Sharq al-Adna, or the Near East Arab Broadcasting Station, was a covert, British radio station that broadcasted in Arabic from 1941 to 1956, at first from Palestine before moving to Cyprus in 1948, where it posed as a commercial station but, in reality, was controlled by British Special Intelligence Services until the military commandeered it at the time of Suez. In the intervening fifteen years, its mainly Arab staff, loosely supervised by a small number of British personnel, broadcasted a mixture of music, drama, discussion, educational and religious programs, albeit with a subtle British slant to its news. In this article, which is based on archival sources, including the memoirs of some of those involved and some material originally published in Arabic, the author assesses the station’s contribution to British propaganda efforts in the Middle East and to the development of Arab broadcasting.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
Anon. (1944). Miss Amina Said. Palestine Post, 30 October, p. 2.
Anon. (1950). Private Company Takes Over NEABS. Palestine Post, 3 April.
Anon. (1952) Memorandum Note on Information Work in the Middle East, 15 April. TNA FO 953/1230.
Armbrust, W. (2012). History in Arab Media Studies: A Speculative Cultural History. In Sabry, Tarik (ed.) Arab Cultural Studies: Mapping the Field, pp. 32–54. London: I.B.Tauris.
Bakeer, H. (1998). Kamel Qustandi’s Experience in Sharq Al Adna. Al Haya. August. Translated from a website: http://www.alhaya.ps/arch_page.php?nid=228071.
Boyd, D. (2003). Sharq Al-Adna/The Voice of Britain: The UK’s ‘Secret’ Arabic Radio Station and Suez War Propaganda Disaster. Gazette: The International Journal for Communication Studies 65 (6): 443–455.
Burkhalter, T. (2013). Local Music Scenes and Globalisation: Transnational platforms in Beirut. London: Routledge.
Butler, E. (1963). Amateur Agent: A Story of Black Propaganda during World War II. London: George G. Harrap & Co.
Connell, J. (1947). The House by Herod’s Gate. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co.
Dodds-Parker, A.D. (1956). Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Briefing note for the Ministerial Committee on Overseas Broadcasting, 20 November. TNA PREM 11/1149 Middle East (Policy).
Ferguson, B. (1970). The Trumpet in the Hall, 1930–58. London: Collins.
Franzén, J. (2009). Losing Hearts and Minds in Iraq: Britain, Cold War Propaganda and the Challenge of Communism. Historical Research 83 (222): 747–762, DOI: 10.1111/j.1468–2281.2009.00520.x.
Ghandour, Z.B. (2010). A Discourse on Domination in Mandate Palestine: Imperialism, Property and Insurgency. Abingdon: Routledge.
Glenconner, Lord (1942). Memo, Middle East and Balkans. Activities of Directorate of Special Propaganda. TNA FO 898/113 SOE Activities 1941–1942 Memo, 10 April.
Hansard (1948). Oral Answers Radio Station, Cyprus (Propaganda). Mr Bevin to Various Questions, 16 June.
Hansard (1950). Question. Mr Parker to Mr Dugdale, 10 May. P 1044/6.
Hayworth-Dunne (1941). Propaganda and Intelligence work carried out by Dr J. Heyworth-Dunne for the Arab-Moslem Area of the Middle East Command during March–May 1941, TNA FO 898/113.
Hodgkin, J. (2012). Amateurs in Eden: The Story of a Bohemian Marriage: Nancy and Lawrence Durrell. London: Virago.
Hughes, M. (2010). From Law and Order to Pacification: Britain’s Suppression of the Arab Revolt in Palestine, 1963–1939. Journal of Palestine Studies 39 (2): 6–22, DOI: 10.1525/jps.2010.XXXIX.2.17.
Jawzi, Nasri al (2010). Tarikh Al Ethaʾea Al Filastiniya Huna Al Quds. Translated from a website: https://marefa.org/إذاعة_الشرق_الأدنى.
Law, G.E. (1941–1943). Private Papers of Major G.E. Law, Memoirs, December 1941–September 1943, IWM Documents 4547, 3.
Leeper, R. (1941). The Meaning of Political Warfare, TNA FO 954/23/A, 15 October.
MacDonald, C.A. (1977). Radio Bari: Italian Wireless Propaganda in the Middle East and British Countermeasures 1934–38. Middle Eastern Studies 13 (2): 195–207.
Mansour, T. (2017). Hona Mahatet Al Sharq Al Adna Le Al Ethaʾa Al Arabiya. Available online: http://www.m.ahewar.org/s.asp?aid=592437&i=0&q=. Accessed 14 June 2018.
Middle East Information Department (1947). Replies from Information Officers, July. TNA FO 953/60 PME1421.
Muqaddam, Nabil al (2015). An Era in Al Sharq Al Adna. Filastin Al Safir [press interview in online newspaper] January. Translated from a website: http://palestine.assafir.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=3173.
Partner, P. (1988). Arab voices: The BBC Arabic Service, 1938–1988. London: BBC Books.
Paxton, E.H. (1949). Report on Middle East Tour, November–December. TNA, FO 371/81983.
Rawnsley, G.D. (1996a). Radio Diplomacy and Propaganda: The BBC and VOA in International Politics. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Rawnsley, G.D. (1996b). Overt and Covert: The Voice of Britain and Black Radio Broadcasting in the Suez Crisis, 1956. Intelligence and National Security 11 (3): 497–522, DOI: 10.1080/02684529608432374.
Stanton, A.L. (2006). Who Heard What When: Learning from Radio Broadcasting Hours and Programs in Jerusalem. International Journal of Middle East Studies 48 (1): 141–145.
Vaughan, J. (2004). “Cloak Without Dagger”: How the Information Research Department Fought Britain’s Cold War in the Middle East, 1948–1956. Cold War History 4 (3): 56–84, DOI: 10.1080/1468274042000231150.
Vaughan, J.R. (2005). The Failure of American and British Propaganda in the Arab Middle East, 1945–1957: Unconquerable Minds. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Vaughan, J.R. (2008). The BBC’s External Services and the Middle East before the Suez Crisis. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 28 (4): 499–514, DOI: 10.1080/01439680802310316.
Ziada, N. (2003). Memories: The Complete Story of Sharq al-Adna. See: http://daharchives.alhayat.com/issue_archive. Accessed 24 May 2017.
The National Archive (TNA); UK Foreign Office (FO); Prime Minister’s Office (PREM); Imperial War Museum (IWM).
TNA, FO 371/81983.
TNA FO 898/113.
TNA FO 953/60 PME1421.
TNA/FO 953/1230.
TNA FO 954/23/A.
TNA FO1110/947.
TNA PREM 11/1149.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 589 | 83 | 26 |
Full Text Views | 38 | 10 | 4 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 95 | 28 | 10 |
Sharq al-Adna, or the Near East Arab Broadcasting Station, was a covert, British radio station that broadcasted in Arabic from 1941 to 1956, at first from Palestine before moving to Cyprus in 1948, where it posed as a commercial station but, in reality, was controlled by British Special Intelligence Services until the military commandeered it at the time of Suez. In the intervening fifteen years, its mainly Arab staff, loosely supervised by a small number of British personnel, broadcasted a mixture of music, drama, discussion, educational and religious programs, albeit with a subtle British slant to its news. In this article, which is based on archival sources, including the memoirs of some of those involved and some material originally published in Arabic, the author assesses the station’s contribution to British propaganda efforts in the Middle East and to the development of Arab broadcasting.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 589 | 83 | 26 |
Full Text Views | 38 | 10 | 4 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 95 | 28 | 10 |