In December 1925, the Egyptian leader Saad Pasha Zaghloul sent a message to the great Arab mujahid, the Commander-in-Chief of the Great Syrian Revolt, Sultan Pasha al-Atrash.
Here is the literal text of the message:
Proceed with the blessings of God, oh comrade; if the traitors—the traitors of the homeland—do not appreciate this great leap to its true value, future generations will appreciate it, and history will record it for you, oh Sultan of gallantry and chivalry... No matter how they stigmatize your banner and your sacred goal, no matter how they tarnish your honorable plan, and no matter how they speculate about your noble intentions, your authority will be etched in hearts, just as it is now the flag of the country. Bani Ma'ruf, my countrymen, march forward, for the hand of God is with the community. And he who is with truth and reality shall not be defeated. How could victory not be on your side, when you are the owners of the land? You are the best of sons, the best of gallantry, the best of knights, and the best of honorable adversaries; indeed, you are the best protectors of the homeland. You sought peace and security through gallantry, but they answered you with war. War is for those who seek war. For this and that, you have shaken off the dust of humiliation and the cloak of colonialism. You remain on the battlefield of jihad, amidst the clashing of swords and the shells of cannons, seeking death in the arenas of battle with honor, rather than dying in your beds as cowards. Now that you have washed away this insult, the insult of the colonizers, with blood, through the resolve of your national Sultan, as represented by the words of the Arab poet: "High honor is not saved from harm until blood is shed upon its sides."
Now, be vigilant, by your right, oh comrades, comrades of the homeland. Preserve your precious lives well, and spare blood—the blood of the innocent and the martyrs—while, of course, maintaining your sacred freedom and defending your desired independence. If you wish for this, let it be driven by the national rights you possess, and by the power of your unity, your steadfastness, the strength of your will, and the greatness of your wisdom. Seeking success, the success of Egypt: (No enslavement, no colonialism, no protection, no censorship, no interference by anyone in any of our affairs). Then repeat and say as he said... (This is what we want; this is what we must obtain, sooner or later).
.. Until we meet, oh advocates of nationalism..
Egypt, 20/12/1925, Saad Pasha Zaghloul
