Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement' [349v] (699/1144)
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.
for treaty and Constitution, he is personally very well disposed to Great Britain,
though at the same time a fanatical enthusiast for Arab unity. For this ideal
he fought for years side by side with his fellow Arabs in a desperate campaign—
prolonged till it was more than hopeless—against the Italians in Tripoli. Before
his recent appointment he frequented and influenced an interesting group of
younger Egyptian professional men or rentiers who met periodically in each^
other's houses, and though out and out Nationalists habitually included in their^-r
gatherings several English officials and university teachers 'who had obtained
their confidence on an unpolitical basis. Both at one of these private parties,
which I attended as a guest, and on several other occasions, Abdel Rahman Assam
developed to me at length his ideal of an Arab Commonwealth of Nations able to
defend themselves against imperialist aggression and working in close alliance
with the British Empire which would, in return, find that section of its
communications doubly assured. He insisted that it was first essential for His
Majesty's Government to settle with Egypt if only because that country was the
only one in the Near East with an important Arabic press, instancing the wide
circulation of his own paper, Ahram, in Syria and Palestine. I have dealt at
some length with his views first as he is a man of real character and attractive
personality with the restless independent nature of the true Arab. His mind
works (unlike the Egyptians) on military lines—last year at the height of his
press campaign it was always the idea of a military alliance which interested him
primarily, not of the treaty as traditionally visualised by the Wafd—and further,
because his views were well known to those by whom his appointment as Minister
to Bagdad was made. Moreover, the views developed by Nuri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
, as reported
by Mr. Bateman, tally so closely with those of Abdel Rahman that it would be
interesting to know whether Nuri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
held them before Abdel Rahman’s
arrival in Bagdad.
5. However vague and theoretical the new gospel of Arab solidarity may be
when it comes to concrete action (and I am well aware of the volatile and
unco-ordinated mentality of the “ bird-witted Arabian ”—Doughty’s expression,
I think—a tendency observable in the history of his politics as of his religion),’
I nevertheless feel that it is a sufficiently definite and shaping state of mind to be
a factor with which to reckon. Even though it may remain only a state of mind,
it may make the difference between a wave of friendly or a wave of hostile emotion
towards ourselves in all these parts.
6. It is a factor which might now be turned to our advantage with the help
of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty (an indispensable preliminarv), and there is, after
all, nothing intrinsically fantastic in the vision of a Near Eastern “ Little
Entente ” headed by Egypt and working in close harmony with His Majesty’s
Government. But it is a double-edged weapon which, in the event of its not
being turned to our advantage, may contain elements of serious trouble.
7. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Majesty’s Charges d’Affaires
at Bagdad and Jedda.
I have, &c.
D V. KELLY,
Acting High Commissioner.
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' [349v] (699/1144), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2110, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047229912.0x000066> [accessed 15 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
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