Until this point there remained no real sense of Arab nationalism and nationalist individuals only became more recognized during the time the Ottoman authority was declining. However the idea of Arab nationalism remained to have virtually no impact on the majority of Arabs and wouldn’t have been considered a mass movement as they still considered themselves loyal subjects of the Ottoman Empire. As war ravaged on In Europe and the ottomans siding with the Germans, Britain and gave support to these Arab nationalists and fueled an Arab revolt against the Ottomans. The Ottomans were eventually defeated and the rebel forces loyal to Faysal ibn al-Husain entered Damascus in 1918 and asserted there authority.
By now, the once small secretive group Al-Fatat had greatly expanded with Faysal and many other intellectual’s, politicians and military officers joining the ranks. The group would then go on to form the backbone of this new independent Arab state which covered a large amount of the Levant area and further.2
At this point it would appear that indeed nationalism was a mass movement in the Middle East with approximately 5,000 combatants fighting in the revolt and the nationalist movement bringing the dream of an independent state to a reality mass support existed amongst the Arab world. Furthermore despite Damascus being the coordinating city of the Arab nationalist movement there remained significant widespread support in Baghdad, Jerusalem, and Beirut.
On the other hand despite the nationalists movement and apparent success there remained a limit on the movement’s ability to receive mass support. This limit was due to other forms of competing ideologies which were present at the time. For example Islamism was a rather effective movement as well as Communism
which was rather popular in Iraq and spread onto Syria.
Following the end of World War 2 Gamal Abdel Naseer the Egyptian leader took on a significant role in the development of Arab nationalism. He openly challenged the western super powers primarily the United States, and United Kingdom. He disapproved of the UK’s rule of the Suez Canal and nationalized it much to the displeasure of the British government. He then accepted aid and weapons from the Soviet Unions enraging the US. Nasser also expressed strong nationalist view points which began to attract the masses on the idea that the Arabs can be unified and become self dependent and nationalism appeared to be taking the stance of a mass movement.
A vital factor that would see the nationalist movement amongst Arabs in the Middle East grow was the creation of the state of Israel and the humiliating defeat in the Arab- Israeli was of 1948. The severe hatred of Zionism that existed amongst Arabs following the creation of Israel and the defeat in the war brought on a new level of nationalist feeling thought the Middle East. The facts a major majority of Arabs were Muslims and Zionists were Jews added a flavor of religion to the emotion inspiring the Muslims to become passionate with the concept of ‘Jihad’ now on the agenda. The defeat of 1948 highlighted the idea of Pan Arabism, the idea the Arabs should unite together in order to bring the destruction of Israel. These events brought on a new and popular feeling of nationalism in the region which can be said to have been supported by the masses of the region.
Gamal Nassers Pan Arab nationalist vision seemed to be working with the creation of the United Arab Republic in 1958. This was a short lived unification between Egypt and Syria but was an indication of the extent of the effect nationalism was having on the region. In addition Yemen and Iraq also put forth interest in joining the unification and nationalism seemed to be taking a hold on the region. Furthermore nationalism in the region was clearly at its peak with the military revolution in Iraq in July 14th 1958 overthrowing the monarch which were seen by the revolutionaries as non nationalist and self interested.
The revolution with the creation of the Arab league and the assassination of Abdullah king of Jordan clearly indicated the popular nature of nationalist’s movements and the support for the creation of these nationalist institutions was vast.
Furthermore Algerian nationalism was also taking effect at the same time as Algerian guerilla fighters were fighting a war of independence with France. There existed a strong nationalist vibe in Algeria as they fought for their independence and eventually achieved independence in 1962.
In conclusion despite the fact the idea of Arab nationalism in the Middle East was frowned upon by western powers it still remained very existent and hugely supported. However one must point out that it was certain events in history that’s increased the support for the nationalist movement the most pivotal being the creation of the state of Israel and defeat in the 1948 war which created a mass nationalist feeling amongst the Arabs. Furthermore the struggle for independence in regions in Africa such as Algeria also increased the national feeling attracting contemporaries to national movements. Overall one can state that indeed nationalism was a mass movement which attracted a vast amount of the population with national movements have a cemented effect on there respected regions.
Word Count: 1,418
Bibliography
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Sela, Avraham. "Arab Nationalism." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pg. 151-155
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Choueiri, Youssef (2000), Arab Nationalism – A History: Nation and State in the Arab World, Wiley-Blackwell pg 166-168
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Karsh, Efraim. Islamic Imperialism: A History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006 pg 229
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Choueiri, Youssef (2000), Arab Nationalism – A History: Nation and State in the Arab World, Wiley-Blackwell pg 171-173
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Hinnebusch, Raymond (2003). The International Politics of the Middle East. Manchester University Press.
Sela, Avraham. "Arab Nationalism." The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. Sela. New York: Continuum, 2002. pg. 151-155
Choueiri, Youssef (2000), Arab Nationalism – A History: Nation and State in the Arab World, Wiley-Blackwell pg 166-168
Karsh, Efraim. Islamic Imperialism: A History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006 pg 229
Choueiri, Youssef (2000), Arab Nationalism – A History: Nation and State in the Arab World, Wiley-Blackwell pg 171-173
Hinnebusch, Raymond (2003). The International Politics of the Middle East. Manchester University Press.
