The Courage of Mohammed Al-Shuwairikh
Self-Sacrifice and Escape from a British Mandate Prison
Biographies and Stories of Notable FiguresIn 1943, during the British Mandate in Palestine, British personnel found a pistol on a herder accompanying Sheikh Mohammed Al-Shuwairikh. Out of an Aqili’s honesty and nobility, he refused to let the herder bear responsibility and told the British: “The weapon is mine. Release the herder.”.
They left the shepherd and took Sheikh Al-Shuwairikh, imprisoning him with hard labor in Tulkarm. Each morning he was taken out to break rocks and pave roads until sunset. Such work did not suit an Al-Oqilat man accustomed to freedom and travel, so after two weeks he decided to escape.
The Escape Plan:
Shortly before sunset, he began gathering the scattered pickaxes, moving gradually beyond the sight of the mounted British guards. Once out of view, he fled and hid in an orchard outside the town. He changed his clothes, took some grapes as provisions, and continued on foot in disguise until he safely reached Amman Market in Jordan, the Al-Oqilat gathering place and center of their trade.