IOR/L/PS/12/2151

This file documents steps considered and taken by the British to combat reported Italian anti-British propaganda and disseminate pro-British propaganda in the Middle East and beyond.

The file's principal correspondents are the following: His Majesty's Ambassador in Rome (Eric Drummond); the British Consul-General, Addis Ababa (Hugh Stonehewer Bird); His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Addis Ababa (Patrick Maxwell Roberts); the British Consul-General, Batavia (Henry Fitzmaurice); His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires, Jedda (Albert Spencer Calvert); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Reader William Bullard); officials of the Foreign Office, the India Office, and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.

Included in the correspondence is discussion of the following:

• Ibn Saud's [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] views on Italian activities in the Middle East.
• The movements of Shakib Arslan of the Syria Palestine Islamic League, including his reported visit to Rome in November 1936.
• The Italian regime in Ethiopia (including its education system) and the effect of Italian propaganda on Ethiopia's Muslim population.
• Reports of the publication of a manifesto in Libya that claims for Mussolini the title of 'Protector of Islam'.
• Accounts of speeches and statements given by Mussolini regarding Italy's attitude towards Muslim populations.
• Reported Italian sympathies amongst the Arab population in Palestine.
• Reports of Italian-inspired anti-British propaganda in the Dutch East Indies (mainly in Java), and the possibility of counteracting its effect on the local Arab population by sending pro-British Arabic periodicals to influential Arab residents there (also considered is the possibility of sending visitors from the Persian Gulf to deliver pro-British lectures).
• Italian propaganda regarding the financial assistance provided by the Italian authorities for Ethiopian Muslims to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
• Steps taken by the British authorities in Alexandria to combat anti-British propaganda in Egypt, which include establishing a pro-British magazine named Zahrat el Sharq.

The Arabic language material consists of a copy of the first issue of the aforementioned magazine, Zahrat el Sharq, dated 18 July 1938 and mainly consisting of pro-British propaganda. The French language material consists of several items of correspondence and a copy of a text which translates into English as 'Islam Policy of Italy'.

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).