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‘Policy in the Middle East. I. Memorandum by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Mark Sykes.’ [‎102r] (5/14)

The record is made up of 1 file (7 folios). It was created in 1915. 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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Hiere iy also one other point which should not be lost sight of. At
piesent, no matter what I he feelings of Indian Moslems may be, nor what
tho exiont ol the ramifications of Indian seditionism, such influences find no
equivalent among the Arabs of Irak, cither urban nor rural, and since the
hcsl elements look to ns for good and firm government, it would be a mistake
to put them Irom the very outset within the scope of action of subtle ami
powerlul forces which will begin spreading unrest and disaffection at the
first available opportunity.
•With regard to the attitude of Indian Moslems in the present war, it is
very difficult to generalise owing to the diversities (^f sect, race, and avocation
among Indian Mohammedans, however, it is impossible to talk to Indian
Moha mmedans and British civil and military officers in the Indian service
about Islam in India without getting certain impressions. In the first place,
basing one's acquaintance with Islam on experience in Turkey, Arabia, the
Caucasus, Egypt, Tunis, and Algeria, there is one factor in the situation
with which one cannot fail to- be impressed, and that is the extreme
ignorance of Indian Mohammedans as a whole, of Islamic theological
doctrine as taught in the schools and universities or the A1 Azhar, Damascus,
< 'onstantinople, and Kairawan. Indian Mohammedanism, as far as theo
logical learning is concerned, appears to be at a low ebb. At first this
would seem to be a matter of slight importance, but on examination irt will
be found to be a considerable disadvantage to us as rulers, and to open an
avenue for our enemies.
In the first place it makes it easy for any charlatan to impose on Indian
Moslems the most absurd ideas as for instance, that the city of Baghdad is
a holy city, that Adrianople is the site of" holy shrines, that Constantinople
is the ancient capital of Islam, ideas which not the rudest Anatolian would
entertain. Further, it makes it very difficult to impress on Indian Moslems
the absolutely hypocritical attitude of the Committee of Union and
Progress, the enmity of the Turkish clerical party for the ( ommittee, and
the sordid motives which impelled the Turks to war.
From all I heard it was impossible not to feel that the bulk of Indian
Moslems sympathised with the Turks more or less the educated because
they have been affected by young Turkish propaganda, the uneducated
because they have no learned theological body to keep them straight. For
this state of affairs (although it is presumptuous for me to say so) I think
want of touch between the Indian Government and the real tendency of
development in the Near East is partly responsible. Thus the Red Crescent
Society, which is neither more nor less than a revolutionary anti-theological
pan -Islamic machine, was suffered to work on the fertile soil of Indian
educated Mohammedan Seditionism and Indian uneducated Mohammedan
ignorance for some time before the war. On the score of avoiding wounding
religious susceptibilities we have never taken the field in the British Indian
press against the Committee of Union and Progress, and a certain remote
ness from the scene has produced an atmosphere of acquiescence and
tolerance for things dangerous to our peace. As examples 1 enclose a small
pamphlet 0 I bought on a bookstall, and a cutting from a British Indian
newspaper, 0 each containing the seeds of immense mischief; while it may
be incidentally mentioned that one may meet at Simla or Delhi young
students wearing a crescent and star badge on a Turkish military cap, in
itself a deliberate challenge to our authority.
Our attitude is one of apology, of fear, of nervous consideration, while
our enemies are working against us with weapons which, if the truth were
* Xot reproduced.
li
s. 28<».

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Content

Secret memorandum, prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Mark Sykes. The report is preceded by a letter from Sykes to Major-General Charles Edward Callwell, Director of Military Operations, War Office, London, dated 15 November 1915, which includes Sykes’s opinion on the occupation of Ahwaz, and an assessment of the Turkish forces outside Aden.

The memorandum, dated 28 October 1915, is divided into the following sections:

  • (i) military situation in Mesopotamia: the relative weakness of troop numbers in Mesopotamia; implications of taking and holding Baghdad; supply of gunboats and ammunition. The political situation in Mesopotamia: the opinions of the notables of Basra, and of the general population; future policy, particularly in relation to the connection between India and Mesopotamia; colonisation by Indians, and the risks associated with the ‘Indianisation’ of Mesopotamia;
  • (ii) Indian Moslems [Muslims] and the War, including: Sykes’s assessment of the ‘extreme ignorance’ of Indian Muslims of Islamic theological doctrine; sympathy of Indian Muslims with the Turks and the Committee of Union and Progress; British educational policy towards Islam in India;
  • (iii) General situation: the political situation in India, Persia, Egypt and Arabia, and three proposed lines of action in order to defeat the Ottoman Empire. Military situation, identifying the regions and fronts critical to the region. Final observation on ‘certain psychological idiosyncrasies’ of the Ottoman armies.
Extent and format
1 file (7 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 100, and terminates at f 106, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 100-106; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and won't be found in the same position as the main sequence.

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‘Policy in the Middle East. I. Memorandum by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Mark Sykes.’ [‎102r] (5/14), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B217, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023608675.0x000006> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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