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Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [‎25v] (50/290)

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The record is made up of 1 file (145 folios). It was created in 7 Jan 1919-7 Dec 1920. It was written in English. 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. .

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6
suggcisted a commission. Ibn Sand, relying on the strength of his
case, had been willing to accept it; Hussein, on the other hand, had
refused ; but we would still be willing to appoint it if he would agree.
If he again refused there was nothing left but to stand aside and to
allow them to fight it out, with the proviso that, in the interests of
the future peace of Arabia, we could not allow Ibn Saud to attack
Taif or Mecca, or the Holy Places, or to enter what we considered
as undoubtedly the Hejaz. /
If the Conference agreed to this sudestion, the proposed Con
ference at Cairo became unnecessary.
The Conference decided —
1. That 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. should prepare a telegram for Baghdad
in the sense indicated by the Chairman.
2. That the telegram be repeated by the Foreign Office to
Cairo.
(Initialled) C. of K.
Foreign Office,
February 24, 1919.
Annex.
At the request of Sir Reginald Wingate the following note is
attached :—
“ Sir Reginald Wingate’s opinion that in a conflict of arms
between King Hussein and Ibn Saud the former would win was
based on the assumption that military assistance would be given
him by the Arab (Feisal’s) ‘ regular’ army in Syria.
“ In reference to King Hussein’s views about the Wahabite
danger, Sir Reginald Wingate is strongly of opinion that any
expansion of Wahabism, which is a fanatical, reactionary—and,
consequently, anti-European—manifestation of Islam, is very
disadvantageous to our interests, and should be opposed by us.
“ (Signed) Reginald Wingate.”

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Content

This file is composed of papers produced by the Foreign Office's Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs. It consists entirely of printed minutes of meetings of the conference, most of which are chaired by George Curzon.

Those attending include senior representatives of the Foreign 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. (most notably the Secretary of State for India), the War Office, the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, and the Treasury (including the Chancellor of the Exchequer). Other notable figures attending include Harry St John Bridger Philby and Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell.

The meetings concern British policy in the Middle East, and mainly cover the following geographical areas: Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, Trans-Caspia, Trans-Caucasia, the Caspian Sea, Palestine, Persia, Hejaz, and Afghanistan. Some of the meetings also touch on matters beyond the Middle East (e.g. wireless telegraphy in Tibet, ff 79-80).

Recurring topics of discussion include railways (chiefly in relation to Mesopotamia), Bolshevik influence in the Middle East (particularly in Persia and Trans-Caspia), and relations between King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] and Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].

Several sets of minutes also contain related memoranda as appendices.

Extent and format
1 file (145 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 145, 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.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [‎25v] (50/290), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/275, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100070539234.0x000033> [accessed 13 June 2026]

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