Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [‎107r] (217/380)

This docitncnt le tho yroyart'j of His Brltcmiio GoTernnont,
VLkK 0 j3I1IST \ / "
'S SCiiST
liastu:^ coir.:i T^ k.c, 237 q.
QUO HU3AIIT 1 3 TITL5,
( Uoto b.v Iidit Off ico )
1. Tho Foreign Office htvc recently rcisod (ct tho
instenco, it is understood, of Colonel Lewronce) the question
of grmiting Ling Husain the title of n Ling of the >*robe Tf .
The original title chosen by the 3herif hiuisolf, ^hen he first
assunei the at,vie of royalty in October, 1916, wee "Kins of
the i>rab nation" » The India Oiiico observed (letter of 4th
Uovenber, 19lST~that this title, being national not territorial,
* "would not necessarily exclude the idea of the local autonomy
of other *irab Chiefs". But tho formula evoked orltlolsm in
various quarters, and a number of alternatives wore suggested.
Colonel ViIson, after personal discussion with Husain end hie
son Abdulla, suggested "His Majesty tho Shcrif"; 3ir R,77iD-
geto (then Sirdar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. , not High Commissioner) preferred "King of
the Arabs in Hcjaz". The French Government proposed "Malik-
el-Hcramein" (King of the Holy Flaces), considering that any
ouch title as "King of the areb3"or "of ^rebia" might prove
inconveniently wide. Sir H.MacMahon sug ested "Zing of the
He jest". The Government of India took strong objection to
the French suggestion, end vere disposed to favour "King of
the ^raba in the Hojez and its dependencies", which they
considered would be inoffensive to other Arab Chiefs* Sir F.
Cox, then at Baghdad, recommended, as a combined temporal end
spiritual title,’"Sultan-el-Eejez Hanil-el-Earemein" (Sultan
of tho Hojaz end Protector of the Holy Places). Eventually
"Melik-el-He jae" (King of the Hojaz") was adopted. •
2. The case against the wider title turns upon the effect
likely to be produced upon cthor independent Arab Chiefs (e*g.
Bin Saud and the Idrisi: even, nerhaps, the Sultan of Masket
and the gheikh of Eoweit) with whom we ere in treaty relations;
end secondly upon the claims which the grant of such a title
would establish, or might be hold to establish, in Mesopotamia.
It is proposed, as a preliminary step, if the Committee agree,
to telegraph to the Government of Indie end the Civil Commission
er, Baghdad, in the following terms
"For reasons connected with negotiations regarding
Syria and Arabs generally at peace conference
Foreign Cfiice are anxious to rocogniso title of
King of tho Arabs for King Husain as oarly as
possible. I fully appreciate objections that
have always been taken on your side to this title,
end I do not liko it myself. But change of title
will, it is thought, not involve change of status
via b vis of other Arab Chiefs which will remain
what Husain can make it, and though it is not pert