Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement' [‎435v] (871/1144)

Amir Abdullah have in the past shown themselves to be well disposed towaids
His Majesty’s Government. It is not necessary to enter into details, but two
cases in which the Amir Abdullah, by his co-operation, materially assisted His
Majesty’s Government are the Druse rebellion of 1925 and the Palestine
disturbances of 1929. Moreover, His Majesty’s Government have a special
responsibility to support the Amir Abdullah’s regime, which has been set up in^
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 under their direct protection as mandatory. His Majesty s Govern
ment are no less closely bound to King Feisal of Iraq by the Anglo-Iraqi 1 ieat\
of Alliance of 1930. On the other hand, His Majesty’s Government are also
bound by special ties to King Ibn Baud in Saudi Arabia. They ha\e maintained
friendly and, indeed, cordial relations with Ibn Baud ever since the conclusion or
the Treaty of Jedda in 1927. King Ibn Baud has not only continued ;ind
developed these friendly relations, but has proved himself one of the very few
rulers capable of establishing and maintaining a stable and ordered Government
in Arabia. Further, it is important for His Majesty s Government, with their
great Moslem interests in India and elsewhere, to remain on friendly terms with
the ruler of the Holy Places of Islam. In these circumstances the policy of His
Majesty’s Government is to hold the balance evenly between the Hashimites on
the one hand and the Saudis on the other, and, while doing all in their power to
promote friendly relations between the two, to refrain from any action which
might lead to the predominance in Arabia of either House at the expense of
the other. .
7. Apart from this major difficulty, there are also other elements m Arabia
proper which are unlikely to be capable of combination in any unified system.
The most important of these are the independent Kingdom of the Yemen, whose
ruler (the Imam Yahia) is short-sighted and quarrelsome, and on uncertain terms
both with Ibn Baud and King Feisal, though he ostensibly has treaties of friend
ship with both; and the various minor Arabian rulers, such as the Sheikhs of
Kovveit, Bahrein, Qatar and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , who are extremely jealous of
each other and of their own independence, and have never shown any sign of
capacity for political co-operation. The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, and
the Aden Protectorate need not for the moment be considered in this connexion.
On the other hand, if the protagonists of the political idea of ‘ Arab unity ’
were ever to succeed in translating their ideal into practice, it is probable that
they would exercise strong pressure on the sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and
of Southern Arabia, and on the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, to join in
furthering their aim. Such sheikhdoms as Kovveit and Bahrein are in close
touch with Iraq and Saudi Arabia, both commercially and politically. Moreover,
all these States, including Muscat, maintain a link with Saudi Arabia through
the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which is attended by many members of their
ruling families. The pilgrimage offers exceptional opportunities not only for
religious and cultural, but also for political, propaganda; and if Mecca were at
any time to become a political centre of a united Arabia, or of a great Arabian
confederation, it is possible that the political ideal for which it would stand
might exercise a considerable attraction over the Arab rulers of the South
Arabian and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. States, and stimulate them to a greater desire to
co-operate with the leading States of Western and Northern Arabia, at any rate
from the negative point of view of combating Western political and cultural
influence in the Middle East.
8. As regards the minor Arab States of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , an important
consideration is the fact that, save in the case of the Sultanate of Muscat and
Oman (where, however, we exercise a dominating influence), the foreign relations
of the rulers concerned are by treaty exclusively conducted by His Majesty’s
Government, and that His Majesty’s Government are bound by a series of treaties
to give these States varying degrees of protection against foreign aggression and
to assist them to maintain their independence. Apart from these treaty obliga
tions, it is a basic principle of the policy of His Majesty’s Government in the
Middle East that these States should not be absorbed by any of their powerful
neighbours, but should remain as far as possible separate units under effective
British control. The development of inter-imperial air communications, both
civil and military, has in the last few years given this well-established principle
a new importance. In the case of Koweit, both Kin^ Feisal of Iraq and King
Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia have at various times shown signs of wishing to
acquire a hold over this territory, which would be a useful acquisition to either.