SX43%LIVERPOOL.AC.UK@evans.ucar.edu (11/19/90)
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Hello all,
this article in a recent magazine contains a brief summary of
the background to the Middle East situation, tying in the Islamic calipha
te, the First world war, and Lawrence of Arabia !
[Any comments appreciated, emailed to me.]
Regards,
Fazal.
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Title : 'Stirring a Stale Old Pot : Gulf Shaikdoms'
Source : The Invitation' magazine, Sep 1990
Contact: 83 Chadwick Rd
Nottingham
NG7 5NN
England UK.
KEYWORDS: WWI, Ottoman empire, Arabs, British, U.S
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STIRRING A STALE OLD POT : *GULF SHAIKDOMS*
To understand the current mid-east scenario we have to go back to the
First World War. Turkey (then the Ottoman Khalifate) sided with Germany
and were on the losing side.
The countries now known as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq were
all part of the Ottoman empire, the legitimate Islamic State. The
British were given an unexpected bonus in their war against Turkey in
the shape of the "Arab Revolt".The British had not expected fellow
Muslim Arabs to be so keen to fight the Turks. This process was
expedited by people like "Lawrence of Arabia". The Arabs were so
reliable that the Allies' plan to occupy Mekka and Madina were
cancelled.
After the War the treatment meted out to the defeated Muslim
empire was different to that given to their fellow German
Christians. Instead of allowing the nation to be restored back to the
people, four secret agreements had been made to effectively dismember
the Ottoman empire including Turkey.
The agreements were :
(1) Constantinople Agreement of March 1915 giving Russia the Turkish
Straits.
(2) The Treaty of London of April 1915 giving Italy sovereignty over
Libya and parts of Turkey.
(3) Sykes-Pilot Agreement of May 1916. An Anglo-French pact to give
Russia Armenia, France bits of Syria, and Britain southern Iraq
(Mesopotamia). The rest of the Arab region to be split into zones
of British and French control.
(4) The Agreement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne of April 1917 allowing
Italy to expand into S.W. Anatolia.
The Sykes-Pilot agreement led to co-operative Arabs being allowed to set
up their own dynasties but under the direct supervision of the French
and British. An example of one such arrangement is the Anglo-Saudi
Treaty of December 1915 which states : "Bin Saud...the independent
Ruler...and after him his sons and descendants by inheritance; but the
selection of the individual will be in accordance with the nomination by
the living Ruler; but with the proviso that he shall not be a person
antagonistic to the British Government in any respect."
Note the wording promises obedience from every future king !
The discovery of Oil meant that control had to be maintained over
the region with American interests increasing. America has become
increasingly edgy, with the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the corrupt
shaikhdoms looking ever more ridiculous and incompetent in the modern
world. In particular, the Saudis have been teetering for some time and
Saddam Hussain's threatened invasion was an ideal pretext for the U.S.
to invade the country and pre-empt any possiblility of an Islamic
Revolution there. In any case this no doubt signals the end of the
Saudis as reliable U.S. clients and a change of face is now due. Also,
ironically, the U.S. will lose out since they may succeed in uniting the
Muslim on a common platform -- liberating Makka and Madina from the
Kuffaar.
As for the annexation by Iraq of the personal monarchy of Kuwait :
reducing the number of Muslim countries should be good for Muslim
unity, should an Islamic State ever be established.
In any case the shock waves from the whole episode will probably
destabilise the post colonial legacy of gulf-Shaikhdoms, thus creating
possibilities for genuine Islamic groups in the region to emerge,
eventually leading to Islamic revolution in the Arab world.
[Small map of the Gulf region, which I cant type in ! :-) ]