A demand that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who is also president of the Moslem Supreme Council, submit the accounts of the Council for auditing is made by the Christian-Arab paper, Al Carmel. The paper complains that in the ten years since the Moslem Supreme Council was established its accounts have never been published although it is entrusted with the management of substantial sums.
The Moslem Supreme Council has an annual budget of $300,000 in addition to the monies collected for making repairs to the Mosque of Omar. More than $70,000 was collected by the Council for the Arab victims of last year’s riots, Al Carmel says, adding that none of it was distributed, the Mufti using $25,000 of the fund for purchasing a village from one of his relatives on the plea that the revenue would go to the relatives of the riot victims. Al Carmel reveals that the estimated revenue from this investment will not amount to more than $250 a year.
Al Carmel also describes the failure of the various Arab delegations sent to Hedjaz and America. The personnel was chosen by the Mufti not on merit but because they were willing to make propaganda for the Mufti, Al Carmel charges. Ibn Saud, King of the Wahabis, refused to join the Mufti’s protests in order not to create disfavor with the British and thus invite them to discourage the 30,000 pilgrims from India and the 20,000 from the Strait Settlements, who annually visit Mecca and Medina, Al Carmel says.
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