Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II
Sheikh Sultan II bin Saqr Al Qasimi was the Ruler of Sharjah, a Trucial State and now one of the United Arab Emirates, from 1924 to 1951.
Sultan bin Saqr, on reaching his majority, petitioned Khalid for the restitution of the property and money that he had seized on assuming power, but in vain.
On 1 November 1924, Sultan bin Saqr was welcomed into Sharjah and, acting with the support of Abdulrahman and his forces, deposed Khalid in an 11-day conflict.
With the support of the Sheikhs of the Bedouin Bani Ka'ab and Na'im tribes, who favoured any scheme which would weaken Sharjah, it was agreed that the ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, Sultan bin Salim Al Qasimi, would possess Dhaid 'on behalf of Khaled bin Ahmad'.
Although it wasn't doubted that Abdulrahman disliked the man, there was scant proof of his involvement in the murder and the British sent the Political Resident (accompanied by the Bahraini trader, Yousuf Kanoo) to Sharjah to investigate.
Due to the increase in tensions and consequent instability, the British Political Resident decided to exile Abdulrahman to Aden for four years.
On 16 June 1926, Abdulrahman was given up to go into exile but in 1929 he was permitted to return after a sustained outcry led by Sultan bin Saqr and the leaders of the Al Bu Shamis.
[8] Abdulrahman's powerful personality and position appear to have given him a dominant role in his relationship with Sultan, who came to resent his father-in-law - especially when he declared Al Heera independent of Sharjah.
[9] Sultan bin Saqr's 18th century namesake had established Al Qasimi dominance over the east coast, the area known as the Shamaliyah but the Al Qasimi relationship with the dominant tribe of Fujairah, the Sharqiyin, was fractious and the Sharqiyin on a number of occasions moved to secede from Sharjah, but also to encroach on the territory of Kalba.
[10] An air route to connect the British empire was established by Imperial Airways, running from Croydon via Cairo to Cape Town in South Africa and Brisbane in Australia.
Negotiations with several Trucial Sheikhs resulted in British offers being rejected before, finally, Sultan bin Saqr agreed – with reservations – to host the airfield.
[12] He agreed to build a rest-house for crew and passengers which was fortified against "possible but unlikely raids by bedouin" according to the 1937 documentary film Air Outpost, which featured Sharjah's airport.
[14] The outbreak of skirmishing between Dubai and usurpers who had escaped to Al Khan in Sharjah in 1940 threatened the security of Sharjah's airport and led to unusual intervention by the British political agent in a land-based dispute: the British had previously restricted their interests and treaties purely to maritime affairs.
