Nationalism is defined as the devotion that a particular person has towards his country. It is widely described as a sense of belonging that many people feel important. This sense of belonging allows the person to put primary interest to the nation. Many historians differentiate nationalism from patriotism by saying that nationalism is a state of belonging that people have over a country that is not yet free while patriotism is the love and loyalty for a country that is free. Arab nationalism is the state that arose among the Arab-speaking nations which felt the necessary urge to unite in many fronts during the invasion by the Western countries. There are several key persons who highlighted the Arab nationalism to the Arabians through time. There are many factors that allowed the nationalism to grow while other factors led to its decline.
The Rise of Arab Nationalism
The early years of the 20th Century were characterized by different activities across Europe as well as among the Arab-speaking countries. The Ottoman Empire had its forces over many parts of the Arab countries. The ports, as well as the religious cities of Medina and Mecca, were under the rule of the Ottoman Turks. Even though the Arabic countries were not that populated, the Turks exercised their rule of law over all the Arabic countries such as Damascus and Baghdad. The rise of Arab nationalism was propelled by different activities that happened in the Islamic nations. There were some Arabs who looked at the growth of the Western ideas and took inspiration from such. Other factors such as the completion of the Hejaz railway in 1908 sparked criticism from the Arabs. They realized that the railway was a method used by the Ottoman Turks to enforce their rule on the Arabs.
Abdul Aziz ibn Saud joined forces with other tribes in publicly criticizing the Ottoman rule. They further claimed that the Turks were not Islamic. These actions ignited responses from different urban groups who joined forces in making sure that the Ottoman rule came to an end (Dawisha, 2003). The start of the First World War proved critical in the rise of Arab nationalism. The Ottoman Turks were actively involved in the war. Alliances were struck between the British and some of the leaders in the Arab countries. The British provided hidden shipments of weapons as well as money to the Arab leaders. Sharif Hussein bin Ali created a formidable force of united Arab clans that revolted against the Turks. There were a series of attacks that the Arabs carried out on the Ottoman Turks in various places. The British sent their help in the war by providing artillery as well as personnel.
The leaders of the Arab revolt had succeeded in uniting the Arabs against the Turks. The Arabs and the British fought the Turks until they reached Damascus. The Turks agreed to an armistice with the Arab revolt leaders. The Arabs were now locked in talks with the British over who was to possess the different places of Arabia. The leaders of the revolt were given Hejaz which was not that economically or politically important. The British and the French took several parts of the Arab land. The Arabs realized that they had chased the Ottoman domination only to welcome the French and British domination. They now had to devise ways in which they would oust the colonial masters. There were several organizations that were formed in the 1920s, but never lasted for long (Tibi et al., 1981). The British employed several strategies that were aimed at destabilizing the Arab unity. For instance, they urged the Arabs to hold elections so as to receive seats in the government. The British detained the Arabs who were active in the nationalist activities. There were treaties that were signed between the British and the Arab leaders. The British were optimistic that the treaties would hold off the different activities that pressed for independence.
The Arab revolt of 1936 was the only notable event that united the Arabs against the British and French domination before the Second World War (Ellul, 2015). The British were keen not to allow the Nazis as well as the Fascists a chance to unite the Arabs. They used treaties, as well as declarations to the Arabs as they tried to convince them of the desire to allow the Arabs to form Arabic nations. However, the Germans were successful in uniting the Arabs during the onset of the Second World War. They took the Arab leaders who had been exiled and gave them refuge. The end of the Second World War signaled the end of the British dominance of the Arab countries. There were several countries such as Egypt, Syria as well as Iraq that championed the idea of Arab nationalism. There were political parties that were formed with this view in these nations. There were events such as the first Arab-Israeli war that urged the Arabs to unite forces against a common enemy (Dawisha, 2003). There were different diplomatic mishaps as well as the leaders' inability to coordinate which led to a failure in the war. The defeat further fueled the need for the Arabs to unite against the Israeli counterparts who were united.
There was the formation of several political parties that were resolved to unite the people. The Ba’ath Party in Syria formed by Michel Aflaq was aimed at creating order in Syria. There were other events that fueled the need to unite. The Suez Canal crisis proved extremely vital in the growth of Arab nationalism. The crisis would later prove to be the first successful event for Arab nationalism. The then president of Egypt, Gamal Abd Nasser successfully defended the French invasion who wanted to take control of the Suez Canal. The victory raised his status to that of a flag bearer for the Arab nationalism. He was seen as a leader who would unite the Arabs against further invasions by the Western countries. He was responsible for the creation of the United Arab Republic that saw Egypt and Syria merge to form one republic. Following the unification, Nasser asked his Syrian counterpart to dissolve his political party (Tibi, 1981). The Syrian leader agreed to dissolve his party and agreed to join the party that united the two countries. The hopes of the Arab people were raised as the two leaders were seen as the best shots at uniting them.
Even though there were differences felt between the different leaders, there was progress in the united Arabic countries. The coordination allowed for the growth of different sectors of the economy, such as military as well as international relations. The united Arab states were able to create different jobs as well as monitor the different projects that were present in the affected countries.
Decline and fall
The decline and eventual fall of the Arab Nationalism began when Nasser suppressed the Muslim Brotherhood movement and its leaders such as SayyidQuṭb who was tortured, imprisoned and even condemned to death (Ellul, 2015). Other leaders of the movement sought refuge in neighboring countries. Suppressing Muslim Brotherhood leaders, weakened the nationalism since it created division among Muslims. Supporters of the movement felt threatened by the popularity of Nasser and the continuous replacement of their ideology with that of “Nasserism”. The tension between Arab nationalism and the Muslim Brotherhood had a little impact towards the decline of Nasser-led nationalism.
The Six Day War between the Egyptian army and Israel in 1967 was a major blow with many observers citing it as the ultimate hammer to the Arab nationalism. It is during this war, also known as the battle of destiny, that Nasser and his followers received the first significant blow. Israel annihilated the Egyptian army during the Six Day War and annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, captured the Golan Heights away from Syria and took Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula (Ellul, 2015). The seizure of major cities in the three countries gave Israel control of the Middle East at the expense of the Arab countries. In the process, Israel killed many Egyptian soldiers thus instilling a sense of fear and defeat to an army that was once regarded invincible in the region.
After the annihilation during the Six Day War onwards, Nasser chooses to focus wholly on domestic affairs at the expense of mobilizing people to join the nationalism. The disastrous idea of fighting Israel brought Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) under the leadership of YāsirʿArafāt to prominence. Arafāt who was a charismatic leader and chairman of PLO led the resistance movement that resisted Israel’s effort to occupy Palestinian territory from 1959 onwards (Karsh, 2003). The organization adopted the guerilla war tactics that won the hearts of many people even beyond the Middle East (Ellul, 2015). The rise of Arafāt and his organization led to the decline in the influence of Nasser in the region as more Arabs viewed him as the ideal leader who had the capacity to defeat Israel, which was regarded as an eternal enemy. However, the actions and presence of PLO fighters in Jordan angered King Husayn, who felt the sovereignty of his country was threatened. As a result, King Husayn ordered the ruthless elimination of PLO guerilla fighters from his territory inflicting more damage to the Arab nationalist ideology.
The Six Day War also affected the economy of Egypt. The Egyptian government had invested a lot of money on military activities in the region. The government neglected other sectors of the economy while financing the course of the Arab nationalism. Consequently, leaving the economy of Egypt in tatters. Key infrastructures were left crumbling due to poor maintenance as the public became frustrated by Nasser leadership. The eventual death of Nasser in 1970 culminated the idea of forming a strong state which he advocated.
Sadat, the successor of Nasser, initiated new political policies and dismantled the previous ones advocated by his predecessor. For instance, instead of fighting the Muslim Brotherhood, he called for dialogue in an effort to bring reconciliation in the region. The new president also wanted to bring back the national pride Egypt was enjoying in the region by initiating dialogue with Syria to collaborate in fighting Israel. Nonetheless, the idea of Sadat to recover Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula heavily backfired as Israel countered with multiple attacks in Egypt and Syria. Failure to involve Syria in the planned attack affected their diplomatic relation massively as the two countries opted to work separately. Israel invaded Egypt and captured more territory, forcing Sadat to call for a ceasefire in 1963.
The situation worsened when Sadat visited Israel in 1977 before signing a peaceful agreement with Menachem Begin, the Israel Prime Minister, in 1978 prompting condemnation from Arab countries. The Camp David peace agreement further caused disintegration among Arab countries that were once united under the Arab Nationalism (Ellul, 2015). The majority of Arab nations condemned and cut ties with Egypt and considered the country a traitor. Israel went ahead and declared Jerusalem as its ‘undivided and complete’ capital city.
Civil war in Lebanon further created divisions among Arab nations with the internal war dividing communities that were once advocating for a common course of uniting Arab speaking countries. The internal conflict in Lebanon continued for a period of 15 years from 1975 (Chaitani, 2007). The increasing influence of Iran in the international level raised eyebrows since it was a non-Arab state. All the powerful countries in the Middle East were Arabic-speaking and the rise in power of Iran, which is an Islamic State was not welcomed. Âyatullah Khomeini rise to prominence in Iran and his influence on the international level made Saddam Hussein, the Iraq President, declared war on the Islamic state. The decline of Arab nationalism was marked by the growth of Islamic revival who believed nationalism had no place in Islam. The main objective of the Islamic revival was to fight and end the nationalist ideology in the region, which played a significant role in the decline of Arab nationalism.
The lack of interest by Arab leaders in democratic concepts such as freedom of political expression, separation of power and diversity was a major blow. It created division thus weakening the nationalism, while other movements such as the Islamic movement continued to gain popularity for promoting inclusiveness. Despite the hostile nature of other Islamic movements in the region, people still believe in them because they promoted equality among members without fear or favor.
Minority of groups in the Middle East region such Kurds and Shia Muslims feared that nationalism was a Sunni project thus opposing the ideology. Those groups actually believed that nationalism was trying to establish a ‘Sunni hegemony’ in the region. Minority groups and leaders who felt that nationalism was a threat to their survival united to counter the ideology by promoting Islamism in the region. One key figure, who advocated for Islamism was King Faisal of Saudi Arabia who organized the creation of the Muslim World League that countered the Arab nationalism popularity in the region. He visited several Muslim states urging them to join the league.
Conclusion
The disharmony and the quest for control of the region was the major factor that led to the decline and eventual fall of the Arab nationalism. The Arab leaders who rose to power after World War One are to blame for the fall of Arab nationalism. Abel Nasser’s own ambition to conquer Israel without involving other Arab nations came to a disappointing end during the Six Day War. Sadat, his successor, ambition to recover lost territory without collaborating with Syria resulted in Israel invasion into Egypt. The nationalism stability in the region fell victim to greedy leaders who sought personal glory in the region at the expense of attaining economic, political and social solidarity. Also, some Arab states such as Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco did not participate in the Arab nationalism due to their own scramble for independence. For these countries, the struggle and fight for independence was more important that their participation in Arab nationalism. The civil war in Lebanon among Arab communities caused further disharmony.
Bibliography
Chaitani, Y. (2007) Post-colonial Syria and Lebanon: The Decline of Arab Nationalism and the Triumph of the State. London: I.B. Tauris.
Dawisha, A. I. (2003) Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century: From Triumph to Despair. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.
Ellul, J. (2015) Arab Nationalism: The Rise and Fall of a Century’s Dream - Journal of Ethics & Social Sciences. Pg. 16-21.(pdf) Available at: <http://www.oikonomia.it/index.php/en/64-2015/febbraio-2015/357-arab-nationalism-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-century-s-dream#sthash.hwVQpv42.dpuf>
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Tibi, B., Farouk- Slugllet, M. and Slugllet, P. (1981) Arab Nationalism: A Critical Enquiry. New York: St. Martin's Press.
