the post-world war I settlement gave britain a mandate over what is now Iraq,jodan,and Israel gave the French a mandate over present-day Syria and Lebanon; and-through the 1917 Balfour declaration-supported the establishment of a jewish national homeland in Palestine. Central Arabia(Saudi Arabia from 1932) was independent,but most of Persia(Iran from 1935) was under British and Russian control, and the small Gulf states such as Kuwait and Qatar were British protectorates. In short,most of Islam was under European occupation or subject to European and Russian influence. The British and the French began treating their mandates more like colonies, and plans for a Jewish homeland went ahead despite Arab opposition,further deepening resentment against colonialism and promoting a new sense of Arab nationalism and Islamic revival.