British Pan-Arab Policy, 1915-1922
By: Isaiah Friedman
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2017
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 370
ISBN-13: 9781315081953
Subjects: World War, 1914-1918; Diplomatic history; Panarabism; History; Foreign relations; Politics and government; Guerre mondiale, 1914-1918; Histoire diplomatique; Panarabisme; Histoire; Relations extérieures; Politique et gouvernement; Diplomatic relations
Description: "In this myth-shattering study Isaiah Friedman provides a new perspective on events in the Middle East during World War I and its aftermath. He shows that British officials in Cairo mistakenly assumed that the Arabs would rebel against Turkey and welcome the British as deliverers. Sharif (later king) Hussein did rebel, but not for nationalistic motives as is generally presented in historiography. Early in the war he simultaneously negotiated with the British and the Turks but, after discovering that the Turks intended to assassinate him, finally sided with the British. There was no Arab Revolt in the Fertile Crescent. It was mainly the soldiers of Britain, the Commonwealth, and India that overthrew the Ottoman rule, not the Arabs. Both T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and Sir Mark Sykes hoped to revive the Arab nation and build a new Middle East. They courted disappointment: the Arabs resented the encroachment of European Powers and longed for the return of the Turks. Emir Feisal too became an exponent of Pan-Arabism and a proponent of the "United Syria" scheme. It was supported by the British Military Administration who wished thereby to eliminate the French from Syria. British officers were antagonistic to Zionism as well and were responsible for the anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem in April 1920. During the twenties, unlike the Hussein family and their allies, the peasants (fellaheen), who constituted the majority of the Arab population in Palestine, were not inimical towards the Zionists. They maintained that "progress and prosperity lie in the path of brotherhood" between Arabs and Jews and regarded Jewish immigration and settlement to be beneficial to the country. Friedman argues that, if properly handled, the Arab-Zionist conflict was not inevitable. The responsibility lay in the hands of the British administration of Palestine."--Provided by publisher.
Table of contents: title: Chapter Introduction  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 1 The Illusion  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 2 Arabs in the War  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 3 The Controversy about the Capture of Damascus  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 4 Sir Mark Sykes: His Vision and Disillusionment  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 5 The Miscalculation  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 6 Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations and the Principle of Self-Determination  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 7 The Anglo-French Declaration of 8 November 1918  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 8 Cooperation or Confrontation?  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 9 On a Collision Course  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 10 An Elusive Ally  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 11 Trans-Jordania * and Palestine  -- Isaiah Friedman; title: chapter 12 Wrestling with the Palestinians -- Isaiah Friedman.