Abstract: The file contains the views of the Aga Khan (Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah), and M A Ali Baig on the political situation in Egypt, based on a series of interviews held during a visit to Ismailia [Al Ismā'īlīyah], Suez, Port Said [Būr Saʻīd], Tanta, Alexandria, and the camps of the Indian troops, from 19 December 1914 to 12 January 1915.It is divided into the following sections:the attitude of the Egyptian people – regarding Britain, Turkey, and the First World War;the Moslem Egyptians;the Copts;the Greeks and other races;the Egyptian aristocracy;the aspirations of educated Egyptians;the Protectorate;the new Sultan;the Ministers and their Advisors;the Nationalists;the Egyptian press;the Caliphate;the Jehad Fetwa;the Effect of Earl Kitchener's policy;the Indian Troops;Conclusion.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 55, and terminates at f 59, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 55-59; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Papers relating to Britain’s position in Egypt at the beginning of the First World War. The papers cover: behind-the-scenes diplomatic negotiations between British Government officials and Arab and Muslim representatives; reports of anti-British or Egyptian-nationalist propaganda, much of which emanated from neutral Switzerland; and actions against British or Egyptian interests, undertaken by individuals associated with the German or Turkish Governments (Government officials, military officers, secret agents). Subjects covered include:The capture and interrogation of Robert Casimir Otto Mors, a German citizen who was a Lieutenant in the Alexandria City Police, and who had been recruited as a German secret agent with plans to coordinate a bombing campaign against British interests in Egypt. Papers include transcripts of interrogations and interviews with Mors (ff 315-323, ff 326-336).The activities and publications of the Club des Patriotes Egyptiens and its leader Dr M M Rifaat [Mansour Rifa’at], in Geneva, Switzerland. Papers include a pamphlet (in French) entitled
L’Angleterre en decadence,published by the Club des Patriotes Egyptiens in July 1914, written by Professor L F Hoffmann, with a foreword by Rifaat (ff 250-280).A report entitled
Turkish Military Preparations and Political Intrigues having an attack on Egypt as their object, written by Philip Perceval Graves, former
Timescorrespondent in Constantinople (ff 189-206).Correspondence and reports relating to the situation in the western desert (Libyan desert), including a report entitled
Notes on the Senussi Question, written by Wilfred Jennings Bramly, and letters exchanged between the British Government and Senussi leader El Sayed Ahmed El Sherif El Senussi [Ahmed Sharif As-Senussi] (ff 145-177).Correspondence exchanged between British Government officials and Aga Khan [Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III]. Papers include a note
On the Situation in Egypt, co-authored by Aga Khan and M Abbas Ali Baig (ff 96-126).Correspondence regarding Egyptians living in Switzerland, who are regarded by the British Government as being ‘agitators’ (ff 37-46).Correspondence concerning an alleged plot to assassinate the Sultan of Egypt (ff 20-27).Principal correspondents include: the Counsellor of the British Embassy at Cairo (Milne Cheetham); the British Envoy to the Swiss Confederation (Evelyn Grant-Duff); the Foreign Office (Louis du Pan Mallet); Aga Khan III (Sultan Mohammad Shah).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 370; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.