In the middle of May, Europe’s terms for Turkey became known. Not only was Turkey to be deprived of all its colonies and Greek-majority areas, Mecca and Medina were to be placed under a pro-British chieftain. While France would control Syria, Britain was to ‘guard’ Iraq, which contained Karbala and Najaf, as also Palestine, which included Jerusalem. Islam’s key sites were thus all to fall under the authority of Christian countries.
