The Peace on The Horizon - 75 Years after The World War 2 in the Middle East (10)

 

(Japanese Version)

(Arabic Version)

 

(contents)

 

Prologue (10)

 

010. McMahon-Hussein Correspondence (1/2)

The first promise was a series of ten correspondences between Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner in the Sultanate of Egypt, and Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Makkah from July 1915 to March 1916. As the reward of the war against Ottoman Empire, McMahon promised independence of Arabs. He wrote a letter to Hussein on 24 October 1915, saying as follows.

 

"I am empowered in the name of the Government of Great Britain to give the following assurances and make the following reply to your letter:

 Subject to the above modifications, Great Britain is prepared to recognize and support the Independence of the Arabs within the territories included in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca”

 

Hussein was born in prestigious family as a 39^th direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He was the Sherif of Makkah and the King of the Hijaz, reigning the Red Sea coastal zone.  Hussein, who was supported by UK, ordered his sons Abdallah and Faisal to attack the Ottoman Empire. Abdullah later became the King of Jordan and was a grandfather of Abdallah II, present monarch. And Faisal became the King of Iraq. Two sons fought guerrilla war against Ottoman Empire.

 

(To be continued ----)

 

 

Areha Kazuya

(From an ordinary citizen in the cloud)