Haditha Ali Abdullah Al-Khraisha (; 1882–1952) was a Jordanian Bedouin tribal leader. He was one of the two paramount sheikhs of the Bani Sakhr Tribe,The Glubb Reports: Glubb Pasha and Britain's Empire Project in the Middle East 1920-1956, ed. Tancred Bradshaw, 2016, Palgrave Macmillan, p.52 arguably the most powerful tribe in Jordan.The Tribes of Jordan at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century, Ghazi bin Muhammad; Turab, http://rissc.jo/the-tribes-of-jordan-at-the-beginning-of-the-twenty-first-century/ . p. 10. Haditha headed the northern clans of the Bani Sakher (al-Ka'abnah),According to the 1986 Jordanian Electoral Law, the Bani Sakhr Tribe is made up of thirteen clans: Al-Khirshan; Al-Jbour; Al-Salim; Al-Badareen; Al-Gudah; Al-Hammad; and Al-Shra'ah (traditionally known collectively as the Ka'abnah half of the Bani Sakhr); Al-Ghbein; Al-Amir; Al-Ka'abna; Al-Hgeish; Al-Saleet, and Al-Taybeen (traditionally known collectively as the Twaga half of the Bani Sakhr); The Tribes of Jordan at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century, Ghazi bin Muhammad; Turab, http://rissc.jo/the-tribes-of-jordan-at-the-beginning-of-the-twenty-first-century . while Mithgal Al-Fayez headed the other half, (al-Twaga). In the early twentieth century (1922 & 1924), Haditha and the Bani Sakhr, in addition to other Trans-Jordanian tribes such as the Huweitat and the Belqawiah, fought the Wahhabi Ikhwan, a religious militia who helped establish Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud as the first King of Saudi Arabia. The Wahhabi Ikhwan were Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud's tool for territorial expansionThe Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern State, Yoav Alon, I.B. Taurus, 2007, p.52 & 85; . and lent religious legitimacy to Ibn Saud's territorial and political ambitions. According to King Faisal Al Saud the armed resistance that Bani Sakhr put up against Ibn Saud and the Wahhabi Ikhwan was "the reason that Saudi Arabia's borders do not extend all the way to Palestine and why the Al Sauds never became the rulers of the Levant".Al-Urdon LiMan?, Awwad Al-Rdeini; Al-Dustour Press, 2013; retrieved 4. June, 2016 http://www.zamancom.com/?p=5619 Haditha was known throughout Arabia for his wisdom and chivalry,The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. II: The Development of Transjordan, 1929-1939, Ma'an Abu Nowar; Amman, Jordan Press Foundation, 1997; p. 76-77; . He played a significant role in building the nascent Jordanian state and shaping its development.The Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern State, Yoav Alon, I.B. Taurus, 2007, p.70. An ally and supporter of King Abdullah I,The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. I: The Creation & Development of Transjordan, 1920-29, Ma'an Abu Nowar; (Oxford: Ithaca Press, 1989); p. 199. Haditha served several terms as Senator and Parliamentarian, including the first Jordanian Senate in 1947 which consisted of only ten members.Jordanian Senate Haditha was also elected to the second Legislative Council in June 1931,The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. II: The Development of Transjordan, 1929-1939, Ma'an Abu Nowar; Amman, Jordan Press Foundation, 1997, p.111-112. and the Fourth Legislative Council in 1937The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. II: The Development of Transjordan, 1929-1939, Ma'an Abu Nowar; Amman, Jordan Press Foundation, 1997, p.206. while Jordan was still an Emirate. Haditha was also one of the founding members of the Jordanian Solidarity Party (Hizb al-Tadamun al-Urduni) in March 1933.The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. II: The Development of Transjordan, 1929-1939, Ma'an Abu Nowar; Amman, Jordan Press Foundation, 1997, p.133. Sheikh Haditha also cultivated the oasis of Azraq, Jordan.Glubb's reports, Sep.-Oct. 1933, Dec. 1934, Jan. & Feb. 1935; Annual Report, 1935, p.307.The Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern State, Yoav Alon, I.B. Taurus, 2007, p.129.
Relationships with Emir Abdullah, Arab nationals and tribal sheikhs Sheikh Haditha and Emir Abdullah, later King Abdullah I of Jordan generally maintained close relations,The Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern State, Yoav Alon, I.B. Taurus, 2007, p.68. but the two also "periodically fell out".The Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern State, Yoav Alon, I.B. Taurus, 2007, p.156. Emir Abdullah and Bani Sakhr had a "strong bond" and indeed in August 1922 Emir Abdullah moved his camp to Al-Muwaqqar,The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. II: The Development of Transjordan, 1929-1939, Ma'an Abu Nowar; Amman, Jordan Press Foundation, 1997; p.77. near the desert castles, the Khraishas' stomping grounds. There, Emir Abdullah started to organise a force of Bedouin warriors to defend [against the Wahhabi Ikhwan]. Emir Abdullah expressed his devotion and gratitude to their loyalty and courage through land allocations, gifts and even tax benefits.The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. II: The Development of Transjordan, 1929-1939, Ma'an Abu Nowar; Amman, Jordan Press Foundation, 1997. As head of the northern Ka'abnah tribes of Bani Sakhr, Haditha had close ties with Syrian Arab nationalists who held him in great regard.The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. II: The Development of Transjordan, 1929-1939, Ma'an Abu Nowar; Amman, Jordan Press Foundation, 199, p.223. Emir Abdullah relied on Sheikh Haditha's relationships with the nationalists and the Sheikh was the Emir's link to them.The Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern State, Yoav Alon, I.B. Taurus, 2007, p.69. During the 1925-1927 Syrian Revolt against the French Mandate, Syrian nationalists such Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar, took refuge with Sheikh HadithaThe Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern State, Yoav Alon, I.B. Taurus, 2007., p.223. in Al-Muwaqqar where the Sheikh had settled his tribe. Sultan Al-Atrash, Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar, and Nasib Bakri, three of the main leaders of the Syrian Revolt, were close friends of Sheikh Haditha and stayed with him in his camp near Azraq and in Al-Muwaqqar on several occasions.The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. I: The Creation & Development of Transjordan, 1920-29, Ma'an Abu Nowar; (Oxford: Ithaca Press, 1989); p. 160. Indeed, they came to Amman through Azraq protected by Sheikh Haditha and secretly called on Emir Abdullah I in 1926. When Frederick Gerard Peake, Alec Kirkbride, and E.R. Stafford arrived in Al-Muwaqqar, and demanded that Sheikh Haditha hand over Syrian nationals and refugees under his care, he "told them that his camp was open to visitors to stay for three days before they were asked to be identified; if however, they claimed to be dakhil (someone who asks for the protection of a tribe against a threat), he could not be expected to hand them over,"The History of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Vol. I: The Creation & Development of Transjordan, 1920-29, Ma'an Abu Nowar; (Oxford: Ithaca Press, 1989); p. 196 as that would have violated Bedouin codes of honour and hospitality. Sheikh Haditha was also Emir Abdullah's link to Shukri Al-Quwatli, post-independence Syria's first president. In November 1936, Sheikh Haditha, along with Mithqal Al-Fayez, accompanied Fawzi Al-Qawuqji, Supreme Commander of the Arab Revolution in South-Syrian Palestine, through the desert to ensure his safe journey.
Following the 1941 coup in Iraq that ousted Abdul Illah, Regent of Iraq, Emir Abdullah I dispatched the Mechanised Brigade of the Arab Legion to guide British troops across the desert to Iraq. Haditha instructed his men from Bani Sakhr serving in the Arab Legion to abstain from suppressing the Rashid Ali Gaylani revolt in Baghdad and resign from the Arab Legion rather than to fight other Arabs.Kirkbride to HC, 9 September 1941, CO 831/58.King Abdullah, Britain and the Making of Jordan, Mary C. Wilson, Cambridge University Press, 1987, p. 134. Haditha's defiance of Emir Abdullah I and the British forced him to go into self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia. The Khraisha family had enjoyed strong relations with the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula for centuries, particularly the Shammar Tribe of Ibn Rashid, traditional rivals of the House of Saud. The Al-Khraisha family's ties with the House of Rashid went back to the time of Sheikh Haditha's father, Ali. The origin of Ali Al-Khraisha's relationship with Abdullah ibn Rashid, the founder of the Emirate of Jabal Shammar, is related in John Bagot Glubb 1978 book Arabian Adventures. Early in the nineteenth century, the formidable Shammar Tribe of Nejd underwent an internal struggle for dominance. The two rival sheikhs were Ibn Ali and Ibn Rashid and at the end of the affair Ibn Ali won the struggle for precedence and Ibn Rashid and his brother, Obeid, were driven out of the tribe they had hoped to lead. Eventually the brothers reached Jordan with only one camel between them and landed at the tent of Sheikh Ali Al-Khraisha, the Sheikh of Bani Sakhr. The Sheikh was away but the family and servants took care of the guests. During the night their camel died and so they were forced to continue their journey on foot. A short distance from the camp, they met a Bedouin on camelback. The man stopped them and asked them their news and what camp they had just come from. After hearing their story, the man asked them if their host had supplied them with a fresh mount. The brothers replied that their host was away. The rider then dismounted, obliged them to mount and his camel, revealed that he was Sheikh Ali Al-Khraisha and swore that no guest of his would reach his tent riding and leave on foot. Years later, Abdullah Ibn Rashid returned to Shammar, drove out his rival, and became Emir of Northern Nejd. Abdullah and his descendants ruled for fifty years until they were driven out by Ibn Saud in 1920. For as long as they ruled, the House of Rashid treated the Khraisha family as friends and allies in memory of the camel given by Ali Al-Khraisha to Abdullah ibn Rashid in his destitution generations before.Arabian Adventures: Ten Years of Joyful Service, John Glubb, Cassell, London; 1978, p.157-158.
In addition to supporting the Syrian nationalists in the mid-1920s, Sheikh Haditha also contributed to the Palestinian struggle.The Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern State, Yoav Alon, I.B. Taurus, 2007, p.121 He also had firm bonds with the Circassians and Chechens of Transjordan who fled persecution in their original lands for being Muslim and whose rights in Jordan Sheikh Haditha fought for and defended. Sheikh Haditha was also a much sought-after and highly respected tribal arbiter and mediator;Al-Jazira, 29 May 1940 in affairs ranging from blood feuds to land disputes. For example, in 1943, Sheikh Haditha spent twenty days in Sama with officers from the Arab Legion to determine the boundaries of disputed land in the area Muqadimah li-Dirasat al-Asha'ir al-Urduniyyah, 2nd Edition, Ahmad Al-Abbadi; Al-Dar aL-Arabiyah lil-Nashr, Amman; 1985, p.198. Also, Jordanian Prime Ministry files, Shakawi Al-Asha'ir & OC Al-Mafraq to OC Desert Area, 13th Oct., 1945.
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