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Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement' [268r] (536/1144)
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.
technique^ she might content herself with oil concessione
and other economic privileges (which it would pay ug to
grant) and leave ua free to govern ourselves., She might
even compel Italy to submit to a new order of her
(Germany's) maiting in the Arab world and thus curb the
excesses of unrestrained Italian coloniaation u One thing
at any rate is certain, and that is that both Germany and
Italy would give' very short shrift to the Jewish national
home and rid us of that incubuso But as against that*
what guarantees have we or can we get other than the verbal
and somewhat specious assurances contained in the daily
broadcasts from Berlin and Hornet
These condensations of opinion do not reflect ill
that is said in .^rab circles.. Here and there, and more
particularly In Iraqi and Egyptian circles 9 a certain amount
of imdisguised admiration of Nazi achievements and power is
expressed. In others, the view is held that the natural
ally of the Arabs is Great Britain and that a British victory
would inevitably result in the elimination of Prance from
Syria and the achievement of Arab unity in the form of
Independent states (Egypt* Syria cum Palestine and Trans-Jordan
Iraq, Sa'audi Arabia and Yaman) closely bound to each other
and to Great Britain by treaties of alliance^ Now and again*
the view is expressed that the most advantageous thing for
the ,*raba would be a stalemate, leading to a sort of peace-*
without-vtctory, in which neither side would be free to
impose a regime of his own malting upon the .wrabs, or strong
enough to ignore or over-ride .~vrab national aspirations.
These views do find their way into the general stream of
speculation; but they are not, in my Judgment, so widely
held as to merit inclusion in a general picture of what may
be regarded as the standard opinion..
4 Other viev/s, of a still more sectional nature, are
sometimes expressed,, But I am deliberately omitting tnem
bedause* while they may be interesting in themselves, they
cannot be regarded as indicative of the trend of a nation-
vide, or even a truly national, sentiment t . One of them*
however, does perhaps merit mention^ I refer to the
changed attitude of a larger proportion of the Christians
of the Lebanon tov-'ards a continuation of the French Mandateo
The change la remarkable both for its amplitude and for
the ways in which it manifests itself,- In lay
circles. It takes the form of a sweeping
•-jondemnation of Franks fitness to rule,.
In
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' [268r] (536/1144), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2110, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047229911.0x00008b> [accessed 16 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
- 266r:272v
- Author
- Antonius, George Habib
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.