Al Heera

Al Heera
Al Heera
Coordinates: 25°22′53″N 55°24′11″E / 25.38139°N 55.40306°E / 25.38139; 55.40306Coordinates: 25°22′53″N 55°24′11″E / 25.38139°N 55.40306°E / 25.38139; 55.40306
Country United Arab Emirates
Emirate Sharjah
Elevation 0 m (3 ft)
Al Heera Police Station

Al Heera is a suburb in Northern Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, traditionally home to the Darawishah, part of the Al Bu Shamis section of the Na'im tribe. At one stage declaring its independence from Sharjah, with its own Sheikh, it formally became part of the Emirate of Sharjah in 1942.[1] A coastal enclave with a small harbour used by a number of fishermen and pleasure boat owners, its main distinguishing feature today is its police station.

The original coastal fishing village, built mainly of traditional Emirati adobe and coral houses, sat along the corniche in the area immediately behind the Al Heera Police Station but fell into disuse and was home to taxi drivers and illegal labourers through the 1990s until it was cleared. Little remains today to mark where the original settlement existed.

History

Rather charmingly, Al Heera is first mentioned in British records of 1830: "The people of Heera, a Joasmee dependency, commit a piracy upon a Bundar Abbas boat. Sheikh Sultan bin Suggur of his own accord compels full restitution of the property and punishes the perpetrators."[2]

Almost a century later, they were still a lively bunch. The head of the Al Bu Shamis, Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Muhammad Al Shamsi, briefly deposed Humaid bin Abdulaziz Al Nuami, the ruler of neighbouring emirate Ajman, on 15 June 1920. He was convinced to leave the fort in Ajman, which he had invested, by the British Residency Agent in Sharjah.[1]

At the time Al Heera was quite a large coastal pearling village of about 250 houses. Opposed by the Rulers of Ajman and Sharjah, Abdul Rahman was promised safe passage by the British residency agent as he owed money to a number of British subjects but was prevented from returning to Al Heera by the vengeful Sheikh of Ajman. After spending time in Ru'us Al Jibal (in Oman) and Al Khan (Southern Sharjah), Abdulrahman was allowed to return to Al Heera by the ruler of Sharjah in 1921 in a settlement at least partly enforced by the presence of the British ship HMS Triad under Captain John Pearson.[3]

The son of the former Ruler of Sharjah, Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, was a minor when his uncle, Khalid bin Ahmad Al Qasimi, took power in 1914. Sultan subsequently, on reaching his majority, petitioned Ahmad for the restitution of property and money that Khalid had seized on assuming power, but in vain. Embittered, Sultan left Sharjah in 1921 and settled in Dubai. In 1923, he married the daughter of Abdulrahman bin Muhammad Al Shamsi of Al Heera.

Khaled bin Ahmad took this as a challenge and once again moved against Abdulrahman at Heera, but Abdulrahman appealed to the Residency Agent who negotiated a peace and put two of his own men to guard the fort at Heera. Khalid then appointed a wali over Heera who Abdulrahman then arrested. Khalid then moved once again against Heera, which Abdulrahman now prepared to defend against a combined force from Sharjah and Ajman. Another British intervention followed and Abdulrahman went to Dubai to join his son-in-law.[4]

By now, the people of Sharjah had had enough. On 1 November 1924, Sultan bin Saqr was welcomed into Sharjah and deposed Khalid in a brief, 11-day conflict.[5][6] Abdulrahman's son-in-law was now Ruler of Sharjah and would come to depend on him almost completely.

Continuing to be a troublesome subject, Abdul Rahman was suspected of an attempt on the life of the British Residency Agent in October 1925, causing a major clash between the British government and the Rulers of the Trucial States, specifically Ras Al Khaimah, whose ruler refused to give Abdul Rahman up to the British in 1926.[1] He ruled Al Heera until his death in 1942, when the township reverted to rule by Sharjah.

Trucial Oman Scouts

Al Heera was the site of the Mirgab Military Base, the core base of operations for the Trucial Oman Scouts, the paramilitary force established by the British government to ensure internal security and stability in the Trucial States. Consisting of a Medical Centre, Mechanical Transport Squadron, Signals Squadron and Quartermaster, the base was serviced by a dhobi and coffee shop owned and operated by an Iranian, Esa bin Mousa Al Amri, as well as a camp shop owned by a Mr Lalchand and managed by a Sikh gentleman by the name of Hari Singh Bhatia.[7]

The base continues to be used by the UAE Armed Forces today.

Poetry

Al Heera was something of a centre for the development of the UAE's strong tradition of Nabati poetry. Among the first Classical Arabic UAE poets to gain importance in this part of the world during the twentieth century were Mubarak Al Oqaili (1880–1954), Salem bin Ali Al Owais (1887–1959) and Ahmed bin Sulayem (1905–1976). Al Owais was born in Al Heera. Three other prominent Nabati poets in the UAE were Khalfan Musabah (1923–1946), Sheikh Saqr Al Qasimi (1925–1993), a former ruler of Sharjah, and Sultan bin Ali Al Owais (1925–2000). The three poets, known as the Heera Group, grew up in Al Heera and were close friends.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Heard-Bey, Frauke (1996). From Trucial States To United Arab Emirates. UK: Longman. p. 215. ISBN 0582277280.
  2. ↑ Schofield, R (1990). Islands and Maritime Boundaries of the Gulf 1798–1960. UK: Archive Editions. p. 136. ISBN 9781852072759.
  3. ↑ "H.M.S. Triad (1909) - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  4. ↑ Said., Zahlan, Rosemarie (2016). The Origins of the United Arab Emirates : a Political and Social History of the Trucial States. Taylor and Francis. p. 48. ISBN 9781317244653. OCLC 945874284.
  5. ↑ Said., Zahlan, Rosemarie (2016). The Origins of the United Arab Emirates : a Political and Social History of the Trucial States. Taylor and Francis. p. 49. ISBN 9781317244653. OCLC 945874284.
  6. ↑ 1941-, Heard-Bey, Frauke, (2005). From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates : a society in transition. London: Motivate. p. 84. ISBN 1860631673. OCLC 64689681.
  7. ↑ Ward, Terry. Are You the Man?-: Memories of Life in the Trucial Oman Scouts. Createspace. pp. Loc 167. ISBN 9781500598372.
  8. ↑ Ghanem, Shihab. "Poetry in the UAE" (PDF).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.