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Coll 6/43 'Pan Arab Congress 1933. Attitude of H.M.G. to a Pan Arab Movement' [236r] (472/1144)
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.
INDIV.
-11-
ENCLOSURE N0.7 »
Cc^py of Telegram No >521 dated 25th Octobe r ,1941,
from Je&d'a to~~the Foreign Off ice*
Your telegram No. 197.
As I felt convinced that Itn Sand had not instructed his
representative at London to raise the question, 1 Y u
Yasin without mentioning Hafiz Wahba s demarche, ™ h ® t
King had recently been considering the question of Arab
federation.
2. Yusuf Yasin replied as I expected, that though the
of relations with the Arabs was of the greatest concern ^ 1
Saud his whole thought was now concentrated on the war a
achievement^of Allief victory. Unless mis victory were achieved,
the Arabs would have little say m the settlement of their prooxems.
3. Yusuf Yasin's personal view was that Arab federation
impracticable, if by the term was meant the form in force in
United States. Some form of close union might eventually be
achieved but not for many years. The first pre-r q .^
division of Arab lands into as few separate units as possible,
fhl was not referring to the division of Palestine from Syria but
of the sub-divisions of Syria), the second was the achievementof
harmony and in due course of complete independence in each Arab
unit. Whatever bonds united them, the Arab countries could no ,
Yusuf Yasin thought, stand alone. They would need the suppor
of a European power, but of one only, and that Great Britain.
4. I find it difficult to see how any form of federation could
be of advantage to Saudi Arabia - nor even how they c °Uf- d t)e
fitted into any such scheme. Federation can, presumably,
only be achieved by States enjoying /grp. undec._/ approximately
the same form of Government and which have reached the same
standards of culture. Saudi Arabia must, by its nature,
differ. The Hejaz is a Moslem?Cp)reservation, the rest of the
country consists of a conglomeration of primitive Beduim,
chiefly held together by prestige of one man. Saudi Arabia
has thus\ little contribution to make even to a cultural and
economic union*
5. Unless Xbn Saud took an entirely altruistic view, it is
difficult to see how he could support the idea of federation.
a federation of Arab states which excluded Saudi Arabics might
be regarded by him as a menace especially if under (A.A)-« --himi e.
In a federation which included Saudi Arabia, his backward and
primitive country x could play only an insignificant role.
6 Ibn Saud's hope is, I think, not that the Arabs should
he united "S one unit, but that they should achieve close
friendship amongst themselves and unity of purpose and policy
in close collaboration with Great Britain.
/Repeated to Cairo under Foreign Office No.3714
Bagdad under Foreign Office No.1106 and Jerusalem
under Colonial Office No.1714._y
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' [236r] (472/1144), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2110, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047229911.0x00004b> [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