File 705/1916 Pt 2 'Arab revolt: Arab reports; Sir M Sykes' reports' [‎185r] (367/450)

APPENDIX (E).
The Islamic Caliphate ” by Shaykh Shaweksh, President of the Uniyersiy
of Salaheddin-el-Ayoubi in Jerusalem.
[This note was written by a member of the War Office Staff under the direction of
O’Poss.]
This booklet, like several others published since the beginning of the war in
Turkey, Switzerland, and Germany, both in Arabic and in Turkish, has principally in
view the vindication of the right of the Sultan of Turkey to the Caliphate, and the
checking of the movement started years ago by a large body of Arab Moslems for
independence and the proclamation of the Arab Caliph from the Koreish family to which
the Prophet belonged. The author accuses France and England of fomenting the
discontent of the Arabs and keeping alive their aspirations.
Abdul Aziz Shaweesh endeavours to prove that not only the prestige but the very
existence of Islam demands that the Sultan of Turkey should be the sole and
undisputed Caliph by right of succession and power, as he alone can defeat his enemies
and the enemies of Islam, and gather his enemies under one flag. Abdul Aziz’s
arguments, though weak and vague, are compiled in a manner that may stir Moslem
fanaticism, especially amongst the ignorant classes. The author, naturally inspired by
the Young Turks, appeals to the religious sentiments of Mohammedans, and strongly
impresses upon them the necessity of rallying to the Caliph and upholding him, as he
alone is the defender of the Islamic faith. “ If it was’nt for the dynasty of Othman,”
he says, “ the political status of Islam would not have existed, and the Moslems would
have become a scattered and abandoned nation.” The danger of such an argument lies
in the fact that ignorant Mohammedans do not stop to consider the lack of sound
reasoning, but are carried away by religious and sentimental misgivings. The writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
does not underrate the strong claims that a Koreish, a descendant of the Prophet, has
on the Caliphate, and therefore in a lengthy argument he tries to prove that the last of
the Caliphs invested, of his own free will, Sultan Suleiman I with the dignity and title
of Caliph : he then recalls several passages from the Koran in order to impress on his
readers that the Prophet’s wish was that the Caliphate should not be hereditary but
elective, and to be invested in the man who has the power and means of upholding the
faith, end preserving Islam from the evil intrigues and desecration of its enemies.
Ubdul Aziz Shaweesh concludes his discourse by saying: “This war will end and
will reveal three hundred million hearts believing in God and Mohammed and in that
victorious Caliph who waved the flag of Islam, exalted its word, and confirmed
its laws.”
APPENDIX (F).
The Sherif of Mecca ^nd the All Moslem League.
(Leading article in the Calcutta “Statesman” of July 2 , L916.]
We have received a number of resolutions, purporting to come from representative
Mohammedan bodies, in which the action of the Grand Sherif of Mecca in declaring his
independence is denounced in violent terms. It is obvious that these protests, even if
they were genuine expressions of Mohammedan feeling in this country, could have no
effect upon the proceedings of the Moslem potentate against whom they are ostensibly
directed. He is not likely to hear of them, and, should he by chance come to know
that resolutions condemning his conduct had been passed, he would probably treat
them with contempt. It would not be suggested, we suppose, by those who have
concocted these pronouncements that the British Government should intervene in the-
interests of the Young Turks who have forced their country into hostilities against
Great Britain, Turkey’s oldest friend and protector. What, then, is the object of the
protest of the A11-India Moslem League ? In order to appreciate the position it is
necessary to realise that the body which calls itself by this high-sounding name
represents only a very small section of Moslem opinion. The control of the League has
been captured by young politicians who plume themselves on advanced ideas but who