383.0063/3
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Egypt (Fish)
Sir: The Department has received your despatch no. 1680 of June 12, 1939 regarding the concern manifested by American missionary [Page 494] interests in Egypt with respect to a draft law under consideration by the Egyptian Parliament forbidding propaganda among the youth for the purpose of changing their religious convictions.
In that connection there are enclosed copies of correspondence28 recently exchanged between Mr. A. L. Warnshuis, Secretary of the International Missionary Council, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York, and the Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs29 on this subject.
The Department desires that you continue to maintain close contact with your British colleague in the matter of the proposed legislation and that you keep the Department informed as to all developments which may occur in connection with consideration of and action on that legislation.
In view of the information contained on pages 6 and 7 of your despatch no. 1719 of July 8, 1939,28 it would not appear that imminent action on the legislation is anticipated. However, if the proposed legislation, or legislation in substantially similar form, should be enacted it would seem difficult to avoid the conclusion that, for the reasons stated in the memorandum30 accompanying the letter of Dr. Warnshuis, the law would render practically impossible the continued maintenance of American schools as now organized and conducted and would therefore constitute a violation of the obligation assumed by the Egyptian Government at Montreux with respect to American educational institutions.31
In the event that the proposed legislation should seem likely to be enacted, you are authorized to communicate the foregoing views informally to the Foreign Office and to express the confidence of this Government that the Government of Egypt will not permit the enactment of any legislation which would destroy or impair the rights of American institutions which have been expressly recognized and confirmed by the Egyptian Government.
Very truly yours,
- Not printed.↩
- Wallace Murray.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Not printed; it stated that the provisions of the proposed law were so strict that it would be impossible for a Christian school to risk the presence of non-Christian pupils at worship or at any kind of instruction which might deal with Christianity or Islam, and any objective dealing with Islam, even in a historical lesson, would be regarded as an infraction of the law (383.0063/4).↩
- See exchange of notes between the United States and Egypt dated May 8, 1937, Department of State Treaty Series No. 939, or 53 Stat. 1705.↩