Arab nationalism

The flag of the Arab Revolt was originally used against the Ottoman Turks, and remains a prominent symbol of Arab nationalism. The design and pan-Arab colours are the basis of many modern Arab states' flags.
Coat of arms (emblem) Hawk of Quraish: It is one of the Arab national symbols that have been used in many Arab nation-states.
The Aqaba Flagpole in Aqaba, Jordan bearing the flag of the Arab Revolt. The Aqaba Flagpole is the sixth tallest free standing flagpole in the world.

Arab nationalism (Arabic: القومية العربية, romanizedal-qawmīya al-ʿarabīya) is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, glorifies the Arabic language as well as Arabic literature, and calls for the rejuvenation of Arab society through total unification.[1] It bases itself on the premise that the people of the Arab world — from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea — constitute one nation bound together by a common identity: ethnicity, language, culture, history, geography, and politics.[2][3]

One of the primary goals of modern Arab nationalism is ridding the Arab world of influence from the Western world, and the removal of those Arab governments that are considered to be dependent upon Western hegemony. This form of the ideology is rooted in the undesirable outcome of the Arab Revolt; in successfully achieving their primary goal of dissolving the Ottoman Empire, the Arab rebels simultaneously enabled the partitioning of their would-be unified Arab state by Western powers. Anti-Western sentiment grew as Arab nationalists centralized themselves around the newfound Palestine cause, promoting the view that Zionism posed an existential threat to the territorial integrity and political status quo of the entire region, and that the resulting Arab–Israeli conflict was directly linked to Western imperialism due to the Balfour Declaration.[4][5] Arab unity was considered a necessary instrument to "restoring this lost part" of the nation, which in turn meant eliminating the "relics" of foreign colonialism.[6] Arab nationalism emerged in the 1920s, as the dominant ideological force in the eastern Arab world, commonly referred to as "the mashriq". Its influence steadily expanded over subsequent years. By the 1950s and 1960s, the charismatic Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser championed Arab nationalism, and political parties like the Ba'ath Party and the Movement of Arab Nationalists demonstrated remarkable capabilities for mobilization, organization, and clandestine activities. This ideology seemed to be on the rise across the independent Arab states.

Its influence began to wane in the following decades, with the rise of nation-state nationalism mostly promoted by each Arab state and the emergence of Islamic radicalism filling the perceived void.[7]

However, the ideology as a whole began to decline across the Arab world following the decisive Israeli victory in the June 1967 war.[8][9]

Notable personalities and groups that are associated with Arab nationalism include Faisal I of Iraq, Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Arab Nationalist Movement, Michel Aflaq, Muammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.

  1. ^ "Requiem for Arab Nationalism" by Adeed Dawisha, Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2003
  2. ^ Charles Smith, The Arab-Israeli Conflict, in International Relations in the Middle East by Louise Fawcett, p. 220.
  3. ^ Sela, 151
  4. ^ Sayegh, Anis (1970). Palestine and Arab Nationalism (PDF). Beirut: Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center. pp. 20, 21, 42.
  5. ^ Kramer, Martin (1993). "Arab Nationalism: Mistaken Identity". Daedalus. 122 (3): 177. ISSN 0011-5266. JSTOR 20027188.
  6. ^ Omar, Saleh (1992). "Arab Nationalism: A Retrospective Evaluation". Arab Studies Quarterly. 14 (4): 24. ISSN 0271-3519. JSTOR 41858027.
  7. ^ "ARAB NATIONALISM".
  8. ^ "Requiem for Arab Nationalism" by Adeed Dawisha, Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2003
  9. ^ Charles Smith, The Arab-Israeli Conflict, in International Relations in the Middle East by Louise Fawcett, p. 220.

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