Pastoral Economy: The Costs of Akhwan Attacks on Tribes in Iraq, 1922–1929, Critique, 11(2), pp. 201–227. For a fine explanation of processes of information and control in nineteenth-century Egypt, see Timothy Mitchell (Citation1988) Colonizing Egypt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), Ch. 2, pp. 34–62.

³ Michel Foucault (Citation1991) Governmentality, in: Graham Burchell, Colin Gordon & Peter Miller (eds) The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, pp. 87–104 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991). An application of this frame of reference to a Middle Eastern context appears in Roger Owen (1996) The Population Census of 1917 and its Relationship to Egypt's Three 19th Century Statistical Regimes, Journal of Historical Sociology, 9(4), pp. 457–472.

⁴ The historical unfolding of the ideological struggle between the town-based (hadari) proponents of Saudi-Wahhabi rule over the tribes of central Arabia is presented in Abdulaziz H. Al-Fahad (Citation2004) The ‘Imama vs. the ‘Iqal: Hadari-Bedouin Conflict and the Formation of the Saudi State, in Madawi Al-Rasheed & Robert Vitalis (eds) Counter-Narratives: History, Contemporary Society, and Politics in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, pp. 35–75 (Palgrave Macmillan: New York).

⁵ According to Madawi Al-Rasheed (Citation2002) A History of Saudi Arabia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): ‘Both zakat and jihad were at the heart of the Wahhabi idea of the state and were considered crucial mechanisms for its consolidation’ (p. 52). While this was true for the first two Saudi amirates, the author in this case was referring to the efforts of Abd al-Aziz. Zakat is the pillar of Islam that enjoins believers with sufficient means to pay a portion of their material wealth each year to the needy directly or through the representatives of the leader of the Muslim community. For a complete description, see Zakat, in CitationP. J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel & W. P. Heinrichs (eds) The Encylopaedia of Islam, New Edition, vol. 11 (Leiden: Brill, 2001) pp. 407–422.

⁶ Alexei Vassiliev (Citation2000) The History of Saudi Arabia (New York: New York University Press), pp. 303–304.

⁷ I have adopted the terminology used by Joseph Kostiner (Citation1993) The Making of Saudi Arabia, 1916–1936: From Chieftancy to Monarchical State (New York: Oxford University Press).

⁸ Nils A. Butenschon (Citation2000) State, Power, and Citizenship in the Middle East, in: Nils A. Butenschon, Uri Davis & Manuel Hassassian (eds) Citizenship and the State in the Middle East: Approaches and Applications, (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press), p. 6.

⁹ Vassiliev, History of Saudi Arabia, p. 213.

¹⁰ Mahmood Ibrahim (1990), Merchant Capital and Islam (Austin: University of Texas Press), p. 105. There is an abundant literature on this early conflict, known as the Ridda Wars, including an article in the Encyclopedia of Islam; and Elias Shoufani (Citation1973) Al-Riddah and the Muslim Conquest of Arabia (Toronto: University of Toronto Press).

¹¹ Bearman, et al. (eds) Zakat, Encylopaedia of Islam, vol. 11, p. 410. The article shows that from the earliest days of Islam, the zakat relationship between the ruler and the subject was problematic, and that it evolved over time (pp. 408–410); in addition, it cites examples of disagreements in interpretation of the fiqh of zakat within and between Islamic schools of law (pp. 410–418).

¹² While in theory zakat proceeds were required to be placed in a separate fund and used mainly for the needy, in practice, until the coming of vast oil wealth, Saudi rulers have used the proceeds in ways that preserved and promoted the ruling family's hegemony.

¹³ Vassiliev, History of Saudi Arabia, pp. 76, 82.

¹⁴ ‘Uthman Ibn Bishr (Citation1930) ‘Unwan al-Majd fi Tarikh Najd [Glory in the History of Najd] (Mecca: 1930), vol. 1, p. 111; and vol. 2, pp. 44, 57–59, 105.

¹⁵ A summary of zakat collection methods and amounts collected during this period is found in Vassiliev, History of Saudi Arabia, pp. 116–118. An excellent examination of these early chronicles as they relate to tribal policy and covering the period 1750 to the present is Wahhābi Rule and Tribalism in History, in P. Marcel Kurpershoek (Citation2002) Oral Poetry and Narrative from Central Arabia, vol. IV, A Saudi Tribal History: Honour and Faith in the Traditions of the Dawasīr, pp. 18–65 (Leiden: Brill).

¹⁷ Al-Rasheed, History of Saudi Arabia, p. 22.

¹⁶ The sources of income for Faysal ibn Turki Al Saud (r. 1845–18650 were reported as: zakat, import duties, pilgrim fees, one-fifth share from raids and warfare (khums), fines, revenues from the ruler's personal domains, and tributes paid by Bahrain, Muscat and other areas.

¹⁸ Arabian amirates tended to be based in towns and ruled by a dominant lineage. Like political entities everywhere, amirates were meant to provide security, order and economic well-being. In exchange for this, the subjects of the amir paid taxes (including zakat) and fought for the amirate, see Al-Rasheed, History of Saudi Arabia, p. 7.

¹⁹ For an excellent analysis of the Rashidi amirate of Hail and its links with the Shammar tribe, see Madawi Al-Rasheed (Citation1991) Politics in an Arabia Oasis: The Rashidi Tribal Dynasty (London: I. B. Tauris). On the Gulf amirates (or shaykhdoms), see Peter Lienhardt (Citation2001) in: Ahmed Al-Shahi (ed.) Shaikhdoms of Eastern Arabia, (New York: Palgrave, 2001), especially Chapter 6, The Shaikhs and their People, 194–227. On the Hejaz, see William Ochsenwald (Citation1984) Religion, Society and the State in Arabia: the Hejaz under Ottoman rule, 1840–1908 (Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press), and Saleh Muhammad Al-Amr (Citation1978) The Hijaz under Ottoman Rule, 1869–1949: Ottoman Vali, the Sharif of Mecca, and the Growth of British Influence (Riyadh: Riyadh University Publications).

²⁰ This interpretation is elaborated in Kostiner, Making of Saudi Arabia.

²¹ This interpretation is elaborated in Kostiner, Making of Saudi Arabia, p. 41.

²² This interpretation is elaborated in Kostiner, Making of Saudi Arabia; Kostiner uses the example of the people of the town of Khurma, who did not pay zakat, but whose allegiance Ibn Saud claimed nonetheless, over counterclaims by Hussein ibn Ali of Mecca.

²³ Al-Rasheed, History of Saudi Arabia, pp. 49–58. Additionally, this process of proselytization among the tribes was well underway in the nineteenth century, under previous Al Saud rulers; see Al-Fahad, The ‘Imama vs the ‘Iqal, p. 50.

²⁴ Al-Rasheed, History of Saudi Arabia, p. 52.

²⁵ According to ‘Abdallah al-‘Ali Mansūr al-Zāmil (1972) Asdaq al-bunūd fī tārīkh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Āl Su'ud [Banners of Truth in the History of Abd al-Aziz Al Saud] (Beirut: Mu'assasah Tijariyya li al-Tiba'a wa al-Nashr), p. 130 (as quoted in Kurpershoek, Oral Poetry and Narrative, pp. 60–61): ‘The endeavors of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz in spreading religious education were different from those of his forefathers. The latter concentrated their efforts on the instruction of the people living in the villages and towns and did not concern themselves with educating and settling the Bedouin.’

²⁶ According to ‘Abdallah al-‘Ali Mansūr al-Zāmil (1972) Asdaq al-bunūd fī tārīkh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Āl Su'ud (Beirut: Mu'assasah Tijariyya li al-Tiba'a wa al-Nashr), p. 130 (as quoted in Kurpershoek, Oral Poetry and Narrative, pp. 60–61): ‘The endeavors of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz in spreading religious education were different from those of his forefathers. The latter concentrated their efforts on the instruction of the people living in the villages and towns and did not concern themselves with educating and settling the Bedouin.’, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz reportedly said: ‘There is no alternative but to force those Bedouin to accept religious instruction. This will definitely produce a fundamental change in the habits of the Bedouin.’

²⁷ On the Ikhwan revolt, see Vassiliev, History of Saudi Arabia, pp. 272–281.

²⁸ CitationIndia Office Library and Records, British Library, London, UK (henceforth IOR), R/15/5/38, Report on Defensive Operations against the Akhwan, winter 1924–1925.

²⁹ IOR R/15/5/38, Telegram from High Commissioner Baghdad to Colonial Office, London, December 29, 1927. On the extent of devastation wrought by Ikhwan attacks in Iraq, see Toth, Conflict and a Pastoral Economy, pp. 201–227.

³⁰ Memorial submitted by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (henceforth, UK Memorial), in: The Buraimi Memorials, Citation 1955 (1987) (Archive Editions: Gerrard's Cross, UK), vol. 1, pp. 130–131.

³¹ Memorial of the Government of Saudi Arabia (henceforth, Saudi Memorial), Appendix B, Part 3, Proclamation of 20 Safar 1344 [September 9, 1925], From ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman Al Faisal to all Muslims who see this, Buraimi Memorials, vol. 2, p. 328.

³² Saudi Memorial, Tax Collecting in Saudi Arabia, vol. 2, pp. 320–321.

³³ CitationPrivate Papers Collection, Middle East Centre, St. Antony's College, Oxford (henceforth SAC), Glubb Papers, Monthly Report on the Administration of the Transjordan Deserts, August 1933. Further references to Saudi payments to Transjordanian tribes appear in monthly reports from February 1934, February 1935 and October 1937.

³⁴ J. B. Kelly (Citation1956) The Buraimi Oasis Dispute, International Affairs, 32(3), pp. 318–326.

³⁵ M. Al-Rasheed (Citation1992) Durable and Non-Durable Dynasties: The Rashidis and the Sa'udis in Central Arabia, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 19(2), pp. 144–158.

³⁶ UK Memorial, Arbitration Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom (Acting on Behalf of the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and His Highness the Sultan Saud bin Taumur) and the Government of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, July 30, 1954, vol.1, p. 2.

³⁷ UK Memorial, vol. 1, pp. 104–106, 132.

³⁸ UK Memorial, vol. 1, p. 107. The statement was dated May 13, 1953, and Ahmad stated that the meeting took place October 19, 1952.

³⁹ UK Memorial, vol. 1, pp. 108–109.

⁴⁰ UK Memorial, Letter demonstrating the allegiance of the Al bu Shamis section of the Naim to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, June 11, 1955, vol. 2, p. 325.

⁴¹ UK Memorial, Declaration made by six Na'im shaikhs (names below) before H.M. Consul-General, Muscat, June 16, 1955, vol. 2, pp. 326–327.

⁴² For example, Saudi Memorial, Annex 63, ‘Declaration by the Shaikhs of Bani Qitab, dated October 2, 1952, consists of a statement affirming loyalty to the Al Saud and thumbprints of 17 shaykhs, pp.139–140.

⁴³ Saudi Memorial, Annex 62, September 24, 1952, vol. 2, p. 138.

⁴⁴ Saudi Memorial, vol. 2, pp. 316–327.

⁴⁵ Saudi Memorial, Annex 128, Statement of Shaikhs of the Town of al-Qimi with Respect to Tax Payments, [April 23, 1955], vol 2, p. 267. Similar statements appear in Saudi Memorial, vol. 2, pp. 316–327, annexes 129 and 130, vol. 2, pp. 268–269.

⁴⁶ Saudi Memorial, Annex 127, Statement of Rashid ibn Hamad al Shamisi of Nu'aim, [May 16, 1955], vol. 2, p. 265.

⁴⁷ Saudi Memorial, Annex 101, Statement of Salim ibn Hamad ibn Rakkadh of the ‘Awamir, [June 13, 1955], vol. 2, p. 212.

⁴⁸ Saudi Memorial, Statement of Salim ibn Nasir, Sa'id ibn Nasir, and Bakhit ibn Ahmad of the Manahil, [June 25, 1955], vol. 2, p. 214. For similar statements, see Annex 105, Notables of the ‘Ifar, p. 218; and Annex 103, p. 258.

⁴⁹ The dispatches are from the British Residency in Bahrain to the Foreign Office, dated June 24 and Sept. 6, 1950; they appear in Jane Priestland (ed.) (Citation1992) The Buraimi Dispute: Contemporary Documents, 1950–1961 vol. 2, (Gerrard's Cross, UK: Archive Editions), pp. 116–117, 120.

⁵⁰ Saudi Memorial, Annex 107, Statement of Saqr ibn Sultan ibn Muhammad Al Hamud of the Nu'aim [June 13, 1955], vol. 2, p. 222.

⁵¹ Saudi Memorial, Annex 109, Statement of the Governor of the Eastern Province with Respect to Public Security [May 1955], vol. 2, pp. 226–231. The figure for raided animals must be taken merely as an approximation, since the source itself uses qualifiers such as ‘about’ and ‘x number of herds.’ In addition, it is not clear whether the statement contains a complete record of raids or merely those that the governor felt were pertinent to the Buraimi dispute. For a description of how 20 camels taken in the 1920s from the ruler of Dubai's herds were recovered through the efforts of Abd Allah ibn Jiluwi, the governor of Hasa, see Saudi Memorial, Annex 116, ‘Statement with Respect to the Manasir [November 28, 1954], vol. 2, pp. 243–244.

⁵² Saudi Memorial, Annex 108, Statement of Ali Aba al-Rus [December 6, 1954], vol. 2, pp. 224–225.

⁵³ Saudi Memorial, Annex 139, Statement by Members of the Maqabil [September 20, 1952], vol. 2, p. 285.

⁵⁴ Saudi Memorial, Annex 109, Statement of the Governor of the Eastern Province with Respect to Public Security [May 1955], vol. 2, p. 231.

⁵⁵ UK Memorial, vol. 1, p. 133.

⁵⁶ Dispatch from A. Ryan [Jeddah] to John Simon, Jan. 11, 1932, in Penelope Tuson & Anita Burdett (eds) (Citation1992) Records of Saudi Arabia, vol. 4 (Gerrards Cross, UK: Archive Editions) p. 717.

⁵⁷ This provides good evidence that by now a large portion of the region's camels were raised in a ranch-like setting, fed on fodder, rather than under a pastoral nomadic regime.

⁵⁸ SAC, Dickson Papers, Box 3, File 8, A Note on the food situation in Central and North Eastern Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, November 30, 1942 (unsigned, presumably H. R. P Dickson).

⁵⁹ SAC, Dickson Papers, Box 3, File 8, A Note on the food situation in Central and North Eastern Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, November 30, 1942 (unsigned, presumably H. R. P Dickson)

⁶⁰ Anh Nga Longva (Citation2000) Citizenship in the Gulf States: Conceptualization and Practice, in: Butenschon, et al., Citizenship and the State in the Middle East: Approaches and Applications, pp. 179–197 (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press).

⁶¹ Soraya Altorki (Citation2000) The Concept and Practice of Citizenship in Saudi Arabia, in: Suad Joseph (ed.) Gender and Citizenship in the Middle East, pp. 215–236 (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000).

⁶² UK Memorial, vol. 1, p. 109.

⁶³ Royal Decree no. 17/2/28/8799, published in Umm al-Qura, No. 1367, 11 Ramadan 1370/Nov. 15, 1951, and quoted in a letter from J. Schacht to the Foreign Office, London, Aug. 1, 1957, in Priestland (ed.) The Buraimi Dispute, vol. 1, p. 168.