hip with the British long pre-dated World War I. It started towards the middle of the nineteenth century. British interest blossomed into excitement over literary discoveries in Arab culture, such as the sixteen volumes of the Arabian Nights, which were printed in Richard Burton's translation between 1885 and 1888. The Arab counterpart of these British sentiments was respect for the British institutions. During World War I, T.E. Lawrence, a British agent, met Sharif Hussein of Mecca, who was the head of Arabs in the Moslem holy city of Mecca, to come to an agreement. Great Britain sponsored the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire in exchange for independence of Turkey's Arab provinces. Sharif Hussein of Mecca agreed to help the British in the war by attacking the Ottoman Empire, which was an allie of Germany in WWI. The British fought alongside Sharif of Mecca against the Ottoman Empire. Two people shared a great experience, but as far as the Arabs were concerned this was quickly changed to bitter disappointment. The British government's promise of support for the independence of Turkey's Arab provinces was flatly contradicted by a series of agreements concluded with its allies in the course of the war, which provided for the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire into "spheres of interest" among Great Britain, France, Italy and Russia. As soon as the British conquer and take over the land from the Turks, their relationship with the Arabs changes automatically. The Arabs saw that their helpmate in beating the Turks turned into a policeman in Iraq and Palestine and assisted the French to do the same in the Levant States. So from the Arab point of view, the area instead of becoming liberated and free remained in bondage under another ruler. The Arab leaders were extremely dissatisfied since they expected more from the British. The British, still interested in keeping the relationship with the Arabs, puts one of Sharif's son Feisal as the r...
