Book Review: Nuri As-Sa'id
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206001500410 |
| Published date | 01 December 1960 |
| Author | F. R. C. Bagley |
| Date | 01 December 1960 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
358
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Grivas'
relations
with
Makarios
and
the
Greek Orthodox
Church
illustrate
another
side
of
this
strange
man's
character.
Despite
the
barbarity
of his methods,
Grivas
was
a
religious
fanatic
and
ascetic
with
a
deep
reverence
for
the
leaders
of
the
Orthodox
Church
in
Cyprus;
in
his
mind
Enosis
and Cypriot
nationalism
were synonymous
with
the
claims
of
the
Church.
Makarios
used
this
feeling
for
his
own
ends,
and
not
merely
condoned
but
gave
his
spiritual
blessing
to
the
most
brutal
acts
of
terrorism.
The
author
has
no
admiration
for
Makarios,
whom
he
compares
with
Rasputin,
although
he
does
not
minimize his
power
and
his
political
astuteness.
His
view
is
that
in
the
end Maka-
rios,
without
scruple
and purely
for
political
expediency
and
the per-
sonal
position
it
would
bring
for
him,
abandoned
the
cause
of
Enosis,
which
both
he
and
Grivas had said
repeatedly was
the
only
solution
they
would
accept,
in
favour
of
the
compromise
reached
with
the
British,
the
Greeks,
and
the Turks.
Grivas
accepted
this betrayal
(for
betrayal
it
was
and
done
without
consultation
With
Grivas)
because
from the
beginning
he
had
been
"completely
subservient
to
the
Arch-
bishop".
Makarios'
one
concession
to
Grivas
was
his
insistence
that
the
British
allow him
to
leave
Cyprus
under
safe-conduct.
And
this
man
who
for
more
than
four
years
had
mocked
all
British
efforts
to
govern
Cyprus
and had
been
responsible
for
untold
death
and
destruction
did
leave Cyprus
and
was received
in
Athens
almost as
a
conquering
hero.
Chapters
17-19
describing
this
episode
are
vivid
and
bitter.
Colonel
Byford-Jones'
subject
is
Grivas
and
Eoka, and
he
tells
the
story
thoroughly
and
well.
He
has
not
attempted
a
complete
historical
analysis
of
the
complexities
of
the
Cyprus
issue, which
many readers
would
have
welcomed.
In
Chapter
16,
however,
he
does
hint
at
the
other
complicating
factors, the
attitude
of
Turkey
and
the
Turkish
minority, and
the
aims
of
the
Communist
Party
in
Cyprus. The
re-
viewer
agrees
with
him
that
the most
serious
threat
to the
success
of
the
present
agreement,
hailed
as
it is
with
relief
as
promising
an
end
to
the
violence
in
Cyprus,
is
the
underground Communist
Party
which
still
hopes
to
swing
an
independent
Cyprus
into
the
Communist
bloc.
Trinity
College,
Toronto
MARY
E. WHITE
NuRi
AS-SA'ID.
By
Lord
Birdwood,
M.V.O.
1959.
(London: Cassell;
Toronto:
British
Book
Service.
xi,
306pp.
$7.00.)
An
orphaned
son
of
a
petty
official
and
by
training
a
soldier,
Nuri
as-Sa'id
possessed
talents
which
enabled him
to
move
with
ease
and
authority
in
the
world
of
high
politics. He moved
in it
for
45
years
and
acquired unique
experience
and
knowledge.
He was
also
a
sincere
upholder
of
Anglo-Arab
friendship.
This
book
is
the
first
biography
of
Nuri,
and
it is
also
a
tribute
to
him.
Despite
his
dislike
of
publicity,
especially
about himself,
Nuri
gave
a
number
of
interviews
to
Lord
Birdwood,
who
is
thus
able
to
supply
new
information
about
his
early career.
Much
of
the
book
is
about
Iraqi
affairs and
Anglo-Arab
relations
in
general;
and
as
its
arrange-
ment
is
chronological,
these
are
somewhat confusingly
intermingled
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