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Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement' [137v] (275/1144)
The record is made up of 1 file (570 folios). It was created in 21 Dec 1932-5 Mar 1948. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
4
purpose, but none of them will recognise the hegemony of any other or subordinate
local interests and aspirations to those of a larger whole.*
7. Any scheme of federation which we could devise would also raise many
long-standing difficulties which are probably best left alone at this moment, there
are difficulties arising from the intense jealousies among the rulers of the Araj|^^
States, between Ibn Saud and the King of the Yemen, between Ibn Saud ana
the Hashimite rulers of Iraq and Trans-Jordan. There are difficulties due to
rivalries between the inhabitants of the Arab States themselves, between Damascus
and Bagdad, between Sunni and Shiah, Moslems and non-Moslems, desert-dwellers
and townsmen. There are the strong objections which the French have always
manifested towards any question of closer Arab union. Moreover, Arab suspicions
have been aroused by the interest recently displayed by the Zionists in the
project of Arab federation. At the present moment, the Arab States are quiet
and are busied with other questions than that of federation. Neither in Palestine,
nor in Syria, nor in Iraq, have the Arabs manifested any desire that His Majesty’s
Government should take the initiative. Ibn Saud, for his part, told us not long
ago that in his view all our efforts should for the present be devoted to winning
the war, and that speculation on future political forms in Arab lands is only a
distraction from the main aim. Still more recently, in conversation with a British
Political Officer, he again laid emphasis on Arab disunity as a fatal obstacle to
any successful plan of federation.
8. Nevertheless, while it may be undesirable for His Majesty’s Government
to put forward at the present moment a wide scheme of political federation, it does
not necessarily follow that no action whatever should be taken in connexion with
the vague Arab wishes for some form of closer co-operation between the Arab
States. On the contrary, it appears to us that His Majesty’s Government might
suitably take action in two directions without awaiting the end of the war. In the
first place, since Arab nationalism, and the wish for a closer unity between the
Arab States, is almost certain to grow, it is very desirable to examine carefully
the question of what our own future policy should be, and what form we should
prefer that any future Arab co-operation should take. Secondly, we believe
that there are certain restricted measures which might usefully be taken even
at the present juncture with a view to encouraging closer co-operation between
the Arab States. In general, we accept the conclusion of His Majesty’s
representatives in Middle Eastern countries that it would be useful to study
now some restricted measures of co-operation, with a view to showing practical
sympathy with the Arab cause, and willingness to assist in removing some of the
barriers which now separated the Arab States.
9. We have examined, as instructed in our terms of reference, a number of
schemes of Arab federation, details of which are summarised in the Annex to this
Report. We would point out that, in drawing up these schemes, we have ruled
out any idea that some particular project should be imposed on the Arabs by force.
We cannot contemplate, for example, a scheme for a federation under the supreme
control of Ibn Saud to whom all the other Arab States would be invited, and in
the last resort, compelled to subordinate themselves. The Ministerial meeting on
the 26th September recorded the view that “ We could not force the Arab States
into federation.” We can only record our full agreement with this conclusion.
10. As a result of our examination of these schemes, we have formed the
opinion that Saudi Arabia, the Yemen and the other States of the Arabian
Peninsula, are even more unsuited to participate in a scheme of federation than
* The following is an extract from a Memorandum prepared by Mr. George Antonins, a
prominent Palestinian Arab, at the invitation of the High Commissioner for Palestine, in
October, 1940: —
When Arabs speak of (Arab unity) they have in mind a somewhat looser association of
separate States than is conveyed by the term Federation, an association which is to be
achieved, first by attainment of independence and the removal of artificial (sc. imposed)
frontiers and divisions, then by the strengthening of cultural and economic ties, and lastly,
in some more or less immediate future, by the conclusion of such political conventions
between the separate independent Arab States as time and trial may show to be in the
best interests of the collective family of Arabic-speaking peoples. The conventions now in
force in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are examples in point, and their conclusion is
universally regarded in the Arab world as a substantial realisation of their ideal of (Arab
unity).”
About this item
- Content
This file concerns the British Government's response to the Pan-Arab movement during the 1930s and 1940s. Much of the correspondence refers to the prospect of an Arab federation, although the use of the word 'federation' is noted in some of the correspondence as being a mistranslation of the original Arabic expression, which would be more accurately represented by the words 'unification' or 'unity'.
Significant subjects of discussion include:
- Arab party politics in Palestine.
- Iraqi-Egyptian relations.
- Italian propaganda in the Middle East.
- The future of Palestine.
- Britain's post-war policy in the Middle East.
- Whether the Arab states should be induced to make a wartime declaration in favour of the democracies (i.e. the Allies).
- The formation of the Arab League (also referred to as the Arab Federation in the correspondence).
- Details of the Pact (also referred to as Covenant) of the Arab League, signed in Cairo on 22 March 1945.
- Whether representatives of the Arab League should be present at the Palestine Conference in London, in 1947, in addition to representatives of Arab states.
Notable correspondents include the following: the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the High Commissioner for Iraq; His Majesty's Ambassador in Baghdad; the High Commissioner for Egypt; His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo; the High Commissioner for Palestine; His Majesty's Minister at Jedda; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; the Minister of State in the Middle East; officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , the Commonwealth Relations Office, and the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. 's External Affairs Department; Noury Said [Nūrī al-Sa‘īd], Prime Minister of Iraq; George Antonius, Lebanese-Egyptian author and diplomat.
Also included with the correspondence are the following:
- Extracts from Palestine police summaries dating from 1933 to 1936, produced by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Jerusalem.
- A printed copy of a paper on Arab federation by the Foreign Research and Press Service, dated 20 June 1941.
- Copies of documents produced by the War Cabinet's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East (also referred to as the Middle East (Official) Committee), including minutes of meetings (1941-1942) and a copy of a report on Arab Federation, dated January 1942.
- A copy (in French) of the Protocol of the Preparatory Committee for the Arab Congress, dated 7 October 1944.
- Copies of the Pact/Covenant of the recently formed Arab League (consisting of a printed copy in French, distributed by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and an English translation of the full Arabic text, which includes a passage that was omitted from the French version).
The French material consists of the aforementioned Protocol and Arab League Pact, plus one item of correspondence and a copy of a newspaper extract.
The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folios 2-3).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (570 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 571; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Two previous foliation sequences, which are also circled, have been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement' [137v] (275/1144), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2110, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047229910.0x00004e> [accessed 14 July 2026]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2110
- Title
- Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:6v, 9r:24v, 27r:59v, 61r:62v, 73r:78v, 82r:93v, 95r:103v, 105r:106v, 111r:111v, 113r:115v, 118r:120v, 122r:132v, 134r:152v, 158r:199v, 201r:265v, 273r:354v, 356r:381v, 384r:394v, 398r:407v, 410r:516v, 518r:565v, 567r:571v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence