'Despatch from Civil Commissioner, Mesopotamia, to Secretary of State for India' [‎93v] (11/22)

i. hv rpoent events, especially by
in Aleppo. But Moslem fanaticism has been exc / Maronites, from whom
the obvious preference which the French have Si10 ^ 11 rnr Amir Zaid said that
all their staff of interpreters and native officials is dra\ • , t j ie French, while
the Maronites of the Lebanon were being systematica \ « tt e a ] so m ade a
from the local Druzes arms were being coresponding y ca " ag to diminish
point of the rapid repatriation of Armenian refugees from ^ i P , ; out { s
the number of Christians who would be in danger ^ chstur l . ot m0S phere
not, therefore, without apprehensions. It is impossible to en} • livino 1 is that
of nervous expectation in which Christians and Moslems alike ■Atri'i rrh
roiin-inns conflict. The Greek Catholic lati iaicn.
known and trusted for years, told me that in
of British soldiers kept the people fom those
which invariably accompanies religious conflict. The Greek (a i 1 , ^
Monseigneur Qadhi, a man whom I have known and trusted for yeais, or '
the Christian Quarter only the presence of British soldiers kept the peop e nTtl )s
attacks of panic which spread like a contagion to the Moslems and hrm^ ttu
arms in self-defence against the imagined danger. No one who is famiJiar
cti iilo 111 scl L-tl&ltJllLc cigdiUbL Liir:
grim insanity of massacre can fail to put an ominous interpretation upon tne^igns
of the times, and if it is true, as I believe it is, that the initial incitement must a 1 \\ a} s
be supplied from outside the populace itself; there are grounds for sharing
seigneur Qadhi's conviction that it will not be lacking. " The chord of fanaticism,
he said, " has a greater resonance than the chord of nationalism. The extreme party
will reach the time when they can no longer play on nationalist sentiment ; already it
is almost worn out. Most Damascenes are tired of the long uncertainty which
directly affects their prosperity. When they refuse to respond to the demands made
on their patriotism, no alternative will remain but to revive the old religious hatred."
I did not add that Faisal himself, in one of his less responsible moments, had
declared that if the nations of Europe attempted to separate Palestine from Syria
he would proclaim a Jihad.
The Patriarch's description of Damascene feeling was confirmed by all the local
men with whom I conversed. Comfortable, ease-loving Damascus is tired of a
Government which is perceptibly worse than that of the Turks. Under the Arab
regime there is less public security; the law-courts are a trifle more venal, the high
officials no less corrupt than their predecessors, though this is not a source of serious
complaint, for nothing else is expected of high official?;. Worst of all, trade lan
guishes. In'the mists of personal inconvenience Faisal's romantic halo is growino*
dim. It is quite possible that Damascus if left to itself would accept the hated
trench mandate if it would bring with it an assurance of peace and quiet and
reviving prosperity. Indeed in the safe seclusion of the haram I was told as much
by mv old friend the head of the noble and wealthy Kilani family The more
ambiUous among the magnates have another grievance. They dislike the upstart
band of Baghdadis and Palestinians who are in authority over them, partly no doubt
It Yfl r 610 S f are m S ^ h s P oil as ma y be available, partly from an uneasy
feeling that the aliens—for at this point the conception of Arab unity beoomes
obscured—are in fierce pursuit of an exaggerated political ideal for the attainment
of which or on the off chance of its attainment thev are nrenared m =»+ Q
province m a blaze. " Death rather than the French » is ^ T
an echo in places like the Kilani harq™ Tf ' A 1 V sentiment which finds
equally prepared to set his own province alight but that R, ^ dadi is
Damascenes of his political devotion TV >mr convince the
the Baghdadis .hJar' ^th ^is°T are not menTf w- ^.J^ice, that
potamia, while the greater number have been absent from tb™ posltlon . ln Meso-
they reacned manhood and cannot be exnentprl v. their own province since
Members of some of the leading families of TWiao Ioc , a . 1 Int erests at heart.
to believe that such a disaster aVa massacre onhfrbH 0t yyUbl 0r refuse
themselves have never witnessed—is possiblp nndpr m , lst| 'ms--a thing which they
to another cause for alarm They La^tbe f moder . n ""^'tions, but th own
the Ruwallah, grown more powerful on Hiia/llu&idlf la j y their near nei g h, »"'-s
sonal favours which Faisal dares not withhold from a cv. e M? Uraeed b y *** Per-
his son Nawwaf are always in Damascus anH •, u, = t , la,kfls - Either Nuri or
depends on them for levies if it comes to war ^tTtb^ the . ear of the Amir who
serves through them his hold on the desert wV rel ? ch ' and meantime pre-
Damascenes fear that the desert will overflow its^rH 0Ur leave Syria the
town. Anarchy w 1 break loose fr.rn"i, borders and come looting intn
guard. Even now the Damaseenes ^y tha?^" 0n the Arab
too much leniency. 'Abdul Rahman Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. ' vT ? la ^ auders are tre ated with far
complains bitterly that his outlying a i Yusuf, the richest man in tv,
c a n get no redress. flocks are safe from their cSsamft,^