383.0063/11
The Chargé in Egypt (Hare) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 1.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Legation’s despatch no. 2007 [2077] of April 24, 1940, enclosing a translation of a bill providing for the prohibition of religious propaganda which had been signed by the King and referred to Parliament for action.
The Legation has just been advised by Dr. Adams, Dean of the School of Oriental Studies of the American University of Cairo, that he has been informed by a source which he regards as reliable that action on the bill in question has been postponed until the next session of Parliament in December. However, the writer had in the meantime sought occasion to discuss this question informally with the French Minister and the Legal Counselor of the British Embassy with [Page 497] a view to ascertaining their views on the subject, which are set forth below as being of possible interest for background purposes.
The French Minister said that he was cognizant that a bill for the prohibition of religious propaganda had been prepared and submitted for legislative action but that he did not contemplate doing anything in the matter. He said that it had been his invariable rule to advise against all proselytizing activity in French institutions and that under the circumstances he would not want to become involved in any discussion on the subject with the Egyptian Government.
The Legal Counselor of the British Embassy said that the Embassy had been approached by various interested British organizations in connection with the proposed bill and that for a time the Ambassador was more or less inclined to intervene in the matter, basing his intervention on the assumption that the bill was intended to be strictly non-discriminatory and that it would therefore be equally applicable to proselytizing by Moslems as by Christians. Knowing that there was no small amount of Moslem proselytizing in Egypt, particularly in respect of Copts in the schools, it was the thought of the Ambassador that insistence on strict non-discrimination might serve to kill the bill or at least to effect its modification. However, the Oriental Secretariat of the Embassy had opposed such an approach for political reasons and it had therefore practically been decided not to pursue the matter further. In this connection the Legal Counselor said quite frankly that it is a fixed policy of the British Government to refrain from supporting Christian missionary activity in Moslem countries in view of the large number of Moslems in territories under British rule whose sensibilities the British Government would not want to offend.
There is enclosed as being of possible interest to the Department a copy of a letter written by the Anglican Bishop in Cairo,34 signing himself as “Lover of Egypt”, and sent to the Egyptian Gazette for publication, a copy of which was furnished the Legation in confidence by a member of the Gazette staff. However, the censors refused to pass the letter and it was not published.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩