'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎208v] (421/862)

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HISTORY
royal family. After Ghazi’s death in a motor accident in 1939 he was
succeeded by his infant son, who was represented by Ghazi’s brother-
in-law and cousin as regent, Abdul Ilah, a young man then aged 26.
Iraq thus came to resemble a republic with the permanent army-
commanders of a popular army holding increasing power behind a
fa9ade of cabinets.
Anti-Zionism
The Arab disturbances of 1936-1939 in Palestine and the scheme
for the partition of Palestine 1 inflamed the Arab nationalists of
Iraq, who gave every feasible assistance to their brothers in Pales
tine both by diplomacy and occasionally by direct aid with arms
and money. The religious authorities went so far as to proclaim
a Jehad or Holy War for Palestine in 1938. The fear of Zionism
caused anti-Jewish riots and isolated murders of Jews in Baghdad,
from which the city had hitherto been free. It was not surprising that
the bitterly anti-Zionist Mufti of Jerusalem came for refuge to Bagh
dad in 1939. The Pan-Arabs, nationalists, and army leaders soon
made common cause, assisted by Italo-German propaganda and
possibly money.
Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941
After the outbreak of war in September 1939 Iraq broke off relations
with Germany. But ‘Axis’ influence was only of minor importance
until the defeat of France, the decline of British power in the Mediter
ranean after the German conquest of Greece, and the arrival in Syria
of an ‘Axis’ Disarmament Commission. In March 1941 a group of
four colonels, known as the Golden Square, and the ex-premier
Rashid Ali al Gailani, who had come to terms with the army group
after the murder of his enemy Bekr Sidqi, overthrew the government
of the Regent and Taha al Hashimi, an ineffective ex-general who
as Premier had been compromising with all parties. The Regent fled
to a British warship at Basra and was replaced by a more pliant
relative. At first the new government declared its loyalty to the
Anglo-Iraqi Treaty, but their ‘Axis’ connexions were well known and
Britain countered by landing troops at Basra from India in accordance
with the treaty provisions. Despite this the military opportunity
looked fair to the Iraqis. By April a great part of the British army
of Egypt was refitting after losing all its heavy equipment in Greece;
all fully equipped battalions were required to hold the Tripolitanian
frontier against the newly arrived German Afrika Korps. Others
1 See Geographical Handbook of Palestine and Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan , B.R. 5x4, pp. 127 ff.