War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

74 WARBYREVOLUTION

Delhiwishednotto riskoffendingbypittingArabsagainstthesul-
tan-caliphinConstantinople.Indiadidnotwanteitheran Arab ca-
liphateoraunitedArabiabutratheraweakanddisunitedone,di-
videdintosmallprincipalitiesthatwere as far aspossibleunderIndia's
suzerainty.SirArthurHirtzel,secretarytotheIndiaOffice'spolitical
department,wroteontheissue:"Thestrengthofourpositionvis a
vistheArabshaslainintheirowndivisionsandintheirhostilityto
Turkey....Moreover,Pan-Islamis adangerthatmustbesteadily
born[e]inmind,anditseemshighlyprobablethateventuallya con-
solidatedArabiawouldbe a fargreaterdanger,alikein Africaand
Asia,thantheJewishfree-masonswhonowcontroltheCaliphate.'?'
Whilesuchfearsofpan-IslamismalsocharacterizedKitchener's
attitude,thewarministerneverthelessseemedunconcernedabout
thepotentialproblemsposedbytheIndiaOfficeregardingan Anglo-
Arab alliance. HehadbelievedsincelongbeforethewarthattheTurks
andpan-IslamismformedamajorthreattoBritishinterestsinthe
MiddleEast, allthemoresobecausetheypossessedGermanback-
ing.Thiswasapparentin hisdirectivetoCheethamon 24 September
tocontinuesecretnegotiationswithAbdullah,theSharifofMecca's
son,whichKitchenerhadalreadystartedbeforethewar.Theminis-
tertoldCheethamthathewishedtodeterminethesharif'sattitude
towardBritainincasethe"presentarmedGermaninfluenceat
ConstantinoplecoerceCalif[sic]againsthis willandSublimePorte
toactsofaggressionandwaragainstGreatBritain.?"
Simultaneously,andunknowntoMalletortheembassy,theIndia
OfficeandGovernmentofIndiavoicedalarmatBritishpolicy.They
wereespeciallyworriedabouttheeffectontheArabs inthePersian
GulfofBritain'sinactionwhiletheTurksmadepreparationsfor war
andapossiblefuturedeclarationofjihad."Consequently,theIn-
dianauthorities,supportedbyKitchenerandEyre Crowe,theFor-
eignOfficespecialistonGermany,suggestedtotheBritishcabinet
thatIndiasendoneofitsarmydivisionstotheheadofthePersian
Gulf.On 2 OctobertheLondongovernmentapprovedthisproposal
andalsoorderedCaptainWilliamHenryShakespear,theIndia
government'spoliticalofficerin Kuwait, tovisitIbnSaudtopersuade
himnotto sidewiththeTurksshouldwarbreakoutbetweenTurkey
andBritain."