Pan Arabism

During a period of high tensions in response to the effects of colonialism from the British, many nations had an appetite for independence and one example of this can be seen with Pan-Arabism. After much of the Arab world had been colonised by the British and then conquered by the Ottomans, nationalist ideas introduced the concept of a united and independent Arab nation. We will be exploring the history behind Pan-Arabism, whilst exploring the significance behind the idea and some key thinkers involved.

Pan-Arabism definition

The ideology advocated for a united Arab nation, with countries from Northern Africa and Western Asia coming together to form this nation.

Below we have included an overview of Pan-Arabism which may help you understand a little more about the key features of this political ideology.

The history of Pan-Arabism

Jurji Zaydan, PD-US Via Wikimedia Commons

Early influences on Pan-Arabism

The establishment of the idea can be explored through Jurji Zaydan, a Lebanese journalist who through his writing established a common form of Arabic known as the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and his collection of stories from the pre-Islamic and Islamic era that Arab nations could share.

Zaydan believed journalism¹ was key in educating and influencing people. He was the founder and editor of Al-Hilal magazine where he explored politics, economics and science with the intention of educating readers whilst respecting their beliefs.

A key influence of Zaydan's contribution to the ideas of Pan-Arabism was the Arabic language, a way in which he saw Arab nations were able to unite. Alongside this, he emphasises the role of Islam within Pan-Arabism by collating stories and forming 'The History of Islamic Civilisation', in which he dedicated his life to exploring the history of Islam which has deep Arab roots. We can therefore see Zaydan's heavy influence on Pan-Arabism, where he wanted to showcase and educate different ideas and the heavy importance he laid on the Arabic language and Islamic history within the ideology.

Post-war influences on Pan-Arabism

Later in World War I, we can see the idea of Pan-Arabism growing as a political movement whereby the Sharif of Mecca (leader of Mecca), Sharif Hussein ibn Ali who wanted to get independence for the ‘Arab’ nations in Northern Africa and Western Asia from the ruling Ottoman Empire in order to form a united nation. In order to do this the Sharif formed relations with the United Kingdom (UK), they agreed that the UK would support the idea of a united nation as long as these nations betrayed the Ottoman empire, this was known as the Husain-McMahon Correspondence. Nevertheless, later the UK and France agreed that these nations would instead be split between them in the Sykes-Picot Agreement and therefore the united Arab nation was not established.

It is key to remember that until the mid-1900s, Egypt was not interested in Pan-Arabism and it was Gamal Abdel Nasser, an Egyptian politician who increased the popularity of Pan-Arabism during the 1950s-1960s. Nasser became popular during the nationalisation of the Suez Canal and the victory against Israel, France and the UK. He then advocated for independent Arab states to group together, which led to the creation of the United Arab Republic, which contained present-day Syria and Egypt. However, this only lasted until 1961 where Syrian officers arranged a coup d'état and withdrew. This was one of the examples of Pan-Arabism, which like many others failed.

Pan-Arabism significance

Pan-Arabism originated in the 20th century and we can see its influence and prominence moving onto the late 20th century, so we will be exploring the significance of Pan-Arabism whilst also exploring the challenge it faced.

Pan-Arabism and Anti-colonialism

Pan-Arabism and anti-colonialism are two terms that work in conjunction with one another. In the 1900s when the idea of Pan-Arabism was growing we can identify that it was due to their ideas of anti-colonialism. The Sharif of Mecca wanted independence from the Ottoman Empire and also from the later British rule, and the leader of Egypt wanted an Arab nation that could stand united, again, from British rule. We can, therefore, determine that Pan-Arabism and colonialism are two ideas that were at odds with one another and that Pan-Arabists tend to also be anti-colonialists.

The Arab League and Pan-Arabism

King Abdullah I of Jordan was the Emir (leader) of Transjordan, a British protectorate, who dreamed of creating a nation containing present-day Syria, Palestine and Jordan and to name this Greater Syria. To carry out his plan, King Abdullah proposed the prospect of a Pan-Arab nation to the British government. However, the British government did not support or endorse Abdullah's vision for the Arab world.

Instead, this idea created tension within the Arab world and established apprehension towards Abdullah as the Arab world believed in the creation of a Palestinian state whilst Abdullah wanted to remain as an ally of the British and this would jeopardise the relationship. As a result, on 21 July 1951 he was assassinated.

This was the main reason for the creation of the Arab league in 1945, a regional organisation within the Arab world containing 22 members that work together to encourage the cooperation of the member states, protect their individual and collective independence and sovereignty and represent Arab countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Pan-Arab movement

The Pan-Arab movement consisted of a core idea to have a united independent Arab state, free from colonial rule, whilst sharing a common language - Arabic. We will be exploring their significance within this movement.

Arabic Language

The Arabic language is a very important component of Arab nationalism. We can see from Jurji Zaydan, a Lebanese journalist who through his writing established a common form of Arabic known as the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). This means that all Arab nations now had a common language that they were able to understand and was taught in education as well and was an important step to the idea of Pan-Arabism. This was imperative as before the creation of MSA, different Arab nations had very distinct dialects and so were not able to understand each other.

The diagram on the side explores which countries have Arabic as their official language or official co-language:

• Dark green: Official sole language

• Light green: Official sole language but have a minority in native individuals

• Dark blue: Co-official language with a high proportion of native speakers

• Light blue: Co-official language where a minority speak Arabic and/or for cultural and historical reasons

Pan-Arabism Challenges

The goal of having a united nation was to have all Arab countries from Asia and Africa be united under one voice that advocated for the same ideas. A key example can be seen with the Sharif of Mecca, who was able to unite the Arab states to oppose the Ottoman empire. This was to please the British in return for a united Arab nation, and although they carried out the revolt, the British did not give what was promised.

However, the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict, which consisted of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the 1956 Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War of 1967, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973 was a reason why the idea of Pan-Arabism has lost its support. Although the Arab nations stood and fought together in an attempt to establish a Palestinian state, they failed to do so. This failure was assumed to be caused by the lack of unity amongst the Arab states, as many Arab states were accused of fighting not for unity but for personal gain and therefore their loss was a result of them not working as a united body, thus leading to the idea of Pan-Arabism being abandoned.

Key Thinkers in Pan-Arabism

In every ideology it is important to explore some key people within the ideology itself, for Pan-Arabism we will be exploring Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein and Sati‘ al-Husri.

Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein

Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, PD Egypt Via Wikimedia Commons

Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 to 1970. After the Suez Crisis in 1956, the popularity of Hussein and Pan-Arabism grew, with him being assumed leader of the Arab world. However, although he was against communism he became a rising threat to the Western world, with President Eisenhower trying to overthrow his power. This led to the leaders of the Arab nations losing their faith in Hussein although their citizens did not.

By 1957, Hussein’s popularity had decreased drastically with other Arab nations and Syria remained as his only ally and led to the formation of the United Arab Republic. However, problems were mounting and instability was increasing in Syria and Hussein was losing popularity, this eventually led to a coup and break-up of the United Arab Republic in 1961. We can see that Hussein had a very important role in the popularity of Pan-Arabism, when he was popular so was the ideology and when he lost support so did the ideology.

It is important to note that Hussein had also influenced unity in Africa and played a role in the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, now known as the African Union.

Sati‘ al-Husri was an Ottoman, Syrian and Iraqi writer who was also very influential in the idea of Arab nationalism. Husri was inspired by the teachings of Johann Gottfried voSati' al-Husri, PD-Syria, Via Wikimedia Commonsn Herder, a philosopher who influenced the ideology of nationalism. Like Herder, Husri believed that culture and language were two important factors of nationalism and disregarded factors such as religion.

Husri was against the idea of having an Arab nation that was Islamic as he argued that there were Arabs before Islam, and it would be too broad as Muslims were not present solely in Arab countries. He also believed that although the different dialects of Arabic meant different Arab nations were unable to understand each other, there should be a form of Arabic that is formed that is more comprehensive than classical Arabic that should be taught in all nations.

1. Jurji Zaidan: His Contributions to Modern Arab Thought and Literature, Ismail Serageldin, 2012