DESERTW ARRIORS

Hokitika Guardian, 25 May 1928, Page 4

DESERTW ARRIORS

(By Lieut.-Colonel P. T. Ethcrlon, the famous explorer and authority on the East).

The seriousness of the inter-tribal trouble in Arabia need not lie minimised. Rut tho fact that llni Sand has proclaimed a Jehad or holy war, by no means signifies a general revolt of Islam against the Christians. PanIslnmlsm, as a confederation of Moslem races, has been a prominent subject in tlio past, hut the probability of its becoming a serious menace is veryremote. Moreover, a confederation of Moslems is almost impossible of fulfilment, for they are divided by national and .religions elements and cannot pul! together. The tribe that is causing the trouble in Arabia at the moment is the Wahabis, nominally under tlio control of Ibn. Sand, Lord of the Media-/, and Keeper of the Holy Places. This ruling chief is not averse front the good things of this life. He has ridden in a motor-ear and spoken over tho telephone, abominations in the eyes of the Wahabis who view with marked disapproval any innovation since the time of the Prophet. This extraordinary sect was founded at the end of tho seventeenth t-on-turv bv Abdul AYaliah, who wished to

bring tho Moslem faith hack to por-fec-lt simplicity by ruling out luxuries and every- form of indulgence. This fanaticism is important, for it largely explains the present situation. I well remember an old Arab chieftain, discoursing on the Wahabi creed and the fanaticism underlying their beliefs. They are largely a mounted

force, the camel is their charger, and they- can live on scanty rations of dates and milk, and. cover great distances when at war. Each Wahabi warrior before be sets out on a campaign would have a small paper worn round his neck, bearing an inscription, which in ease of his death acted as a passport straight to paradise. The bearer of this passport would not be examined by the two guardian angels, so that any- faults and omissions of which ho had been guilty- in life would pass unnotioed. If, on the other hand, he survived, hie Was assured of much material gain and a large participation in the loot, both anima'c and inanimate, arising from the campaign.

The Wa ha bits flesent the onward march of progress, apart from the presence of the European and the infidel in their midst. I remember with what horror they looked upon the smoker of tobacco, and because I wore a silken singlet, they regarded me as alreadysteeped in deadly sin.

Fanatical and courageous they certainly are. but there is method in their fanaticism, unlike that of the old Afahdi warrior of the Sudan, who fought as a brute beast. The Wahabi is a splendid but a careful fighter, who understands to some extent the finesse of the game, in fact, the AVahabi power rests more on spiritual influence than on military pressure. The AVahabis are armed with matchlocks and a good many other modern rifles, the supply of which is ever on the increase, for there is a certain amount of arms traffic lioth in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Ino history of Arabia lias never yet lieen written, nor has any census been taken of the tribes, so that any estimate of their strength can only be approximate. 1 should say it would he lietween 375.000 and 400,000 men, all imbued with the fanatical warrior instinct that makes them formidable foes. They have, however, a strong dislike of aeroplanes, and these will serve as a useful check to their activities.