The Road to 9/11: A chronology
1914-1938
1914
World War I begins. Britain has long been a key player in the Muslim world. Egypt has been occupied by the British since the previous century, and Britain has significant influence elsewhere in the Middle East, notably in Bahrain, in the countries that now make up the United Arab Emirates and in part of Persia (now Iran). On the outbreak of World War I, the Turkish Ottoman empire allies itself with Germany, thus setting itself on a collision course with Britain and France, the great powers of the day.
1916-17
The Great Arab Revolt takes place. Led by Sharif Hussein bin Ali (assisted by T E Lawrence – ‘Lawrence of Arabia’), king of the Arabs and ancestor of the present king of Jordan, it plays an important part in undermining the region’s coloniser – the mighty, but weakening, Ottoman empire.
Jordan: History – The Great Arab Revolt
www.kinghussein.gov.jo/his_arabrevolt.html
Well-written history of the birth of Jordan.
However, Arab expectations – that they will be rewarded for the revolt with independence – are already doomed. In May 1916, Britain, France and Russia sign the Sykes–Picot agreement, in which they divide up Arab lands into ‘spheres of influence’ for themselves.
First World War.com: Primary documents: Sykes–Picot Agreement
www.firstworldwar.com/source/sykespicot.htm
The text of the agreement, plus a map showing how it affected the Middle East.
1917
The Russian Revolution: With revolutions in March and November, Russia takes the first steps towards becoming the Soviet Union (USSR), a Communist power that remains dominant for most of the 20th century, locked in a struggle with countries (such as the US and Britain) that espouse capitalism for influence throughout much of the world.
11 March: The British occupation of Baghdad begins.
2 November: British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour recommends, in what is now known as the Balfour Declaration, that Palestine become a ‘national home for the Jewish people’, thus further undermining Arab hopes for their own nation(s).
1918
World War I ends with defeat for Germany and, along with it, the Ottoman empire.
1919
28 June: The Treaty of Versailles is signed. Mainly remembered for the limits it puts on German power after World War I and the loss of German colonies, it also sets out ‘mandates’ (trusteeships) for France and Britain over the ‘Fertile Crescent’. This is the region of the Middle East stretching from the head of the Gulf, through much of what is now Iraq, across into Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.
The Fertile Crescent
http://www.bible-history.com/maps/maps/fertile_crescent.jpg
Simple map showing the region that is historically considered to be the Fertile Crescent.
There are also Arab riots in Palestine against the presence of the Jewish settlers who have begun to make their homes there.
1920
19-26 April: The San Remo Conference in Italy completes the process of dividing up the Middle East, started by the Treaty of Versailles. Britain is given mandates for Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan) and Palestine. The mandate for Palestine comprises an area incorporating what is now the entire state of Israel, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. The mandate specifically states that a national homeland for the Jewish people should be established in Palestine, but that the rights of non-Jews should be protected. France receives mandates for Syria and Lebanon.
The San Remo Conference
http://www.therightroadtopeace.com/infocenter/Heb/
SamRemoRes.html
Text of the agreement reached at St Remo to assign a mandate for Palestine to Britain.
British Mandate of Palestine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_mandate_of_Palestine/
Very clear Wikipedia article on the history of Britain’s involvement with Palestine.
The borders of the countries concerned are drawn up with little reference to the culture or ethnicity of the people within them. One result is that adherents of the two main, and often bitterly opposed, traditions of Islam – the Shiites and the Sunni – frequently find themselves in the same states. Another is that the Kurdish people’s ancient homeland disappears, divided between Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and even Armenia. The mandates are gradually given up during the 1930s and 40s, but Western, non-Arab, non-Muslim influences remain strong in the region.
1921
In Persia – not an Arab country – army officer Reza Khan
Mirpanj seizes control of the country. Four years later, he compels a constituent
assembly to make him shah (‘king’). He sets about ‘modernising’ (that
is, Westernising) Persia, angering traditional Muslims.
1922
28 February: Egypt declares independence from Britain, though a British military presence remains.
The mandates decided at San Remo in 1920 are ratified by the League of Nations – the precursor to the United Nations.
1923
Oil is found in Iraq, some 15 years after its discovery in Persia. The importance of the region as an oil producer is becoming evident.
23 October: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) deposes the ruling sultan of Turkey and declares the country a secular, Western-style, republic – religious styles of dress are forbidden outside places of worship, Arabic script is abandoned in favour of the Roman alphabet and religious education is outlawed in schools. This move remains unprecedented in the Muslim world, and Turkey’s courting of the West remains a source of division within that country.
1928
In Egypt, Hassan al-Banna (1906-49) founds the Muslim Brotherhood, seeking to make basic Muslim values part of everyday life. The Brotherhood founds mosques and provides educational and healthcare opportunities for the poor, which the government has failed to make available. It starts as a non-violent, puritanical movement but, from the late 1930s, takes on an increasingly violent character and is frequently in conflict with the Egyptian authorities. Its influence spreads beyond Egypt, and becomes a focus for the belief that the Muslims should reject all ‘foreign’ ideologies and seek to establish a pure Islamic state.
1929
August: Arab attacks on Jews in Palestine, following disputes over Jewish use of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
1932
Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud completes the long process of conquering the desert kingdom we now know as Saudi Arabia. Saud is a follower of the strict Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam, which dominates the country to this day. Saudi Arabia remains an absolute monarchy, with a large and, since the discovery of oil (see 1938), extremely wealthy royal family.
Iraq gains independence from Britain under King Faisal I, who owes his position to the British mandate. Inevitably, a strong British influence remains – opposed by many Iraqis.
King Faisal I
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRQfeisal1.htm
Short biography of the man who fought with Lawrence of Arabia.
1935
Persia changes its name to Iran.
1936
The rise of the Nazi party and persecution of Jews in Germany leads to a massive increase of Jewish immigration into Palestine. Faced with Arab resentment, the British rulers of the region try to curtail this.
1938
Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia, which eventually becomes the world’s largest supplier of this precious commodity. The Saudis are now in a position to finance any project they choose throughout the world, but such projects tend to reflect the Wahhabi Islam favoured by them.
