ABSTRACT
Sykes was the first British official to discover, during his visit to Syria/Palestine in November 1918, that Arab nationalism had assumed a Pan-Arab and a Pan-Islamic character; Islam at the core was anti-foreign and hostile toward the Allied powers. It was an eye-opening revelation. In October 1919, Major J. N. Clayton, the political officer in Damascus, ascertained that for "the vast majority of Moslems, Arab Nationalism and Islamism are synonymous terms". Clayton was unaware that, when he submitted his report, a formal agreement between Mustafa Kemal and Emir Feisal had already existed for three months. With regard to the constitution, it was agreed that Arabia would remain attached to Turkey and remain faithful to the caliphate whose title would be ratified and proclaimed afresh. During his stay in Damascus, at the end of 1915, Feisal met members of the Arab Secret Societies and was sworn in as a member.
