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Viviana Anel
POL 387 Gamal Abdel Nasser: The Irony within Arab Nationalism
Arab Nationalism was an ideology especially strong in the 1950s that advocated the
unification of Arab countries. It was a doctrine urging Muslim countries to unite in fighting for
independence from their European colonialism.
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Of central importance here was the search for
autonomy for the Arab nations from Western influence.
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This movement was founded on the
belief that the Arab world shared one language, ethnicity, culture, and identity.
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The Ottoman
Empire’s collapse commenced nationalistic campaigns.
The concept of nationalism enhances a credible understanding of the Muslim world’s
history in regards to seeking peace and the conflicts that ensued later. One problem hindering the
understanding of Arab Nationalism relates to the way in which it remains isolated from broader
historical trends. From a comparative approach, only a few early studies explored the Middle
Eastern Nationalism.
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The movement failed to achieve its aspirations, an aspect that initiated
divisions and disunity, hence affecting the member states adversely. This is the great element of
irony within Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Arab Nationalist movement. This essay seeks to evaluate
Arab nationalism in the specific context of Gamal Abdul Nasser’s Pan Arab movement, what it
entailed, and its effects on the Arab countries from a leadership perspective. The essay concludes
with the argument that although this was essentially a universal vision, it had a much more
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Lehning, James R. European Colonialism since 1700. New Approaches to European History. 2013.,
Philliou, Christine M. Biography of an Empire Governing Ottomans in an Age of Revolution. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 2010.
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Nasser, Gamal Abdel. The Philosophy of the Revolution. Economica Books; E-16. 1959., Masalha, N. “Faisal‘s
Pan‐Arabism, 1921–33.” Middle Eastern Studies 27, no. 4 (1991): 679–93., Smith, Dan. The State of the Middle
East: An Atlas of Conflict and Resolution. Updated Second ed. 2008.
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Abou-El-Fadl, Reem. “Early Pan-Arabism in Egypt’s July Revolution: The Free Officers’ Political Formation and
Policy-making, 1946-54.” Nations and Nationalism 21, no. 2 (2015): 289-308., Khalidi, Rashid. The Origins of Arab
Nationalism. 1991.
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Abou-El-Fadl, Reem. “Early Pan-Arabism in Egypt’s July Revolution: The Free Officers’ Political Formation and
Policy-making, 1946-54.” 21, no. 2 (2015): 289-308., “Arab Nationalism: Historical Problems in the Literature.”
The American Historical Review 96, no. 5 (1991): 1363-373.
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divided reality, and a movement meant to provide unity has – in the light of the historical record
– yielded disunity.
The Origins of Arab Nationalism
The emergence of Arab Nationalism has its roots in the Ottoman Empire’s inefficient
leadership. Since the early 16th century, this empire practiced formal sovereignty over Arab
countries.
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In its last days, the empire’s leader Sultan Abdul Hamid II attempted to use religion
to extend its operations. The empire’s multi-ethnic leadership was replaced by the Arab
Nationalism’s focus on the Islamic culture. In this case, nationalism initiated a severe division
between the different religions and communities that had lived in unity beforehand.
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High focus
on empowering Islam also sought to prevent the strengthening of Christians who relied on
Western ideologies. Thus, the idea of nationalism started by creating huge rifts between
Christianity and Islam. While eradicating Western influence, Arabism also sought to critique and
eliminate the Ottoman sultanate due to their poor leadership.
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The movement was formed based
on the belief that Muslim communities lacked togetherness due to the diversified system that was
initiated by the Ottoman Empire leaders. During the 19th–century, the empire’s weakening state
allowed Arabism to take over.
Sati al-Husri, an Ottoman and influential Arab Nationalist, oversaw the selection of the
core ideology. He reviewed the French, Religious, Marxist, and German ideologies. He chose the
German nationalism agenda which assumed that regional unity could be achieved through
cultural and language spectrums. In this case, the foundation of this strategy was bringing
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Thomas Philipp, Zaidan Jurji, Kilpatrick Hilary, and Starkey Paul. “Arab Nationalism.” (Syracuse University
Press, 2010), 93-97.
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Pamela E Pennock. “Arab Students and the Politics of Palestine: The Organization of Arab Students and the Arab
American Left.” (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2017), 47–48.
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Alan Mikhail and Philliou Christine. “The Ottoman Empire and the Imperial Turn.“ (Comparative Studies in
Society and History 54, no. 4, 2012), 744-745.
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together all Arabs since they shared a single culture.
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In support of his choice, al-Husri described
language as a significant non-material connection between individuals and the larger society.
This belief was accepted by the Muslim community because they relied on their Arabic language
to communicate. Arab nationalists are confident that the Arab nation existed as a historical
entity before the emergence of nationalism between the 19th and 20th-centuries.
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Arab territory
was implemented through the establishment of Arabic as the only means of communication.
Consequently, the view of Islam as a regional culture and religion set a stable foundation for
nationalism. In 1911, both politicians and Muslim intellectuals formed al-Fatat, which was an
Arab society. As a nationalist organization, al-Fatat focused on elevating the standards of the
Arab nation to that of modern nations.
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With tribal divisions, Islam stood out as a common
brotherhood that encouraged Arabs to form one country. Many Arab leaders attributed the unity
to the conjoint characteristics of Islam’s five pillars. The Arabs were bound by aspects such as
faith, prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage. The annual pilgrimage to Mecca was valued
because it united Muslims from a global spectrum. Due to the existence of these pillars, forming
the Arab nation was seen to be an easy task.
Among the people who supported Arab Nationalism, Abdel Nasser stands out as an
individual whose contributions had enormous impacts. In 1938, he graduated from the Egyptian
Military Academy as an officer. In 1948, he participated in the first Arab-Israel War where the
Arabs were defeated because they had a tremendously inept and unskilled government during the
time of the conflict. As a result, he substantiated his fight for nationalism by overthrowing King
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Ibrahim M. Abu–Rabi. “Costantine Zurayk and the Search for Arab Nationalism.” (London; Sterling, Virginia:
Pluto Press, 2004), 300-301.
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Adeed Dawisha. “Defining Arab Nationalism.” (Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2003), 5.
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Fred Halliday. “Pensée 3: The Modernity of the Arabs.” (International Journal of Middle East Studies 41, no. 1,
2009).17-18.
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Farouk.
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Assisted by Muhammad Naguib, Abdel Nasser oversaw a coup that took place on July
23rd, 1952. While holding this position, he was highly committed to implementing nationalism.
He pursued this interest by seeking Egypt’s national independence, as well as promoting national
liberation movements in the Middle East.
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Nasser viewed himself as the only person who could
unite Arabs to increase their strength and cohesion. In 1954, Abdel Nasser became Egypt’s
second president, and he continued his agenda of enhancing nationalism in Arab countries.
During his tenure as president, Abdel Nasser took the initiative of deciding the nations that
joined the nationalist movement. Those affiliated with Western nations were left out because
they were viewed as hindrances to achieving nationalistic goals.
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One prominent example
comes when he barred Iraq from joining nationalism because of its close interactions with
Britain.
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After the 1952 coup, Abdel Nasser spearheaded the creation of a radio station called the
