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Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement' [53r] (106/1144)
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.
? I
- 7 -
had for centuries? and Americans do not fit
these countries either by capacity to learn the languages
Sdlo to understand the"people - or by knowledge of how_to
behave towards Middle Eastern peoples. f° _
operation with us (sc. rather than our ^°t' 1 ^ 1 y rnean 3 a n accept-
subiect to American concurrence) would not only mean an
anceof the position of junior partner in an area where we have
been head of the firm for hundreds of years,.but would also
involve us in the slightly contemptuous ^^(iia^is
Eastern peoples have for our presumed collaborators Uhat^is,
for them personally, as ppposed to the n rjemnsula
their money). Their dominant pos!tip h ° '"r aa . on i s ^ g 0 f the
ought to rinke them content to let us be the protagonists
United Nations in the ’’fertile crescent •
27. As a tailpiece to a paper on Arab Federation, one should
perhaps cast a brief glance at the other countries of t
Middle East, which Arab Federation r(3 ga conmented
interesting to note that a section of the Pe J s ^n press conmentea
on the Arab Federatipn mpve as an artifice of 0 f the
strengthen her position in the Middle East. The collapse oie
Saadabad nact has left Persia and Afghanistan high ana
if the British Conmonwealth does not maintain
its influence in these two countries, Russian influence will
hold the field. It has been contended in another paperthat
the natural member of the British Conmpnwealth to Ml this ga^
is India, which has not only ancient historical connections wion
both.^t has also a cadre.of officers trained and equipped to
HnnHlfl dinlomatic affairs m these countries. n.M.u. s
diplomatic^ and consular posts in Afghanistan are already mnned
from the Indian service, while India.also i llls , a numDer
of Consulates in Persia. The retention r n Ji a i.
strengthening of this organization fits.in well s Gulf
special interest and representative ^ h f n 5f”^to a
The desirability was ou - ^ould not
position of direct contact with Russia, in which she could not
fail to see the necessity, for her own safety, of staying m
the Comnonwealth.
28 Finallv. it seems quite obvious that a cadre of officers
with special training, particularly in the Arabic language should
bo formed without delay; and perhaps the Middle East Ministry of
State continued after the war. Steps have been taken to train
certain junior army officers in Arabism ; but the ultimate
objective of this training and the method of manning senior posts
do not seem to be clearlvdefined.. Such an "Arab cadre" might
conveniently absorb the Sudan service, and also take over .
Consul arposts in Turkey, North Africa and perhaps Abyssinia and
Somaliland, as well as the obvious Arab countries of the
proposed Federation.
PIM.
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' [53r] (106/1144), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2110, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047229909.0x00006d> [accessed 16 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- 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