William E. Gladstone Quotes
The Egyptian flood is upon us. Pharaoh had just as much business to pursue the Israelites as we have to meddle in Egypt …. However, our policy must now be determined by the effect which the triumph of the Madhi would have on our Mohammedan subjects.
In contrast to Queen Victoria and the Conservative Government before him, Gladstone opposed most colonial expansionism. However, in a policy analysis that in later years would come to be called “the Domino Theory,” Gladstone felt compelled to put down the revolt.
William E. Gladstone, 1809-1898, British Prime Minister (Liberal), Sentiment to the British cabinet when there was a military and religious revolt in Southern Egypt and the Sudan against British influence and power. Khartoum had just fallen, February 1885
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The Gladstone government delayes and the force did not arrive on time. The town fell to the Madhi’s forces. Gordon was killed.
Expressing distress that the British were involved in one war after another in the Middle East that she thought never would have occurred if Britain had a foreign policy instead of "Muddling Through". Bell was responsible for setting most of the borders and geographical distributions of peoples in the Middle East, She did the best she could without any strong policy to guide her. A Century later, the Middle Eastern nations were still fighting over those borders, but they remained essentially intact.
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.
In most of the world this is an accepted truism. However, where there is judicial independence as in the United States, Israel, Norway, England and other countries, those who appoint judges have little or no control over a judiciary that has lifetime tenure and a tradition of non-interference. The influence is limited to the appointment of a judge with a particular philosophy. However, in some countries, not only do the courts follow the lead of the government but if they do not the judges themselves might be jailed or worse. Borelli’s principle therefore holds there.
Gordon himself was killed shortly thereafter by the Madhi’s followers at the siege of Khartoum. Ahmed died soon thereafter. Although Ahmed was an extreme religious fanatic, and a skillful leader, he was not a terrorist.
Muhammad Ahmad, a Muslim spiritual and military leader of Southern Egypt and the Sudan who was leading a jihad against the Egyptian government and the English. Gordon himself was killed shortly thereafter by the Madhi’s followers at the siege of Khartoum.
Earl of Cromer
Earlier, his father had also castigated the ministers over their inept hard-line handling of the American Revolution. See {641505} .
Howe had written Franklin attempting to stave off a American break with England. Franklin, with the approval of the Continental Congress, replied. This line was a veiled warning of a type of “domino effect” which indeed came to pass.
The President was Woodrow Wilson and the Peace Conference was that at the end of WWI. While the right of self determination is broadly accepted in American society, it was not always so.
The Gladstone government was opposed to the expansionist policies of the Conservatives who had preceded them. None the less, General Gordon being killed in the uprising at Khartoum, and the Egyptian revolution forced the government’s hand to send troops.
Part of the problem lies in a part of the Muslim religion which values stability over all else except Islam itself. Traditionally Muslims have been told to tolerate a bad, corrupt leader, unless he is blasphemous. So dictators who can create an alliance between themselves and the religious influentials by giving them money and allowing them to control civil society as in Saudi Arabia, have been insulated from rebellion and revolutionary forces.
5th Earl of Rosebery
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four terms beginning in 1868 and ending in 1894. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times, serving over 12 years.
