The Origins of Arab Nationalism.

Arab nationalism, proclamations of its demise notwithstanding, continues to occupy an important place in the study of social and political changes in the Arab World. Writing-off Arab nationalism as a force in the contemporary Arab World betrays, at the very least, a hasty judgment, marginalizing its historical role and its continued relevance to a narrative of Arab history. The Origins of Arab Nationalism is a collection of essays which zeroes in on an historical period where the beginnings of Arab nationalism can be located. The book covers the period from the late 1890s to 1920, outlining several important phases of development: 1890s to 1908, 1908-1914, 1914-1918, 1918-1920. The analysis of the origins of Arab nationalism is undertaken with a focus on the social and political dynamics of the period. This is done with an emphasis on regional differences and variations in points of emergence, thus breaking the monolith image. The exposition of the social and political grounding of the "Arab national movement" underlines the contextual determinants and regional and conjunctural factors. This departs from the conventional history of ideas and "orthodox" views of Arab nationalism which identify Christian Lebanese intellectuals as the main social actors in this drama.

Scholarly revisionism is the declared goal of the book. The central propositions put forward in the "Introduction" by Rashid Khalidi and in part one (especially the essays by C. Ernest Dawn and Khalidi) are developed in dialogue with existing scholarship on the subject. Dawn critiques the "traditional" views, and downplays the role of Christian Arab intellectuals in the development of Arabism. He restates the thesis put forth in his From Ottomanism to Arabism, which postulates that Islamic modernism is the rightful parent of Arabism. In this, he is refuting arguments made in earlier scholarship on the subject by Haim, Kedourie, Sharabi and Tibi. The other main controversies which are dealt with concern the extent of Arab nationalism prior to 1914 and the impact of the policies of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) on the rise of Arabism in the period between 1908 and 1914. Despite all apparent disagreements on these two issues - disagreements which, one might argue, have more to do with nuance and subtleties than with substantive differences in interpretation - a majority position with dissenting opinions can be said to exist. On the extent of Arabism prior to 1914, the consensus is that it was a minority position (this is upheld by scholars of what Khalidi identifies as the "second phase" of studies in Arab nationalism, such as Tibawi and Hourani and by the revisionists like Khoury and Cleveland). Khalidi's view that Arabism was a majority position during that period represents the dissenting opinion which is supported now by the works of the "revisionists of revisionism," some of which appears in this collection of essays (Hanioglu, Seikaly, Tarabein). With respect to the issue of the CUP policies of centralization and Turkification, the majority opinion in the literature, including contributors to this collection, is that these policies spurred Arabist feelings. Dawn's is the dissenting voice here. In this regard, the reader will find the contours of an ongoing exchange between Khalidi and Dawn in their respective essays.

The conjunctural and contextual analyses presented in the essays outline the similarities and differences in terms of regional factors and differentiated dynamics of Arab relations to European expansionism and to Ottoman rule. This allows for a comparative view within which the varying responses to the same events can be understood. For example, the Italo-Libyan war was seen by the Syrian activists as evidence of Ottoman decline and precipitated anti-government feelings. In Libya itself, however, as Lisa Anderson demonstrates, the war gave more reason, initially, to maintain links with the Empire.

A nuanced understanding emerges in relation to the degree of opposition to the CUP policies of centralization and to the meanings and implications of anti-centralization stands. Thus, in an interesting account of the events surrounding the granting of navigation and irrigation concessions to British companies by the Ottoman government, Mahmoud Haddad's essay shows how opposition to European expansionism was the main factor in the shaping of Arab nationalism in Iraq. In contrast, a stand against the CUP policies of bureaucratic reorganization was the unifying force in bringing about a shift in the positions of two Arab political activists, Shukri al-'Asali and 'Abd al-Hamid al-Zahrawi (see the articles by Seikaly and Tarabein). Both of these leaders were pro-Young Turk, members of local CUP branches, deputies in the Ottoman Parliament who became disenchanted with the CUP's centralization policies, turned Arabist and yet remained Ottomanists to the bitter end. The argument running throughout these studies affirms that Arabism and Ottomanism were not mutually exclusive.

The essays dealing with the Hijaz show that anti-CUP stands did not necessarily express Arabist beliefs and sentiments as much as they reflected economic and political interests as evidenced by Sharif Husayn and his son Abdallah's positioning during and after the "Arab revolt". In this case, the dynamics of interaction with foreign powers took an opposite turn to that of Libya and Iraq.

Despite the book's focus on the scope of support for Arabism prior to 1914 and on the intensity of opposition to the CUP, it stops short of elaborating a comprehensive view of the identity and nature of the social forces involved in the national movement. What is needed to broaden the field of inquiry and understanding is a dynamic and relational approach to the analysis of interaction among the social forces for whom Arabism was one discourse among many.

The Origins of Arab Nationalism represents serious scholarly work. Introducing newly found archival materials and sources from the late Ottoman period, it constitutes a contribution to the study of nationalism in the Arab World.

Salwa Ismail is an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Developing Area Studies, McGill University, Montreal.