Michael Korda Quotes

The British were trying to enlist the aid of the Arabs in fighting against the Ottoman Turks who had controlled all of the Middle East in the name of Islam. There was another clause in the letter excepting the areas that Britain had agreements with France and Russia. However, unknown to the Sherif there was the Sykes-Picot treaty which had secret clauses giving Syria, Damascus and other prime areas to the French. The English could not guarantee independence to much of the Arab Mideast.

This quotation not only has historical significance by showing that there was a female involvement in Pan-Arab politics in the 1920s, but has political significance today and it ironically is quoted more by Israeli Defenders than by the opposition to the existence of the Jewish state. Most modern Arab politicians find it not in their political interest to seem to approve of an independent woman having leadership in the Middle East. The Israeli defenders quote it to refute 3 arguments that many political enemies of Israel make: There were no significant number of Jews in Israel until after the Holocaust when the UN decided that they could have Arab land. The land in Israel was seized by the Zionists or ceded to them by the UN and Jews had no legitimate right to any land in the Palestinian area; and that there was no hostility to the Jews until they established a Jewish State in the area. The most damaging fact to the Arab extremist argument. There were so many Jews buying land that there was a movement to try and persuade Arabs not to sell land to Jews and to buy land from Jews.

Sharif Husain was the leader of the Hashemite Tribes who had agreed with the British to lead a Hashemite Arab revolt against the Ottoman Turks in exchange for the Hashimites to have their own independent state—Jordan. This also explains the close relationship between Jordan and Britain. The notion of enslavement to the British illustrates a blind spot that the Ottoman Empire had in its waning years. The Ottoman Sultan had the power of life and death over everyone in the empire, and Istanbul appointed all public officials for all jurisdictions, and made laws that applied to all. The Hashemites would instead have their own nation, make their own laws and would by subject to British foreign policy to the extent that the British guaranteed their independence from the Sultan and the Ottomans. They regarded it as freedom and not slavery.

Ataturk wrote this manual personally. Religious Turks took violent offense to Ataturk’s proclamation that Turks were great without Islam.

This quotation is often given by those who believe that nothing has really changed regarding the Arabs and non-Islamic Westerners in the last century. While the support of dictators, Israel and support for that democracy, the artificial Western imposed borders, 9-11, or the Iraq war is often cited as the cause of Arab hostility and murderous aggression, as this quotation demonstrates, the problems and attitudes and behaviors existed long before any of these occurred. The borders were not set until after WWI and all the other causes occurred almost 50 years later, Yet there was still the propensity for fanaticism and violence. Sikes actually was one of those who was to determine the Arab borders, making one of the first “suggested” maps of the area for the English.

The Germans allied themselves with the Islamic insurgency of the day as a strategic maneuver. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem broadcast propaganda from Nazi radio in Berlin and was dispatched to organize Muslim fighters in Iraq. Fascism was introduced into the Middle East and the Arabs and Persians saw it as a natural extension of their authoritarian and highly prescriptive forms of religious and civil government. 60 years later, there would be Islamic Fascists throughout the Middle East in control or vying for control of many of the countries.

There are two movements ongoing:

Describing T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia):

Western Saudi Arabia. Although his claim to rule all Arabs was never recognized by other nations and he was deposed by other Arabs in 1924, his sons Feysal I and Abdullah ended up ruling Iraq and Transjordan.

President Roosevelt had a meeting with the then general, for the first time, and in the discussions Roosevelt felt that De Gaulle was taking too much authority upon himself and wanted to make all decisions for France that should be made by a government. Roosevelt reminded De Gaulle that he was not an elected official. Winston Churchill who was also present privately told Roosevelt that for his part he would burn him but his government wouldn’t allow it.

The Turkish Ottoman Empire controlled most of the Middle East and at times Arab areas and tribes would revolt. Egypt was considered the prize of the Middle East. The Ottomans not only controlled the Middle East militarily and civilly, but also religiously. The Turkish Sultan was the spiritual leader of almost all of the Middle Eastern Muslims.

This newspaper was an English language organ published by General Allenby’s British and Allied forces in the Middle East. Prior to the war, the Middle East was all part of the Ottoman Empire. However, the Ottoman Turks sided with Germany in WWI and their Middle East dominions were targets for the allied military strategy.