Background:

Aḥmad ʿAṣmat ʿAbd al-Majīd (1.3.1924 – 21.12.2013) was at the time of the interview an Egyptian diplomat and the secretary-general of the Arab League, which consists of 22 members. The Arab League was established in 1945, with the aim of unifying the Arab World and considering the Palestinian question under the British mandate. ʿAbd al-Majīd discusses the aforementioned objectives of the Arab League and considers the many crises the League was forced to deal with in the periods of the Gulf War and the 2 Yemeni Wars. 

Side A:

According to ʿAbd al-Majīd, the main objective of the Arab League was to unify the Arab states, but not in the sense that there would be one currency or one state, rather have support for one another and peace. This was obviously disrupted in 1990 by means of serious aggression committed by one Arab country on another (Gulf War). However, according to ʿAbd al-Majīd, when taking a look at the Arab League as a regional organisation, it becomes evident that the Arab World has a geographical continuity extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf. This huge area consisting of one people: the Arab people with the same traditions, same language, same culture and the same civilisation.

ʿAbd al-Majīd argues that the Arab League had a second objective: the Palestinian question before the declaration of an Israeli state (considering the Arab League was created in 1945, before the Israeli state was established). The Palestinian question concerned the British Mandate.

A third objective ʿAbd al-Majīd mentioned was the desire of increasing the volume of trade between Arab countries, which at the time of the interview was considered weak. This is because a lot of the trade was done with countries outside the Arab World and ʿAbd al-Majīd thinks the Arabs should work on promoting trade between their neighbouring countries. The Egyptian diplomat was asked whether there was a spot of Israel in this plan of increasing trade in the Arab World. ʿAbd al-Majīd claimed he had no objection to Israel joining the Middle East common market on the condition of Israel establishing peace with the Arab nations first as well as restore the rights of the Palestinians as a people, thus ending the occupation. Only then can this idea be considered. The future state of Jerusalem according to ʿAbd al-Majīd should be decided by the Palestinians and Israelis, although he believes the Arab/Islamic right of Jerusalem must be respected.

Side B:

Continuation of Side A.