Blame the West

There once was a time when the Arabian sub-continent consisted of one all-powerful entity, a united region under the umbrella of Islam, and commanding both militarily and economically for hundreds of years. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the last true realm of pan-Arabism, was finally sealed after the Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916, which carved the region into separate nations under the dominance of British and French control. It took decades until these newly created Middle Eastern countries developed a sense of national identity, influenced by pro-Western, liberal reformers and the traditional Islamic conservatives who opposed them. Concurrently, European and American proponents of Zionism actively campaigned for a Jewish homeland to be created in the land of Palestine. The deliberately ambiguous Balfour Declaration of 1917 set the wheels in motion for the eventual establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. This resulted in a wave of anti-Semitic protest in the Middle East, once again uniting the region for a common cause: the liberation of occupied Palestine. Is it safe to assume that there would therefore be no pan-Arabism or Arab nationalism were it not for Israel and the Zionist presence in the Middle East? In reality, it would be selfish to claim that Zionism specifically was the one and only cause. While it would seem that Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism have become more prevalent since the creation of Israel, these ideologies have existed long before. Furthermore, the modern Arab nationalist and pan-Arab movements are more focused on the damaging influence of Western imperialism to eradicate the tradition of the culture.

The roots of Arab nationalism can be traced back to the 19^th century reforms that occurred within the Ottoman Empire. In Egypt, Muhammad Ali transformed the province into a powerful threat to the Sultan as a result of the administration, defense, agriculture, and education reforms that he instigated (Mansfield 48). Spreading notions of independence, he envisioned Egypt nationalizing its resources, expanding into the Arabian sub-continent, and eventually overpowering the Sultanate. His centralized form of government and his army of fellahin peasants were highly radical compared to the janissary slave armies of the Levant. If it weren't for the help of the British, the Sultan would have lost control over of the powerful province and perhaps the rest of the region. Although the source of his defeat was aided by the West, Muhammad Ali was the first notable Arab nationalist who was open to Western ideas and employed European military captains; unlike the tradition of the Ottomans, which shunned anything Western and innovative. One such advocate against Western imperialism was Jamal ad-Din Afghani, the father of pan-Islamism.

Through organizations against secularism and modernization, pan-Islamist movements, founded by Jamal ad-Din Afghani, campaigned to unite all Muslims in order to overthrow the influence of European imperialism and return its people to the basics of the religion. His nostalgic ideas of an Islam that existed during the time of the Prophet Muhammad won the support of many followers, but also inspired future Islamic fundamentalist groups, such as Hasan al-Bana and the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. However, religion alone would prove to be unsuccessful in maintaining a united Arab region.

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Mustapha Kemal, "Attaturk," sought to re-establish the country by instigating Tanzimat reforms and abolishing all remnants of the Ottomans. Attaturk believed that religion was the cause of all problems and advocated secularist laws and new, Western-inspired customs. He believed that the downfall of the Empire was a result of the devotion to Islam and rejection to anything modern, so he "abolished both the sultanate and caliphate and created an independent, secular republic" (Reader 106). The capital city was moved from Istanbul to Ankara, Arabic letters were replaced by Latin, and women were forcefully prohibited to wear Hijaab. Although drastic, these reforms appealed to non-Muslim Arabs who felt that their presence was just as important as the Islamic majority of the population. This further inspired a secular form of pan-Islamism in the region, known as pan-Arabism.

Pan-Arab movements were developed in the hopes of creating political unification among the Arab nations of the Middle East. For instance, the Ba'th party, formed in Damascus in 1943 by Christian co-founder Michael Aflaq, used socialist rhetoric to unite all Arabs and form one nation (Reader 288). In addition, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, although not a Ba'thist, shared similar pan-Arab ideals. In a partnership with Syria, Egypt, and Yemen, Nasser founded the United Arab Republic in 1958, but it disbanded less than three years later (Mansfield 262). Eventually, Nasser exhausted every chance to prove the strength of Arab unification against a common, Zionist enemy.

The establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 ignited the Arab world and instigated a series of wars in which all pan-Arab efforts would fail. The devastating defeat of the Six-Day War in 1967 further strengthened Israel's position in the region and humiliatingly set back the pan-Arab cause of liberating the occupied Palestine. Moreover, the Arab-Israeli War in 1973 sealed the fate of pan-Arabism as its last attempt to unite against a common enemy. Syria and Egypt initiated a surprise attack on Israel on the holiest of Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur. The wealthier Gulf countries contributed their support by the use of boycotting oil as a major economic and political weapon to Israel's allies. However, were it not for the millions of dollars in military aid from the United States and other Western allies, Israel may not have been able to defend itself against any pan-Arab front. Finally, the signing of the Camp David Accords marked the end of a pan-Arab partnership as its most outspoken, influential advocate, Egyptian President Muhammad Anwar
al-Sadat, was the first to exit the Arab alliance and sign a peace treaty with Israel.

In the end, Israel, as an idea for Jewish nationalism, proved to be a more successful opponent against any Arab nationalist efforts. For an idea created and supported by the West, Israel inadvertently helped re-establish Arab efforts to unite, both politically and historically, in order to claim back the occupied land of Palestine. However, the dominating influence of the West, both financially and militarily, continues to control the region. The vision of a united Middle East remains to be a romantic pipe dream of the Arabs.