The Story of the Sharifs and Ibn Saud

Description

The rise of the Al Saud state (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and the collapse of the Sharifian state in the Hejaz (the Kingdom of Hejaz) were accompanied by profound changes that impacted the Islamic world in general and the Arab region in particular. The effects of these significant transformations remain evident to this day, despite the passage of time and the many upheavals that have swept through this region. Given the historical and social importance of this book, and the interest of Gulf Arab readers in Al-Wardi’s works, especially this volume, Dar Al-Buraq decided to publish it independently. This allows readers interested in the affairs of this specific geographical region—the Arabian Peninsula—to acquire the book without needing to purchase the complete collection of “Social Glimpses from the History of Modern Iraq.” Returning to the text of this volume, we find it comprises the seventh book of “Social Glimpses from the History of Modern Iraq,” entitled “The Story of the Sharifs and Ibn Saud.” However, it can also serve as an appendix to all the previous and subsequent volumes of the book. This is an examination of events that occurred in the Hejaz, Najd, and Syria, all of which are closely related to Iraqi society and its events, from the Safavid-Ottoman conflict to the July 14th Revolution. It can be said that these events shed considerable light on the events in Iraq and contribute to their understanding. They may also help the reader grasp some of the complexities and problems of human nature in general. This appendix includes extensive details about the conflict between Hussein bin Ali and Abdul Aziz bin Saud, a conflict that can be considered a model of the struggle for survival among people, where each side believes it alone possesses the truth and that its opponent is in the wrong. The chapter on events in Syria is the longest in this appendix, examining the period during which Faisal bin Hussein ruled Syria, a period that lasted approximately two years, from October 1918 to July 1920. It was a turbulent period full of lessons, and every Arab reader should be familiar with its events and learn from them. The first two chapters of this appendix attempt to study aspects of the history of the Sharif of Mecca.