The Turkish Peace — Page 11
11 supports the government of the Hijaz at the Peace Conference and this has been repeatedly acknowledged by Qibla , the semi-government owned newspaper of the region. Thus whatever actions they choose to adopt, Muslims should not be unmindful of the goodwill of the British government, lest in their rashness and blind emotion they lose an [important] friend and are guilty of ingratitude. After all, the British are not Muslims; their sympathy for the Turks is not based on a shared community of faith. Nor does the political defeat of Turkey affect British interests as their experience of the last war has shown them that the threat of pan- Islamism is only illusory. If Britain, therefore, has any sympathy for Turkey it is out of consideration of the sentiments of their Muslim subjects. So any sympathy or goodwill they demonstrate, obliges the Muslims to be grateful to them and to respect their friendly overtures. It should also not be forgotten that while we expect the British to take into account our sentiments, they are also obligated to respect the views of their allies whose troops fought for Britain alongside the Muslims and indeed outnumbered them. Their financial sacrifices to help bring about victory for the British were also far greater than those of the Muslims. If the British consider it a [diplomatic] necessity to respect