EnlightenedHumanist
03-28-2011, 06:49 AM
The follow is a 7 paper I did for a class on the middle east between WWI and WWII and helps give sense of how Arab Nationalism developed. Unfourtanetly, it is a first draft copy as I forgot to save my final draft aftering printing.
Reeve Simon's, “Iraq between the Two World Wars,” pinpoints the complicated origins of an Iraqi national identity and nationalism. This identity she argues developed in the hearts and minds first in the Sharifians and then into young army officers. The Europeanized education system that the Ottomans applied to their curriculum exposed Romantic Nationalism to Arab officers within the army. Seeking autonomy amidst the backdrop of a weakening Ottoman Empire and subsequent British occupation further encouraged Arabs to begin to develop their own identity. In Iraq this took on several forms one which concentrated on an Iraqi identity and another with involved Arab identity as a whole which would include Iraq, Syria, and Palestine. The officers in an attempt to spread their Nationalism used education as a tool to inculcate within the masses an Iraqi Arab identity. Simon notes, “The Sharifians had not merely assimilated themselves into the ruling elite, but had, under British noses, provided the new country with an ideology, a focus for loyalty derived from their Ottoman educational experience.” The conflict further escalated over British dominance in Iraq and this came to head with the Rashid Ali coup in 1941.
With the creation of the state of Iraq, many Arab officers returned home to positions within the government that would enable them to inculcate a sense of militant nationalism within the public at large. The Arab officers who were educated at Istanbul at the turn of the century took up the ideas of Romantic Nationalism which permeated the atmosphere of the Europeanized Ottoman education curriculum. There are several ways in which this nationalism spread to the population. Education would be put into the hands of the national school instead of family life. This education was to be compulsory and all had to attend which could spread the ideas to every citizen within the population. In a similar fashion to which the Europeans had created their modern education systems. The key difference however was that while the education systems of the British, French, and Americans were geared more towards practical education and democratic values, the Prussian education was geared more towards cultural and ethnic nationalism. One British observer even complained, “in the spirit of narrow-minded declamatory and xenophobic nationalism concealing from the student everything which may arouse critical spirit, including even some of the more important events of Arab and Muslim history.” The American commission also noted, “In short, the Monroe Commission recommended de-centralization, practical education, and the inculcation of democratic ideals.” Subjects such as History, Geography, Literature, and music took precedence over more practical subjects. The Iraqi education favored the Prussian version and figures such as al-Husri and Jamali made it their official policies. Although both ministers favored Arab Nationalism Jamali favored a somewhat more French approach. He wanted equalization of all Arabs, and while emphasizing the collective he didn't want to see it overwhelm the individual. An admirer of Ataturk's reforms in Turkey and Reza Shah’s secularization in Iran he favored education for the masses. Both were impressed by the Prussian state which had unified a divided country and built it into a strong centralized state. Iraqi educators looked to these ideas to unify Iraq's diverse ethnic groups which included Sunni, Shias, Kurds, Assyrians and Turkomens. Within this larger framework minority languages and customs were discouraged in favor of a central identity. Shias had particularly lost a voice and this was to remain so for decades. A central Arab culture was celebrated and this included Islam and the Arabic language as being fundamental for this identity.
To inculcate an identity, the educators sought to reinterpret history and then teach the agenda in schools. Iraqi superiority was celebrated as being the cradle of civilization while Europeans did not have civilization. Arabs were seen as being connected with ancient Babylon and having same heritage as early Semites. This empire codified the first laws, temples, and agriculture. The Iraqi people were the descendants of an Arab Empire that had stretched from Spain to China. To connect past and present, archaeological expeditions were initiated by schools to emphasize history. To implement these ideas Simon says, “The teacher was to “lead the youth into knowledge of the history of our rulers and our people...and to fill the minds and hearts of the pupils with love for their king and respect for the laws and institutions of the Fatherland.” Teachers became tools for the ministry to spread propaganda and encourage the youth to become nationalist. They looked to the past and encouraged students to be aware of their new politicized version of history which was to be the basis for nationalist thought. Generally the system dedicated itself to exploiting positive themes while ignoring the negative themes in history. In looking to the past for identity they mimic European nostalgia such as the Germans idolizing of Holy Roman Empire, Germanic invasions, and Aryan invasion theories. A British officer complained that even the recent history had been revised as the textbooks made the creation of the state of Iraq look like an Arab revolt against the Ottomans and completely ignoring British role and subsequent invasion in it. Arab heroes and themes from the past were celebrated to give the youth a symbol to idolize. Some school academic clubs were named after historical figures. One such club was the Muthanna club named after an early Arab conqueror; it developed into a pan-Arab intellectual club. Islam was emphasized for its cultural importance more than its religious importance. Iraqi history was reinterpreted as Simon noted, “and in their instructions teachers were told to stress to the students the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad, the “Commander (Za'im), emphasizing the historical Muhammad, the “leader of this nation and the source of its power in the past, in the present, and in the future.” Instead of Islamic figures such as Mohammed being noted for their religious significance they were instead noted as being the ancestors of a modern Iraqi state.
Prussian philosophy taught that in order to maintain an ethnic state the country needed to have a strong military and an education system dedicated to politicizing the population. In line with Prussian ideals the Iraqis sought to instill Nationalist beliefs through militarization. Education now included military training and tactical programs. At the encouragement of Dr. Grobba, an Arab youth organization (Futuwah) was created modeled after the Hitler youth and Boy Scouts. A group of Iraqi youths traveled to Europe and attend Hitler youth rallies. A new youth group ensured that not only would the students be political but that they could also function as soldiers and be physically fit to defend Iraq, and fight for Arab Nationalism. The militarization of school was sometimes supported as being positive by the British to create centralization in a country of disunity. Simon states that, “Even the British seemed pleased, remarking as early as 1926 that the army was a “valuable means of fostering a true national spirit,” providing a “degree of homogeneity,” a common language, and a “common obedience to the central government.” At other times it was described as being Arab-centric and xenophobic. Simon mentions, “On the one hand, the commission understood the need for centralization given Iraq's diverse ethnic, religious, and social components, but it condemned the existing centralization as dangerous, censuring state intervention in education.” Official uniforms were issued and teachers were issued a rank. Students were encouraged to take active participation in protests and rallies. Official martyr fund was created for those resisting Zionist occupation. Parades and demonstrations were encouraged in support of Palestinian Arabs. The government was also to be totalitarian in nature and the people would serve the state. The collective was more important to the individual and the individual had a duty to serve not just the state but Arabs everywhere. The Sharifians had also encouraged a draft in order to increase the size of the Army. The conscription bill was drafted which got much of the attention of the state for some time. A stronger army meant better social functioning and could be used to inculcate a new ideology of the state.
A new group of army officers began to formulate that would begin to challenge the Sharifians in their philosophy of modern Iraq. This group of Army officers would begin to involve itself within the government in a series of coups the late 30's. Of these new officers there was Sidqi Bakr, a kurd, who received recognition for victory in the Assyrian war led the first coup to overthrow Yasin Hashimi. About a year later a planned coup by Four Colonels Salah al-Sabbagh, Fahmi Kamil Shabib, and Mahmud Salman had plan to launch another coup but the minister al Midfa'i resigned anyway. Rashid Ali became a huge influence on the king. Through a series of ministers such as Nuri and Taha wanted to curb the power of the military on the government but ultimately failed. The Monarchy was rescinded and a new government was formed which became known as the Rashid Ali coup of 1941. Former Ottoman officers who made military careers out of the new Iraq and became quite popular during the Assyrian insurrection. Unlike the Sharifians they did not have power positions in government but began to use their military to flex their power. Both these officers and the Sharifians were in fact pan-Arab nationalists. The difference was that they were not as focused on specifically an Iraq Nationalism but more on Arab Nationalism. Al Sabbagh even stated, “Had I been an Iraqi nationalist, I would have become more endeared by the English than Hur al-Sa'id and 'Abd al-llah, but it is my sacrifice for beloved Palestine and Syria which led to the condition I am in now.”(122) Their identification with Arabs across the broad spectrum wanted to unite them against the Zionist threat. Arab nationalists in Syria and Iraq had interest in connecting with the Palestinian Istiqlal party in rejection of Zionism and appealing the Nationalist sensibilities of the Grand Mufti and Istiglal party. The threat of Zionism came to be a unifying factor in schools despite many students ignorance of the movement. While sometimes Zionism was equated with Judaism, Jewish Iraqis were officially encouraged to reject Zionism and take part in the Iraq-Arab identity. They also rejected British control and began to work more closely with Nazi Germany. The Iraqi monarchy was looked upon as an obstacle and a tool of the British to dominate Iraq. The Rashid Ali coup sought to establish an autonomous government free of foreign rule and a rejection of British domination. Debate about just before the coup about working with the Axis powers in order to drive out the British and the French from Arab lands. While they did manage to secure an arms agreement with Germany they never totally abandoned the British in case they also one. The Mufti in Jerusalem also wanted to ensure Iraq would stay out of the war in order to save its resources for Arab liberation after the allies had exhausted themselves. While the British did intervene and ultimately reestablish the king it set the state for a future government that would be pan-Arabist and anti-imperialist dedicated to building a powerful Arab state. This would give rise later to the Baathist party and the influence of Saddam Hussein.
In a similar fashion to which the likes of Al-Husri and Jamali applied the past to fit a modern identity shares various traits that Lebanese used in the creation of their country. Looking back to the past they identified modern Lebanese with the ancient Phoenicians. These Phoenicians were viewed as maintaining a distinct culture that survived apart from Arabs. These Phoenicians had hid in the mountains until modern times to reestablish greater Lebanon. These ideas totally ignored the great distance in time between Phoenicians and modern Lebanon and also the migrations of populations. In resemblance to the way Mohammed was reinterpreted as a historical Arab figure so to was Fakhr al-Din Maan seen as a creator of a modern state. Salabi states, “The Druzes were amenable to attempts by the Christrians to promote the idea of Greater Lebanon, picturing the new Lebanese state as the legitimate descendant of the old mountain emirate of which the Druze Maans had been the founders. (169). Arabs however disagreed with this view point. They held Lebanon should really be part of greater Syria and favored unification of Arabs under one rule. They also looked to the past, emphasizing that according to Salibi, “The Arab nationalists considered them (Phoenicians) ancient Arabs who had originally arrived in coastal Syria from Arabia. (172) Also like the nationalists in Iraq, there were archaeological exploration to connect ancient Phoenicia with the modern state. These expeditions were as Salibi notes, “was politically geared – officially as well as by private initiative – to strengthening the theory that modern Lebanon was none other than Ancient Phoenicia resurrected.” (172) Like Iraqis, they expressed that Phoenicia had influenced the Greek alphabet and spread civilization through colonization along the Mediterranean coast. Also an important issue was how to handle diversity. The country was as divided as Iraq, containing both Druzes, Marionite Christians, Shias, and Sunnis and they needed to develop an identity all could except. Shias, Christians, and Druzes were willing to accept that Lebanon could be considered a historically safe place for minorities to escape persecution. The Sunni's disagreed and believed that the real persecutor of minorities had been the Ottomans. Salibi states, “...a historical justification for the existence of a Greater Lebanon independent of Syria and of Arabism which all the people of the country, including the Sunnite Muslims of the coastal cities, could accept. There had to be some respected idea all could agree on.
The struggle to form an identity and encourage for peoples in the middle-east was connected with state building autonomy. After rule by Ottomans and Mongols the Arabs had only to look at ancient Emirates for autonomy so they adapted European sense of it and applied it to their own. European unification and nation state building during the 19th century (specifically Bismarck and the Germans) helped give a model for which Arabs could construct their own nation states. The idea that each ethnic group should have its own state was a foreign concept and only gained proponents with Ottoman educated Arab elite. In a similar fashion to Europeans they often looked to the past and Romanticized it by viewing historical events as leading up to the development of the nation state and connecting modernity to the past. To inculcate these ideas they took over portions of the Middle East and applied these nationalist agendas to the education, military, and political systems which could quickly help spread the ideas to the population.
Bibliography
Reeva, Simon S. Iraq between the Two World Wars: the militarist origins of tyranny. Updated Edition. New York: Colombia Univ Pr, 2004. 10-140. Print.
A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered Salibi, Kamal.
Reeve Simon's, “Iraq between the Two World Wars,” pinpoints the complicated origins of an Iraqi national identity and nationalism. This identity she argues developed in the hearts and minds first in the Sharifians and then into young army officers. The Europeanized education system that the Ottomans applied to their curriculum exposed Romantic Nationalism to Arab officers within the army. Seeking autonomy amidst the backdrop of a weakening Ottoman Empire and subsequent British occupation further encouraged Arabs to begin to develop their own identity. In Iraq this took on several forms one which concentrated on an Iraqi identity and another with involved Arab identity as a whole which would include Iraq, Syria, and Palestine. The officers in an attempt to spread their Nationalism used education as a tool to inculcate within the masses an Iraqi Arab identity. Simon notes, “The Sharifians had not merely assimilated themselves into the ruling elite, but had, under British noses, provided the new country with an ideology, a focus for loyalty derived from their Ottoman educational experience.” The conflict further escalated over British dominance in Iraq and this came to head with the Rashid Ali coup in 1941.
With the creation of the state of Iraq, many Arab officers returned home to positions within the government that would enable them to inculcate a sense of militant nationalism within the public at large. The Arab officers who were educated at Istanbul at the turn of the century took up the ideas of Romantic Nationalism which permeated the atmosphere of the Europeanized Ottoman education curriculum. There are several ways in which this nationalism spread to the population. Education would be put into the hands of the national school instead of family life. This education was to be compulsory and all had to attend which could spread the ideas to every citizen within the population. In a similar fashion to which the Europeans had created their modern education systems. The key difference however was that while the education systems of the British, French, and Americans were geared more towards practical education and democratic values, the Prussian education was geared more towards cultural and ethnic nationalism. One British observer even complained, “in the spirit of narrow-minded declamatory and xenophobic nationalism concealing from the student everything which may arouse critical spirit, including even some of the more important events of Arab and Muslim history.” The American commission also noted, “In short, the Monroe Commission recommended de-centralization, practical education, and the inculcation of democratic ideals.” Subjects such as History, Geography, Literature, and music took precedence over more practical subjects. The Iraqi education favored the Prussian version and figures such as al-Husri and Jamali made it their official policies. Although both ministers favored Arab Nationalism Jamali favored a somewhat more French approach. He wanted equalization of all Arabs, and while emphasizing the collective he didn't want to see it overwhelm the individual. An admirer of Ataturk's reforms in Turkey and Reza Shah’s secularization in Iran he favored education for the masses. Both were impressed by the Prussian state which had unified a divided country and built it into a strong centralized state. Iraqi educators looked to these ideas to unify Iraq's diverse ethnic groups which included Sunni, Shias, Kurds, Assyrians and Turkomens. Within this larger framework minority languages and customs were discouraged in favor of a central identity. Shias had particularly lost a voice and this was to remain so for decades. A central Arab culture was celebrated and this included Islam and the Arabic language as being fundamental for this identity.
To inculcate an identity, the educators sought to reinterpret history and then teach the agenda in schools. Iraqi superiority was celebrated as being the cradle of civilization while Europeans did not have civilization. Arabs were seen as being connected with ancient Babylon and having same heritage as early Semites. This empire codified the first laws, temples, and agriculture. The Iraqi people were the descendants of an Arab Empire that had stretched from Spain to China. To connect past and present, archaeological expeditions were initiated by schools to emphasize history. To implement these ideas Simon says, “The teacher was to “lead the youth into knowledge of the history of our rulers and our people...and to fill the minds and hearts of the pupils with love for their king and respect for the laws and institutions of the Fatherland.” Teachers became tools for the ministry to spread propaganda and encourage the youth to become nationalist. They looked to the past and encouraged students to be aware of their new politicized version of history which was to be the basis for nationalist thought. Generally the system dedicated itself to exploiting positive themes while ignoring the negative themes in history. In looking to the past for identity they mimic European nostalgia such as the Germans idolizing of Holy Roman Empire, Germanic invasions, and Aryan invasion theories. A British officer complained that even the recent history had been revised as the textbooks made the creation of the state of Iraq look like an Arab revolt against the Ottomans and completely ignoring British role and subsequent invasion in it. Arab heroes and themes from the past were celebrated to give the youth a symbol to idolize. Some school academic clubs were named after historical figures. One such club was the Muthanna club named after an early Arab conqueror; it developed into a pan-Arab intellectual club. Islam was emphasized for its cultural importance more than its religious importance. Iraqi history was reinterpreted as Simon noted, “and in their instructions teachers were told to stress to the students the greatness of the Prophet Muhammad, the “Commander (Za'im), emphasizing the historical Muhammad, the “leader of this nation and the source of its power in the past, in the present, and in the future.” Instead of Islamic figures such as Mohammed being noted for their religious significance they were instead noted as being the ancestors of a modern Iraqi state.
Prussian philosophy taught that in order to maintain an ethnic state the country needed to have a strong military and an education system dedicated to politicizing the population. In line with Prussian ideals the Iraqis sought to instill Nationalist beliefs through militarization. Education now included military training and tactical programs. At the encouragement of Dr. Grobba, an Arab youth organization (Futuwah) was created modeled after the Hitler youth and Boy Scouts. A group of Iraqi youths traveled to Europe and attend Hitler youth rallies. A new youth group ensured that not only would the students be political but that they could also function as soldiers and be physically fit to defend Iraq, and fight for Arab Nationalism. The militarization of school was sometimes supported as being positive by the British to create centralization in a country of disunity. Simon states that, “Even the British seemed pleased, remarking as early as 1926 that the army was a “valuable means of fostering a true national spirit,” providing a “degree of homogeneity,” a common language, and a “common obedience to the central government.” At other times it was described as being Arab-centric and xenophobic. Simon mentions, “On the one hand, the commission understood the need for centralization given Iraq's diverse ethnic, religious, and social components, but it condemned the existing centralization as dangerous, censuring state intervention in education.” Official uniforms were issued and teachers were issued a rank. Students were encouraged to take active participation in protests and rallies. Official martyr fund was created for those resisting Zionist occupation. Parades and demonstrations were encouraged in support of Palestinian Arabs. The government was also to be totalitarian in nature and the people would serve the state. The collective was more important to the individual and the individual had a duty to serve not just the state but Arabs everywhere. The Sharifians had also encouraged a draft in order to increase the size of the Army. The conscription bill was drafted which got much of the attention of the state for some time. A stronger army meant better social functioning and could be used to inculcate a new ideology of the state.
A new group of army officers began to formulate that would begin to challenge the Sharifians in their philosophy of modern Iraq. This group of Army officers would begin to involve itself within the government in a series of coups the late 30's. Of these new officers there was Sidqi Bakr, a kurd, who received recognition for victory in the Assyrian war led the first coup to overthrow Yasin Hashimi. About a year later a planned coup by Four Colonels Salah al-Sabbagh, Fahmi Kamil Shabib, and Mahmud Salman had plan to launch another coup but the minister al Midfa'i resigned anyway. Rashid Ali became a huge influence on the king. Through a series of ministers such as Nuri and Taha wanted to curb the power of the military on the government but ultimately failed. The Monarchy was rescinded and a new government was formed which became known as the Rashid Ali coup of 1941. Former Ottoman officers who made military careers out of the new Iraq and became quite popular during the Assyrian insurrection. Unlike the Sharifians they did not have power positions in government but began to use their military to flex their power. Both these officers and the Sharifians were in fact pan-Arab nationalists. The difference was that they were not as focused on specifically an Iraq Nationalism but more on Arab Nationalism. Al Sabbagh even stated, “Had I been an Iraqi nationalist, I would have become more endeared by the English than Hur al-Sa'id and 'Abd al-llah, but it is my sacrifice for beloved Palestine and Syria which led to the condition I am in now.”(122) Their identification with Arabs across the broad spectrum wanted to unite them against the Zionist threat. Arab nationalists in Syria and Iraq had interest in connecting with the Palestinian Istiqlal party in rejection of Zionism and appealing the Nationalist sensibilities of the Grand Mufti and Istiglal party. The threat of Zionism came to be a unifying factor in schools despite many students ignorance of the movement. While sometimes Zionism was equated with Judaism, Jewish Iraqis were officially encouraged to reject Zionism and take part in the Iraq-Arab identity. They also rejected British control and began to work more closely with Nazi Germany. The Iraqi monarchy was looked upon as an obstacle and a tool of the British to dominate Iraq. The Rashid Ali coup sought to establish an autonomous government free of foreign rule and a rejection of British domination. Debate about just before the coup about working with the Axis powers in order to drive out the British and the French from Arab lands. While they did manage to secure an arms agreement with Germany they never totally abandoned the British in case they also one. The Mufti in Jerusalem also wanted to ensure Iraq would stay out of the war in order to save its resources for Arab liberation after the allies had exhausted themselves. While the British did intervene and ultimately reestablish the king it set the state for a future government that would be pan-Arabist and anti-imperialist dedicated to building a powerful Arab state. This would give rise later to the Baathist party and the influence of Saddam Hussein.
In a similar fashion to which the likes of Al-Husri and Jamali applied the past to fit a modern identity shares various traits that Lebanese used in the creation of their country. Looking back to the past they identified modern Lebanese with the ancient Phoenicians. These Phoenicians were viewed as maintaining a distinct culture that survived apart from Arabs. These Phoenicians had hid in the mountains until modern times to reestablish greater Lebanon. These ideas totally ignored the great distance in time between Phoenicians and modern Lebanon and also the migrations of populations. In resemblance to the way Mohammed was reinterpreted as a historical Arab figure so to was Fakhr al-Din Maan seen as a creator of a modern state. Salabi states, “The Druzes were amenable to attempts by the Christrians to promote the idea of Greater Lebanon, picturing the new Lebanese state as the legitimate descendant of the old mountain emirate of which the Druze Maans had been the founders. (169). Arabs however disagreed with this view point. They held Lebanon should really be part of greater Syria and favored unification of Arabs under one rule. They also looked to the past, emphasizing that according to Salibi, “The Arab nationalists considered them (Phoenicians) ancient Arabs who had originally arrived in coastal Syria from Arabia. (172) Also like the nationalists in Iraq, there were archaeological exploration to connect ancient Phoenicia with the modern state. These expeditions were as Salibi notes, “was politically geared – officially as well as by private initiative – to strengthening the theory that modern Lebanon was none other than Ancient Phoenicia resurrected.” (172) Like Iraqis, they expressed that Phoenicia had influenced the Greek alphabet and spread civilization through colonization along the Mediterranean coast. Also an important issue was how to handle diversity. The country was as divided as Iraq, containing both Druzes, Marionite Christians, Shias, and Sunnis and they needed to develop an identity all could except. Shias, Christians, and Druzes were willing to accept that Lebanon could be considered a historically safe place for minorities to escape persecution. The Sunni's disagreed and believed that the real persecutor of minorities had been the Ottomans. Salibi states, “...a historical justification for the existence of a Greater Lebanon independent of Syria and of Arabism which all the people of the country, including the Sunnite Muslims of the coastal cities, could accept. There had to be some respected idea all could agree on.
The struggle to form an identity and encourage for peoples in the middle-east was connected with state building autonomy. After rule by Ottomans and Mongols the Arabs had only to look at ancient Emirates for autonomy so they adapted European sense of it and applied it to their own. European unification and nation state building during the 19th century (specifically Bismarck and the Germans) helped give a model for which Arabs could construct their own nation states. The idea that each ethnic group should have its own state was a foreign concept and only gained proponents with Ottoman educated Arab elite. In a similar fashion to Europeans they often looked to the past and Romanticized it by viewing historical events as leading up to the development of the nation state and connecting modernity to the past. To inculcate these ideas they took over portions of the Middle East and applied these nationalist agendas to the education, military, and political systems which could quickly help spread the ideas to the population.
Bibliography
Reeva, Simon S. Iraq between the Two World Wars: the militarist origins of tyranny. Updated Edition. New York: Colombia Univ Pr, 2004. 10-140. Print.
A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered Salibi, Kamal.