The Development of the Political Thought of the Christian Leaders in Palestine from 1914 to 1922

Abstract

This study is about the development of the political thought of the

Christian leaders in Palestine (1914- 1922) , that is, from the beginning

of the World War 1 until the authentication of the League of Nations of the

British Mandate on Palestine. These Christian leaders adopted a political

ideology that represented its own characteristics in seeing independence

from the Ottoman Empire in the framework of the Arab endeavor and the

unity with Syria. It was possible to see the development of this ideology

through the awareness of the dangers of the Zionist program, the Jewish

immigration and the transfer of land to the Jews. The Christian leaders had

practiced the political work in partnership with the Islamic leaders whose

allegiance to certain families is their priority. The political work of Christian

leaders avoided family power and replaced it with the formation of other

associations and frameworks that represented the Arabs of Palestine, in

addition to that they were part of the leadership of the masses, who guided

the direct action. They refused to form any party with a Christian religious

background which British encouraged, and so their political thought

continued to develop.