Arabs and Ottomans: A Checkered Relationship 9781463225445

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Arabs and Ottomans

Analecta Isisiana: Ottoman and Turkish Studies

63

Collections of thematic essays focused on specific themes of Ottoman and Turkish studies are brought together in Analecta Isisiana. These scholarly volumes address important issues throughout Turkish history, offering in a single volume the accumulated insights of a single author over a career of research on the subject.

Arabs and Ottomans

A Checkered Relationship

Caesar A. Farah

T h e Isis Press, Istanbul

pre** 2010

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2010 by The Isis Press, Istanbul Originally published in 2002 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of The Isis Press, Istanbul. 2010

o

ISBN 978-1-61719-089-6

Printed in the United States of America

Caesar Farah born in Portland, Oregon (1929), spent ten years in Ixbanon and was educated at the International College of the American University of Beirut, received his B.A. cum laude from Stanford University in History and International Relations, his M.A. & Ph.d. from Princeton University in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. He has taught at Indiana University and since 1969 at the University of Minnesota serving as Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. His publications include The Road to Intervention: Fiscal Politics in Ottoman Lebanon, Oxford 1992; Decisionmaking and Change in the Ottoman Empire (cd.) Thomas Jefferson University Press, 1992; The Politics of Interventionism in Ottoman Lebanon 1831 -1861, Oxford and London 2000; The Sultan's Yemen: 19th Century Challenges and Responses, London & New York: I.B. Tauris, London 2002.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction "Reformed Ottomanism and Social Change" in La vie sociale dans les provinces arabes à l'époque ottomane (ed.) A. Temimi, Zaghouan 1988, vol. 3 "Awakening Interest in Western Science & Technology in Ottoman Syria" in Transfer of Modem Science & Technology to the Muslim World (ed.) E. îhsanoglu, Istanbul 1992 "Syro-Egyptians and the Literary Revival Movement" Revue d'histoire maghrebine, Tunis, vol. 17 nos. 59-60 (octobre 1990) "The Role of the Syro-Egyptians in the Cultural Renaissance" in International Congress on Learning and Education in the Ottoman World (ed.) A. Çaksu, Istanbul 2001. "Censorship and Freedom of Expression in Ottoman Syria and Egypt" in Nationalism in a Non-National State, (ed.) W. Ochsenwald. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1987 "Christian Communities in the Arab World: Majority-Minority Relations" in AAUG's Information Papers No. 12, March, 1974, North Dartmouth, MA "Religion, Ethnicity and Conflict in the Syrian Region" in Melanges Haiti Sahilioglu, (ed.), A. Temimi, vol. 2, Zaghouan, 1997 "The Impact of the West on the Conflict of Ideologies in the Arab World" in Islamic Culture XXXV, no. 2, (April 1961) "The Dilemma of Arab Nationalism" in Die Welt des Islams, n.s. 8/3 (1963) "Emir Basir ll's Fiscal Policies for Mt. Lebanon in 1837: A Socio-Economic Investigation" in Les provinces arabes à l'époque ottomane (ed.) A. Temimi, Zaghouan 1987 "The Lebanese Insurgence of 1840 and the Powers" Journal of Asian History vol. 1, No. 2. Wiesbaden 1967 "The Quadruple Alliance and Proposed Ottoman Reforms in Syria, 1839-1841" Journal of Turkish Studies, vol. II, 1981 "Necip Pa§a and the British in Syria 1841-1842", Archivum Ottomanicum, vol. 2, 1970 "Austrian Diplomacy and the Mt. Lebanon Crisis in the Age of Metternich" in Habsburgisch-osmanische Beziehungen, CiEPO Colloque, Wien, 1983 "Protestantism and British Diplomacy in Syria" in International Journal of Middle East Studies 7, 1976 "A Tale of Two Missions" in Arabic and Islamic Garland. Historical, Educational, Literary Studies presented to Abdul-LatifTibawi, Ixmdon 1977 "Protestantism and Politics: The 19th Century Dimension in Syria" in Palestine in the Late Ottoman Period (ed.) D. Kushner, Jerusalem-Leiden Brill, 1986 "A Spanish Perspective of the 'Syrian Question' in 1844" in Studies on Ottoman Diplomatic History (ed.) S. Kuneralp, Istanbul 1987 "Lebanon at the Crossroads" in The Middle East Annual, Vol 2 - 1982 Boston, 1983. "Islamic Fundamentalism as an Alternative to Nationalism" in Nation and Ideology. Essays in honor of Wayne S. Vucinich, New York 1981

7 9

19 29 37

51 77 85 97 109

125 137 155 I,S3 211 223 243 253 271 279 317

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"Islam and America's N e w Crusade" Epilogue to Islam, 7th ed. New York: Barron's, 2002 "Arabism & Turks: Common Heritage, Common Destiny" in Studies on Turkish-Arab Relations, vol. 1, Istanbul 1986 "Reassessing Sultan Abdülhamid II's Islamic Policy" Archivum Ottomanicum, vol. 14 (1995/96) Wiesbaden "Great Britain, Germany and the Ottoman Caliphate" Der Islam, vol. 66 no. 2. Berlin New York 1989 "Arab Supporters of Sultan Abdülhamid II: 'Izzet Al-'Äbid" Archivum Ottomanicum, vol. 15 (1997) Wiesbaden "Khwalddyah Salah: Spy, Patriot and Pan-Islamist" Archivum Ottomanicum, vol. 18 (2000) Wiesbaden "Political Dimensions of Islamic Fundamentalism" Digest of Middle East Studies, vol. 5. no. 2. Spring 1996 "Organizing for the Second Conquest of Yemen" in X. Türk Tarih Kongresi Bildirileri, Ankara 1993 "Yemeni Fortification and the Second Ottoman Conquest" Arab Historical Review for Ottoman Studies, Nos. 1/2 (January/Janvier 1990) "Announcing an Ottoman Victory in Hungary to a Yemeni Emir" A Miscellany in Memoriam Thomas Muir Johnstone 1924-1983. ed. A.K. Irvine et. al London: Longman, 1988 "The British Challenge to Ottoman Authority in Y e m e n " The Turkish Studies Association Bulletin, vol. 22, no. 1 (Spring 1998) "Reaffirming Ottoman Sovereignty in Yemen 1825-1840" Revue d'histoire maghrébine, vol. 10, nos. 31-32 (Décembre 1983) "A German Plan of R e f o r m f o r Ottoman Yemen" in VII. CIÉPO Sempozyumu Bildirileri, Ankara 1994 "Smuggling and International Politics in the Red Sea in the Late Ottoman Period" in New Arabian Studies 5 (ed.) G. Rex Smith, J.R. Smart & B.R. Pridham University of Exeter Press, Exeter, 2000 "Beginning of Imperial Rivalries in the Persian Gulf" Anatolia Moderna/Yeni Anadolu VI. Paris: Maisonneuve, 1996

335 347 359 375 393 415 429 4-39 451

457 467 487 501

513 531

INTRODUCTION

Half a century of research and publications are represented in the series of articles herein reproduced as m y f i v e decades of commitment to the study of Ottoman A r a b relations with special reference to the middle decades of the nineteenth century and the aftermath of the parting of the w a y s in the early twentieth, one of the by-products of the break-up of the Ottoman empire which in some w a y s constitutes part of the legacy of the previous century. T h e categories represented in this l e g a c y fall under a number of headings: the repercussions of sectarian and nationalist trends, the Ottoman legacy in the A r a b provinces with special concentration on two main areas: the Syro-Lebanese and the Y e m e n i in the nineteenth century — on which subjects t w o main books have been published in the last t w o years, namely The Politics

of Interventionism

and The Sultan's

Yemen, with writing currently under

w a y on a subject that has engendered much controversy and distortion, particularly in Western writings, concerning the true Islamic policy of Sultan Abdiilhamid II as opposed to the distorted image of it in the propaganda of English and French writers who had accused him of fostering a Pan Islamism designed to raise rebellions among Muslim populations which these t w o imperial powers had dominated. T w o articles are presented in this collection calling attention to the false premises underlying the accusations of the Western imperialists and another to highlight the role of the Sultan's Arabic secretary in promoting A b d u l h a m i d ' s images as a promoter and defender of Islamic religious interests. Specifically, the f o l l o w i n g categories constitute areas of concentration: nationalism and Islamism, Mount Lebanon featuring various topics from the economic to the political to the civil war of this century with special reference to the impact of foreign intervention in the country's domestic and political affairs and how such intervention impacted the sovereign rights of the Ottoman state, of which it was an integral part, the Y e m e n during the same century, its demography and system of fortification and, again, the impact of foreign encroachments on the stability of the land in face of strong resistance from dissident and rebellious tribes. The negative impact of foreign encroachment is extended to the Persian Gulf area with emphasis on the last decades of the nineteenth century and the first of the twentieth. Islam being a recent f o c u s of attention in the media and among scholars, my assessment of its role and impact is expressed not only in seven editions of my principal work on the subject: Islam, but also in a number of publications focusing on what is termed "fundamentalism" or activist Islam. M y concentration has thus evolved from an expose of Arab nationalism when the subject was in vogue among its adherents and the movement was nearly still born, failing to achieve the stated goal of bringing about the political unity denied it in the aftermath of the break-up of the Ottoman empire and the emergence of Islam as a substitute ideological reference in the hope it will succeed where secular nationalism has failed. Adherents of the Islamic solution are convinced that only with the return to Islam will A r a b peoples achieve solidarity, and prosperity. In it they see the proper responses to societal ills and international encroachments. Sectarianism and sectarian strife abetted by political and religious ambition and outside interferences characterises my interest in using the experiences of Lebanon as the best w a y to expound its evolution and negative impact on the course of the country's development and

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stability with the record of the nineteenth century experiences serving as the unfortunate model. My being attracted to the experiences of the Ottomans in Yemen was the result of exposure to a wealth of documentation in the Ottoman archives of Istanbul while researching the same archival holdings on Mt. Lebanon during the same century; both countries were listed under the category of "mesele" or problem. This led to work in the field which enticed m e to study the system of fortification designed by the Yemenis to protect their trade routes and defend against aggression and made it a difficult task for the Ottomans to break through the resistance of tribes opposing efforts to suppress rebellion and bring the land under direct control. The successful intrusion of the British in the south early in the nineteenth and of the Italian from the west as they attempted to subdue piratical activities in the Red Sea drew my attention to documentation not only in the Ottoman but in the German foreign ministry archives as well and resulted in publications in the topic. Hence the collection brought under one cover in this anthology represents a wide range of interests underlying my scholarly research, drawn together under one umbrella: Arab-Ottoman and the distractions that emanated there from with the break-up of their relationship in the decade prior to World War I and the final demise of Arab Ottoman relationships during the second decade of the twentieth century when harmony among the sects deteriorated and a secular nationalist ideology failed to rally the disparate elements of Arab societies to preserve some unity and harmony specifically in the Syrian region.

REFORMED OTTOMANISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Serious efforts were made in the last decade of the nineteenth and opening decade of the twentieth century to reform Ottoman society in the Syrian provinces with the view of preserving Ottoman solidarity. Those who led in such efforts were emigrants from the Syrian region who used Egypt as the base for their teachings and writings. They represented both Muslims and Christians. Their ideological commitments ranged from secular nationalism to Islamic revivalism. The aim of this study is to focus on the views of a number of individuals who represented leading opinions as regards the type of reform advocated, to detail programs proposed, the course of action pursued as well as views offered that differed in terms of ideological means to be adopted but not the ends sought. Contrary to hitherto held opinion, the consensus among these enlightened individuals was to preserve not abolish Ottomanism in favor of some other framework of social and political reference. In our discussion we shall treat the type of Ottomanism they favored. We shall also show that reform was essential for its preservation and that education was to play the leading role. But to understand better what these reformers advocated by way of change, we must call attention to the state of political affairs in the Ottoman provinces immediately affected by the call to change. The 1870s witnessed the preachings spearheaded by the reform of Islamic religious attitudes. Within a decade we are treated by Syrian secularists to an awakening based on the revitalization of Arabism. In the meanwhile the Sultan, 'Abd al-Hamid, gives in to the demands of constitutionalists and permits the establishment for the first time of a parliamentary institution but quickly changes his mind and abolishes it. Hopes raised by those who saw in it an instrument for reform now were dashed and reformers found themselves entering their pleas collectively and individually directly with the sultan. Many of them had been exposed to the liberal and progressive writings of their European counterparts and were not eager to see the repeat of a French-style revolution. The policy of centralisation that followed the abolition of parliament sharpened the divisions separating Arabs and Turks ethnically. Moreover, they feared that the rift generated by Young Turk ideology could lead to the break up of Ottoman unity and the principles of universalism represented by it would be demolished. Those who would not substitute for it Islamism, Arabism or Turkism strove to assert the primacy of Ottomanism, but within a transformed and modernized context which could enable the various ethnic and religious groupings of the empire to interact positively and harmoniously as well as to develop and progress under the umbrella of an enlightened Ottoman state led by a confident not mistrusting sultan. These activists, both Muslim and Christian, made their appeal in an assortment of treatises, journals and books, starting in their native Syrian cities (Aleppo, Damascus, Tripoli, Beirut, Sidon) and when the censor made their work unbearable, they moved next to Cairo and Alexandria to continue the struggle. There, in the relatively unrestrictive atmosphere fosteied by the British-influenced Khedival administration, these immigrants (knows as «Shawam» to their

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Egyptian sympathisers) could give free rein to their ideas and views. They expressed themselves with passion and determination, firmly believing that reformed Ottomanism presented the best of all possible alternatives for maintaining and strengthening the bonds of Ottoman citizenship. Indeed, most of these reform advocates resisted the temptation to link up with the Hashimite revolt which fellow Syrian nationalists began to support when all hope was gone following the persistence of the Young Turks in pursuing the process of centralization and Turkification. While those who adhered to this school of reform were many, 1 shall give particular attention to Raflq and Haqqi al-'Azm, Shibli Shmayyil, Farah Antun, 'Abd al-Rahman alKawakibi, Muhammad Kurd 'Ali, and Sayyid Muhammad Rashid Rida, all of whom were basically of one mind in advocating change and social betterment. They denounced socially retarding and debilitating policies which had gone unchallenged for a number of centuries and which had stifled initiative and encouraged oppression. While they were by means to be construed as revolutionaries in terms of methods favored to achieve reform, still within the context of their conservative milieu and in the eyes of established authority they were regarded as radicals who would disrupt the normal functioning of society by espousing ideas that could only give satisfaction to the enemies of the state. Undeterred by bureaucratic pressures, these reformers continued to preach equality among nationalities and sects in the Ottoman state while insisting that citizens should remain loyal to the sultan and give proof of their patriotism. In support thereof they denounced European intervention in the internal affairs of the Ottoman empire and great powers efforts to break up its territorial unity by wars waged upon it. They endeavored to convince the sultan that by voicing honest criticism they only sought to bring about that type of reform which would strengthen not weaken social bonds. They appealed to him to relax his harsh suppressive policies against critics who were seeking to improve not destroy Ottomanism. Radical deep-seated social reform led the list of desiderata of this immigrant group. To achieve this, they proposed that clearly defined humane and progressive laws be set in motion, applying to all members of society regardless of ethnic and sectarian affiliation. If moral principles were to succeed in giving direction to such a society, the character of the individual himself had to be altered. Shmayyil did not believe that meaningful reform could be achieved without first refining the moral character of individual citizens. A Buchnerian Darwinian by conviction, he believed in the natural evolution of precepts underlying man's quest for social cohesion and harmony anchored in egalitarianism and allowing him the initiative to work towards such an end. He denounced those who set themselves above this process and sought to bend the will of society to serve their own narrow interests, destroying the pride and selfassuredness of citizens and permitting base qualities and social habits to prevail by denying their subjects the opportunity to acquire knowledge and progress thereby. Formal education for Shmayyil is the necessary first step 1 . In his appeal to Sultan 'Abd al-Hamid to accept constructive reform he wrote, «my sole aim is to call your Majesty's attention to the dangers that threaten the empire from within and without so they can be dealt with to the extent possible 2 ». The ills of Ottoman society, he argues, have resulted from the lack of education and freedom. «There can be no justice», he ^«al-Sharq wa 'al-Hurriyah», Misr, III/7 (14 Aug. 1789). Shakwa via Amal Marfu'ah ila Jalalat al-Sultan al-Mu'assam 'Abd al-Hamid Khan, Cairo, 20 March 1896, p. 2.

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wrote, «without freedom; no learning without justice; when knowledge is absent, there is no strength because strength is contingent on wealth, and the instruments of wealth (agriculture, commerce and industry) are dependent for success on education 1 ». Freedom, furthermore, is inherent to humanity «and it is now lost... and with its loss, justice is denied and an oppression humiliating to society and degrading to the self now prevails, which has extinguished knowledge. With ignorance widespread, the fire of prejudice rages in a nation composed of a variety of religious faiths and ethnic divisions, experiencing no patriotism and driven to tearing itself apart by its own hands» 2 . When coupled with a lack of incentive to redress such ills, the breakdown of social cohesion causes citizens to lose confidence in their governing institutions aided by the sad state of a f f a i r s : a treasury that is empty, an army almost naked, a fleet in a state of disarray, castles and forts dilapidated, justice and security lost, all because of the prevalence of ignorance and agriculture, the basic source of production of the state, at a standstill 3 . Within the state being threatened, moreover, by danger f r o m within and without, no improvement of its affairs could be expected without changes being introduced by deed, not word. Such change can only result from universal education, argued Shmayyil. The aim of this education should be not only enlightening Ottoman citizenry but also drawing them into closer bonds, that is «until the various religious sects and ethnical groups of the nation become one heart in their love of country and sultan» 4 . Being part of the process of devising cures in a state of freedom is the reason for the success of contemporary states, and also the reason for Islam's success in its early centuries. For, in his words, «Islam in its nascent stage set a high example for democratic governments (to emulate). Decline (in Islamic power) was the result of deviation f r o m the path of the earliest caliphs and of immersion in a life of ease, when those in charge placed themselves above the nation» 5 . Harkening to the exemplary teaching of early Islam to provide a program for viable reform, in keeping with the trends of the time, was not the prerogative of the A f g h a n i movement alone. Rashld Rida, an architect of the Salaliyah movement that called for a return to example of the early caliphs, was an intimate member of the Syro-Egyptian reformist circle and a supporter of their views. Another associate, al-Kawakibi, held strong religious feelings but would not defer to the ulema and other advocates of reform along strict religious lines. The use of religion to al-Kawakibi had become an instrument of suppression, not encouragement of progressive change. He accused the authorities of misappropriating the ends of Islam to reinforce a system that had become rigid and stale. The impact on education had become oppressive. That KawakibI should oppose Islam being manipulated for such an end is understandable in view of his strong liberal and secular proclivities. He was an intellectual disciple of JeanJacques Rousseau and other pre-revolutionary-France thinkers. He had read widely and was intimately familiar with M a m l u k and Ottoman history. He reached the conclusion that oppression then prevailing had stifled progress and caused the lack of citizen confidence in the whole system as well as inter-communal friction. Fear dominated Ottoman subjects, and with it hbìd., Ibid., ibid., 4 Ibid., 5 Ihid„ 2

3

p. p. p. p. p.

4. 5. 12. 18. 23.

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a lack of co-operation in advancing the nation's welfare. In co-operation, he argued, is the lif e of the nation. Education, furthermore, helps prepare this nation spiritually and intellectually for the role which is needed to upgrade society and eliminate oppression by gradual steps. Kawakibi shunned the ways of the traditionalists of Islam and accused ulema and excgetes of not understanding the true meaning of Islam's teachings by seeing no more in the Holy Qur'an than erudition and eloquence (fasaha wa balagha). He called for complete freedom of inquiry and expression in learning the true moral and legal teachings of Islam's sacred text. K a w a k i b i was repelled by the arbitrary ways of the Ottoman bureaucracy and its oppressive conduct towards him in his native city of Aleppo, which compelled him constantly to change position and place of residence, and forced him finally to leave Syria and join his compatriots in Egypt. He struck back at them partly in his Taba'i' al-Istibdad wa Masari' alIsti'bad, wherein he analyzed the nature of oppression and diagnosed the ailment of society recommending cures for it. He argued that no government can be kept in check if it is not subjected to careful scrutiny by citizens who can hold it accountable, as was done in the heyday of Islam. In education he saw the means for lifting the heavy hand of oppression. He accused a frightened citizenry of committing suicide through inaction engendered by fear and ignorance. «Even petty tyrants», he wrote, «know that dominating religion, the family, the ignorant father, mad husband, and heads of weak organizations is an instrument of control». Furthermore, «never has the light of unification spread in a nation without resulting in breaking the chains that held it in bondage» 1 . Kawakibi advocated the reinstitution of the ideal Islamic principles of government in his equally known work, Umm al-Qura. In it he attributed stagnation in society to inaction of the citizenry in the face of disorganization and disorderliness, being oblivious of the fact that Muslims at one time excelled in providing an example of social coherence and moral behavior as displayed in their general manners. In this work, the head of the delegates representing twentytwo Islamic nations and convening purportedly in Mecca in 1898 tells those assembled that social stagnation is due firstly to a life of detachment from affairs of this world with an attending lack of striving to change conditions and improve society's worldly lot; secondly, to sectarian divisions and disputes among Muslims; thirdly, to policies not anchored in responsible conduct on the part of both government and citizens, to the denial of freedom of expression and of work opportunities for a nation lacking security, equal legal rights, justice and hope, and fourthly, to lack of moral character and moral strength due to both the individual and his milieu being steeped in ignorance and resignation thereto, which accounts for the prevalence of despair and a sense of hopelessness permeating the outlook of an oppressed citizenry. Corruption thus becomes widespread, visible particularly in the state's dishevelled finances; in subjects being afraid to demand their basic rights, and in preference for easy positions in the bureaucracy rather than in the crafts that add to the wealth of the nation 2 . Because of the tolerant and overlooking policy of the Khedive of Egypt Syrian advocates of reform and change gave free rein to their thinking, openly and boldly stating their views in literary circles and in numerous publications dedicated to the end of improving society. In

^Selections from Taba 'ipenned in Cairo (n. d.) under the pseudonym «The Lawyer K.» V i d e Ahmad Amin, «Zu'ama' al-lslah al-Islami fi 'l-'Asr al-Hadith», in al-Thaqafah, Hijjah 28,1363/1944), pp. 7-9. 2

year 6, No 307 (Dh, '1-

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journals, articles and books, authors passionately urged the revamping of Ottoman social and political institutions to conform with the dictates of the modern age and make room for growth and progress. Immigrants with knowledge of European languages translated into Arabic such authors as Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Alfieri Vittoria's theories in support of the formulae they were proposing for social and political change. Kawakibi and others benefited from these translations, particularly as concerns arguments advocating the separation of church and state. Kawakibi in particular concluded that oppression in politics is engendered largely by men of religion stifling non-tradition concepts and views 1 . He modified Western concepts to fit his own and to suit the Islamic milieu he was addressing. He argued that Islam in its essence is liberal, not restrictive, built as it was, on principles of freedom of political expression; democratic in that it safeguarded the common good, and aristocratic in that it is built on the constructive input of the elect (khawas) and of those known as ahl al-hall wa'l-'aqeP-. Not only did Kawakibi preach a general revamping of Ottoman society, he also advocated creating new supports and guiding principles for it. As he put it, no nation can achieve dominance by perpetuating ignorancc. Only through knowledge can it be done. This knowledge must derive from the age it lives in. Unlike some of his associates, Kawakibi was not content with merely expressing abstract ideals, but rather in articulating his prescriptions for the kind of reform he wished done 3 . A fellow Syrian and frequenter of the same meeting place in Cairo, the Splendid Bar, and who, like Kawakibi, was also concerned with specific projects of reform is Rafiq Beg al-'Azm of Damascus. He was under the influence of the circle headed by al-Shaykh Tahir al-Jaza'Iri before emigrating to Egypt and acquired much of his zeal from it. He served as inspector of primary education and later headed the correspondence bureau. He managed to convert the Beneficial Socicty (al-Jain'Iyah al-Khayrlyah), which he had organized, into an instrument, for advocating reform, attracting to it Syrian immigrants, Ottomans officials, and leaders in the literary renaissance among Damascene notables. The aim of the group was to achieve reform by reviving the pure teachings of the righteous forefathers of Islam (al-Salaf al-Salih) when «drinking fountains were purer and (water) springs nearer to those who sought them». They wanted the principle of consultation between government and the governed to become the norm once again. It was after Rafiq came in direct contact with secret societies in Europe that the pressures of Sultan 'Abd al-Hamld's government forced him to emigrate to Egypt. He came convinced that three desiderata must be achieved : 1) return to the founts of the Islamic Shari'ah ; 2) adopt from contemporary civilization the tools that make for strength, and 3) strive to make government both consultative and representative. Most of what he preached and wrote while in Egypt devolved on these three principles. His articles appeared largely in al-Mu'ayyadand al-Manar. Rafiq shared with others in the belief that salvation of society lies largely in a modernstyle education. To him the acquisition of knowledge was among man's noblest strivings and the means of advancement both for himself and his society. Through it social co-operation and solidarity are realizable. Happiness lies in social unity. There is contentment in social 1 Amifl, op. cit., (ai-Thaqafah, No. 303, 29 Shawwal 1363/7 Novembre 1944), pp. 5-7. ^Ibid., No. 304 (7 Dhu 'l-Hijjah 1363/24 November 1944), pp. 8-11. 3 Sami al-Kayyall, «A'lam al-Nahdah», in al-Kitab, year 2, part 3 (vol. Ill), January 1947, p. 448.

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advancement based on the rafinement of moral values, for without rebuilding the moral fiber of society there can be no progress, Indeed, there can only ensue further disintegration socially and politically 1 . That education should be high on the list of desiderata for Rafiq al-'Azm might have been expected when we consider that in 1898 he was placed in charge of the Ottoman school established by his relative Haqqi Beg al-'Azm. As a matter of fact, he composed for class-room application a very important textbook which embodied his principles for the revamping of education in the schools along modernist lines 2 . He saw education as serving two important ends: physical and moral, the one being contingent on the other. Without a sound body a sound mind cannot function. The body is the fort of the spirit and its servant. Cultivating the mind and training the intellect are to ensure the individual's productivity and functioning in a society requiring change. Without change there can be no reform and advancement. I n R a f i q ' s Ashhar

Mashahir

al-Islam

fl

'l-Harb

wa

'l-Siyasah^,

he discusses what he

regards as the secret of progress in the golden age of Islam as well as the reasons of decline with the view of pointing the way to a revival. Haqqi al-'Azm shared R a f i q ' s views and aspirations for an all encompassing reform of Ottoman society while the opportunity still presented itself. He spoke out strongly against both intellectual and political oppression and did not hesitate to attack government policy which he deemed harmful to the national interest. So at the age of twenty-three he too found himself forced to emigrate to Egypt. There he engaged openly and secretly in activities which, as an official of the Ottoman government, he was forbidden to do. In collaboration with Rafiq, Rashld Rida, 'Abdallah Jawdat Beg, ' A b d al-Hamid al-Zahrawi, Jews, Armenians, and Greeks he organized in 1904 the Constitutional Consultative Ottoman Society aimed at pressuring the Sultan's government to let up on its suppression of rights and freedom of expression. Being fluent in both languages, he and Rafiq edited a newspaper in Turkish and Arabic and secretly distributed it by smuggling it into all parts of the Ottoman empire in spite of strict official surveillance. Within a f e w years, the Society had branches in principal cities f r o m Ordu, Trabzon and Samsun in the Black Sea region, to Kavala in the Aegean, Hodeida, and Sana'a in the Yemen. T h e Cyprus branch was used to distribute their secret publications to Ottoman officers stationed with units along the Bulgarian frontier, and by way of Vienna and Trieste by ship to Black Sea ports where the Austrian postal service deposited these publications for smuggling into the Anatolian interior. They were sent also sometimes by way of Odessa in Russia. When the constitution was proclaimed, Haqqi and associates undertook to sabotage it by proliferating societies working against it, for at this time he saw in the constitutional movement an attempt to force centralization, which would co-opt the ends of the reformist movement that aimed at egalitarian co-operation without dictation from the center. H a q q i resigned his post as inspector of Awqaf in Istanbul and returned to Egypt where he wrote and propagandized against centralization in favor of decentralization in the provincs which, in his

1 Selections from Majmu'at Athar Rafiq al-'Azm, ed. 'Uthman al-'Azm. Cairo : Manar, 1344/1925, pp. 2, 14, & 15. ^ h e book is entitled Kitab al-Duriis al-Hikmlyah lil-Nashi'ah al-lslamlyah, printed by al-Mu'ayyad press, Cairo, 1317/1898. ^Published in Cairo, 1344/1925.

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15

opinion, would create a more suitable atmosphere for instituting the changes needed in each locality without being subjected to the heavy hand of a bureaucracy unfamiliar with problems and needs characteristic of that region. Social reform, more than constitutional nominalism, weighed heavily on the minds of H a q q l and others. The improvement of social conditions, concededly necessitate fiscal and economic amelioration as well, since without improvement in this area there can be no means for achieving social change as demanded by the reformers. In H a q q I ' s treatise on Ottoman finances, for example, written in both Arabic and Turkish, there is an expose of the effects of wasted expenditures on society lacking adequate economic means, and which he attributes to a false policy expounded by an ill advised central government, thus compounding the empire's domestic and foreign wars. Both Haqqi and Rafiq were convinced, that far from causing disintegration — as argued by the centralizers — decentralization would imbue the Arab provinces with sufficient confidence in their sultan so as to engender a closer rapprochment between Arab and Turk than had existed in recent times. With mutual confidence, they argued, comes strength through the stronger bond thus established, enabling the state to face external threats and eliminate internal disaffection due to foreign intrigue. They saw thereby a new era for the house of Osman buttressed by renewal in Ottoman society. It is in the spirit of such convictions that the ' A z m s and members of the Syrian immigrant circle in Egypt proceeded to advocate political reform as ancillary to the social reform they preached and to outline their plans for it. And it was only after they lost all hope of achieving such change within the Ottoman context, because of Young Turk intransigence, did they yield on the eve of World War I to the pressures which nationalists and their supporters in the Hijaz were mounting with the end of eliminating Turkish presence in the Arab provinces. It is interesting to note, however, that most members of this circle of reformers did not endorse the Hashimite revolt in 1917 and Haqqi refused to accept official positions with the Hashimites 1 . T o achieve the reforms sought by our Neo-Ottomanists did not presuppose emulating Western methods. Rafiq al-'Azm specifically denounced what he termed «tafarnuj», whether in dress or in manners. He severely criticized those who opted for Western type display. In it he saw rejection of o n e ' s own homeland, because «tafarnuj» for him implied disacknowledging one's heritage and values. Nor did he and others subscribe to the nation that to be modern and free one had to look and act Western. Freedom, he argued, lies in acquiring knowledge, especially scientific and industrial, without which the wealth of a nation cannot be increased and its international status elevated 2 . It is important for us to stress that the kind of reform preached by this group was largely for the purpose of achieving internal solidarity by levelling through education the ethnosectarian barriers that had separated Ottoman millets for centuries, and which the Young Turks were reviving along strict ethnic lines by their policies. In his al-jami'ah al-'Uthmdruyah wa 'l'Asabxyah al-Turkiyah, aw al-Ta'aluf bayn al-Turk wa 7-'Arab 3 , Rafiq called for complete

'See «Taijamat Hayai Haqqi Beg al-'Azm», in Lisan al-Hal, Vol. I, part 3 (1331/1913), p. 113.

"See Majmu'at Alhdr. pp. 61-63. ^Published by al-Manar Press, Cairo, 1925/1344.

16

A R A B S

AND

O T T O M A N S

equality b e t w e e n all citizens, a n d f o r a true d e m o c r a t i c spirit to p e r m e a t e O t t o m a n society. H e blamed the conduct of the Centralizers f o r i m p e d i n g progress along this line. H e accused the n e w g o v e r n m e n t f o r m a r c h i n g b a c k w a r d w h e n the nation n e e d e d to m o v e f o r w a r d , t h u s w i d e n i n g the g a p b e t w e e n e l e m e n t s of society a n d d i s s o l v i n g w h a t b o n d s still h e l d t h e m t o g e t h e r h o w e v e r t e n u o u s l y . H e b l a m e d T u r k s living in E g y p t f o r t h e central g o v e r n m e n t ' s m i s t r u s t of A r a b s , a c c u s i n g t h e m of c o n s p i r i n g a g a i n s t their sultan b y calling f o r a n A r a b c a l i p h a t e in o r d e r to i n t i m i d a t e h i m 1 . A r a b s , h e a l l e g e d , rejoiced in the C o n s t i t u t i o n a n d in t h e n e w e r a it w a s to h a v e u s h e r e d in, w h i l e U n i o n i s t s p e r s e c u t e d t h e m f o r s h u t t i n g d o w n t h e A r a b - O t t o m a n Fraternization Society in Istanbul out of d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t w i t h the f o r c e d T u r k i f i c a t i o n policy of the Y o u n g T u r k s . M i s t r u s t w a s n o w b e c o m i n g the n o r m , a n d the N e o - O t t o m a n i s t s w e r e b e g i n n i n g to s h o w signs of d e s p a i r , especially w h e n positions in the central g o v e r n m e n t w e r e b e i n g d e n i e d t h e m , particularly in the interior and f o r e i g n ministries, and w h e n the Y o u n g T u r k s ' g o v e r n m e n t b e g a n t o e x c h a n g e Turkish valis f o r A r a b 2 . W e s e e n o w a slight c h a n g e of d i r e c t i o n in R a f i q ' s v i e w s . W h i l e m a n ' s ties to his h o m e l a n d are natural, he argued, they need not be p e r m a n e n t , because circumstances can oveiride w h a t m i g h t be c o n s t r u e d as c o m m o n interests. R a s h i d R i d a , an i n t i m a t e a s s o c i a t e of b o t h ' A z m s , r e i n f o r c e d this trend by r e c o u r s e to t h e e x e m p l a r y c o n d u c t of g o v e r n m e n t by t h e early caliphs. H e d r e w attention to t h e f a c t that t h e goals of t h e early M u s l i m r i g h t e o u s f o r e f a t h e r s and those of c o n t e m p o r a r y r e f o r m e r s w e r e similar in m a n y respects. H e w r o t e that I s l a m e n j o i n s u p o n the o n e placed in the h i g h e s t position of g o v e r n m e n t responsibility t o b e a n s w e r a b l e f o r the d i s c h a r g e of his duties to citizens. H e pointed o u t that the early M u s l i m s did not hesitate to e x p r e s s their opinions to the O r t h o d o x caliphs, a n d w o u l d d e b a t e w i t h t h e m a c o u r s e of action they d e e m e d contradictory to t h e letter a n d spirit of t h e Q u r ' a n . T h i s w a s in stark contrast with t h e w a y s of recent rulers h o l d i n g t h e caliphal title w h o , in his o p i n i o n , h a d p l a c e d themsel ves, a b o v e t h e S h a r i ' a h , r e s p e c t i n g n o legal b o n d s n o r t h e will of t h e c i t i z e n s in w h o m a l o n e sovereignty lies. I n R a f i q ' s v i e w , the ills of O t t o m a n society d e r i v e to a large e x t e n t f r o m t h e f a c t that authority in t h e state h a d b e c o m e vested in t h e person of t h e sultan. W h e n his arbitrariness, a n d that of the Y o u n g T u r k g o v e r n m e n t s that s u c c e e d e d h i m , b e c a m e intolerable, p e a c e f u l refonmers w e r e c o m p e l l e d to b e c o m e active revolutionaries. B u t a g a i n , they w o u l d not e m u l a t e E u r o p e by a d o p t i n g its prescriptions f o r c h a n g e ; instead, they s o u g h t i n d i g e n o u s r e m e d i e s , t h o s e that derive f r o m t h e f o u n t or the S h a r i ' a h w h i c h h a d g o v e r n e d I s l a m i c society f r o m the v e r y b e g i n n i n g of Islam, b e c a u s e to t h e m the S h a r i ' a h , not W e s t e r n c o d e s of l a w incorporated i n t o the state d u r i n g the past half century, provided the logical a n d viable alternative 3 . I s h o u l d like t o s u m m a r i z e briefly the v i e w s of o t h e r m e m b e r s of this school of r e f o r m . F a r a h A n t u n i m p a r t e d deep philosophic d i m e n s i o n s t o his views. I n d e e d , m o s t h e l d h i m f o r t h as t h e l e a d i n g f r e e t h i n k e r of his times. T o h i m t h e u l t i m a t e goal of r e f o r m is the a c h i e v e m e n t of true f r a t e r n i t y . M u c h of his p r o g r e s s i v e a n d d e m o c r a t i c t h i n k i n g is m i r r o r e d in his j o u r n a l , alJami'ah, w h i c h h e published f o r seven years, first in C a i r o a n d a f t e r e m i g r a t i n g a g a i n , in N e w

1

Al-Jami'ah,

2

p. 3.

Ibid., pp. 130-35. From his treatise «al-Khiläfah wa al-Imämah al-'Uzamah,» i n M a j m ü ' a t Athär.

3

R E F O R M E D

OTTOMANI S M

AND

SOCIAL

CHANGE

17

York. He was an impassioned patriot dedicating much of his effort to the cause of the national struggle for social and political amelioration and defense against foreign encroachmcnt on Ottoman lands. He called on all eastern nations to unite, espouse the path of progress and match the West in achievement in order not to be overwhelmed by it 1 . Muhammad Kurd 'All was a forthright revolutionary in his preaching after despairing of peaceful change. He preached openly emulating the course of the French revolutionaries in order to eliminate oppression, espousing their goals of equality, freedom, and brotherhood 2 . Adib Ishaq, a true disciple of al-Afghani, and no less fiery in stating his views than his master, believed that a cure for Ottoman society's ailments lies in the Arabic-speaking peoples achieving closer ties among themselves, but within the context of an all-embracing Ottomanism, as evinced in his treatise «Dawlat al-'Arab». From al-Afghani he received lessons in social philosophy, rhetoric, and logic. While in exile in France, he contacted French literateurs and sharpened his wits through exchanges with them. He wrote in French newspapers. He also met Victor Hugo who was so impressed with his intellect and erudition that he started referring to Ishaq as the «genius of the East». From his writings it can be discerned that Adib Ishaq was both a moral and political revolutionary. He argued that there can be no homeland (watan) without freedom, which in his eyes were one and the same. Freedom, however, is defined, as performing set duties, otherwise rights can not be achieved and safeguarded. Political rights cannot be acquired without a commensurate commitment to meeting obligations. With freedom, both rights and obligations can attain fruition, and the nation can then command from its citizens a sense of loyalty and willingness to sacrifice on its behalf transcending that which is commanded by ties of family and clan 3 . Adib Ishaq was equally committed to the Ottoman union and the universalism it represented, with his views differing little from those of Farah Antun. When prospects looked the gloomiest for both Ottomanism and the state embodying it, still he would not despair, nor did he lose faith in Ottoman universalism as the best alternative for holding diversified elements together. Indeed, he saw no viable alternatives to it short of a total break-up along ethnic and sectarian lines, with the prospects this break-up held forth for Western nations to dominate the shattered Ottoman polity. He urged reconciliation among the sects and their standing together to ward off F.uropean imperialism without regard to differing beliefs, conditions and communal affiliations. For him, the Ottoman union transcended all other imperatives, for without the protecting umbrella of this union they, and the nation by extension, would lose what independence was still left 4 . Because of his fierce patriotism, Ishaq supported all movement that would resist foreign occupation — which would explain his being exiled with al-Afghani, 'Abduh, and others by Khedival authorities under pressure from the British occupation in Egypt. He also denounced compatriots who would support an Arab nationalism over commitment to Ottomanism. He

1 Sample expressions in al-Jdmi'ah, V/8, pp. 486-89. ^From his Ghara'ib al-Gharb. Cairo, 1910 and 1923 printings. 3 From his anthology called al-Durar, p. 453.

4

Ibid„ p. 137.

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favored Ottoman universalism, but within well defined political parameters anchored in sound organizational principles. Among such principles he ranked high in order of priority education and egalitarianism for all regardless of race, color and creed. Proud of his Arab heritage, Ishaq would affirm his Arabism within the context of the Ottoman state, transformed and refined to render it a match for the West in terms of achievement in a modern context 1 . What may we conclude from this rather belated and ill-fated Neo-Ottomanist movement, a last-ditch effort to preserve Ottoman universalism? Firstly, that it was ill-fated from the start, a case of too little too late. The decades in which our reformers concentrated their efforts (18901908) witnessed intense political activities and the Sultan's attitude hardened to such an extent that any attempt to tamper with the status quo would be interpreted as seditious. Secondly, the Balkan Wars only served to give the final blow to any reconciliation that might have taken place between advocates of Ottoman universalism and Young Turk particularism. Thirdly, while the ideals preached by the reformers were vindicated in the post-World War I era, when education and general enlightenment began to take hold, the veiy ignorance they sought to combat had become too entrenched to be overcome within the limited time framework in which they labored to awaken their audiences and move them to action. Fourthly, trends already in motion, namely the Arab Islamic and Arab secular nationalist, co-opted the principles they advocated, and thus was the last opportunity to salvage Ottoman universalism lost.

1

lbid., p. 200.

AWAKENING INTEREST IN WESTERN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY IN OTTOMAN SYRIA

The transfer of science and technology from the West to the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire presupposes the existence of adequate preparation on the recipient end to receive, accommodate and transform such knowledge in a manner that would yield immediate fruit and stimulate an on-going process of scientific and technological development. As we shall demonstrate in this exposé, the grounds were not yet laid in the 19th century for a process that would make possible the transfer of such knowledge from the West. What we might focus on instead is the process that served to awaken interest in Western scientific and technological achievements rather than on immediate results that had no prospects of materializing until the second half of the twentieth century. The two principle media for generating interest in such knowledge were publications and institutions of higher learning whose development was influenced by Western patterns and concepts of education. It is on these two that we shall center our arguments.

Prelude The awakening of interest in Western learning was ancillary to the development of a general cultural awakening, also known as "the renaissance" (al-Nahdah), which was set in motion during the latter period of the nineteenth century as a result of the rejuvenation of the Arabic language as a medium of written communication. To be sure, this cultural renaissance focused largely on lingual and literary topics spearheaded by a number of Syrians, and Syrian emigrants domiciled in Egypt. But one must not ignore the role of a small yet influential number of individuals among them who were very interested in the scientific and technological achievements of the West and were prepared to devote considerable energy to promote knowledge of such accomplishments among Arabic reading audiences. As transmitters of such data, they served to generate interest in and awareness of the fruits of modern science and technology. It would be presumptuous, however, to assume, given the level of literacy, that the readership was ready to transform such awareness into concrete developments leading to creative results. In other words, making the discoveries of science available for utilitarian purposes was more the immediate aim of the publicizers, be they educators or journalists. The media of transmitting such knowledge to Ottoman citizens, be they Turkish or Arabic speaking (reading is perhaps a more appropriate term), centered on the larger and cosmopolitan cities of the empire nearest to Europe in geographic location, i.e., Istanbul, Beirut, Alexandria, Izmir, Salonika, etc.... It is in these cities that Western inspired institutions of higher education and publishing were located and an adequately literate audience receptive to what they had to offer by way of newspapers, journals, secondary and college level schools, acadcmic curricula featuring the sciences, and where personal contacts with Westerners were possible. By Westerners we mean Europeans and Americans.

20

A R A B S

Institutions of Higher Learning as

A N D

O T T O M A N S

Communicators

The two leading institutions of higher learning serving as media for communicating Western knowledge generally and of the sciences particularly were the American Syrian Protestant College 1 and the University of St. Joseph 2 , both located in Beirut. Their academic offerings coupled with text material prepared by their respective faculties played an important role in disseminating knowledge of the sciences. This, in addition to journals and newspapers founded by graduates, the roles of which were quite conspicuous in furthering knowledge of modern sciences and their technological by products. Since next to military science, the medical was the most actively pursued, it behoves us to highlight the pioneering efforts of these two institutions in developing the nucleus for a solid corps of trainees who were to play key roles later in evolving one of the best respected enterprises of its kind in the Middle East. The role of academic curricula devised by these leading institutions of higher learning was quite effective in promoting scientific knowledge and sharpening interest in both the natural and mathematical, as well as the biological, sciences. This was made possible by the work of native Syrians who laid the ground work with the establishment of the National School, founded in 1863 largely through the efforts of Butrus al-Bustáni (1819-83) 3 and soon adopted bj' the founders of the Syrian Protestant College as their preparatory school. The curriculum of the National School was an effective preparation for college-level work in that it stressed all branches of mathematics, such sciences as physics, chemistry, botany, geology, physiology, even cadastral survey (to accommodate Ottoman needs for properly trained personnel for an on going project) besides the social sciences and foreign languages 4 . Butrus and other renowned members of the Bustani family 5 contributed significantly not only to the development and rise to prominence of the National School, but also to one of the earliest important journalistic publications in the Arabic language, al-Jinán, (lit., Garden, i.e. of learning). The role of foreign educational establishments in promoting knowledge of Western advances in the physical and natural sciences has been dealt with by scholars, both native and foreign, who equate modernization with Westernization. The tendency at first on the part of a broad segment of the Muslim population to look with askance upon categories of knowledge imported from the West was due often to the fact that the agents of transmission were Christian missions whose initial aim was to convert Muslims and sectarian Christians to the dominant churches of the West: Catholicism and Protestantism and secondarily, to checkmate the activities of rival denominations. ^Renamed later "The American University of Beirut". ^Established by French and Polish Jesuits ten years later. 3 o f a prominent family which produced many scholars; author of basic works (encyclopedias and dictionaries) boosting knowledge of the Arabic language, who was also receptive to European knowledge being disseminated in the Arab east. Hourani, Arabic Thought, pp. 99-102. 4 I n addition to Arabic, other languages taught: Turkish, Latin, Greek, English, French, Italian, and similarly significant European languages. For additional details see al-Jinan (a publication sponsored by al-Bustani), 1873, pp. 626-29. ^Leading among them are such authors and contributions as Najib, Salim, Yusuf, and Sulayman, all of whom rose to eminence in their own right.

WESTERN

SCIENCE

&

TECHNOLOGY

21

In 1909 Muslim students enrolled at the Syrian Protestant College (later American University of Beirut) objected to being compelled to enrol in courses of Christian instruction on grounds it violated their commitment to their Islamic faith. College authorities at first refused to exempt them fearing that trustees in New York who raised money from Christian organizations to support the college would cut off such aid. There was concern that to give in to the students might set a precedent for all Christian-oriented school and colleges in the Ottoman empire. Though threatened with ouster from the college, the 127 students involved refused to budge and there was soon concern that the incident might increase anti-Muslim sentiment for this missionary supported Protestant institution. Consular observers disagreed that instruction in the Christian faith did not amount to subverting the Muslim faith of these students. 1 The return of the Jesuit mission to Syria in 1831 to add to Catholic schools already instituted by other foreign missions like the Capucins and Lazarists was motivated as much by intramural rivalry among Catholic orders as it was to detract from the efforts of a common rival, the Russian Orthodox Church, which had established schools ostensibly for the Greek Orthodox communities in the Syrian region but without excluding members of other sects. Regardless of motivation, these schools generated interest not only in languages and religiously oriented topics, but also in practical subjects like communications (needed for operating ports), mathematics (for book-keeping), and other utilitarian subjects requiring technical and scientific training 2 . The switch from secondary to higher education on the part of American missions functioning in Syria, also since the early 1830's, was to some extent the direct consequence of the challenge posed by Romish and Greek missions in targeting the same audience for indoctrination. It was on January 27, 1862 that the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions passed a resolution at its headquarters in Boston formally announcing the establishment of the Syrian Protestant College of Beirut. The mission of the proposed College was not confined to teaching the Gospels according to Calvin and other Protestant fathers, but to train physicians, engineers, secretaries, interpreters for the British civil service in Egypt and the Sudan, teachers, and scientists as well 3 . Within half a century the graduates of the Syrian Protestant College were conspicuously ensconced in important positions from Istanbul to Khartoum 4 . The doctors and nurses it trained served in the Ottoman army during World War I. Other graduates were employed in the Ottoman civil service 5 . Given the great needs in the field of medicine, it was quite logical that the College would concentrate on providing the community at large with trained doctors and nurses. As a consequence, the medical department grew rapidly into one of the Ottoman empire's major medical schools during those four decades after the College opened its doors for the first time in 1866.

® J or details see Incl. in No. 39, Consul General Cumberbatch to Lowther, Beirut 4 February 1909- also Lowther to Earl Grey from Pera, 14 February 1909, in FO 424/218 Confidential (9491) 2

See report of Antonius Yanni to August Johnson, United States consul in Tripoli (Syria). USNA, 59/111. ^Tibawi, "Genesis", p. 271. I n 1914 the alumni clubs of the College numbered 200 in Cairo and 300 in Istanbul. The Levant Herald, issue of 24 February 1914. hbid.

4

22

A R A B S

A N D

O T T O M A N S

In the beginning, the natural and physical sciences were taught in the overall curriculum of the Literary Department (as it was called initially) starting with only sixteen students. Physiology, chemistry, anatomy, materia medica, surgery, practical and clinical medicine were all taught in the Medical Department 1 . But while the College might graduate medical students, issuing of diplomas to practice could be done only by faculty of the Imperial College of Medicine (operating since 1827) in Istanbul. The early graduates of the Syrian Protestant College had to journey to Istanbul (done at Ottoman government expense) in order to be examined and issued the diplomas that would entitle them to practice medicine. Not all branches of science were as readily received as the medical. Darwin's theory of evolution was causing as much of a stir in the east as it had been doing in the west. Indeed, a major storm was generated at the Syrian Protestant College over Darwinism leading quite early in the College's career to the resignation of the entire first graduating class of the medical school in protest over the dismissal of Edwin Lewis who had lauded Darwin in a formal speech before the academy upon his death in 1882. Two of those who had resigned had already launched what was to become the first of its kind: a journal dedicated to the promotion of scientific knowledge in the Ottoman east. They were Faris Nimr and Ya'qub Sarruf. Both had been appointed as adjunct professors, the former of mathematics, and the latter, of chemistry and physics. They went on defiantly to write about Darwin as "the most learned of this age and the most famous of its men" 2 . After quitting the College following the forced resignation of Edwin Lewis, an ordai ned minister and qualified physician from Harvard University, Van Dyck and his entire medical faculty took to teaching either in private homes or at the newly established Orthodox Christian hospital in east Beirut 3 . One of the medical students who had resigned, Jurji Zaydan, joined his other disgruntled colleagues (Nlmr and Sarruf) in Cairo where he soon founded Dar al-Hilal, the leading publishing house in Egypt until recent years and the title also of one of the longest appearing literary and scientific journals in the Arabic language. Zaydan did not let the Lewis episode fade away quickly from memory. Defending science and scientific thinking had come at a high initial price for himself and his fellow medical students. He wrote extensively on it and in defense of those who advocated scientism 4 . Sarruf, Nimr, Van Dyck, Lewis and Wortabet (first head of the medical department of the College) steadfastly defended the findings of modern science utilizing the pages of al-Muqtataf and al-Hilal as well as other journals for that purpose. Al-Muqtataf soon attracted a broad readership and many admirers for striking out boldly into fields hitherto considered forbidden territory or controversial. The governor of Syria sent its editors a message lauding the journal's promotion of science and spoke of its usefulness to the country 5 . The French-sponsored University of St. Joseph, the Protestant College's chief rival for the mind and loyalty of the Syrians, followed suit in emphasizing medical training, albeit at a later date. Indeed, its custodians launched a campaign to secure funding even in the United ' l ibawi, "Genesis", p. 276. 2

Al-Muqtataf., VII (1882-83), pp. 2-6, 65-72, and 121-27 for additional details on the controversy and in praise of Darwin and his advocates. 3 Tibawi, "Genesis", p. 285. ^For details see al-Hilàl, XXVIII (1924-25), pp. 17-20, 153-56, 373-76, 516-20, and 637-40. 5 S e e al-Muqtataf, IX (1884-85), p. 449.

WESTERN

SCIENCE

&

TECHNOLOGY

23

States. With such funding it was able to launch its own medical faculty in 1883 under the direct patronage of France's Ministry of Public Instruction, which formally issued the university a charter to that effect in 1888. One year later, the Ministry authorized it to start a faculty of pharmacy as well 1 . St. Joseph vigorously endeavored in the next several decades to expand its scientific offerings, with the result that it was able to add a number of institutes to its faculty: Astronomy, and an observatory in 1907; Chemistry, Bacteriology, and Psychotherapy in 1919, a School of Dentistry in 1920, and an institute for combating cancer in 1925. The expansion of scientific learning in the empire was positively received by the highest authorities. Indeed, Governor General Re§id Pa§a authorized the Syrian Protestant College, following a visit to Beirut in 1870, to build its own medical facilities rather than to continue using those of the National School next door 2 . His trust was well placed because in 1914 the College's medical unit of twenty-eight doctors and nurses served with the Ottoman forces in Palestine 3 , By the turn of the century, the medical branch of the College's operations had acquired considerable distinction as measured by the expansion of its curriculum to include internal medicine, surgery, anatomy, dermatology, obstetrics, gynaecology, physiology, and hygiene. Dentistry was started in 1910. The Prussian Hospital of some eighty-two beds continued to provide facilities for practical experience in addition to material for teaching general medicine and surgery 4 .

Role of University

Presses

Another important medium abetting the transfer of scientific knowledge from the West is the press. The press served to make available text material composed by faculty for student use, both on the secondary and college level. The American Press moved f r o m Malta to Beirut in 1834. The Catholic Press was started in Beirut in 1842. Although they were designed to cater to the needs of their respective religious missions, once they were attached to the two universities, they undertook to publish both scientific and literary works. The American perhaps more so than the Jesuit concentrated on the scientific at first. Between 1869 and 1881 numerous such works were authored by the College's faculty in the fields of chemistry, higher mathematics, astronomy, pathology, medicine, physiology, hygiene, and the natural sciences. The contents of the early issues reveals that interest in such subjects was motivated largely by pragmatic considerations on the part of editors and authors, namely how to translate such knowledge into useful undertakings in their own societies.

^Waardenburg, Les Universités, p. 178. ~Al first, the College used the facilities of the Prussian Hospital, founded in the 1860's by the Deaconesses of Kaiserwerth Sisterhood on the site formally belonging to the Knights of St. John. Van Dyck, who pioneered the medical department of the College, became the first professor of internal medicine, general pathology, and ophthalmology. Penrose, That They May Have Life, pp. 22-24 and 36. Vjodge, The American University, p. I (photograph opposite). 4

Dodge, The American University, p. 30.

ARABS

24

AND

OTTOMANS

In such writings, authors relay to their readers information in readily comprehensible language (including illustrations where indicated) on the most recent inventions and discoveries of the West. This data is translated from English and French, and often derives from American and European journals. A s concerns interest in the utilitarian, one can learn how to separate wax from honey, preserve meats, purify water with ferrous-chloride, and perform other beneficial services by recourse to modern and simplified techniques. A m o n g inventions dwelt on in lengthy articles, we have the telegraph and how it functions, diagrams of a Japanese instrument for predicting earthquakes by measuring the reduction of the earth's magnetic field, gilding of silk and other fine cloth with gold, silver and copper, and the mechanical sewing needle's method of applicability. Numerous articles written by respected Western authorities treat a variety of topics relating to astronomy, medicine, atmospheric phenomena, botanical and agricultural subject matter as well. Other articles detail discoveries of merit, especially of such notables as Isaac Newton. The first volume of al-Muqtataf is purely scientific in its layout and contents, with a format rather consistently followed after being standardized in the third: a lead article on the historical development of a scientific principle or contribution, i.e. of the Arabs to the sciences in the heyday of their achievements (10th to 14th centuries), or of some natural cosmic phenomenon, like the formation of planet earth, followed by shorter ones explaining how, for instance, the telephone functions or oils and essences are extracted from plants. This part, or the narrative section, is followed by another on pragmatically tested discoveries and inventions entitled "Tried Benefits", to wit a pharmacist's recommendation on how to treat snake bites. Another section is devoted to new discoveries and inventions, as well as to scientific and industrial innovations in Europe and America. With V o l u m e IV (1881) we see an expansion of topics, perhaps reflecting sciences generally 1 . As concerns texts for secondary schools, numerous works relating to mathematics and the sciences generally had been published and circulating since the 1850's.

Journals

With Scientific

Content

As concerns scholarly journals with scientific orientation, the most significant by far in serving as a conduit for scientific and technological information originating in Western countries is al-Muqtataf (The Digest). It was established by Ya'qùb Sarrùf and Fâris Nimr in 1876, at first in Beirut. It was moved to Cairo when its editors broke with the American Protestant College following the Edwin Lewis episode. ' T o give an idea texts published during this period included: Principles of Chemistry (1869), Razi's Treatise on Smallpox (1872), Logarithms and Triangulars (1873), Basics of Astronomy (1874), and Fundamentals of Pathology (1878) by Cornelius Van Dyck; Principles of Dissection, Physiology and Hygiene (1870), Principles of Botany (1871), and various articles in scientific journals on materia medica, as well as "The Physician's Practice", in Medical News (later The Physician) by George Post; Expose' on Principles of Dissection (1871), Summary on the Human Body and its Functions (1873) Principles of Physiology (1887), and What the Public Should Know about Hygiene (1881) by John Wortabet; Principles of Chemical Analysis (1876) and Air and Water (1879) by Edwin Lewis; Natural Sciences (1873) by As'ad Shidyaq, and Atmospheric Appearances (1876) by Faris Nimr.

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From the start it was proclaimed a monthly periodical dedicated to promoting scientific and industrial knowledge. A perusal of the content of the early issues reveals that interest in such subjects was motivated largely by pragmatic considerations on the part of editors and authors, namely how to translate such knowledge into useful undertakings in their own societies. With Volume IV (1881) we see an expansion of topics, perhaps reflecting changes of circumstances and the broadening of readership interest. The British had occupied Egypt that year and interest in the English increased 1 . There are now articles dealing with humanistic subjects: philosophy, history, peoples (both primitive and modern), palaeontology, communications, fables and antiquity. The journal continued nevertheless to keep its readers abreast of discoveries, new inventions and technological achievements like the camera, the washing machine, hearing aid, airplane, and the harvester (all before the turn of the century). Of equal importance is perhaps the emergence of the scientific spirit of free inquiry, or of what some term "positivism", as a result of stress on scientism and its infiltration of eastern intellectual circles. The incorrigible promoter of Buchnerian Darwinism, Shibli Shmayyil, another of the Syrian Protestant College protesters, best exemplifies this spirit in his striking out boldly to uphold both free inquiry and free expression. He had a habit of defending new ideas and theories unpopular with traditionalists in his milieu. The situation was aggravated by his penchant for antagonizing his fellow Christian men of religion, for whom he had a special aversion since they tended to block such ideas and brand them as heresies. When a treatise by a church father of the 16th century was reproduced in a local publication taken from a French counterpart accusing women of not possessing souls, Shmayyil felt compelled to answer back, criticizing severely the author on both scientific and psychological grounds. One of his counter charges appeared under the heading "Does Woman a Soul?" 2 In the 1881 and subsequent volumes of al-Muqtataf we note a new emphasis on relating the practical aspects of scientific and technological achievements in the West. There are also special sections designed to render advice to women homemakers on child rearing, balanced diets, and general health care. The journal itself acquired a more balanced format; for in the last decade of the 19th century, we notice articles on literature, etiquette, psychology, new and current trends in the Western press by authors who did not shun the controversial, boldly defending their views with rational and scientific arguments. With the exception of Cornelius Van Dyck, who wrote regularly for al-Muqtataf, most articles, original or translated, were by Syro-Lebanese (Shawam) domiciled in Egypt. Leading among them were such authors as Shibli Shmayyil, Nicola Haddad, Khalil Thabit, Nasim Barbari, and Isma'il Mazhar. The shift away from concentration on scientific and technological subjects is more clearly discernible by the turn of the century, largely because of the increasing appearance of specialized publications and because readers generally were more absorbed with the cultural revival than with scientific achievements in far away lands to which they could not yet fully relate so as to

^Indeed, Faris Nimr soon launched his newspaper al-Mugattam, subsidized by the British, who made of it the voice of the Occupation and helped broaden its circulation throughout Egypt and the Sudan. ^Al-Muqtataf, VIII (1881), pp. 276-81.

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derive meaningful benefits therefrom. Moreover, more Muslims were now involved in authoring articles for these publications and their interest lie principally in the Arabo-Islamic heritage: literature, poetry, the classics, women's rights (feminists were active in Egypt since the 1860's) and world events. A competitive publication that remained at home, in Beirut, is al-Mashriq, established in 1898 as a monthly journal of the University of St. Joseph under the editorship of an accomplished Arabic literateur, Louis Cheikho. Although the stress f r o m the start was on history and literature, the reader can find in al-Mashriq some important scientific articles, even in the earliest issues. One such article in the first volume is entitled "Scientific Discussion of the Most Important Discoveries of 1897" by a French Jesuit who analyzed f o r the reader the significance of "Argentaurum Syndicate", X - R a y of Rontgen, illuminating with gas and electricity, and the wireless telegraph (detailed and illustrated) in six lengthy instalments, the function of electrical voltage and amperes, and of acetylene as a cutting device. A m o n g items of immediate and practical use discussed: the thermometer, how to treat grapevine worms (phylloxera), and the application of photo-therapy in medicine — all derived f r o m European and American scientific studies and publications 1 . There are also illustrated treatises on naval war vessels, like the chaser-destroyer, submarines, torpedo launching, and turbines by Henri Lammens, who is better remembered for his contributions to Islamic than to scientific subjects 2 . By 1901 one observes (as with al-Muqtataf) a shift from the scientific to the religious, with special interest in the eastern Christian sects affiliated with Rome. There are articles in addition on such quasi scientific topics as the history of publishing — but not to the exclusion of the more scientific. In eight instalments, Cheikho, for example, discusses the fruits of publishing in the main Syrian cities and gives a full account of the material, from the literary to the scientific. Sections treating recently published (1886-89) scientific works abroad are continued. French authors, however, are the ones frequently cited, and their own articles appear often on the pages of al-Mashriq3. Another publication concerned with scientific developments, and antedating indeed the two hitherto discussed, is al-Jindn of Butrus al-Bustani. It was founded in 1870 as a bi-weekly journal. Even though it stresses heavily Arab and Ottoman history, regional and world events, politics and war, and the achievements of European countries (his favorite being Germany), still we find in the earliest issues scientific articles, particularly those dealing with medical achievements, man's attempts at flying, electricity in nature, earthquakes and volcanoes 4 . When Salim al-Bustani assumed editorship of al-Jindn, he introduced a new feature to it, namely a section on mathematical quizzes designed to stimulate thinking and challenge the wits of the reader.

1

Al-Mashriq, 1/9 (1898). For a sample of his writings see ibid., pp. 529-36. - \ ) n c of the French authors of scientific articles most popular with Cheikho is the Jesuit L. Clugnet. 4 See Volume III of 1872 for sample writings, mathematical quizzes designed to stimulate thinking and challenge the wits of the reader. 2

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The journals referred to in this exposé were by no means exclusive, albeit they were the ones which demonstrated through material treated a greater interest in scientific and technological developments and advancements than any other publishing in the Arabic language during the latter third of the 19th century, the period of the commencement of this interest.

Conclusion On the basis of what has been discussed, one might safely surmise that it would be misleading to talk about the transfer of science and technology from the West to the Muslim east in the narrow sense of the word's definition. The term may not be the appropriate one because transfer presupposes the existence of a level of scientific literacy that would enable absorption, assimilation and creative application in furthering the ends of greater achievement. This kind of literacy had not developed during the period of our concern in this exposé. So one might best describe what took place during the period of awakening as creating awareness and generating interest. By stressing the pragmatic aspect of science and technology, an incentive was provided for seeking more knowledge on the subject. T h e one exception to the notion that absorption at this time was in awakening interest rather than in generating trends is in the field of the military. Here science and technology were eagerly sought (for military purposes) by both the sultan of the Ottoman empire and the pasha of Egypt and the term transfer becomes an appropriate one in defining their quest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Dodge, Bayard. The American University of Beirut. Beirut: Khayat's, 1958. Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 179 &1939. London, Toronto, New York: Oxford University Press, 1967. Penrose, Stephen B. Jr. That They May Have Life. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1941, Tibawi, A. L. "The Genesis and Early History of the Syrian Protestant College ", in AVB Festival Book. Ed Fuad Sarruf and Suha Tamim. Beirut: Eastern Printing and Publishing Agency, 1967. Waardenburg, Jean-Jacques. Les Universités dans le Monde Arabe Actuel. Vol. 1. Le Haye Paris: Mouton & Co., 1966. Documents Great Britain. Public Record Office. Confidential Print 7048. United States National Archives. Record Group 59. Beirut Consulate. Vol. 111. Journals Al-Hilâl, Vol. XXXIII, 1924-25. Cairo (Dar al-Hilâl). Al-Jinân, 1870-75 (16 vols.) Beirut (Matba'at al-Ma'arif). Al-Mashriq, 1898-1970 (64 vols.) Beirut (Catholic Press). Al-Muqtataf, 1876-1952 (122 vols.) Beirut then Cairo. The Levant Herald and Eastern Express, issue of February 24, 1914. Constantinople.

SYRO-EGYPT1ANS AND THE LITERARY REVIVAL MOVEMENT

Much controversy has been generated over the role of the Syro-Lebanese immigrants to Egypt in the latter part of the 19th century, known as Shawdm to their fellow citizens; in reviving the Arabic language as a medium of literary expression, in grafting Western, basically European modes of thought unto the prevailing traditional ones, and in introducing radical and revolutionary ideas when the predominantly Islamic communities of which they were a peripheral part were not predisposed to accept them given the deep suspicions they held for Europe and its imperial designs on their lands. The question that comes to mind, and which we shall attempt to answer, at least partly, in this exposé is why the Syro-Lebanese found themselves in such a role, an unenviable one at best, in interacting culturally with native Muslim Egyptians. The fact is the majority of them were Christians, which did not reduce the suspicion of their Muslim counterparts. They had been trained in Western-sponsored schools in the Syrian region—mostly in what is today Lebanon where missionary activity, both Catholic and Protestant was strong. It was the Egyptian interregnum in Syria, 1831-40, which had encouraged the influx of European influence and education. Christians could identify more readily with Western co-religionist than could Muslims who looked with suspicion on such alien cultural intrusion. Christian Syrians could and did travel to the centers of culture in Italy, France, England returning with new ideas which they did not hesitate to express in the belief that they were serving the ends of civilization by rekindling interest in a rich Arabic cultural heritage and in generating interest in what they perceived to be, at least for moment, an advanced European civilization. It was also a West-oriented Khedive Isma'il, a grandson of Muhammad Ali, conqueror and governor of Syria during the period in mention, who in carrying out ambitious developmental schemes at home involving wholesale imbibing of Western knowledge and technology had encouraged this Syro-Egyptian element by seeking to enlist their skills in European languages and contacts to carry out his own plans 1 . Before long, the Syro-Lebanese developed into an elitist entrepreneurial class in the service first of the Khedival government and later of the British occupation both in Egypt and the Sudan, again because they constituted an important link between the governing circles, and elements of society with whom they interacted intellectually, economically, socially, and even politically. They found themselves in a privileged position and exploited it fully for their own betterment. Our concern is not with their social, economic and political advancements, but rather with their role as middlemen and propagators of Western cultural norms and ideas. But as concerns the study at hand, we shall focus on their utilization of specific literary genres to advance their notions of change and progress for a stagnant and tradition-ridden society.

' For details of the connection see Dahir,

al-Hijrah.

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Generally it would be more appropriate to view this role as one of transmission than ol" innovation, of reviving and rekindling interest in their own cultural heritage than in contributing to its transformation. Their full mastery of a revived and revamped Arabic language and of major European languages (French, English, Russian, Italian) enabled them to control and direct the flow of ideas, particularly since they quickly took charge of the publication industry which logically followed their having brought it into existence in the first place. Critics of this role have viewed with disdain both the methods and subject matter utilized. They were largely traditionalists, Muslim for the most part, who accused the Syro-Lebanese of lack of patriotism by their focusing on alien norms which reflected moral values diametrically opposed to their own inherited ones. Sympathizers, on the other hand, were less harsh in their collective judgement, arguing that the efforts of the Shawam must be viewed as pioneering by necessity in the absence of articulated precedents deriving from a cultural legacy that had remained dormant of nearly five centuries. Europe was deemed to have passed through its stage of dormancy into the renaissance and enlightenment and generated in the process new trends of though which excited the sensibilities of Shawam authors and their enthusiasm when they were exposed to them. Borrowing and relaying seemed more appropriate than striking out in new veins. Moreover, an interval of gestation must necessarily follow any innovation. It was easier, therefore, to rely on patterns established by European thinkers and literati. What they failed to perceive at first was that European authors addressed European societies and milieus. Their values were more liberal than their own, governed by romantic and secular idealism and expressed largely in an environmental setting that had been freed of clerical censorship. Indeed, anti-clericalism was relatively rampant in a country like France, the Shawam's principal intellectual guide. What specifically, then, did the Syro-Lebanese domiciled in Egypt target for their media of expression and what trends, it any, did they generate in the realm of modern literary development? First and foremost was the press, much of which they established. Houses of publishing like al-Ma'arif, Hilal, Manar — three of the largest — encouraged journalism on a large scale as evinced in the proliferation of magazines, monographs, and other publications f r o m 1866 onward. Of considerable importance in relaying messages to society is the stage, which in turn generated much translation from European languages. As for trends generated, we shall treat only those central to this discussion. Another question raised by critics: what did the Syro-Lebanese conscientiously seek to accomplish by their literary activity? Was there a particular purpose for it and, if so, what was it? I think it can be safely stated that their aim was twofold: material gain through sale of their intellectual product and, when feeling ran high against the established order in the Ottoman state (of which they were a part), to reform the system through injecting it with liberal secular ideas. Introducing changes into their own immediate milieu was as much an end as reforming the Ottoman system in place. Judging f r o m their overall approach, it can also be stated that stimulating the intellect and adopting proper means to that end was often a targeted goal. Thus, regardless of motive, they did indeed play a serious role in generating new intellectual trends and in devising the means for the expression thereof in order to instill new life in a stagnant society and give free rein to the realm of thought.

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The means which they adopted to that end include the novel, novella, drama, journalistic articles, and monographs. Story writing was used to express radical ideas not familiar outside intimate circles and special interest groups. The reason for that, and as expressed by the Russian Kratchkowky, author and analyst of Islamic literature, this genre of literature found its way into Arabic as the result of direct European literary influence 1 . Yet in spite of this direct influence, most of what the Shawdm produced during the 19th century was imitative, as in the f o r m familiar to their readership: that of the maqamah and story-telling of old. On the other hand, they were equally responsible for drawing attention to the role of the sophisticated story in society and its potential for serving their own by lifting to levels above the ones prevalent in the environment with which they were intimately familiar, albeit there was no predisposition thereto. Thus by means of translation they transmitted thousands of stories from European languages into Arabic, the bulk deriving from the French. Some were bound to induce innovative trends in the Arabic story writing that ensued, albeit an independent form does not begin to take shape until after World War I. In the early stage, it was the translation that prevailed, with certain modifications in order to make stories fit the need of the stage. Drama was introduced, a genre unfamiliar to classical Arabic literature. The wedding of the story of the stage was thus inescapable. The Syro-Lebanese were ahead of the rest in this area of literary activity. It is not our intention to relate the history of translation and dwell on all those involved in the process given the constraints of space. It suffice for us to mention a f e w of the more active personalities in evolving this genre. An early pioneer was Salïm al-Bustânl (1848-84), of the family renowned f o r its contribution in Syria and in Egypt, to the revival of Arabic and its cultivation as a medium for the effective expression of modern ideas. In analyzing his writings, one comes away with the impression that Salïm wrote more to inform and entertain, not for the cultivation of this genre as an art. This is apparent in his play «Zenobia» 2 . One discerns therein a simple direct style unaffected by the old, reflecting rather a Western imprint. The author was more preoccupied with details and with getting a moral across than with expressing imaginative ideas or new images realistic or appropriate for the society which he was addressing. He showed no interest in analyzing the personalities depicted. Other translators include the Maronite Christian Adlb Ishâq, a young immigrant f r o m a suburb of Beirut who was much impressed with the radical politicized Islamic teachings of alA f g h à n î , became his protégé, and even founded at his behest the first Arabic language newspaper (Misr) to serve as an organ of al-Afghâni's teachings. As was to be expected, when A f g h a n i was exiled to France following the British occupation of Egypt, Ishâq was sent out with him together with another disciple, M u h a m m a d 'Abduh. Ishâq translated into Arabic «Andromaque» by Racine, a drama in five parts, as well as a few others not as well known.

' He has an article in Arabic on the subject. Vid. al-Risalah, year IV, p. 1669. I t was composed in 1870. In 1874 he composed another, al-Hiyam fi Rubu' al-Sham (Wanderings in the Syrian Region). 2

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The most prolific translator by far was Tâniyus 'Abduh ( 1869-1926). He started his career cheerfully and enthusiastically in Beirut, where he was born and educated. He helped the Russian Orientalist and consul in Beirut, Nicolas Weir, put together an Arabic work on prose and grammar. When Weir was appointed consul in Jaffa in 1894, 'Abduh served as his dragoman. Returning to Beirut, he became the official playwright of the Lutfallah Zahhàr performing troupe, translating for it a number of plays: «Genevieve», «Tancred,» and the «Orphan of China», and composing a number of others like «'Antar». Later, he joined the troupe of Iskandar Sayqali and translated into Arabic a number of plays for it like «Romeo and Juliet», and «The One with the Two Husbands». When he first emigrated to Alexandria in 1896, 'Abduh established his own newspaper, Fasi al-Khitâb, December 1, 1896, and published his plays in it. He also wrote for a number of newspapers including al-Ahrdm, founded in 1875 by the Taqla brothers f r o m Kfarshima south of Beirut. He also translated plays for the troupes of Iskandar Farah and Khalïl Qabbâni, like «Hamlet», «Love and Deception» and «The Noble Thief». It is stated that during his active career, Taniyus 'Abduh translated in I.ebanon and Egypt not less than six hundred works, not to mention the newspapers he edited. Yet, in spite of all this prolific output, he led a miserable life governed by sadness and hardship. The harsh judgement of his critics did not help, as they opined that his plays were not among the immortal since they lacked artistic quality and emotional appeal to the audience. T h e true imprint on his intellectual output derives from his expert handling of the French language but suffering alas from a lack of innovation, particularly when his genius would have commanded originality had it been put to creative work rather than total preoccupation with translations. Sound knowledge, experience, and sensitivity did not yield what was expected of him intellectually 1 . Mention should be made also of Amin Sulaymàn al-Haddâd (1879-1912), grandson of Nâsîf al-Yàziji (1800-71) who had been described by his contemporaries as the «watchdog of pure Arabic», having contributed so much to its revival, refinement and purification. A m i n contributed substantially to the refinement of the art of publishing, one of his grandfather's accomplishments. He published a translation of «Hamlet» by Nâsîf and three of his anthologies as well 2 . Najib al-Haddâd (1868-99) was another author who preoccupied himself with translations and with providing original plays for the stage, most famous of which being «Saladdin» 3 . From the French he translated «The Three Musketeers» of Alexander Dumas, «Oedipus Rex» of Sophocles the «Miser» of Molière, «Bérénice» of Racine, «Zaïre» by Voltaire and a number of other play. Yet, in spite of his prolific writings, N a j i b did not live long, dying at the age of thirty one. Many considered him an outstanding writer, an example of creative imagination with a phenomenal capacity to compose. While there is room for exaggeration, it is alleged that he has to his credit some five hundred poems as well as an anthology entitled «Selections f r o m Najib al-Haddâd» 4 .

' Sec Ba'ini's article, «Gharàm», 2 3

6.

Mikha'il Rahman's printing. Beirut, 1904.

Arabic: Salàh al-Dln al-Ayyubi, the hero's full name. Published in Cairo, 1904, then Beirut, 1924. ^Published in Alexandria under the title Muntakhabat Najib Haddàd by the Tijariyah Press in 1903.

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Fransïs Marrâsh (1836-73) i.e. considered a pioneer of the social philosophical play on account of his «The Ultimate Truth» (Ghàyat al-Haqq) which he composed in 1865. The theme of this play revolved around the struggle between right and might, forbearance and servitude, peace and war. In it, he voices his views of the aftermath of the French revolution (he had in the meanwhile visited France) while imparting a message to his own society. But it was left to Farah Antun (1874-1922) to excel in the realm of the social play. Among his better known ones we might list « The Three Cities» and «New Jerusalem or the Arab Conquest of the Holy Land» 1 , in which he attempted to blend history, philosophy and literature in one vein and wed love to society. While in the latter he employs depth of thought and analysis, the narrative aspect is considered weak. Yet his contemporaries still regarded Antiin as the pioneer of the analytical story in Egypt. He displayed an unusual talent for endearing the audience to the subject in spite of the air of mystery in which he clothed his technique of writing. His was an artistic display of technique in which life and warmth are characteristic features. In his play «The Beast, the Beast» his approach is almost philosophical and revolutionary in the treatment of society. He employs personalities in this, and other plays in the service of thought processes. In his translation of «Paul et Virginie» 2 , Antiin sought to raise the literary and philosophical level of society's awareness and to inculcate it with what he deemed right for it. In a way he was emulating Napoleon Bonaparte's employment of this story as the means for inculcating and enlightening French society during his tenure as emperor of France. Some speculators suggest that Antun's revolutionary ideas were formed in his youth as a result of his absorbment in the study of Western thinkers like Jean-Jacque Rousseau, Leo Tolstoi, Maxime Gorky, and Karl Marx, not to mention thinkers like Confucius and Buddha. He translated Nietszsche's Zarathustra and Hammurabi's Code. He was instrumental in introducing Auguste Comte to Arabic readers 3 . He dwelt particularly on those who preached the socially just and democratic society without special reference to a specific ideological context. When he started to express such ideas in writing, the censorship imposed by agents of Sultan Abdiilhamid in the Syrian region compelled him to emigrate to Egypt in 1897 where he launched his at first well-received journal al-Jàmi'ah al-'Uthmaniyah which served as his alter ego and the repository of his and the ideas of like-minded Syrian émigrés for seven years. This journal excelled as a mirror for innovative discussion and mature judgement, for philosophical discourse and scientific analysis 4 . Nicola Elias Haddàd (1872-1952), Antun's brother-in-law 5 , was a champion of free thinking social writer who excelled in writing modern plays, novels and novellas. He too was a prolific author, being credited with thirty plays, some of which were reprinted often. His

' Ki rsL published in Alexandria in 1904 then in Cairo in 1919. 2

Authored by Bernard de St. Pierre and published in its translated form in the third volume of Antun's journal, al-Jami'ah in 1903. ^Discussed in greater detail by Marun 'Abbud, in his Ruwwad al-Nahdah. 4 A s concerns his ideas and techniques see Najib Ziyadah, «Farah Antun» and for more on his life a a 4 experiences, Reid's Odyssey. ^Married to Rose Antun who was to found a number of publications oriented towards promoting the welfare of women and their social status.

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fascination with the novel led to his establishing the journal which he titled al-Liss al-Sharif (The Noble Thief). Two hundred issues were published in this series. He also edited a journal under the title Musamarat al-Sha'b (Amusing the Masses), and a third al-Lata'if alMusawwarah (Illustrated Niceties). The latter served as the repository of Nicola's plays, most of which gave proof of his work Manahij al-Hayah (The Ways of Life) 1 he aimed at instilling in his reader the importance of striving, working and economizing since most of the topics he addressed were practical in nature. Nicola gained his reputation by means of his two dozen or more social plays which aimed at educational, social, and character building ends. The themes dwelt on man and woman, good and evil, institutions and laws, custom and traditionalism, nature and character. In substance the play would uncover a moral or positive example to emulate. This trend was so accentuated in certain of his plays that they tended to lose their artistic value. The author himself was struggling to bring out the elements that so shaped his intellectual perceptions: mixture of art and knowledge as well as conceptual thinking. Such elements dominated much of his works and social articles which he employed to resolve problems concerning life and human society 2 . In his play Hawwa' al-Jadldah (Modern Eve) 3 woman is employed to voice resentment welling out of the dept of her soul towards a society that has done more to punish her alone for crimes which man was equally responsible and in which he too had participated. Among his better known plays in the structuring of which he displayed a strong romantic tendency and distance from reality while at the same time preserving a sense of eagerness to serve national interests and human welfare is Thawrah fi Jahannam aw Ma 'arik Hiwar (Revolt in Hell or Debating Bouts) 4 . In this play, Nicola emphasizes that stature and lineage do not add up to noble character since nobility of character is more of a social than a biological inheritance. In his estimation, upbringing is more important than lineage since the former not the latter shapes character and personality. In a society bound by conventionalisms and centuries-old notions that family connections serve to promote one's aims in life, the moralizing techniques utilized by Nicola, Haddad and his like-minded progressive fellow authors could not be expected to have an immediate impact on the contemporary literary scene. This group was accused of promoting concepts and values deemed alien to the society of which they were a part, albeit traditional Arab and Islamic precepts of building character through moral values anchored in the tenets of established religion were not opposed to the premises of character building now being advocated by reformist Shawam writers. Nevertheless Haddad and others persisted in directing the attention of their readers to the higher example of the moral life and away from preoccupation primarily with materialistic pursuits. The historical novel, like its social counterpart, appeared in consequence of modern trends. Arabo-Islamic history served to provide a rich reservoir for themes to be explored and developed. Jurji Zaydan (1861-1914), another immigrant from the Syrian region, was a pioneer in developing the historical novel anchored in the rich heritage of Islamic history. He composed twenty one such novels which were very popular in his day, some of which being translated indeed into Ottoman Turkish in response to popular demand by a non Arabic reading audience.

1

Publication Cairo, 1903. F o r more on this see Nimr, al-Qissah, 103-05. ^Translated from the French originally entitled Yvonne Monar and published in Cairo: al-Shams, 1929. ^Published in Damascus by Zaydun Press, 1938.

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Zaydan pursued the same techniques employed by his contemporaries among the pioneers of the cultural renaissance in structuring his novels: subordinating the artistic to the didactic, seeking to educate and enlighten rather than to compose for the sake of art. Thus he became the first teacher of the youth outside the school walls. He sacrificed techniques for the sake of historical detail and pursued the ends of pragmatism to the extent possible. In his choice of topics and subject matter for his novels, Zaydan kept in mind what would endear the reader to them, that is to their heritage. To interest his readers in their history, he decided he could best serve such an aim by casting this history in the form of a series of novels but without much distortion or transformation of historical events and personalities. Yet it is precisely here and in this context that his critics, most of whom envious of the popularity of his novels, sought to take him to task, alleging often that he, a non-Muslim, was aiming to demean historical Muslim personalities. The technique he pursued accounts for the rigid casting of the personalities employed as central to the novels composed. The narrative was rather straight-forward lacking depth of analysis. He cast history into the mold of story-telling, familiar to Arab audiences from times immemorial, and based each novel on some problem or secret which would entice the reader to discover it. He tended also to tie it to a romantic episode in which the good and noble would triumph in the end over evil and corruption, for he too was a moralist seeking the enriching and ennobling of the human character. His style was simple, attractive to the common folk was well as to the literate reader. It is perhaps on account of it that critics sought to attack him, accusing him of lacking artistic ability and analytical capability in treating the personalities and events employed in his novels. More importantly, they derided him for not providing a life depiction of the environment conditioning these personalities and events 1 .

^Nijm, al-Qissah, 191 and 195.

THE ROLE OF THE SYRO-EGYPTIANS IN THE CULTURAL RENAISSANCE

Introduction and Aim Emigrants to Egypt from the Syrian region in the late nineteenth century played an important role in the cultural awakening known as al-Nahdah'. Egypt was an inviting province of the Ottoman Empire in that the reigning Khedives had developed a tolerant and liberal attitude which guaranteed the freedom necessary for expression that had been toned down in their homeland due to the restrictive atmosphere generated by the office of the mektupgu which tended to censor out more than it allowed for printing purposes. Besides, there were greater opportunities for gain in Egypt at this time than prevailed in Syria (which included Lebanon and Palestine). Their presence and work in Egypt, constructive and positive as it was in the long run, did not earn them always the credit due them for their contribution to a genuine literary revival that found expression in almost all fields of endeavor. They were predominantly Christian immigrants functioning in a predominantly Muslim society which was suspicious of any element that enjoyed the tolerance of the British occupiers of Egypt, whose presence Egyptian nationalists were eager to get rid of. A number of these immigrants did indeed enter British service or published in support of British policies, like al-Muqattam of Faris Nimr, father-in-law of George Antonius whose Arab Awakening, a key work on the beginnings of Arab nationalism, attacked strongly Ottoman policies of the Young Turks at a time when Egyptian nationalists were defending the Ottoman state as a counterpoise to the unwanted British occupation. At a time when conservative views still prevailed in Egypt, the Syro-Egyptians earned the mistrust of Muslims who viewed them as peddlers of unorthodox ideas reflecting alien values and radical ideas, especially since they were highly colored by European concepts. The tendency then was to belittle these "Shawam", as they had been dubbed by Egyptian counterparts and to deny them credit for anything original in fostering the new trends that eventually took hold and did indeed contribute to the modernization of approaches and views concerning cultural and literary trends that enhanced the store of Arab knowledge generally. Only belatedly and grudgingly did the contribution of the Syro-Lebanese come to be recognized eventually by native Egyptians themselves. Our aim in this paper is to give proper recognition of these pioneers' legacy in rejuvenating and advancing the basic ingredients of what became the cultural renaissance, anchored as they recognized in the hitherto dormant legacy of a great cultural past rich in achievement in all fields of endeavor from the scientific to the literary. Modernization did not imply rejection of this legacy, but rather the adoption of new techniques to uncover the secrets and strengths of such legacy in order to make it better understood and appreciated in its own milieu, that is the Arabo-Islamic, in spite of the hindrances placed before these writers by the conservative traditionalists, both Christian and Muslim.

38 Fuelling the

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Renaissance

What fuelled this renaissance was the expansion of educational facilities in the Syrian region, especially in the Lebanon part, due to the undertaking of Europeans and Americans to gain the hearts and minds of natives wallowing in ignorance for centuries due to the absence of a concerted program of education. This European-inspired and guided program of education played a key role in shaping the intellectual outlook of these pioneers. In 1858 there were thirty-two schools sponsored by Protestant and Latin missions with an enrolment of 1065 students of all ages. By 1882 the number of schools increased to 130 with thousands of students enrolled in their curricular offerings. Within a few years more foreign-sponsored schools, by the French, British, Dutch, Russians, and American and Latin missions, j u m p e d to around 1473 v/ith 62,566 students out ol' a population of two million in the Syrian region. A truly native school was not established until 1863 when the highly regarded Arabic revivalist Butrus al-Buslani founded in Beirut the National School, which enjoyed a reputation for being non-denominational from the start, unlike those established by foreigners which aimed largely at propagating their views of religion, and which sought to devise and teach a curriculum according to modern techniques. Other native schools were soon to follow; in Beirut, the Patriarchal School, in 1865; Thalâth Aqmàr (three roses) in 1866; Hikmah in 1879; Israélite in 1874; the Ottoman College in 1895, and then the Maqàsid, which Imam M u h a m m a d 'Abduh contributed to its curricular development after returning from exile in Paris to settle in Beirut, where he died. It was inevitable that these schools would produce more graduates, trained not only in their native Arabic and Ottoman, but in foreign languages as well—French, English, Italian, and Russian. In the absence of any opportunities in their native land to demonstrate their newly acquired skills and profit f r o m them, it was inevitable that they would seek to fulfil their ambitions and benefit from their talents where a conducive environment existed, which at this time proved to be Egypt, a kindred land enjoying the same heritage and a common language. Moreover, the Egyptian government was at this time highly indebted financially to Europe and those with the proper training in languages and experiences of this dreaded entity could 1'ind employment with the Khedive, or the British administration in Egypt, for that matter, in an atmosphere relatively free of burdensome restrictions and more tolerant of new ideas and trends. 1 Indeed, in the realm of service a number of these émigrés enjoyed almost immediate success. Fâris Nimr Pasha together with Antùn Jmayyil served as senators. Another, Jibrail Taqla Pasha served twice as deputy. 'Abdallah Sfayr Pasha served as director of security under Khedive 'Abbàs Hilmi and Sultan Husayn Kâmil.

Role in Intellectual

Life

In order to place the role of these pioneers from Syria in better perspective, I conducted extensive research in Egypt and interviewed those w h o had first hand knowledge thereof, especially Emile Zaydan who inherited directorship of Dar al-Hilal f r o m his father Jurji and individuals like Habib Jamati, an author in the same tradition of this school. Most importantly, I had recourse to Egyptian scholars familiar with this group, namely Professor ' Abd al-Hamid

' hor an account of the emigration to Egypt see Elie Safa's L'Émigration 142 seq.

libanaise (Beirut: Université St. Joseph, 1960),

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39

Yunis, Head of the Department of Arabic Literature at the University of Cairo, with w h o m I held extensive conversations on topics and categories of literary achievement which these pioneers promoted and to whose enhancement they contributed, namely poetry, literature, the Arabic language and its purification, translations from European sources, the stage, polemics, evolution of journalistic writings, and other subjects in which w e note some significant contribution by the "Shawam". W e shall focus on the cultural roles reflected in the letters, arts, language, translations and journalism. Secondly, we shall treat the areas of contribution by the "Shawam" in the realm of ideas, as reflected in their social philosophy and political ideals; and their views of reform and modernization, which they did not hesitate to borrow from the West in support of their notions. Thirdly, w e shall place in perspective their overall position as middlemen, innovators and revivalists of the Arabo-Islamic classics. The impact of European methods, ideas and cultural perceptions could not escape writers in Egypt, be they native or immigrant. According to Professor Yunis, Taha Husayn and al-Mazini are examples of natives who turned to Europe for inspiration, one to France, the other to England. Both, it is alleged, were influenced, as was another noted author, 'Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad, by the Muqtataf, the renowned scientific journal founded by Ya'qub Sarruf and by the Hilal, the scholarly literary journal founded by Jurji Zaydan. Both founders were from the Beirut area. Two other Lebanese, Farah Antun and Shibli Shmayyil, served as model writers to another renowned Egyptian author, Salamah Musa. Founding of the still published newspaper al-Ahrdm in 1875 by Taqla brothers of Kfarshima, south of Beirut proved a landmark in stimulating new approaches to journalism and styles of writing. Establishment of m a j o r publishing houses like Dar al-Hilal by Zaydan and Dar al-Maarif by Najib Mitri, who started his career as publisher with Zaydan, served to increase and popularize writings to which the general reading audience could relate, thus further stimulating the modernizing intellectual trends. The works published by these two establishments cut across the whole spectrum of modern and traditional fields of authorship in politics, social studies, education, literature, history and scientific inventions. They also served to revive popular interest in the historical legacy of Arabs and Muslims, besides adding a new dimension, that of European authorship of relevance and interest to the East. These two establishments have grown into the leading publishing houses of the Arab world and have not ceased to cater to popular interests b y publishing monographs, journals and a variety of works on numerous current subjects of interest to the general readership. Poets who have been a product of the trends generated by the "Shawam" include Ahmad Shawqi and Hafiz Ibrahim, two leading neo-classical composers in the qasidah style. They found an inspiring companion in fellow poet Khalil Matran who departed from the conventional style and introduced what became the new trend, that of romanticism, which did not take long to become popular among other aspiring poets. Thinkers like M u h a m m a d 'Abduh and Shibli Shmayyil, Salamah Musa and Isma'il Mazhar, w h o were influenced by English thought, began to search for cosmic law; and to apply them to human history in what might be termed a kind of scientific determinism detached from notions of divine right or religious presumptions. Rationalism began to play an important role, as represented by Lutfi alSayyid's writings; so did constitutionalism and the stress on individual rights. al-Sayyid is credited with creating the philosophical bases of political thought in his political appeal "Egypt for the Egyptians",

40

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which gave the dialogue a national direction. 1 The shaping of new ideological and cultural trends received a boost from Tanyus 'Abdu, a prolific translator of European stories. He served as a secretary translator in the Russian consulate in Jerusalem and mastered well European languages. He was versed also in the philosophical thought of the Indian thinker Tagore whose works he also mastered. The stories he translated into Arabic from French reflecting the historical romances by such authors as Alexander Dumas became popular reading and were bound to reflect the values and norms of French and European culture. His remarkable command and use of the Arabic language appealed to a wide-ranging readership. A new genre of writing was scientific fiction, evolved by another Lebanese writer, Nicola Haddad who focused on what he termed time and space and the conjunction of the two, which he defined as "zamkan", the contraction of zaman and makan. Nicola possessed a strong sense of the scientific and wedded it to literature, a sort of an Orson Wells approach on a small scale.

Shmayyil and the Theory of Evolution Evolution and its theory preoccupied the writings of Shibli Shmayyil (d. 1917) with whom it became an obsession which he defended with passion against all criticism. 2 His work Buchner's Commentary on Darwin generated a lot of controversy in the religious circles of all sects and earned him an excommunication, but it did have a telling impact in generating a bold new approach to the study of modern scientific theories, attested by Salamah Musa's and Ismail Mazhar's writings. His efforts to propagate Darwinian Buchnarian theories of evolution in an unreceptive environment elicited a strong negative retort from Jamal al-Din al-Afghani in his tract al-Radd 'ala 'l-Nawshariyyah (Refuting the Materialists). Al-Afghani challenged both Shmayyil's criteria of evolution and his social philosophy. Shmayyil has been dubbed the first Arab socialist, first scientific brain, and first to call for world citizenship. He was the leader of free thinkers calling for liberating the mind from the shackles of conventionalism and inertia. Though trained as a physician, Shmayyil's intellect found an outlet in philosophical debate rather than in medical pursuits. It took a lot of courage to support Darwin's theory of evolution in a distinctly hostile milieu which aligned all men of religion-Christian, Muslim and Jewish—against him when he sought to apply scientific evolution to religion. Mazhar was so impressed with Shmayyil's commentary that he undertook to translate Darwin's work into Arabic. Shmayyil's works however were not republished owing to the hostile reaction they had elicited, nor did his views on social philosophy receive proper treatment from supporters and critics alike.

'For details see Charles Adams, Islam and Modernism in Egypt. London, 1933. ShibIl was born in the small town of Kfarshima a few miles south of Beirut, home of the Taqlas and of the famous Yaziji family that excelled in the task of purifying and elevating the Arabic language tools, well merited status and to new heights of elegance. He received his elementary and secondary education at the Jesuit college of 'Ayn Turah and his medical training at the Syrian Protestant college of Beirut (later the American University). He and Ya'qub Sarrub were classmates in the medical college. He next spent two years in Paris for specialization and then returned to Istanbul to pass his medical qualifications. After spending a brief period in his hometown, he emigrated to Egypt where in 1884 he published in Arabic his famous work Buchner's Commentary on Darwin, published that year in Alexandria by the Mahrusah Press. 2

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41

In addition to his controversial work Falsafat al-Nushu' wa 'l-Irtiqa' he had a collection titledMajmu'ah embodying his overall views on this critical subject. 1 He distinguished himself among writers by not holding back on expressing bold and courageous views in promoting freedom of thought and urging others to follow suit. One detects in all his writings a noble spirit and a powerful force to elevate the thinking of Easterners. Shmayyil called for conciliation and a common social bond that would unite all citizens regardless of their ethnicity and religious proclivities. This spirit is reflected in his appeal to Sultan Abdiilhamid in his tract titled Shakwa wa Amal (Complaint and Aspirations flit. Hopes]). 2 It is also evident in his concern for treating social ills and support of the weak and deprived members of society. Shmayyil denounced both the strong and the oppressor. He called for the development of every individual's potential on the assumption that this would redound with benefit and ensure positive contributions to society. He despised wealth and labored to enhance knowledge for its own sake, shunning all attempts to get him into public service. Shmayyil's contribution in the scientific field was also well received. He penned a treatise on yellow fever and how to cure it, and presented it to Riyad Pasha, the prime minister of Egypt at the time. 3 His al-Ahwiyah wa 'l-Miyah wa 'l-Buldan (Air, Water and Land), a critical study of a book by Hippocrates consists of twenty-four discussions and an introduction with a biography of this renowned Greek author and physician.

Simplification

of Writing

Style

Popularization of ideas and views resulted from the simple and direct style of writing evolved by these pioneers who freed writing from the sonorous bombastic style devised historically by writers in the maqamat genre. They tended to employ what they termed a telegraphic style: short, easy to comprehend, and clear expressions accentuated by pointing specifically to opposites, like labor vs. capital. Fabian, Wellsian and Darwinian themes were among the subject of the day that elicited debate and commentaries. Not all authors, however, turned to the West for literary and scientific themes and topics to discuss. In the realm of polemics the Syrian Haqqi Beg al-'Azm had recourse principally to Islamic personalities of the past to discuss, as did his Egyptian counterpart Taha Husayn.

Leaders of Intellectual

Reform

Among leaders of intellectual reform mention should be made of Farah Antun, who came from Tripoli (Lebanon). 4 He played a key role in stimulating philosophical debates which got him into trouble with the conservative traditionalists, especially when he came to the defense of Ibn Rushd's views in exchanges with M u h a m m a d 'Abduh. He founded al-Jami'ah al-'Uthmdniyah, a journal specifically for the purpose of advocating Ottoman reform and solidifying a consensus among Ottoman citizens generally regardless of ethnic and religious

^Volume I was published by al-Muqtataf in Cairo in 1910. ^Published by al-Ma'arif in Cairo, n. d. ^Published in Cairo, 1890. 4 F o r details of his life and work see Donald Reid's The Odyssey of Farah Antun. Minneapolis & Chicago: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1975.

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affiliations. The journal at first tended to stress social themes and philosophical arguments in support thereof, and then began to advocate reform in general. To that end he translated into Arabic views of those who advocated free thought, and this led to the confrontation with both M u h a m m a d 'Abduh and his disciple Rashid Rida, especially after he began to advocate Averroism and his commentary on Ibn Rushd's philosophy. 1 His abridgement of the Life of Christ by Ernest Renan 2 accompanied by a lengthy introduction 3 brought down upon him the wrath of the heads of religious hierarchies because he espoused Renan's denial of Christ's miracles, stressing the eternity of nature and advocating the views of Imam al Ghazali (d. 1111), the articulator of the definitive views of Ash'arism, the mainstay of orthodox Islamic theology until today. The aroused reaction of 'Abduh was noted by Farah who published the Imam's strong retort in his al-Jami'ah. This led to a series of exchanges and retorts, all published in the journal, and the strong stirring the debate generated was felt in New York as well as Egypt. 4 Nicola Haddad (1870-1954), the "pharmacist", future brother-in-law of Farah Antun, was dubbed by one writer the "Einstein of Egypt" for being the first to translate his "Theory of Relativity" into Arabic. Nicola came from the village of Jun near Sidon, Lebanon, where he commenced his studies at its American school, then enrolled at the American University of Beirut where only after one year of matriculation he was summoned to Egypt to edit the newspaper al-Ra'id al-Misri (the Egyptian pioneer). He returned to Beirut to complete his education and was back in Egypt again in 1903 with a degree in pharmacy and the editorship of al-Ra'id. He accompanied his brother-in-law in a self-imposed exile after the latter had aroused so much hostility with his unpopular views, and traded in carpets for a while, continuing publication of his journal in New York. From profits earned, Nicola was able to marry Antun's sister Rose. All returned to Egypt in 1908 where Nicola now edited the newspaper al-Mahriisah (the protected) and published articles in al-Ahram while continuing to run the pharmacy which he had opened after World War I. He cooperated with Rose in editing a social journal dedicated to upgrading the quality of life of the family called Majallat al-Sayyidat wa 'l-Rijal (A Journal for Women and Men). He edited the men's and Rose the women's component. This was the first journal in Arabic dedicated to family and social issues and the upgrading of both. The narrative often was interspersed with well-placed illustrations. Nicola too was a strong advocate of free thought, excelling also in his writings on society. His practical philosophy buttressed by careful research techniques and specialization in chemistry, coupled with a critical ability a sense of the new are reflected in the realm of his journalistic work. He excelled at composing story and short story, becoming one of the foremost leaders in both. He was the first to deal with modern psychology, writing and succeeding, as evinced in his book on the subject entitled 'Ilm Adab al-Nafs (Knowledge of the

Asee his Ibn Rushd wa-Falsafatahu. Alexandria, 1903. 2 La Vie de Jesus Christ. Paris, 1880. ^Published separately in Alexandria in 1904. 4 Najib Ziyada, "Farah Antun Da"rah fi '1-Falsafah wa 'l-Adab wa 'l-ljtima'", in the newspaper al-Safa', 19 July 1964.

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Self). 1 His versatile writings are reflected in a number of fields: in the scientific he wrote on nature, the heavens and relativity combining all three in his book Handasat al-Kawn bi-Hasb al-Nisbiyah (Architecture of the Cosmos according to the Law of Relativity). 2 He was the first to simplify the understanding of relativity in Arabic. He also undertook to explain the atom, to condense and simplify knowledge of it for the reader. He excelled also at writing novels and plays, having penned over thirty of them, which were repeatedly reprinted and some of which were published in Persian and Hindustani as well. As an editor and writer he spent fifty years contributing to journals on a variety of subjects such as literature, science and politics. 3

Performing

Arts

The Syro-Lebanese contributed materially to the development of the stage and script-writing. Farah Antiin left a strong legacy in story writing and in composing for the stage and the theater, as a pioneer in both fields, by shifting themes away from those of the classical poems to romanticism and political democracy featuring rights and obligations as central themes. He spearheaded the drive to use the stage as the sounding platform for the propagation of social ideas based on rationalism and divorced from religious preconceptions. He used the stage to reinforce his social and political philosophy. He selected European works which best suited his philosophy and translated them for the stage, as did another Lebanese, Najib Haddad who, too, translated for the stage novels used by Sallamah Hijazi and his troop of actors, acquiring quite a reputation as stage performers. Another contributor to the performing arts was Iskandar Farah of Damascus. Before immigrating to Egypt he was commissioned by Midhat Pasha during his brief governorship in Syria to put together a troop of actors, which he did with the assistance of Khalil Qabbàni. They left together for Egypt in 1883. Iskandar undertook to teach acting and al-Qabbâni singing and musical composition. Indeed, Hijazi had his debut as a performer in Farah's troop. Farah is credited with laying the foundation for the modern stage in Egypt. 4 An outstanding contributor to the artistic field was Iskandar al-Shalfiin ( 1 8 8 2 - 1 9 3 4 ) whose great legacy was in music. Iskandar was born in Egypt of Lebanese parents, both of whom were musicians; indeed, his father already enjoyed a great reputation in this field. Iskandar served for twenty years as a government official and then resigned to dedicate his life to music. He soon mastered knowledge of the entire range of Arabic maqàmàt. This knowledge influenced his composing of poetry, original writing and translation. He translated f r o m the French, wrote plays and composed lyrics and songs, at which he soon excelled. He journeyed to Tunis in 1928 to stage artistic soirées and give lectures and seminars on music. He spent three years there before returning to Egypt. Then he went to Beirut where he resided and cooperated with a colleague, Wadi' Sabra who was the director of the Conservatory of Music there. He remained in Beirut until his death.

'Cairo: al-Matba'ah al-'Arabiyah, 1938. ^Cairo: al-Muqtataf and al-Muqattam, 1936. 3

F o r more on him sec Wadàd Sakakini's "Nicola Haddad f i Hayatihi wa Thaqâfatihi" in al-Adlb, (1951): 40; also Wadi 1 Filistin's "Nicola Haddad" in ibid., 13, no 4 (1954) 73. ^Sec al-Jumhüriyah,

no. 9/16/1963 in the Archives of Dar al-Hilàl, in Cairo, no. 3135.

10, no. 7

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Shalfun developed into an outstanding musician and a first rate composer. He mastered a number of musical instruments: the lute and zither, violin and piano, and was well versed in the fundamentals of all. With such talent and expertise he left a considerable legacy in musical composition, song and exposes thereon, which he recorded in a journal he instituted to that end in October of 1920 called Rawdat al Balabil} His contribution to music was well recognized, especially by the Oriental Musical Conservatory of Egypt, later, the Royal Conservatory, to which he was elected a member in 1914, then professor music and then a member of its governing board. Iskandar had a special technique in analyzing eastern tunes and expounding thereon in a scientific and artistic fashion. All that he learned, developed and expounded on was deposited in his journal Rawdat, which he continued to publish f o r eight years, serving well the development and refinement of Arabic music in all its aspects. In his book Arabian Music, he explained the fundamentals of music and listed the names and biographies of singers and songstresses who excelled at it. 2 He composed, in addition, musical plays for the stage such as "al-Sabaya", organizing its acts, composing its poems and its lyrics and tunes. A m o n g writings that did not survive were a treatise on Music and the Art of Musical Composition, A Dictionary of Music and his Diaries.

Refined and Simplified Styles in Historical

Scholarship

Sulayman al-Bustani possessed a unique talent for gathering and arranging data. He is considered an innovator of writing styles and a pioneer of literary discourse and of modern criticism. One of his best known works is his translation of Homer's Iliad into elegant Arabic, rivaling the original in its classicism. He had a gift for poetic diction and it is alleged that he composed over 5000 couplets of poetry. 3 He also wrote about the Ottoman state before and after constitutionalism and the work was published after the removal of Sultan Abdtilhamid f r o m o f f i c e . 4 The Committee of Union and Progress was sufficiently impressed therewith so as to appoint him a member of the Committee. He was elected, together with Rida al-Sulh of Beirut, to the Ottoman Parliament and later appointed vizier of agriculture and industry. However he resigned when he failed to prevent Ottoman entry into the World War I and went to Switzerland for health reasons, spending there the entire war years composing poetry in the nationalist vein. 5 Mustafa Kemal Atatiirk summoned him to Ankara after the war of independence and offered him an important position but he excused himself. In the summer of 1924 he journeyed to America and stayed there until his death. 6

'Later renamed the Conservatory of Egyptian Music. ^Published in Cairo in 1927. ^Mikha'ii Sawaya, Sulayman al-Bustani. Beirut: Dar al-Mashriq al-Jadid, 1960. 4

H e entitled his work 'Ibra wa Dhikra aw al-Dawlah al-'Uthmaniyah Press, 1908. 5 Collection entitled Nashid al-Da'wah wa Nashid al-Shifa'. 6

Sawaya,

28-29.

qabla 'l-Dustur wa ba'dahu, Cairo: al-Aktibar

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Jurji Zaydan led in awakening interest in Islamic history and civilization, as his many works in this field attest, spearheaded by some twenty historical novels centered on famous personalities of the golden age. His Td'rikh al-Tamaddun al Islami (History of Islamic Civilization) was of great significance for early Western and Eastern scholarship.1 Emir Shakib Arslan (1869-1946) also made important contributions to Islamic scholarship as a leading personality of the cultural renaissance. His writings paved the way for an Arab awakening and contributed substantially to all aspects of cultural development. He was a product of 'Abdallah al-Bustani's Hikmah school which imbued him with a keen knowledge of the Arabic language and which served him well in his scholarship. He sharpened his wits in exchanges with Imam Muhammad Abduh who spent the rest of his post-exile years after 1886 in Beirut and whose companion Arslan had become. Abduh was instrumental in establishing the Maqasid school in Beirut to serve the educational needs of the Muslim community. Arslan also made the acquaintance of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani when he visited Istanbul in 1892. From this fiery preacher he learned how to make progress in religion, politics and society. He led a colorful and multifaceted career as head of the Arab Academy of Damascus, later as kaymakam of the Shuf district in south Lebanon between 1909 and 1911 and then as a soldier in the Ottoman army combating Italians in Tripolitania. He traveled widely after the war and came in contact with progressive personalities committed to reform both in Europe and in the East. Among his notable works are two dealing with the Arabs in Spain, 2 one on Arab raids in France, Italy, Switzerland and the Mediterranean islands, 3 and two on stagnation and reform, in which he discusses the causes of Islamic decline. 4 In his Arab Awakening in Modern Times, he discusses the subject beginning with Muhammad Ali, vali of Egypt (1805-49), also the rise of journalism, educational expansion and related developments. 5 Among the earliest emigrants from the Syrian region to Egypt was Nicola al Turk (1763-1828) who served in the divan of Napoleon Bonaparte as chief of the Arabic section after his invasion of the country. Nicola corresponded with leading personalities ranging from Suleiman Pasha, vali of Sidon at Acre to Emir Bashir II al Shihabi, the lord of Mount Lebanon. He is regarded as the earliest pioneer of the awakening and one who paved the way for the literary rising. He composed poetry but in the traditional style of the classical Arabic qasidah. He was commissioned by Emir Bashir to go to Egypt for the purpose of observing conditions under the French expeditionary force's occupation. It resulted in his writing an account of the French occupation of Egypt and the southern part of the Syrian province, and his work was

^Published in 5 volumes. Cairo: Dar al-Hilal, 1902- 1906, and translated in part into English by the noted scholar David Margoliouth. 2

Al-Milal al-Sanduslyah fi 'l-Akhbdr wa 'l-Athar al-Al Andalusiyah in 3 vols. Cairo: Rahmaniyah Press, 1936 & 1939 and Khulasat Ta'rlkh alAndalus. Cairo: al-Manar Press, 1920. 3

Ta'rikh Ghazaw 'I-'Arab fi Fransa, 'Arabi, 1352/1933. 4

Switra wa Itdlya wa Jazur al-Bahr

al-Mutawasslt.

Cairo: Dar al-lhya' al

Limadha Ta'akhharo al-Muslimun' wa limadha Taqaddama Ghayrahum. Cairo: Manar Press, 1349/1930& 'Isa al-Babi al-Halabi, Cairo, 1958. English translation (Our Decline and Its Causes) by M. A. Shakoor. 2nd edition. Lahore: Muhammad Ashraf, 1952. 5 B o o k published in Cairo Dar al-Nashr, 1937.

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translated into French by leading French scholars of the day. 1 He also wrote on the Franco-Austrian events of 1805 and the triumph of Napoleon at Austerlitz. Other historical w o r k s I n c l u d e Nuzhat

al-Zaman

f i Hawadith

Lubndn

( E v e n t s of M t . L e b a n o n ) a n d

Ta'rlkh

Ahmad Basha 'l-Jazzar (History of Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzar) in which he discusses conditions in Syria during the last quarter of the 18th century. His non-historical works include an anthology of poetry reflecting the transition from the traditional to the new style of composition (1790-1825) 2 and an anthology of eleven stories composed in the maqdmdt style, centered around a figure called al-mazih (the jokester). 3 Rafiq B e g al-'Azm (1865-1925) of a Damascene notable family penned a significant historical work after emigrating to Egypt, titled Ashhar Mashahir al-Islam. (The Most Famous of Muslim Notables) 4 in which he calls attention to historical heroes of Islam as an example to be emulated by modern Muslims. He wrote in a lucid direct style, reflecting his expertise in analyzing events and getting to the core thereof. He acquired his talent for composing while studying in Ottoman schools and as a companion of two leading intellectuals: Shaykh Tahir al-Jaza'iri and Shaykh Salim al-Jundi in Damascus, both of w h o m influenced his literary development and political philosophy. He became known for his free thinking and expression and did not hesitate to criticize both official policies and those in administrative posts. He came to Egypt in 1892 and journeyed f r o m there to Istanbul, returning to Damascus and back to Egypt in 1894 to escape the persecution of al-Ahrar or the liberals who advocated freedom of' expression. In Egypt he proceeded to write political and social articles for the leading newspapers: al-Ahrdm, al-Muqtataf, al-Mu'ayyad and al-Liwa'as well as for journals like al-Hilal and al-Manar. He attended discussions by M u h a m m a d 'Abduh and Shaykh 'All Yusuf, editor of the strongly Islamic al-Mu'ayyad, and was in close contact with leading political advocates of Egyptian and Ottoman nationalism, like Mustafa Kamil and Muhammad Farid. He also was a founding member of the Jam'iyat al-Shura al-'Uthmaniyah (Society for Ottoman Consultation). His historical narratives aimed at awakening the nationalist spirit of the new generation of Muslim Arabs within the context of a reformed Ottomanism. It would explain his focusing on historical personalities who excelled in the service of the Islamic polity. He resorted to a simple unembellished clear style of writing designed to get a message across, following Western methods of scholarly expression and avoiding poetic distractions and rhetorical descriptions void of substance or relevant meaning, as was the case when the play on words was the vogue of medieval writers. He stuck to the facts and shunned ossified expressions, thus reflecting a new Islamic progressiveness which might have resulted from holding long sessions with Muhammad 'Abduh. Following a heated exchange with Taha Husayn in 1923, the latter accused al-'Azm, al-Arba'a' ( W e d n e s d a y T a l k s ) of treating a m o n g other intellectuals in his Hadlth Islamic history with praise and sanctity and distancing himself from criticism and true scientific

^By Desgranges, secretaiy of King Louis Philippe (Paris, 1839); by Louis Gardin with a commentary on al-Jabarti's history, and by Gaston Wiet, who rendered a full translation of the work under the title Chronique d'Egypte ou Mémoires de Nicola Turk, Cairo Institut français d'Egypte, 1950. ^Edited by Fu'âd al-Bustani Beirut Catholic Press, 1949. 3

For details about al-Turk's contributions see Isa Iskandar al-Ma'luf s 'Tâwarïkh al bil-Lughah al-'Arabiyah wa la siyyama Tarikh Nicola al-Turk" al-Mashriq, 29 (1931): 281-91; Zirkili, al A'iam: Qâmus Tarâjim, no. 1110, and Sarkïs, 631. ^In four volumes. Cairo Hindïyah Press, 1908.

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discussion. Indeed, he authored a number of works on Islam, civilization and social requirements of Muslims as well as on the spread of Islam by peaceful means. 1 Among other contributors to contemporary history and documentation, mention should be made of Salim al-Naqqash and Adib Ishaq who cooperated in launching the newspaper Misr to record official information and administrative decisions of committees and agencies including those of parliament and the respective ministries, as well as events leading to the 'Urabi rising of 1881 and the revolt that ensued up to the battle of Alexandria of 11 June 1882 when with the help of British forces it was put down. Naqqash kept record also of delegations to and from Egypt on various missions, and from the data he assembled he wrote a book entitled Egypt for the Egyptians. 2

Historical Narratives and New Trends of Writing Historical narratives set a new trend in the style of writing. They abounded during this period of transition, and European stylistic methods left their impact since much of the interest of this group of writers was stimulated by contacts with Europe and the increasing role of Ottoman personalities in international affairs. In addition to those alluded to above we have many other authors of historical work. For instance, Muhammad Kurd Ali took an interest in the young dashing Enver Pasha and decided to publicize his visit to the Arab provinces in his al-Rihlah al-Anwarlyah ila l-Asqa al-Hijaziyah,3 and published another work on the West titled Ghara'ib al-Gharb.4 Jurji Zaydan wrote a History of the Masons and Ahmad Paris al-Shidyaq, founder of the first Arabic newspaper published in Istanbul under the title al-Jawa'ib wrote a history of Malta. 5 Salim al-Bustani composed a thousand-page work on the modern history of France. 6 Interest in the West, particularly Europe, its history, literature, culture and legacy stimulated the development of broader conceptions which affected the evolving style of literary expression as well as methods and techniques of writing to a large degree, particularly among those Shawam who already had acquired a predisposition from training in schools sponsored by Western missions in their homeland.

Women Pioneers In keeping with the new and fashionable trend of scholarship, we cannot exclude the role of women. They did indeed play a significant part in the cultural renaissance and their legacy can not be denied. Among those who excelled as emigres to Egypt from the Syrian region were May

' T n wit, al-Bayänfi'l-Tamaddun wa Ashäb al-'Umrän (ed. Shaykh 'Abd at-Hädi al-Ibyari. Cairo: al-A'läm 1304/1886), Tanblh al-Ifhäm ila Matälib al-Ijtima'ivyahft'l-Isläm (Cairo: Mawsü'ät, 1318/1900), ai Jamiah ai-lslamiyyah wa Uruba (Cairo: 1325/1907), and Fi Bayan Kayfiyyat lntishär al-Adyan wa Kawn al-lslam qäma bil-Da'wah la bil-Sayf (Cairo: Manar Press, 1324/1906). For more on his legacy see al-Dahhän, Qudamä' wa Mu'äsirün, 166-72; Sarkis, Mu'jam, 1324; Cheikho, Ta'rikh al-Adab 11: 102: Adham al-Jundi, A'läm al-Adab

wa 'l-Fann, 191.

^Published in Alexandria by al-Mahrüsah's Press. Vol. IV was edited by Khalil al-Naqqäsh in 1307/1833. ^Published in Beirut in 1334/1916. ^ Published by his newspaper ai-Muqtabas Press in Damascus in 1328/1910. 5 Arabic title: al-Wàsitah fi Ma'rifäl Ahwäl Maltah. Istanbul: Jawä'ib Press, 1249/1833. ^Beirut: Ma'ärif Press, 1884.

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Ziade and Zaynab Fawwaz. May (1886-1941) was born in Nazareth, Palestine, of a Lebanese parent. She received her education first in a convent school in her native town, then in 'Ayn Turuh in Mt. Lebanon in the Jesuit school there and lastly in Beirut. She emigrated with her family to Cairo and took to mastering the literature of the finest European languages—French, Spanish, German, English and Italian as well as Latin and Greek. She launched a writing career from the age of 16 and continued to publish until her death. She published literary articles and critiques in Arabic, French and English. She also treated subjects with strong social context, all of which gave proof of her genius in dealing with a variety of subjects. It attracted the attention of men of letters of her time with whom she developed strong ties. Indeed, litterateurs, leaders, ulema and other writers soon became participating members of the weekly literary society she established and of her literary gatherings each week. Among them were Taha Husayn, Waliy al-Din Yakan, Mustafa Sadiq al-Rifa'i, Ahmad Shawqi (poet laureate of modern Arabic), Hafiz Ibrahim, Lutfi al-Sayyid and other litterateurs who excelled in the modern trends of literary authorship, poetry composition and scholarship in general. The two men who influenced shaping and solidifying May's views and style were Ya'qub Sarruf and the leading and most famous author among emigrants to America, Jibran Khalil Jibran, whose work The Prophet in the English language is outsold today only by the Christian Bible. May corresponded with him for a number of years and he had a strong impact in imparting a strong spiritual content to her literary production. 1 She excelled equally in the field of oratory, aided by her strong mastery of the Arabic language, to which Lutfi al-Sayyid contributed substantially as tutor and encourager. Her mastery of foreign languages and literatures enabled her to convey the finest thereof into Arabic. She revealed in her numerous articles a strong sense for innovation, writing with passion and leaning towards verification. When she engaged someone in a debate she did not rely on rhetoric and emotion to get her point across but rather on the evidence, answering each point in the debate by incontrovertible proof. 2 She may have been influenced by western culture in her development but her proclivity was eastern in all her writings. As the noted feminist 'A'ishah al-Taymuriyah observed: "I found in May a strong attachment to the east and to its defense, which led me to mention with a wink that she represents the highest example of a cultivated Easterner." 3 May became acquainted with Huda Sha'rawi, leader of the feminist movement, after she heard her lecture on the rights of women and her defense thereof. She also contacted another feminist, Malak Nasif and joined the feminist movement working assiduously with her pen, heart and mind to advance the cause. She lectured and held symposia in defence of women's rights, giving proof of a noble spirit in the service of a noble cause, that of elevating the status of women and reforming society. Her background, training and vast knowledge and experience contributed substantially to the eloquence with which she defended the feminist cause. 4 Among her works mention should be made of an important article entitled "Risalat al-Adlb ila 'I-Hayat al-'Arabiyah"; 5 works like Sawanih Fatat (Young Woman's Thoughts), 6 a

' I [er correspondence with Jibran was published in Spanish by Carmen Ruiz Bravo. Madrid, 1978. ^Testimony of al-Sahd'if, 3

Article in

al-Muqtataf,

year 1924, p. 120. Vol. 100, p. 20.

^Testimony of Amin al-Rihani in Hayat May by Mansur Fihmi, p. 76. ^Published in the journal al-'Urwa 6

Cairo: al-Hilal Press, 1922.

al- Wuthqa of Beirut, year 193 8, p. 16.

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collection of ideas and thoughts concerning life; a well regarded literary work entitled Zulumat wa Ashshi'ah} a collection of literary speeches on society, knowledge and philosophy; and an excellent article on equality entitled "al Musawat", which conveyed her egalitarian views concerning women. 2 Zaynab Fawwaz was no less a feminist author than May. She attained a high status in the circles of both literature and thought. She was born in the southern Lebanese town of Tibnin in the household of the leading Shi'ite family of al-As'ad. She was tutored by the wife of the 'Amili Shaykh Ali Beg. She emigrated to Alexandria, then travelled to Damascus and from there to Cairo where she pursued a steady course of progress. She left science for literature and immersed herself in the study of jurisprudence (fiqh) and the scicnces of religion. She also delved into history and soon developed a high level of cultural attainment, which yielded the finest fruit in the end. Zaynab wrote on social reform, history, poetry and literature. She was among those who called for the liberation of women, and to that end she followed closely developments in America and Europe. She corresponded with colleagues on the subject and whenever anyone attacked the feminist trend in newspapers, she was quick to respond. Her articles were published in Egyptian and Lebanese newspapers. Most were assembled later and published under the title al-Rasa'il al-Zaynahiyychwhich encompass her views on woman, her rights and her social status. She has also a well known book on women throughout history entitled al-Durr al-Manthurafi Tabaqat Rabbat al-Khudur.4 The material of this work was compiled from over forty volumes dealing with history, and also from scientific and scholarly journals. She included also articles by her contemporaries who called for woman's liberation, like Sarall Nawfal. Hana Kurani and Maryam Khalid. In this work are the biographies of 485 eastern and western women from the beginning of history until Zaynab's times She assembled them to lend proof to women's service to society, demanding that men recognize this service and respect women's contribution. She wrote the play "Qurush, King of the Persians" 5 to illustrate the role women could play in the life of a state and kingdom. She also composed poetry, albeit her anthologies were not published. Zaynab was well respected by her contemporaries, men and women alike, for her noble service to her kind. The Khedive of Egypt ordered for her a living stipend from the Egyptian mortmains in compensation for her sincere and genuine services. She remained in the leading rank of authors and litterateurs until the end, and her death was considered a true loss for society. 6

1 Cairo: al-Hilal, 1923. Cairo: Dar al-Hiläl, n. d. ^Cairo: al-Matba'ah al-Mutawassitah, 1910. 4 Bulaq (Cairo): al-Matba'ah al-Amiriyah al-Kubra, 1312/1894. 5 Cairo, 1905. ^"Zaynab Fawwäz" in al-Jumhuriyyah vol. 8 (July 1964): 7. Also from a manuscript in the former library of the author Jurji Biz, who acquired the reputation of being the "Supporter of Women". 2

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In conclusion, what we have attempted in this presentation is to redress the neglect, prejudice and ignorance of critics who resented the role the Shawam played in the cultural renaissance, often out of willfulness. T o be sure many people among the S h a w a m were influenced by their training and proclivities to derive inspiration from Western literature and methods, and, in an age of anti-Western attitudes and manifest hostility, they could not differentiate between the politics and culture of Christian Europe. Nevertheless, their contribution must be seen in its fullest light, if nothing else, for its stimulating important modern trends while remaining not altogether oblivious of the Arabo-Islamic cultural heritage. It should also be seen as stimulating a revival of native cultural achievements based on the legacy of a glorious past and casting it in a new m o d e of expression using n e w techniques of simplification and unaffected styles of writing. One must not neglect at the same time the new genres that evolved in consequence of this revival and the fermentation that ensued, especially as pertains to the performing arts and themes of literary writings across the whole range of authorship.

CENSORSHIP AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN OTTOMAN SYRIA AND EGYPT

Censorship of printed material had an earlier start in the Syro-Lebanese region of the Ottoman Empire than in Egypt and intensified gradually in direct proportion to the increase in criticism of the established order and the custodians thereof. Besieged by internal and external pressures aimed at disrupting what unity was left in the Ottoman Empire and threatening now to disrupt the social balance of its core, the Arabo-Muslim heartland, Ottoman rulers and their administrative representatives hoped to head off further disintegration by tightening the reins of control so as to prevent what was construed as political sedition and dishonor to established institutions. But writers who championed freedom of expression were convinced that they were speaking up as loyal citizens motivated by sincere desires to reform the system and to eliminate measures ensuing from policies of suppression and misrule. As one writer put it, Ottomans like myself are not in the vanguard of civilised nations nor in their trail, nor even in a state of negligence because in spite of all suppressive efforts they have still taken an important step forward in the world and in civilization. 1 Sallm Sarkis, the boldest protagonist of free expression, summed up the sentiment of fellow writers in an open letter dated 25 April 1896, and addressed to Sultan Abdiilhamid, which he dispatched to Istanbul from his safe haven in Cairo while enjoying the immunity provided him by an official of the British embassy there. The letter and examples illustrating his complaints were later published in a monograph entitled 'Aja'ib al-Maktubji [Rarities of the Censor], and was ironically dedicated to Sultan Abdiilhamid by his critics. 2 The work represented a formal appeal to the sultan calling on him to remove the impediments barring the achievement of full and unrestricted freedom of expression, which had had a negative impact on all areas of writing. He reflected the sentiment of other journalists, who stressed the fact that in entering this their plea they were acting as proud Ottomans and loyal subjects seriously disturbed by the ill-effects of misrule and general mismanagement of the affairs of the empire in the provinces and the impact thereof on the Ottoman society's potential for survival, modernization, and growth. "The cause of all our misfortunes", stated Sarkis, "is the attempt by officials to smother our minds as they would our lives." 3 During this critical period in Ottoman-Arab relations, when the survival of their commonly shared values was at stake, writers had become a restless lot. After enduring centuries of intellectual stagnation, they burst upon the scene with renewed vigor, stimulated by new knowledge and ideas made available to them through fresh experiences derived from immediate contacts with progressive European nations and their enlightened ideals. Such contacts made them aware of their own society's state of over-all stagnation. They now believed they knew how to awaken it and instill new life into it, fully confident of their milieu's potential for intellectual, social, and political growth. Such were the men who were

'Salmi Sarkis, 'Aja'ib al-Maktubji (Cairo, 1896), p. 6. ^The original autographed copy was seen by this writer in the Belediye Kiitiiphanesi in Istanbul. 3 0/>. cit., p. 7.

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identified with the "Arab renaissance," and who in spite of all handicaps placed in their path did indeed succeed ultimately in flooding their audiences with modern and progressive ideas. They placed their mark on the literary revival movement, to the inception of which they contributed substantially if they did not sire it in the first instance.

Evolution of the Press The attitude of censorship was determined to a large extent by the orientation and content of publications, mainly newspapers and journals. It behoves us therefore to highlight the course of their evolution, both in Syria and in Egypt. With Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, we witness the introduction of the earliest publications: Decade Egyptienne and Courrier d'Egypte, both short-lived, terminating with the end of the expedition. The subsequent development of a national press covers four periods: (1) formative years during the reign of Mehmed Ali, (2) from Mehmed Ali to the reign of Khedive Isma'il, (3) from Isma'il to the British occupation, and (4) the period of the British occupation. It was during the latter two periods that the era of censorship commenced in Egypt. The intervening reigns of 'Abbas and Sa'ld, prior to Ismail's, discouraged journalistic activities. No newspapers or journals appeared in Egypt during these years (1849-63). The shift meanwhile was to Syria, where the key elements in the rise of educational and cultural activities, foreign missionaries and their establishments, took the lead in fostering the introduction of presses and publications. There, in 1851, Eli Smith published the first journal, yearly at first and then trimestrially thereafter till the end of its short-lived existence in 1855. 1 From its inception the Arabic press in Syria developed a strong political orientation owing to the disturbed situation there, with the Crimean War and the events culminating in the bloody internecine strifes of 1858-60 leaving their scars on the inhabitants and the arbiters of their affairs. Intense foreign involvements in the domestic affairs of these Ottoman provinces and the over-all exigencies of the so-called Eastern Question had an impact on both the content and tone of the nascent press in Syria. The first non-official political publication was Mir'at alAhwal of Rizq Allah Hassun of Aleppo in 1854. It lasted little over a year owing to its bitter attacks on the Turks and the government. When an order for the arrest of the owner was issued by the authorities, Rizq Allah fled to Russia 2 In 1858 Khalil al-Khuri published for the first time his Hadiqat alAkhbar, and in 1860 Fu'ad Pasha, the Ottoman foreign minister who at that time had come to Syria to deal with the aftermath of the 1860 incidents, proposed to him that he convert his newspaper into a semi-official publication and arranged for him a monthly stipend until the official publication Suriya came out. It resumed an official status during the governorship of Franco Pasha in Lebanon, 1869-73. For a short period he remade Hadiqat al-Akhbar into the official organ of the country. Other newspapers pioneered by Syrians during this early period in and out of their homeland include 'Atarid and Birjis Boris in 1858, published respectively in Marseilles and Paris, the latter by Count Rashid Dahdah until taken over in its fifth year by Sulayman ^Filib Tarrazi, J u r j Zaydan,

2

Ta'rlkh a-Sahafa al-'Arablya (Beirut, 1913), 1:53. Ta'rlkh Adab al-Lugha al-'Arabiya, vol. 4, ed. Shawqi

Dayf (Cairo, n.d.), p. 53.

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al-Jaza'iri al-Tunisi; al-Jawa'ib of A h m a d Fâris a l - S h i d y â q , 1860 in Istanbul until 1884, subsidized by the Ottoman government, in whose bureau of translations the owner-editor served on occasion and whose newspaper had a strong impact on literary circles and men of authority both at the capital and in the Arabic-speaking regions of the empire 1 ; Nafir Sûrïya of Butrus al-Bustàni in 1860, right after the incidents of that year but short-lived in duration; and al-Rà'id al Tunisi in 1861. A m o n g the publications directly induced or sponsored officially by the Ottoman district governors can be listed Suriya at Damascus in 1865; al-Furat at Halab in 1867 through the recommendation of Cevdet Pasha; Lubnan at Beirut, put out by Da'ud Pasha, the first Mutasarrif of Mount Lebanon in 1867; and al-Zawra' by Midhat Pasha at Baghdad in 1869. Interestingly enough, it was during this period that the term jarïdah came to be employed formally to describe the newspaper; hitherto it had gone by the appellations al-nashra, al-waraqa al-khabarlya, or al-waqat and the like 2 . Official publications in Egypt at this time include al-Waqat al-Misriya, introduced by Mehmed Ali in 1828, first in both Arabic and Turkish and later in Arabic only. But the first non official publication was the biweekly Wàdi al-Nil of Abu al-Sa'ud in 1866, at Cairo, which terminated with the death of its owner in 1879. The over-all assessment of the early Syrian press by those who studied it is that it was not on a par with later publications in Egypt, Tunis, Europe, and Istanbul. This is attributed to the pressures of censorship, which appeared in Syria quite early. Almost from the start the American Mission's press ran into difficulty with Ottoman authorities in Beirut on account of certain publications of undetermined origins. In his letter to the governor dated 31 March 1849, Eli Smith wrote: Since its establishment fourteen years ago, our press has printed circulars for the government, the customs office and merchants in addition to various books on general knowledge and Christianity. W e have never been told, before now, that there was anything in all this product contrary to the noble shak' or the wishes of the high authorities in the guarded mahrusah Ottoman dominions. The press has been following similar lines as all the numerous Christian presses in this country. 3 Ottoman authorities were highly sensitized to the wedding of politics and religion in the squabbles of feudal and sectarian parties in the Syrian region, so ripe with the spirit of partisanship. Since the return of the Syrian provinces to direct Ottoman control with the aid of the major European powers in 1841, there was almost no end to the impact of foreign intervention in the administration of this area through the manipulation of protégés steeped in petty rivalries ensuing often from selfish personal ambitions. 4 It was quite natural that Ottoman administrators should wish to curb writings heavy with the aroma of political and religious sedition. The zeal of the Protestant missions of the Church Mission Society of England and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions of Boston in making converts f r o m the traditional Near Eastern Greek and Roman sects coupled with the disdain of the native Muslim inhabitants for their activities intensified hostile feelings on both sides. The situation reached such a point in 1864 that the Jesuit fathers pressed Uniate Christians and Ottoman

' The newspaper continued to publish until the death of the owner-editor in 1907; for details see Tarrazi, op. cit., pp. 55-60. "Zaydan, op. cit., p. 54. 3 Cited by A. L. Tibawi, American Interests in Syria, 1800-1901 (Oxford, 1966), pp. 126-27. ^Details in my "Problems of the Ottoman Administration in the Lebanon," Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 1957.

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authorities to curb Protestant publication activities. It is believed such pressures were directly responsible for inducing Ottoman authorities the following year to institute rigid censorship for the purpose of silencing the American press, though the Catholic press of the Jesuits ran the risk of being subjected to the same type of restrictions. 1 Thus the first press rules introduced by the Ottomans in Syria came into force in January 1865 with the specific object of curbing what could be construed as political sedition. They called for the inspection of newly printed books, pamphlets, and newspapers. 2 Although the rules did not discriminate between Muslim and Christian publications, it was Christian publishers and writers who bore the brant of censorship since very f e w Muslims were engaged in publishing during this formative period. 3 The impact of the earliest form of censorship was felt in Beirut, the center of literary activity in Syria, and revolved around both political and religious subjects. As noted earlier, it was the Syrian press that had carried the banner of resistance to what it dubbed "Ottoman misrule" and first called for the assertion of an Arab identity. It had progressed from a state of simply printing news items, official decrees, commercial titbits, and bureaucratic decisions to one of strong editorialization on prevailing political and social conditions. 4 The languages employed at first were Arabic and Turkish, then Arabic and French. Though semi-colloquial and weak, the Arabic of the press was eventually upgraded by the efforts of two erudite watchdogs and litterateurs in their own right, Ibrahim a t Y a z i j i and Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, who resented colloquialization and the wholesale imbibing of foreign expressions by writers ignorant of their own language's wealth of expressions. Ottoman censorship restricted the efflorescence of the press in Syria and stultified its growth in the dccade and a half following its coming into being, the case of Abd al-Rahman alKawakibi being a good one in point. 5 He was an example of those w h o not only severely criticized bureaucratic practices in his home city of Aleppo but also preached freedom of the press, suffering persecution and having his publications confiscated or suspended one after the other. In justifying publication of al-Shahba', al-Kawakibi explained his motif: "to fulfil all obligations incumbent upon popular newspapers: publicize "the niceties of events' and the evil deeds of officials, expose the needs of the country to those in charge, and publish all that which is decreed by teaching good manners and widening the circle of knowledge, both educational and political. 6

^See Missionary Herald 60 (1864): 141. I n Ibid. 61 (1865): 104. 3 T h e first Muslim journal in Syria was Thamarát al-Funün in 1885, organ of the society of Arts (Jam'iyat alFunün) under the presidency of Sa'd al-Din Hamada; it was managed and directed by 'Abd al-Qadir al-Qabbani and continued publication until 1908. For more see Tarrazi, op. cit., 2:25-27. In Iraq, besides al-Zawrdto which the leading poets al-Zahawi and al-Rusafi contributed tehir editorial talents, official publications appeared eventually at Mosul and Basra. Altogether there were only three newspapers in Iraq until the Young Turk revolt and the proclamation of the constitution on 23 July 1908. See Anwar al-Jundi, al-Sahdja alSiySsiya (Cairo, 1962), pp. 13-14. 4 A1-Jundi, op. cit., p. 12. 5 S e e chapters "On Freedom" and "Struggle with the Ottomans" in Muhammad 'Amara, al-'Amal al-Kamila li'Abd al-Rahmdn al-Kawakibi (Cairo, 1970). ^Al-Jundi, op. cit., p. 47. 2

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The Syrian press continued to hammer away at the issue of freedom and unity. During his brief ascendancy in the councils of the central government and his appointment in Syria, the liberal and reformist attitude of Midhat Pasha contributed considerably to the trend toward f r e e d o m . 1 The expansion of educational facilities and the establishment of constitutional rule aroused Syrian writers to demand liberty to criticize prevailing ills. 2 Authorities, meanwhile, ostensibly condoned critical writings, but seized every opportunity to redirect the strength of the press in support of the government. Newspaper owners were flattered with rank and medals, and the recalcitrant had "their pencils broken," i.e., were prevented from writing, and were either imprisoned or forced into exile. This insidious two-pronged approach was continued by British authorities following the occupation of Egypt. Both knew how to c o m b i n e f e a r and encouragement, the granting or withholding of support from newspaper editors, and permitting proliferation in newspaper publications so as to create confusion in the contradictory stances many of them represented, all for the sake of watering down the opposition spearheaded by the nationalist press. Sultan Abdiilhamid tolerated only a f e w of the Syrian publications, namely, those that gave in to him, e.g., the Jawa'ib of al-Shidyaq. A m o n g the newspapers and journals that appeared in the early 1870s and managed to stand up for a while during the reign of his predecessor, Abdiilaziz, were al-Zahra' of Yusuf al-Shalfun, al-Bashir of the Jesuit fathers, al-Janna and al-Jinan of Butrus al-Bustani, and al-Nahla of the Reverend Luwis al-Sabunji, with its strong tones and hostile argumentations. They all contributed materially in one form or another to the generation of the renaissance trend with its lasting social, political, and literary impact on awakening Arabic society. Intolerable conditions fostered by Abdtilhamid's authoritarian rule and the arbitrariness of his officials in Syria had much to do with the emigration in the late seventies of intellectuals and writers who would not be intimidated. From the point of view of Ottoman authorities, writers were not particularly prudent either in their choice of topics or in the manner of commenting and criticism. H a s s u n ' s Mir'dt al-Ahwal, the first newspaper in the Arabic language, was suspended within a year following its appearance, but its publisher was not to be deterred. Emigrating to London, he reinstitutcd the newspaper there in 1876 and continued the battle. In 1879 he converted it into a political journal with the twofold aim of resolving both the "Egyptian" and the "Eastern" questions. 3 Articles of unknown authorship attributed to Ibrahim al-Yaziji attacked both authorities and men of the cloth, the former in the call for an Arab awakening with strong nationalist and separatist appeals, and the latter in likening clerics unto devils disguised in priestly robes. 4 Faris al-Shidyaq's brother As'ad was the first victim of priestly intolerance when the Maronite hierarchy would not tolerate seeing a brilliant young communicant convert to Protestantism in the late 1820s while in the service of the newly arrived mission in Beirut. Faris himself was forced to leave his country under related pressures. 5 Butrus al-Bustani, also a

' Ziiydan, op. cit, p. 57. F o r more see Muhammad Kurd 'Ali, Khitat al-Sham (Damascus, 1927), 4:90. 3 Luwis Shaykhu, al-Adab al-'Arabiya fi 'l-Qarn al-Tasi' 'Ashar (Beirut, 1926), 2:50. 4 Ibid„ p. 43. 5 Elie Kedourie, The Chatham House Version (London, 1970), pp. 320-21. 2

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Maronite, appeared to advance in some of his writings a sort of ideal natural religion to unite men divided by warring dogmas and ended up hiding in an American missionary's house to escape the wrath of his patriarch.1 Another good example of religious skepticism and indifferentism coupled with anticlericalism is the case of Adïb Ishâq, a brilliant young writer of Greek Catholic background from Damascus. He was educated in its Lazarist school but compelled to emigrate to Alexandria in 1876 in search of freedom of expression. Armed with a letter of introduction, he went to Jamâl al-Din al-Afghani in Cairo the following year and immediately became one of his most ardent disciples. Al-Afghani's ideals and preachings were presented in the pages of Ishaq's newspaper Misr, which he established with another émigré from Syria, Salïm al-Naqqâsh. 2 Although forced into exile for his outspoken frankness, Ishâq continued his battle against the establishment and its archaic institutions from Paris until his failing health compelled him to return to Syria and reside in Beirut. There he was attracted to Freemasonry, since the secrecy of the organization was particularly conducive to its quiet fostering of progressive and social humanitarian ideals. He, like other religious skeptics, undertook to defend Freemasonry and was locked in a polemical duel with the Jesuit fathers and the editors of their chief publications, al-Mashriq and al-Bashir. 3 Shaykhu, then editor of al-Mashriq, wrote later that the Masonic chapter in Beirut was abolished in consequence of its members' attack on established religions, their strong criticism of government, and their partisanship. 4 Another subject that occasioned reaction from custodians of religion and the authorities was Darwinism. Before being transplanted to Egypt, al-Muqtataf of Ya'qub Sarruf and Paris Nimr was formally rebuked by the vali for espousing both Darwinism and anticlericalism. The editors were told that some of their articles had exceeded the limits of propriety and that to continue to publish in such veins was perturbing to both public opinion and the general good. Al-Bashir, which had been drawn into the feud with the Darwinists and anticlerics, also suffered rebuke for its polemics and personal attacks. It was told following publication of an article condemning Voltaire that it had cited "among others a seditious sentence the publication of which was forbidden." 5 Shibli Shumayyil, perhaps the leading Arab Darwinist of his time, also emigrated to Egypt in search of freedom to continue defense of his views. While there he was one of the earliest specifically to address himself to the question of freedom of the press in an article so entitled that Adïb Ishâq published in his Misr al-Fatat.6 Men like Ishâq, Sarrùf, Shumayyil, and numerous other writers influenced by Western thought and ideals had been compelled to carry on their struggle outside their home country when the relative freedom of the seventies vanished with the tightening of controls under Abdulhamid.

1

Henry Jessup, Fifty-Three Years in Syria (New York, 1910), pp. 483-84. Salim 'Anhuri, Sihr Marat (Damascus, 1885); see also Niqfila Yusuf, A'lim min al-Iskandarlya (Alexandria, 1879), pp. 464 seq. 3 See dispatch from French Consul Patrimomo with attached newspaper clippings in Archives du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Correspondence politique des consuls, Beyrouth, 27, no. 210: Beirut, 6 September 1884. ^Shaykhu, op. cit., p. 133. 5 See text of a letter from the Maktubji of the vilayet in Hadiqat al-Akhbàr, 1884, and Elie Kedourie, "The Death of Adib Ishaq", Middle Eastern Studies, 9 (January 1973): 99. 6 Shibli Shumayyil, "Hurriyat al-Tibâ'a wa Qânun al-Matbu'ât" in his Majmu'a (Cairo, 1908), 2:328. 2

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The sultan soon realized, however, that it was not advantageous for him to permit recalcitrant critics to continue their criticisms from distant European capitals. By a variety of inducements, including bribery with money and decorations, he succeeded in winning over some of his opponents. Ibrahim al-Muwaylihi was induced to cease publishing his al-Khilàfa, which had been coming out in Italy since 1867 in Arabic and Turkish, and also his al-Ittihad, al-Anbà ' and al-Raja which he had been publishing in France. Al-Muwaylihi was a devoted Muslim and loyal citizen who felt that the Ottoman sultans were betraying the Muslim cause in selling their country to foreign powers, specifically to England and Russia. He questioned their fitness to fulfil their roles as caliphs when Muslims "were falling prey to the snakes" and their lands were being assailed by outsiders.1 He called for concerted action by Muslims everywhere to preserve the integrity of their lands and heritage and assailed in the process Muslim rulers for being opportunistic in the pursuit of self interests and sultans for being derelict in the discharge of their caliphal role. 2 He relayed a news item from the English newspaper the Standard, which had published decisions made in Istanbul by authorities prohibiting Ottoman newspapers from discussing current politics, news of which had become the subject of ridicule in the Parisian press. 3 Through money and flattery, Abdiilhamid finally succeeded in getting al-Muwaylihi to retreat to Istanbul in 1886, where the two subsequently became friends. With the Sultan's encouragement al-Muwaylihi instituted in Egypt another publication, Misbah al-Sharq, which he dedicated to the service of Abdiilhamid and collected handsome rewards from him for his efforts. 4 Ahmad Fàris al-Shidyaq was one of those who endorsed British policies in the East and advanced their interests until the Ottoman government applied pressure against him. His al-Jawà'ìb was soon converted to the support of the Ottoman caliphate, khedival rule in Egypt, and the bey of Tunis; and for staying on the right side of the authorities, he was subsidized to the tune of five hundred pounds sterling a year by the sultan-caliph. 5 But other newspaper publishers like Khalil Ghànim refused to be lured back by money and decorations to the side of the sultan. Ghanim married a Frenchwoman and remained in Paris. Luwis Sabunji was one of the ardent supporters of British policies who continued to serve their interests in Egypt during the occupation period. He published al-Nahla in London, commencing in 1877, in both Arabic and English, and also al-Ittihad al-'Arabi and al-Khilafa. The latter was financed by the British with a capital expenditure of ten thousand pounds. In it Sabunji attacked the Ottoman caliphate and spoke unkindly of Islam and of Sultan Abdiilhamid and his ministers. His al-Khilàfa was translated into Turkish, Persian, and Hindu and circulated widely by courtesy of the British. But Abdiilhamid managed in the end to lure Sabunji back to Istanbul in 1890, and henceforth he worked for the sultan's interests. 6 Owing to the spirit of freedom that prevailed immediately after the deposition of Sultan Abdiilaziz and in the second half of Khedive Ismà'il's reign, Syrian writers and intellectuals flocked to Egypt. There they started numerous publications, which were tolerated as long as they did not criticize the person of the khedive. The oldest such publications were launched in

'See the weekly al-Ittihàd-1'Union, no. 3, 7 October 1880. lbid., no. 2, 24 September 1880.

Z 4

no. 3, 7 October 1880. A1-Iundi, op. cit., p. 43.

5

Ibid., p. 41. Ibid.

6

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Alexandria, namely the short-lived al-Kawkab al-Sharqi of Salim Pasha al-Hamawi in 1873, followed by al-Ahrám of Salim and Bishára Taqla in 1875, which moved to Cairo the following year and still publishes as perhaps the leading Arabic newspaper in the Arab world today. Then came al-Mahrüsa of Adib Isháq and Salim al-Naqqash in 1879. The press in Egypt at this time enjoyed full freedom. It flourished through government encouragement, namely because of the enlightened policies of Riyad Pasha, who was particularly well disposed and helpful, both culturally and financially. 1 That the Syrian émigrés, mostly Christians, should take the initiative in the advancement of journalistic publications was logical in view of their having had greater educational opportunities in their home country and thus being better equipped for it. They also came with a purpose: continue the struggle to redress the ills of Ottoman society as they saw them. But prudence was not their motto in Egypt any more than it had been in Syria for some of them. Extremists, remaining the standard-bearers of attack on the Ottoman system and its custodians, called for an Arab caliphate and Arab unity. In their extremism they allowed themselves to become the tools of foreign interests whose policies aimed at disrupting Ottoman political hegemony in the most crucial provinces of the empire. Yet up till the British occupation, most newspapers of whatever predisposition were concerned primarily with the welfare of Egypt and that which promoted it. There was little concern with other countries, except for al-Ahram, which was quite clearly a partisan of France and a promoter of French interests. It was the occupation that finally precipitated the rise of partisanship in the press. New issues became constant topics of concern: the occupation itself and the demand for evacuation, the so-called Egyptian question, and the Ottoman question-all now considered serious problems worthy of attention. Besides Sabunji's in England some newspapers became distinctly pro-British, others sided with France against Britain, to wit, Kawkab al-Mashriq (L'Astre d'Orient), a weekly published in Paris with the lead article discussed under the heading of "La France en Orient." 2 In Egypt the first clearly pro-British publication was al-Zamdn of 'Alkasan Sarafian, the first daily newspaper. When shut down by the government, its owner went to Cyprus and there published in 1889 the also short-lived newspaper Dik al-Sharq. In that year, at the urgings of the British occupation authorities, Faris Nimr introduced al-Muqattam, which lasted until 1952 and became one of the most important publications in Egypt since it was looked upon as the organ of the British, through whose aegis it enjoyed for a while the widest circulation in the country. Such partisanship in turn precipitated the rise of the nationalist press, with al-Afghani taking the lead in urging it into being. He incited such publications and supervised a number of them, calling for freedom of Muslim lands from imperialist control. Among his disciples who responded were Isháq and Naqqásh, founders of Misr and al-Tijara; 'Abd al-Rahmán al-Kawakibi, institutor of al-Shahbd' in 1877 and al-Nidal in 1879; and Ya'qüb Sannü', who introduced for the first time the elements of satire and caricature to resist both the British and

^Zaydan, op. cit., p. 57. First appeared on 24 June 1882; available at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

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Khedive Ismail. Exiled to France, Sannu" founded in Paris his Abu Naddara using the spoken language to reach a broader segment of Arabic readers. He attacked the British occupation with the slogan "Egypt for the Egyptians." He also supported French cultural influence. Ending up also in France, al-Afghani and Muhammad 'Abduh published their al-'Urwa al-Wuthqa in Paris, the first issue dated 13 March 1884. It was a bold newspaper that advocated Islamic unity and destruction of British influence both in Egypt and in India. Altogether only eighteen issues appeared, and the British tried hard to keep the publication out of the reach of both Indians and Egyptians. 1 But the standard-bearer of the nationalist press was 'Ali Yusuf s al-Muayyad, established the year following the appearance of al-Mugattam, no doubt in angry response to it. Al-Mu'ayyad came to play a great role in championing the nationalist and Islamic cause. 2 Egypt had now become the home of the Arabic press, and in observing its fate, three distinct periods can be discerned. (1) 1892-1900, when about one hundred and fifty newspapers appeared, more than in the previous sixty-three years, owing to the relatively free rein granted the press. Rules governing such publications were relaxed in practice and the posting of financial bonds in advance was not insisted on. The orientation of the press during this time was predominantly cultural and educational. (2) 1900-1910, which was characterized by intense political and nationalist activities and in which polemics against the occupation intensified. During this period the Ottoman throne and the Islamic caliphate seriously preoccupied nationalists. Mustafa Kamil and the organ of his party al-Liwa' spearheaded nationalist activities. (3) 1910-1914, during which time Gorst replaced Cromer as resident and consul general (1883-1907) and adopted a more relaxed attitude toward the press until the assassination of Foreign Minister Butrus Ghali in 1910. Kitchener (1911-1914), Gorst's successor, felt compelled to restrict once again the activities of the press because of the intense nationalist spirit supposedly fostered by the unrestricted press. As a consequence al-Liwa', al-'Alam, Misr al-Fatat, and other newspapers similarly oriented were shut down. Thenceforth it was much more difficult to obtain a license to start a newspaper, and only a few of the bigger ones managed to survive. 3 As for the over-all orientation of publications during this year, two trends are discernible: (1) the nationalist press, shielded by parties, enjoyed popular backing and the guidance of free leaders, and (2) the neutralist press, which went along with those in authority and supported the sultan and ruling classes be they khedival or colonial. The nationalist press expectedly fell by the wayside. Newspapers suffered confiscation and shutdowns, and proprietors and editors, trial and imprisonment. It survived after a fashion through its many ups and downs, while the neutralist press managed to grow and gain readership because its leaders knew how to circumvent adversity with skill, blend in with divergent trends, steer a medial course by supporting the views of the middle-of-the-roaders, and avoid the pitfalls into which the nationalist press stumbled time and again.

' Ai-JundL op. cit., p. 45.

O n its founder see 'Abd al-Latif Hamza, Adab al-Maqala specifically concerned with 'Ali Yusuf and his publication. 3 Zaydan, op. cit., pp. 60-61.

2

al-SuhufiyaftMisr,

vol. 4 (Cairo, n.d.) which is

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Evolution of Censorship Censorship, then, was a key factor in influencing the fortunes of the press, and it behoves us at this point to detail the course of its evolution, how it operated as well as the range of its impact. Press supervision in the Arab world could be dated to Napoleon's legislation of 14 January 1799 with six provisions completed by 'Abd Allah Menou 1 and embodied in. his decree of 26 November 1800 as publicized in VAvertissement. In 1819 Mehmed Ali founded the Bulaq Press, but since it was an official establishment publishing works on science and school texts, 2 it required no formal controls. Its supervisor, Nicola Masabiki, indiscreetly printed a poem entitled "Religion of the Easterners" by the Italian Bilotti, then an instructor in the School of Arts. In it he belittled Islam and Muslims. The attention of the pasha was drawn to the poem by the British consul Solt, who was then feuding with Bilotti, thus occasioning the first act of censorship in Egypt. Masabiki's life was spared through the intercession of someone close to the pasha. On 13 July 1823/4 Zilkade 1238, Mehmed Ali issued a decree forbidding thenceforth the publication of any work at Bulaq before specific clearance was obtained from the pasha himself. 3 The decree applied to both natives and foreigners. 4 He himself supervised al-Waqat al-Misriya from its first appearance in 1828, as did his son, Ibrahim, al-Jarida al-^Askariya. first published around 1833. Two laws governing publications were promulgated in the reign of Said. They were much broader in scope than the preceding one, relating separately to Egyptians and foreigners. Specifically, no item could be contracted or prepared for publication before a copy thereof was reviewed by the Ministry of the Interior to ascertain that it did not contain information harmful to religion and the state, to foreign states and the public; no journals, newspapers, or notices were to be printed without a license from the council of the ministry; books and tracts harmful to religion, the political system, norms of etiquette, and good manners were subject to confiscation by the police and the propagator or owner was to be treated as a thief liable to criminal prosecution. The slightest violation of these conditions by a printer exposed his press to closure and himself to punishment in accordance with the law, and he who sought to make a living out of publishing had to commit himself beforehand to honor the conditions detailed in these laws. 5 By and large, Sa'id (1854-63) remained friendly to foreign publications in Egypt; and as a consequence of his tolerance, five French and Italian newspapers were launched during his reign. However, because of their rival and conflicting views and in order to ensure against attacks on the country, the government instituted censorship, granting license to publish only on the condition that there would be no violation of the laws of the state or derogatory statements made against the ruler. 6 Nevertheless, some infractions were committed, and Sa'id's government was

1 Alias Baron Jacques François de Menou, successor of Kléber as general commander of the Frcnch expeditionary force to Egypt, repatriated by terms of the Treaty of Amiens of 1802 following his defeat by the British at Alexandria in Marchm 1801. For more on the press during this period, see Salahiddinc Boustany, The Press during the French Expedition in Egypt, 1798-1801, (Cairo, 1954). 2 See Abu al-Futuh Radwan, Ta'rikh Matba'at Bulaq (Cairo, 1953), for the extent of its publications. B. Brocchi, Giornale Esteso in Egitto nella Siria... (Bassano, 1841), 1:370. 4 Ibrahim 'Abduh, Tatawwur al-Sahàfa al-Misriya, 1798-1951, 3d printing (Cairo, 1951), p. 260. ^For full text see 'Abdin Archives, Mahfaza, Daftar Majmu' Idara wa Ijra'at, p. 207. 6 'Abdin Archives, Mahfuzàt, no. 31, Sijill 525 (Ma'iya Turki), p. 64, section 11.

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obliged to remind foreign consuls of the circular governing foreign publications issued in Istanbul on 6 January 1857. 1 In the laws issued that year for the purpose of regulating the relations of the- Sublime Porte with nationals of foreign powers residing in the Ottoman Empire, there is a special section relating to the press, and this too was reproduced for the consuls to pass onto their nationals in Egypt. The salient features of this section stressed the following prohibitions: no criticism whatever of the government's affairs; no focus on matters that were not of immediate concern to the sultanate but that could upset good relations between nations; provincial news editors must confine themselves to stating the facts and not commenting on them or on the actions of officials; correspondence should not be published without clearance first f r o m the bureau of the press; if time did not permit draft copies to be reviewed by censors, then the opening article was to be orally discussed with the supervisor of the bureau and the editor must agree to follow his recommendations; the advice of the bureau was to be taken seriously in order to avoid the publicizing of false news; newspapers must belie and correct articles published in Europe if the bureau so decreed; every violation of the foregoing was to be punished first by a warning and following three such warnings by the temporary or permanent suspension of the publication; and, if such crime was repeated when no exceptions applied, the punishment would be twofold; finally, whosoever established without license a printing press, denigrated in writing the government, an official of the Sublime Porte, or any state subject to Ottoman jurisdiction was to have his publication liable to suspension or confiscation and he himself to punishment with fines ranging between five and fifty Mejidi. pounds depending on the nature of the offense committed. 2 Copies of the law were circulated among consular representatives of foreign powers with instructions to their nationals who were already engaged in publishing to apply for formal licenses or cease publication within a month's time. They were also informed of the establishment in the foreign ministry of a press bureau with authority to enforce this law. 3 T o counter libellous articles, this bureau did not hesitate to provide Ottoman editors with appropriate information and data. 4 It was also common for authorities to observe a double standard in dealing with foreign and native publishers. Foreign editors often had the advantage of enjoying the immunity of consular protection, and officials found it difficult to take action against violators among them. 5 Hence, it was the native editor who tended to bear the brunt of repression. For such and similar reasons, they realized there could be no freedom of expression as long as the government arbitrarily reserved for itself the right to decide what should or should not be printed.

1 On Ottoman legislation concerning the press, see Hariciye Ar§ivi, vol. 3, nos. 1-25 (Archives of the Sublime Porte) and 'Abd al-Majid Sâdiq Ramadan, Evolution de la législation sur la presse en Egypte (Cairo 1935). z ' A b d u h , op. cit., pp. 264-65. 3 Ibid., p. 266. 4 Ibid., p. 267. C Abduh (op. cit., p. 268) cites the case of one Muhammed Hàshim, subject of the Algerian 'Abd al-Qadir alJazâ'iri, who had established without license a movable-type press. When the police sought to take action, the governor prevented it on grounds that "not all are equal before the law."

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It was not till January 1865 that the central government of the sultan enacted the law of publications applicable to all citizens, even though the sadrazam did not officially promulgate it before 13 March 1867. In substance it departed but little from the law of 1857. Altogether it contained thirty-five provisions. The most significant items were those that stressed the need for newspaper operators to be Ottoman nationals not less than thirty years of age, with no record of violation, and for editors to submit a copy of the publication draft to the minister of education for review before a final copy could be printed and circulated. Clause three permitted foreigners to publish provided they abided by the same laws governing native citizens and agreed in advancc to submit to the Ottoman judicial process, not consular courts, for the adjudication of violations. The government specifically reserved for itself the right to withhold or grant licenses without explanation. 1 The relaxation of controls in the 1870s came about as a result of the imperial rescript of 11 December 1870. It announced formally freedom of the press in the entire Ottoman realm but without officially abrogating all existing prior laws, decrees, and ordinances providing for the abolition of foreign publications if administrative considerations warranted such action.'- In Egypt, Khedive Isma'il (1863-79) was particularly interested in cultivating the press, and in the process he allowed it such freedoms as prevailing laws often militated against. To be sure, the ultimate power of control rested with him, and for that reason perhaps he chose to be lenient. Over seventy newspapers and journals came into being during his reign, or were permitted to publish, even though not all were favorably disposed toward him and his policies. In this period even the bureau of the press was more carefully and meticulously administered. 3 On 26 October 1866 Isma'il Raghib, official in charge of foreign affairs, informed the Sublime Porte that the khedive's government would comply with the imperial rescript's provision for the institution of a press bureau in the foreign ministry for the purpose of enforcing laws governing publications.^ A khedival order to that effcct was not issued until 28 April 1869, when the bureau was formally constituted, consisting of three foreign and two native members and presided over by Goudard Bey, who at the same time was heading the European bureau. The two Egyptians reviewed the Arabic and Turkish press and the three Europeans the foreign language press. The bureau remained operative until the end of the khedive's reign, with one important modification in 1878: on 1 December the khedive ordered surveillance of the native press, which he placed in the Ministry of the Interior under the directorship of al-Waqat

al-Misriya's

supervisor. 5

Thenceforth, for all practical purposes, the foreign press began to slip out of surveillance with a commensurate rise of a chorus of strong protestations from native publishers, who felt, and rightly so, that they were being discriminated against. 6 The foreign ministry bureau issued licenses to foreign nationals on petitions submitted through their respective consuls following

hbid; pp. 268-69. Ibid„ p. 269. ' A b d i n Archives, no. 9 of 26 M 1293. 4 ' A b d i n Archives, no. 374, Mahfaza 29 ( M a ' l y a Turki) of 15 J 1283; for details concerning this bureau see no. 11, Daftar 560 (Ma'lya Turki), note of 1 Sh 1283 from the vali to the foreign ministry. 5 ' A b d i n Archives, Mahfuzat, no. 9 of 26 M 1293. ®See the reaction of the supervisor of al-Waqa'i' al-Misrlya to a practice "which is against what Ottoman and other civilized nations observe" in al-Tijara of 15 May 1879. 2

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the approval of the khedive himself, 1 The would-be publisher had to commit himself in advance to abide by all pertinent laws, and to not sell or transfer management of the licensed publication unless the new owner first petitioned for a license in his own name through proper channels. 2 The same procedure applied if the manager of a publishing newspaper or journal sought to expand the scope of his publication beyond what was spelled out in the original petition as approved by the bureau and the khedives. 3 The khedive on occasion turned down such requests. 4 Unlike foreign publishers, native owners did not have to go through an intermediary to secure their licenses. They could petition directly to the bureau by means of an 'ardhal.5 The new situation persisted until the enactment of the law of publications of 29 November 1881, when the process of surveillance for both the native and foreign press was united in the Ministry of the Interior. This law might be termed the most significant legislation of its kind enacted in Egypt, 6 coinciding as it did with the beginnings of Tawfiq's khedivate (1880-92) and events surrounding the 'Urabi uprising that culminated immediately in the British occupation. The 'Urabi revolt had served to galvanize the partisanship trend already manifest in the multiplicity of journalistic publications, and the ensuing occupation simply added fuel to the fire of separatism and nationalism. There was nothing particularly new in this law. In twenty-three provisions existing rules were more carefully spelled out and ambiguities occasioning complaints from publishers in the past clarified. The first ten provisions specified conditions for starting a publication, matters of licensing, posting bonds, fines and punishment, all essentially as before. T h e next six provisions stressed the need for permits and the nontransferability thereof, the bond posted to be equal in value to one week's circulation of the proposed publication, a fine of between five and twenty pounds for continuing to publish after a cease publication order had been issued if deemed to be disturbing to morals, religion, or public order, or if the publisher attempted to smuggle into the country material under a ban. Provision nineteen spelled out rules f o r circulating publications, and provision twenty-two abrogated all former decrees or rules contradicting terms of this new law. 7 Because of the hardships it engendered, the provision on posting cash bonds was relaxed in a supplementary decree dated 17 January 1883, permitting instead the substitution of personal guarantees. 8 The law of 1881 remained operative until World War I, revised periodically in part. The provision on punishment was rewritten on 14 February 1904 to plug loopholes in the supplementary law on the same of 13 November 1883. Complaints f r o m editors alleging loose and arbitrary interpretations by censors of what constituted items disturbing to public order,

' ' Abdin Archives, Mahfuzat, no. 31, Sijill 525 ( M a ' i y a Turki), section 2. ^'Abdin Archives, Mahfuzat Ta'rlkhlya, nos. 65 and 110; the original is in Mahfaza 30 (Ma'iya Turki) of 3 Z[ 1279. 3'Abdin Acrhives, Mahfuzat, no. 381 and Mahfaza 47 (Ma'iya Turki) of 6 Z 1292. 4 ' A b d i n Archives, Mahfuzat, no. 1280 of 13 S 1280, Daftar 1, p. 61 and no. 8 of 14 S 1286 for khedival rejection of offer by Perenier to publicize news of the stage and cafes and of Alexander Panotsi to publish discourses on belletristic literature (adab). % o r a sample see al-Watan of 17 November 1877. 6 F o r text see al-Waqa'V al-Misrlya of 29 November 1881; details also in Radwan, op. cit., p. 391. 7 I n many ways it achoed the French law of 1853, which was the opposite of the French law on publications of 1881; see Mahmud 'Azini, Mabadi' al-Sahafa al-'Amma (Cairo, 1941), p. 39. S Al-Waqa'i al-Misrlya, 19 January 1883.

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religion, and morals led to further revisions in the enactment of 16 June 1911. Thenceforth what were deemed criminal acts by newspaper publishers became subject to litigation in criminal courts. 1 The whole aim appeared to be one of intimidating the press by eliminating its recourse to preliminary appeal stages. In further emendations subsequently introduced, the right of appeal was barred altogether, allegedly to prevent jeopardising public security. 2 To editors and publishers laws on publication constituted acts of tyranny. Shibli Shumayyil was among the first to address himself directly to this issue in an article that he entitled "Hurriyat al-tiba'a wa qantin al-matbu'at" [Freedom of publishing and the law of p u b l i c a t i o n s ] . 3 The target of his attack was Borelli, bb w h o m he described as "a capable foreigner to w h o m the government delegated [the task of] laying down the substance of this law (1881) which, in the absence of other models, was based on a French prototype. 4 In a letter to Borelli accompanying a copy of the article, Shumayyil asks: "How could you participate in a scheme to stifle freedom when you yourself were deprived of yours in your own h o m e country?". 5 From his account it is clear, however, that khedival authorities made little effort to enforce the provisions of the 1881 law. Apparently only one newspaper (al-Ahram), leaning heavily on a foreign power (France), was suspended for a while with the government compelled in the end to apologize to its owners and to indemnify them for their losses. Not until after 1888 was the law rigorously enforced, and Shumayyil takes the blame for the hardening of official attitudes toward the press. Thereafter editors were hauled into court, and some were jailed, sometimes the innocent along with the deserving, merely for assailing the khedival family or speaking unkindly of the British occupation. 6 The hardening of official attitudes seemed inevitable given the proclaimed aim of zealous publishers. In the first issue of his Misr al-Qahira (24 December 1879), Adib Ishaq stated that his aim in publishing was "to excite the ardor of the East, stir the virtue of Arab blood, lift deceit f r o m the eyes of simpletons, and revive zeal in the hearts of those who know." "Let my people know," he wrote, "that they have a right that has been plundered, which they should restore, and stolen possessions they should retrieve, and let them exit the path of frivolity." With the tone of his publication thus set, Ishaq proceeded to assail the policies of Riyad Pasha, the prime minister under the newly installed Khedive Tawfiq, who quickly earned the enmity of all nationalists. Riyad suspended Ishaq's newspaper, as he had done to the other two critical ones, Misr and Tijdra.1 Ishaq also lashed out against foreign powers w h o m he accused of having de signs on Egypt and was forced to leave the country, seeking refuge in Paris.

*See 'Abd al-Rahmän al-Räfi'i, Muhammad Farïd, Hamz al-Ikhläs wa 'l-Tadhiya (Cairo, 1942), p. 188. ' A b d u h , op. cit., p. 276. See note 6 p. 56 above. ^Lawyer and editorialist of Bosphore Egyptien, and occasionally a dabbler in agriculture and finances; see Jacques Berque, "The Establishment of the Colonial Economy" in W. R. Polk and R. L. Chambers, eds., Beginnings of Modernization in the Middle East (Chicago, 1968), pp. 225-26. ^Shumayyil, op. cit., p. 328. 6 Ibid., p. 334. 7 S e e P. J. Vatikiotis, The Modem History of Egypt (London, 1969), p. 146. 2

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Other ideological correspondents of Ishaq ended up in Paris. Al-Afghani and Sannu' continued the battle from Paris. Tawfiq had placed great faith in al-Afghani, whom he told on none occasion, "You are the repository of my hope in Egypt. 1 In the khedival decree sentencing him to exile, al-Afghani was accused of being one of the instigators and of heading a secret organization bent on corrupting religion and spreading dissension in the world. No newspaper other than Mir'dt al-Sharq dared publish news of his sentence; and because it spoke of al-Afghani with high esteem, the khedive ordered the publication closed for five months. 2

The period of the occupation (1882-1914) following on the heels of the 'Urabi uprising (1879-82) was not, in the long run, particularly favorable to the press. To be sure, Cromer exercised a measure of tolerance toward the press. He believed that freedom would provide a safety valve for zealous writers, which explains the relaxation of official attitudes toward the press in the first five years of the occupation and the multiplication of publications that resulted. But there were numerous opportunists in the new crop of so-called journalists, many with personal axes to grind. It soon became evident that the aim of publishing for them was to carry on vendettas on the pages of their publications against both individuals and groups. Men in sensitive positions and those of means were often maligned and threatened, and their assailants would be silenced more often than not with payoffs. Publishing for them was a good business and a form of potential enrichment. Large gains were made by some at the expense of exploiting the embarrassments and scandalous affairs of others. On the positive side of the ledger, this momentary respite for the press resulted in nearly every faction or ideological group acquiring for itself a spokesman in some publication. 3 During the 'Urabi revolt 'Abd Allah Nadim became the standard-bearer of the opposition, publishing al-Td'if to express its ideals, applauding 'Urabi, and denouncing Britain and the khedive. But with the defeat of 'Urabi, the nationalist press almost ceased to exist for a number of years. Its tone was far from bearable. One might define it as arrogant and defiant, attacking all forms of foreign interference in Egypt, the highhandedness of the khedive's policies and ministers doing the bidding of imperialists, and, in equally vociferous language, the alleged repression of Sultan Abdiilhamid's domestic policies. This segment of the press called for constitutional government and representative bodies elected by the rank and file; for freedom, free institutions, and public welfare through bodies appropriately organized to promote it; for the broadening of the circle of education; and for the enlightenment of public opinion without censorship. Quite clearly, granting publishers the kind of freedom they asked for in the light of their proclaimed aims would not redound with benefit to the establishment. If anything, the lines became more clearly drawn during the occupation, as can be seen in the orientation of important journals and newspapers. Al-Liwa', for example, embodied the bold nationalist sentiment; al-Jarldah, a sectarian newspaper, the moderate attitude, pursuing sobriety and speaking kindly of those in authority; al-Muqattam unabashedly promoted British interests and for all practical purposes was the organ of the occupation; al-Mu'ayyad promoted khedival interests; and al-Ahram waved the tricolors in the name of freedom and all freedom-seekers. Returning to the arena of publication after its brief suspension, al-Ahram proceeded in its first resumed issue (29

* Cited by W. S. Blunt in his My Diaries (London, 1919-20). A1-Jundi, op. cit., p. 48.

2

3

Ibid„ p. 53.

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September 1882) to attack 'Urabi, praise the occupation, particularly General Wolsely, subduer of the 'Urabists, and the ministers who went along with it. But in 1884 it turned on the British because of a shift in French policy over maneuvcrings in the Sudan, and al-Ahram suddenly found itself aligned with the nationalists headed by Mustafa Kamil. France was giving refuge to those incurring the wrath of the occupation; indeed, it had become the nursemaid of all liberation movements and freedom-seekers. It was little wonder that al-Afghani, 'Abduh, Ishaq, Sannu1, and numerous other uprooted intellectuals could publish in France, and that Mustafa Kamil's most vehement polemics against British imperialism should be publicized widely, courtesy of the French. Paris served also as the first home of the earliest Arab conference, staged there in 1913-14. The periodical al-Ustadh of 'Abd Allah Nadim, spiritual mentor of Mustafa Kamil, was shut down by Cromer nine months after its first appearance (13 June 1893) for its strong attacks on British imperialism and opposition to the occupation authorities. When Gorst replaced Cromer as resident and consul general (1907-11), the press entered a more critical stage, one characterized by some as "the stage of sectarian strife," 1 which the British allegedly kindled in the name of the "Christian press." The Coptic newspapers al Watan and Misr, founded in 1877 and 1895 respectively, spearheaded the Christian sectarian trend. Gorst's period marked an intensification of resistance to the nationalist movement, with an increasing number of its publications being confiscated or shut down until eventually only those that "carried incense burners before men in authority" could continue to publish. Relations between Christians and Muslims were aggravated by al-Watan, which on occasion went so far as to call on Britain to exercise full political sway over Egypt, and in its extremeness even suggested that the Copts give up their own nationality. Salih Hamdi Salih best stated the situation in a lecture delivered before the Egyptian conference (9 April-4 May 1913) when he declared: The Coptic press on the one hand and the Muslim on the other were most instrumental in cultivating the separatist spirit. Copts attack Muslims in strong language and besmirch their reputation in fostering intrigues against them, and Muslims retaliate with equal vigor while defending the interests and prestige of the majority inhabitants. 2 The situation was already tense in 1901 when Shumayyil called attention to an additional complicating factor: an increasing number of Ottoman spies were cultivating a segment of the press to vilify the enemies of the sultan without restraint from censorship. A point was reached where newspaper publishers themselves demanded enforcement of the law on publications in order to do away with the chaotic situation that had come to prevail. This was the situation that induced him to write his article "Fawda al-matbu'at" [Chaos of Publications] in the hope of bringing about even-handedness in the treatment of publications. 3 Publishers had banded together in a general association (al-Jam'iya al— 'Umtimiya) to demand an end to yellow journalism and the irresponsibility of some journalists by insisting that supervision on the part of the government be made more strict. 4 He also claimed that it was the ambivalence of the government over the years and the inconsistency of its supervision policies, alternating between extreme harshness and laxity, that contributed to the state of confusion prevailing in the publication industry in his days. 5

l

lbid.

2

Ibid„ pp. 53-54.

Virsl published in al-Muqattam ^Shumayyil, op. cit., p. 335. 5

Ibid., p. 337.

in 1901.

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Gorst responded by pressuring Butrus Ghali, head of the council of ministers at that time, to enforce the provisions of the 1881 law, which were reviewed and restated in stronger terms on 25 March 1909. Thereafter only those who favored the occupation were issued licenses to publish, and the posting of substantial financial bonds was strictly enforced. The Young Turk revolt of the year before had brought about a temporary respite from censorship in the Syrian provinces, but the opposite was occurring in Egypt. Its fluctuating fortunes notwithstanding, the press in Egypt has been credited with the formalization of political parties, the creation of a national university, bringing on the second constitutional attempt, and acceptance of the principle of social amelioration and administrative reforms. It persistently supported liberation for women and for Egypt from British control. World War I brought about a moderation of attitudes on both sides. In Syria the Young Turk movement had been endorsed by the press, which was allowed in consequence of its support a measure of freedom. But this proved very short-lived, as members of the ruling triumvirate began to impose restrictions often harsher than those experienced under Abdtilhamid's rule. World War I put an end to self-rule in Lebanon, schools were closed, and censorship was reimposed on the Syrian press. A number of publications ceased to function altogether, and others were confiscated with increasing frequency. 1 The Catholic press became the special target of the government's wrath, and even its equipment was confiscated. The printing press at Zahle, known as al-Matba'a al-Sharqiya [The Oriental Press], was transferred to al-Hijaz by Ottoman authorities. The owners of another, Matba'at al-Arz [The Cedars Press], the brothers Filib and Farid al-Khazin, were arrested, tried, and executed for treason. Quite expectedly, the Ottoman government, at war against France and Britain on the side of Germany, would take such steps against the Syrian supporters of French policies and permit only government-owned or directly supervised presses to function in these the twilight years of Ottoman hegemony. 2

The example of Salim Sarkis Salim Sarkis's career is a good example of journalistic restlessness, impatience in the face of restraint, and the type of crusading zeal manifested by those who continuously hammered away at the freedom of expression issue. He was born in Beirut (1867) into a publishing family, learning Arabic at home and English at the British School for Girls where his aunt was teaching, then later at a school sponsored by the Scottish church, and ending his secondary studies at 'Ayn Zhalta in Lebanon. It was there at the age of sixteen that he launched his journalistic career by publishing a weekly newspaper that he entitled al-Arz [The CedarsJ. Shortly thereafter he joined his uncle Khalil, who had founded in 1875 the oldest continuously publishing newspaper, Lisdn al-Hdl, and eventually took over its editorship. It was in this capacity that he was first exposed to the workings of censorship, and for his defiance was driven out of Lebanon in 1892.

'Khalil, Sabat, Ta'rlkh al-Tiba'a fi al-Sharq al-'Arabi, 2d printing (Cairo, 1866), p. 71. Ibid., p. 72.

2

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He went to Paris and there with another Lebanese, Amln Arslan, founded Kashf al-Niqab [Lifting the Veil] to promote the ideals of the budding Young Turk movement. Next he went to London, and there he established Ráj' al-Sada [Return of the Echo]. Compelled to leave again because of strong Ottoman embassy pressures, he went to Egypt in 1894 and there set up his weekly al-Mushir [The Counselor], in which he lashed out against his Ottoman persecutors. For this he was condemned to death in absentia, so he fled to the United States, where he sojourned for five years, shuttling between the Boston area and New York. In Boston and nearby Lawrence he founded al-Rawi [The Recounter] and al-Bustan [The Garden], both short-lived as were his other newspapers based in Europe. He returned to Egypt in 1905 and there instituted perhaps his most popular publication of all, Majallat Sarkls [Sarkis's Journal], in which he pioneered the humorous vein of writing. He continued to publish it until his death in 1926. By the time he died, Sarkis had carved out quite a career for himself as newspaperman, author, and agitator, or, as some preferred to describe it, stimulator of the intellect. Altogether he instituted nine newspapers in five different countries (Lebanon, Egypt, France, England, and America) and on four continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America), as he liked to remind his readers. He personally edited at one time or another five of the nine, corresponded with ten other newspapers, edited for a while al-Mu'ayyad and served on the editorial staff of al-Ahram, translated a dozen major and a hundred minor plays from English and French into Arabic, and wrote or edited ten separate books. He was a leading champion of women's rights, evidenced in his dedicating his periodical Mir'at al-Hasna' [Mirror of the Belle] to the opposite sex. A m o n g his important accomplishments mention should be made of his organizing a bureau for copying and translating to serve other journalists in Cairo, and another, which he called Maktab al-Isti'lámat al-Süri [The Syrian Bureau of Information] for the purpose of keeping Syrian émigrés residing in Egypt informed about happenings in their homeland in order to excite their nationalist ardor against Ottoman repression, which was part of the vendetta he aimed to keep alive. He was also the principal organizer of the Nádi al-Ittihád al-Suri [The Syrian Union Club] where between 1908 and 1913 some of the leading personalities in Arabic letters used to congregate and exchange views. 1 To encourage n e w trends in poetry, Sarkis sponsored contests and awarded cash prizes to the winners, in keeping with his self conceived role as literary innovator and stimulator of the intellect in others. Indeed, he was known for his unconventional, energetic style, wittiness, and boldness of expression. His abrasiveness did not endear him to a number of people. He went to prison twice for his outspoken denouncement of men in authority, the first time in Ba'lbak (Lebanon) and the second in Cairo, on the very day of his wedding. Even Lord Cromer eventually gave up on extending him effective protection, for the roster of his personal enemies had become quite formidable. It listed among others the sultan, who had Sarkis condemned to death for his alleged inside information on the conditions of deposed Sultan Murad's prison treatment and other facts of his deposition personally implicating Abdiilhamid; the khedive, who to strike back at Sarkis chose the latter's wedding day to send him to prison; and then there were Kaiser Wilhelm II, the shaykh of the Azhar, and Sarkis's own bishop, who had him excommunicated for his alleged Protestant leanings and espousal of Freemasonry. 2

1 Among those who frequented the club were men like Ahmad Shawql, Hafiz Ibrahim Mustafa al-Manfaluti, Khalil Matran, and other litterateurs, poets, and such. z F o r a biographical synopsis se Yusuf As'ad Daghir, Masadir al-Dirasa al-Adablya (Beirut, 1955), 2:454-55.

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It is his early career in Syria prior to his emigration in search of freedom that Interests us, specifically, when he edited Lisan al-Hal for his uncle Kbalil. According to Salim's reckoning, it was actually in 1877, when the Ottoman governor appointed a native Syrian, Khalll al-Khuri, owner and editor of the prestigious Hadiqat al-Akhbdr, as supervisor of publications in Syria, that censorship began in earnest. Up until then it was the secretary of the governor who oversaw, and rather loosely at that, the nascent publication industry. But the press still managed to enjoy for a while longer the type of freedom it had experienced earlier. Writers at home and abroad still tackled unpleasant current events and managed to voice their discontent with little fear of repression. Even the inflammatory articles of Adib Ishaq from Paris and his appeal for freedom of expression were sometimes reprinted in Syrian journals. 1 But the picture changed rapidly in the 1880s, and no area of printing or type of publication seemed to escape the attention of the maktubji (Turkish mektupgu), by which title the supervisor was known. This official's main function until now was secretary in charge of the bureau of recording in a given governmental department. In the earlier days of the Ottoman system, he was known invariably as Mektub-i Sadr-i Ali or Divan Efendisi. Over the years there had evolved gradations of maktubjis, ranging from those attached to the Sadaret and various nizarets to the general mudSrliiks and vilayets. The chief secretary in each bureau was known as Mektub-i Qalemi. Until he acquired the function of publications supervisor, the maktubji's primary task was to record, polish, and make available in print the transactions of the principal functionaries of the department, be they the grand vezir's or the provincial governor's. Needless to say, this additional function was acquired when the Ministry of Education in Istanbul began to enact laws to circumscribe freedom of the press and the circulation of printed material, "one of the chief factors," according to Shaykhu, "which led ultimately to the Young Turks' revolution." 2 Bookshops, cultural societies, printing presses, and publications of all sorts became eventually equal targets of surveillance. In Syria before 1880 there were only three to four bookshops; after 1880 the number increased to twenty or more with energetic owners purchasing books from countries as distant as France and India. About 1880 a recently established cultural society made the wrong turn in politics, and its newly educated nondenominational membership soon raised placards in the principal cities of Syria demanding in immodest terms that Arabic be made the language of government, freedom from censorship, and, worse yet, autonomous rule for the whole of Syria. 3 New printing presses had come into being, both in Beirut and in the Mountain, after the temporary relaxation of licensing rules in 1885. 4 But the radical tone of their publications, bordering on sedition in the eyes of local authorities, soon brought back stricter enforcement of surveillance. Not only did the censor bear down on those who spoke irreverently of the sultan's policies, but even scholarly works were confiscated on mere suspicion. Quite indiscriminately bookshops were prevented from importing such seditious works as al-'Iqd al-Farid of Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi and al-Ta'rikh of Abu al-Fida'. Commenting on the ludicrousness of the new

^Namely in the decade of the 1870s, when according to Shaykhu, op. cit., p. 67, owners were not subjected to pressures of censorship or prevented from criticizing current developments. *lbid., p. 68. O 1

George Antonius, The Arab Awakening (Philadelphia, 1938), p. 87. ^Sabät, op. cit., p. 70.

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situation, Shaykhu wrote: "We witnessed such wonders and rarities by way of surveillance from officials that were we to enumerate them all they would be counted among the fables of the ancients and the tales of barbaric nations." 1 The hardening of official attitudes toward the press was precipitated by such frivolities as the announcement, for example, in Lisan al-Hal of the arrival of Ra'if Pasha in 1885 to take over the governorship of Syria only for it to be discovered to the consternation of the editor that Ra'uf Pasha was the one who arrived. Ra'if was a former minister of utilities known for his fair-mindedness and justice; Ra'uf was the former governor of Jerusalem, known for his uncompromising and tough attitude. Although Sarkis managed to explain away his error in humble apologetic tones, word soon came from Istanbul that a six-month holiday had been decreed for his newspaper. The new governor wasted no time in dispatching his dragoman Michel Edde to summon all publishers into his presence and serve notice on them that henceforth no item would be published before it was cleared in advance by Edde. The latter was a native Christian (of the Iddi family) who knew Arabic; but soon he was replaced by Cemal Bey, a Turk, who knew no Arabic. When the bey's language handicap developed into a serious stumbling block for the proper discharge of a maktubji's functions, he was replaced by Jabi Zade Sa'adatli Hasan Fa'iz from a respectable Damascene family who at one time had been a close associate of Midhat Pasha. But either through accident or design, his knowledge of Arabic proved to be also limited in range.

The Mechanics of Surveillance in Sy ria The mechanics of surveying publications operated in this manner: an editor would prepare an article for publication, set the type, make all necessary adjustments and corrections, then run off two copies for the review of the censor and hopefully his approval. These were submitted to him usually at ten in the morning; and if matters were expedited, the publisher might receive a copy back by four in the afternoon. In the meanwhile everything and everyone at the press establishment were at a standstill. What went on at the maktubji's establishment is best left to Sarkis to describe; he writes: The present maktubji knows as much Arabic as I know of Adam's language; so he turns the copies over to 'Abd al-Rahman al-Hut 2 , who is truly a but [whale]; and since no defined procedure governs the process of censorship, al-Hut proceeds to cut out anything suspect in his eyes with black ink. If he is not sure of a certain expression, he places a red mark opposite it. At the end of the process there are more black and red marks than can be tallied. He then initials the drafts and returns them to the maktubji. The latter does not know Arabic. Upon seeing all these red marks the maktubji says to himself: if there is no room for doubt, al-Hut would not have inked them. He then crosses them out permanently. 3

l

Adab, 2:69.

^Organizer in 1899 and head of the Islamic Educational Committee op. cit., p. 67). 3 O p . cit., pp. 22-23.

(Lajnat al-Ta'lim al-Islamiya)

(Shaykhu,

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The net result of the entire process was that often half of the items or more in any single edition could be sacrificed on the altar of the maktubji's ignorance before the editor could expect the magical imprimatur gdriilmu§tUr ("seen") and the censor's signature of approval. To fill in space frequently created by the maktubji's merciless axings, new material had to be introduced that also had to be cleared by the same process all over again before the newspaper could go to press. Further axings and delays were unavoidable. If and when the edition was finally printed, three copies were dispatched to the maktubji's office; one was for comparison with the censored draft he kept in his files, and the other two for dispatch to Istanbul, where the Encumen-i Maarif kept them for future reference-or recrimination if developments should warrant it. Sadly enough, the eagle-eyed surveillance of the maktubji was not infallible, nor did it necessarily protect the newspaper against a cease-publication order, particularly if Istanbul should discover later that something unprintable had slipped by him. And since no set rules governed censorship, publishers were often hard pressed to second-guess the maktubji. When his arbitrariness grew too intolerable for them to endure, they delegated to one of their number, the highly regarded v Abd al-Qadir al-Qabbani, manager of Thamarat al-Funun,1 the task of trying to learn from the maktubji what rules he wished them to observe. When queried, however, by al-Qabbani, all the maktubji did was to point to his own head-that apparently was where the rules reposed. It is interesting to note in this connection the exchange that took place between a French editor, "whose articles were cut to ribbons so often" that he finally sought out Rifat Bey, the maktubji of Salonika, and asked him what might he speak of. He received the following reply: You may speak of everything .... Absolutely of everything except, you understand, of crowned heads, of foreign governments, of nihilism, of socialism, of revolution, of strikes, of anarchy, of liberty, of foreign policy, of domestic policy, of religion, of churches, of mosques, of Muhammad, of Jesus, of Moses, of the prophets, of atheism, of free thought, of the authorities, of feminism, of the harem, of the fatherland, of nation, of nationalism, of internationalism, of republic, of deputies, of senators, of constitution, of plots, of bombs, of Midhat Pasha, 2 of Kemal Bey, of Sultan Murad of the crescent, of the cross, of Macedonia, 3 of Armenia, 4 of reforms, of grasshoppers, of the month of August, 5 and of a few other subjects corresponding more or less to these. 6

' See note 3, p. 54 above. Abdiilhamid would have had his life had it not been for the intervention of the British and French. He was exiled to the Hijaz, where he died under mysterious circumstances. For more on him see Ali Haydar Midhat, The Life of Midhat Pasha (London, 1903). •'The germinal place of the Young Turk movement and a sensitive area of contention with foreign powers and native agitators. ^Another sensitive subject that had culminated in the Armenian massacres during the reign of Abdiilhamid. •'The sultan was suspicious of this month, when Murad V was deposed after a very brief reign having succeeded Abdiilaziz following the latter's alleged suicide. ^Comte Am. de Persignac, "Les Gaites de la censure en Turquie," in La Revue 67 (April 1907): 390. 2

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What remains then to speak about, asked the bewildered editor, and he received another "specific" reply: Everything, the rain, good weather, provided you do not mention rain in August or the light of the moon. You may speak of the dogs in the streets, provided it is not to demand their extermination. You may speak of the authorities so long as you do not point out abuses. You may speak of his imperial Majesty to sing his praises. In short you have full and entire liberty to speak of whatever seems good to you. 1 In spite of the humorous vein of the exchange, the list of prohibitions appeared to run true to f o r m in all parts of the empire given the touchy nature of the subjects Abdiilhamid inveighed against. 2 If any one principle can be deduced from the above, it is this: the Ottoman system, its custodians, modus operandi, and friends must not suffer insult or humiliation in whatever form and from whatever quarter. Much of the motivation underlying censorship was unquestionably political. In the latter part of his reign, Abdtilhamid's suspicions and fears bordered on paranoia. Prohibitions due to religious sensitivities and perennial fear of plots against his reign, not to mention radical political notions that could only undermine further what semblance of unity the Ottoman Empire still retained, were the direct result of his conviction that intellectuals and publishers were the leaders of sedition. Such convictions underlie the nature and extent of censorship throughout the Ottoman provinces. The arbitrary and discriminatory application of censorship, however, had a devastating effect not only on "seditious" writings but also on all aspects of literary production. As can be seen from the sample illustrations below, poetry, translations, texts, plays, novels, newspapers, periodicals, publishing houses, and all aspects of freedom of expression endured severe setbacks at the hands of the maktubji.

Rare Doings of the Censor The following examples, selected at random f r o m Sarkis's 'Aja'ib al-Maktubji, illustrate the wide-ranging impact of censorship and the entertaining side of it all.

serve to

The American Mission's press in Beirut published a map for school use. On learning about it, the maktubji called in the director (As'ad Wakid) and demanded to know why Egypt was colored red while the rest of the Ottoman Empire was shaded in white. When the director answered it was done in conformity with the rules of cartography, he was promptly accused of committing treason in treating Egypt apart f r o m the Ottoman Empire. T o avoid pending disaster, all maps were recalled and new ones drawn showing everything that had ever been part of the Empire in one color.

1 Ibid.; cited by E. E. Ramsaut, The Young Turks: Prelude ^Ramsaur, op. cit., p. 105 n. 24.

to the Revolution

of 190S (Princeton, N.J., 1957).

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Amir Sa'Id Arslan, whose appointment to the bureau of the maktubji was short-lived, was taken to task one day for permitting the Catholic publication Jaridat al-Bashir to publish an article that had appeared earlier in the Egyptian press containing the expression nayl al-murad ("attaining the desire"), which was construed as a subtle attempt to bring the deposed Sultan Murad and the Nile together under the auspices of the British occupation. Efforts to explain what the expression meant failed, and the whole article was struck out. Ignorance of the language had its hilarious moments. One advertisement appeared in print after it had been censored reading as follows: "The house of Emperor M u h a m m a d 'Ali al-Trabulsi is for rent" in lieu of the original, "A house, property (mulk) of ..." The explanation given was that mulk (mistaken for rule) is the prerogative of the sultan only. When President Carnot of France was assassinated in Lyon, the maktubji ordered the word assassinated deleted and death substituted for it, with the simple explanation that the term disturbs the sultan. A t the end of the day, the boys who had been selling copies of the newspaper on the streets of Beirut did not report to the manager. In tracing their steps, Sarkis was led to the local jail, where he found them and had to bail them out. It seems they had been going around announcing "the death of the president of the (French) republic" and it was decreed illegal to use the term republic. On the death of Y u s u f M u t r a n , a Syrian emigrant residing in Egypt, the Cairo newspapers published an elegy that was reprinted in the newspapers of Beirut. It contained the following verse: la budda min faqdin wa min faqidin falaysa bayna al-nasi min khalidin The maktubji ordered the word khalidin (immortal) removed since it was the governor's first name and it did not seem proper to him that it should be associated with death. There appeared instead the word ta'id (soaring), which the maktubji insisted meant thabit (enduring). "No one can outdo our maktubji at deriving new Arabic words," wrote the newspaper editor later. When the Maronite bishop, Ilyas Hawik, returned to Beirut f r o m a visit to Rome, Lisan al-Hal wrote three columns on the warm welcome accorded the dignitary upon his landing while saying little about the serasker, 'Uthman Nuri, who was departing that same day for Istanbul. Worse yet, Sarkis stated that a nafar of troops had been on hand to salute him. "Why do you say nafar," snorted the maktubji, "when a whole detachment was present?" "But nafar does not mean one soldier," replied the frightened editor; "it means many!" "Then why don't you use language I can understand," retorted the maktubji; "surely you can't expect me to carry a dictionary around with me!" The language specialist Yusuf Harfush published a book of proverbs in Arabic and French. One proverb read: "al-haraka fiha baraka" [there is blessing in activity. The word haraka was ordered cut on the grounds it implied thawra (revolution).

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When Henry Jessup sought to publish in the weekly issue of the American Mission's newsletter a picture of Queen Victoria with the caption "Queen of England and Empress of India," the maktubji crossed out "Empress" for the simple reason that the inhabitants of India are Muslim and no Christian queen is permitted to rule Muslims! It w a s printed in its original form. The maktubji circulated at last a list of titles by which dignitaries were to be addressed in print: jalala ("majesty") and 'azama ("grandeur") were reserved strictly for the sultan; hishmatlu ("possessing dignity") was for other kings and emperors; but when Sarkis addressed the queen of England with hishmatlaha (his conception of the feminine form) the riled maktubji demanded he address her with hadrat ("presence") instead. The shah of Iran's title w a s to be shahamatlu ("possessing respectability"), but no "sultan" for the sultan of Zanzibar, since there is no other sultan beside Abdiilhamid; Zanzibar's ruler henceforth was to be retitled hakim ("ruler"). Similarly no "empress" for the queen of England, only malaka. While journeying in Europe, Nasib Shibli sent to Beirut's newspaper editors a description of Italy. He wrote among other things that Italians eat much macaroni, and because of it are dubbed "the macaroni nation." The m a k t u b j i was very upset; he feared the use of such an appelative might be construed as an insult to the Italian people with all its attendant diplomatic repercussions. "As if the Syrian press can be likened unto the London Times or the Daily News: everyone reads it," mumbled Sarkis audibly as he left the maktubji's office. Lisan al-Hal used to publish translations of romance novels, but had to desist becausc the maktubji deemed such stories dangerous in that they taught readers 'ishq ("passionate love"). In order to encourage local writers to emulate the ways of the Western press, Amin Arslan announced a prize of eighty francs for the one who could best recast a European poem into an Arabic mold. Sarkis decided to enter the contest, and he chose de Mossier's "Souviens toi" [Remember!] for recasting after giving it the appropriate Arabic title "Tadhakkari!" After readying the French text and the Arabic adaptation for printing in four full columns, he took it to the m a k t u b j i for review. First he ordered him to delete the French text on grounds the newspaper was licensed to publish in Arabic only. Next he looked at the terminology employed. What, for example, did the author mean by tadhakkari? Unsatisfied with the answer received, he deleted it with the notation "hadhihi maghmuzat" [sic], meaning aghmad, or "these are ambiguities." He was disturbed also over the use of hawajis ("apprehensions") in the verse: idha zaluma al-naharu wa ja'a al-laylu bi-hawajisihi [when day turns to dark and the night with its apprehensions appears]. To him the term implied "plotting," that is, "by night!" It too was struck out with the notation "hawajis yoktur" ("no 'hawajis' "). By the time he finished cutting up the translation, the poem likewise was finished. In tears Sarkis rushed over to see Khalid Bey, the governor, imploring him to come to his rescue. Khalid laughed with amusement over the revisions introduced by the maktubji; and though upholding the latter's decision on not printing the French version, he did allow Sarkis to proceed with the Arabic adaptation. But fearing the consequences attending a newspaperman by an overruled maktubji, Sarkis decided to drop out of the contest and not to publish the p o e m at all. The whole episode became k n o w n as the "Hawajis Affair" and, by Sarkis's account, received publicity in London, Paris, and Beirut.

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One day a translated report from the foreign press stated that "the health of French troops In Dahomey Is not good." The maktubji ordered publishers to print "it is good!" One newspaperman decided to print an article written by a woman. The m a k t u b j i , undaunted by the nascent feminist movement, persuaded the editor not to print it because it would put more wrong ideas than were already tolerable in women's minds. Besides, "it is not the concern of women to become involved in writing," argued the maktubji. One report mentioned that a certain party had visited Madras (a city in India). The maktubji mistook the word for madrasa ("school") and ordered the term maktab substituted for it. So the traveler visited an elementary school instead. A visitor to the Spanish pavilion at the Chicago Exposition sent back a description of what he saw to a Beirut newspaper. One observation referred to "the sword and shield of Columbus, the discoverer of America." The maktubji proceeded to take the editor apart in some of the strongest language yet employed against his victims for insulting his own people and Islam. "Luckily I don't understand Turkish," the editor later stated, but "I did understand qalil al-adab |short on manners]." "Don't you realize that it was the A r a b s w h o discovered America?", screamed the maktubji! "We reached a compromise," the editor wrote afterward, "by agreeing to print that foreigners claim Columbus discovered Amcrica when actually it was the Arabs who first discovered it." The widely heralded performing troop of Iskandar Sayqali from Alexandria was invited by the governor and notables of the vilayet to give a performance of Aida in Beirut. It was scheduled to run for three nights. The maktubji along with other dignitaries were present at the opening performance. Everything went well until the pharaoh's army marched onto the stage carrying a banner upon which was inscribed "fathun min Allah wa nasrun qaribun" [Victory from God and triumph soon|. The appearance of this banner literally brought down the curtain. The performance was terminated abruptly, and so ended its three-night engagement. The cause of such indignation was the utilization of a Qur'anic verse in public display, and worse yet to describe the accomplishments of a pagan tyrant. It had been ruled earlier by the maktubji that no verse from the Qur'an or quotation from the Hadlth could be printed in newspapers because these might be torn and cast to the ground, thus becoming subject to unintended desecration. One last sample illustrating the tug-of-war between the maktubji and writers: when Jaridat al-Ahwal referred to Ilyas Bey al-Basha in one of its columns, Ilyas lost his surname on the grounds that he might be mistaken for a real "pasha." But then, it was a small price to pay when one considers that the pope lost his successorship (khilafa) to the See of Peter on the premise that there can be no khilafa outside the sultan's! The Catholic publication employing such terminology was abolished in the process. Briefly, it is quite evident from the Salonika maktiibji's encounter with the French editor and Sarkis's with his counterpart at Beirut that there was some consistency in what censorship inveighed against. Ottoman censors were enjoined to uphold the dignity and honor of din v e devlet ("religion and state"). Proper respect was insisted upon for the custodians of both, for dignitaries and officials both Ottoman and foreign. Ethics and morality as traditionally observed were not to be questioned or flaunted irreverently; the prerogatives of authority and rule were not to be challenged or defied; and no new idea or behavior upsetting to inherited norms were to be tolerated lest they lead to sedition.

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No doubt liberal writers spearheaded by journalists had made themselves suspect for their lack of circumspection, and some like Sarkis were accused of disloyalty and condemned for treason. Culturally they had tended toward alienation and identification with those European societies whose imperial designs on Ottoman territory threatened its survival. It mattered little that a person like Sarkis could elicit years later a statement in writing f r o m one of the toughest of all maktubjis (Jabi Zade) attesting his sincerity and loyalty to the Ottoman state. When all is said and reflected upon, we might describe the bouts between censor and writer as irritants more than systematic attempts to suppress all forms of free expression. Not so much maliciousness as ignorance underscored the maktubji's naive conduct. But the impatient budding crop of half-baked intellectuals could scarcely be expected to be patient, let alone use prudence, in their restless desire to awaken overnight a society that had fallen into a lethargic state through a millenium of benevolent neglect. The Ottoman leaders were tired old men who understandably would not suffer the serenity of their quiet convictions and time-honored ways to be disturbed by impulsive youngsters peddling undigested radical ideas and ways of dubious morality and relevance for their own milieus. Liberal authors of this period were in certain respects the "hippies" of their generation, rebelling against excessive parental supervision and outmoded restrictions. They persisted in their audacity to defy their mentors with unchaste notions and to express their defiance in a multitude of newly discovered or rediscovered embarrassing devices: newspapers, journals, books, and even the theater.

CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN THE ARAB WORLD: MAJORITY-MINORITY RELATIONS

There are no precise statistics on the number of Christians in the Arab world today. The educated guess is that they account for less than 10 percent of a total population of more than 100 million. They are concentrated mainly in Egypt and Lebanon, with respectable numbers in Syria, Iraq, and occupied Palestine. As a group they comprise nearly every known Christian denomination and sect, excepting perhaps the extremist Protestant sects whose missionaries in the last century and a half have persistently endeavored to will converts from the traditional denominations of the Syrian and Egyptian regions. A quick survey of Christian elements reveals that the Coptic community, with almost 4 million adherents, constitutes the largest single Christian minority in the Arab world. The Copts are among the most industrious and patriotic of the people of Egypt. As one authority put it, the Coptic community "has taken part in all the struggles of the nation and has shared in its sufferings." 1 Their Egyptian nationalism has been abetted by the fact that they have been integrated demographically, socially, culturally, and politically with the Muslim majority and can be found in all classes of society and throughout the country. The second-largest Christian minority is the Maronite community in Lebanon, with 650,000 members, the most westward-looking of all Christian minorities in the Arab world. Next in numerical importance is the Greek Orthodox community, numbering around 500,000 with key concentrations in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Composed mainly of city dwellers, this group includes in its ranks rich and prominent personalities from all walks of life. This community stands nearest the Muslim majority in matters affecting the vital interests of its homelands, and its members are among the standard-bearers of Pan-Arab nationalist ideologies. Another significant Christian community is the Greek Catholic, or Melkite, group, comprising 150,000 members who are concentrated chiefly in the urban centers of Lebanon and in Israel, where they constitute the largest single Uniate community. 2 Their patriarch, in Beirut, enjoys the rank of cardinal in the Catholic hierarchy. Though no less advanced in all fields of endeavor than their Orthodox counterparts, by and large they are less influenced by nationalist ideological trends, sharing rather the particularistic sentiments of their fellow Uniate Maronites. Less conspicuous in the over-all national life of their country are two of the oldest, indigenous Christian sects: the Nestorians, with about 125,000 adherents scattered in the northern agrarian villages of the Mosul hill country in Iraq; and the Monophysite Jacobites, more popularly known as the Syrian Orthodox community, with headquarters in Hums (Syria) and with a following of about 100,000. Their less numerous Uniate correspondents enjoy the fellowship of Rome, where they are known as Chaldeans and Syrian Catholics. The Nestorians, though suspect because of their strong martial qualities (so amply demonstrated in their 1933 uprising and in World War II, as auxiliary forces to the British), have become relatively integrated in nearly all aspects of Iraqi life.

' d u o F. A. Meinardus, Christian Egypt, Ancient and Modern (Cairo, 1965), p, xviii. Saul P. Colbi, Christianity in the Holy Land, Past and Present (Tel Aviv, 1969), p. 166.

2

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The Roman Catholic group, composed largely of members of monastic orders, numbers about 24,000 in Israel and a few thousand in Lebanon. Protestants are likewise concentrated in Israel, where the Anglicans have a bishopric. There is a sprinkling of Protestants in other parts of the Levant.

Early

History

Today minority Christian communities in the Middle East are better integrated than ever before in the social and political lives of the countries in which they are found, frequently enjoying a status out of proportion to their numbers. However, only by referring to the testimony of history can one appreciate how these communities attained such a status. An unbiased observer is obliged to concur with the statement that such surviving minorities have been the beneficiaries of "the tolerance traditionally extended to non-Muslims 'people of the Book' (ahl al-Kitab)— a tolerance which, viewed throughout history, far exceeds the best that Christian history can show." 1 U p until the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Nestorians in Iraq, Monophysite Jacobites in Syria, and Copts in Egypt constituted sizeable, if not majority, elements in their respective homelands. Looked upon as dissidents by the Imperial Byzantine church and persecuted relentlessly by the long arm of the emperor they found reprieve in the Arab-Islamic invasion of the seventh century. Indeed, many of them welcomed the invasion and subsequent conquest, which they abetted on many occasions, to escape the harassment of the dominant c h u r c h . 2 T h e conquest of Egypt provided almost instant relief for the Coptic community and even encouraged unsolicitously the conversion to Islam of Egyptian notables who for centuries were to hold high positions in the administration of the land. 3 Similar conversions took place among the Jacobites of Syria and the Nestorians of Iraq who cheerfully exchanged the sovereignty of the emperor for that of the caliph to escape religious persecution. Those who did not convert acquired dhimmi (from ahl al-dhimma) status, which carried with it certain advantages, not the least of which was protection, and which assured the survival of these formerly persecuted sects and encouraged Arabization of their speech and social ways. The continued Islamicization was due less to coercion than to persuasion sui generis.4 The prospects of playing an active role in the Islamic imperium and sharing in the power and prosperity thereof account for much of the conversion to Islam and the reversal of the ratio of Christians to Muslims, particularly from the twelfth century onward.

1

Stephen H. Longrigg, The Middle East, A Social Geography, 2d ed. (Chicago and New York: Aldine and Atherton, 1970), p. 97. H . A. R. Gibb and Harold Bowen, Islamic Society and the West (London: Oxford University Press, 1957), 1, pt. 2, 229. 3 Edward R. Hardy, Christian Egypt: l/rnd and People (New York: Oxford University Press, 1952), p. 189. 4 I t was not until the eleventh century and the rule of the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr al-Lah, during which Muslims and Christians alike were persecuted, that the Copts began to turn to Islam in larger numbers. This phenomenon continued under Mamluk rule until by the end of the eighteenth century the Copts had been reduced to an inactive minority with their ancient language replaced by Arabic as the repository of their literature (Hardy, Christian Egypt, p. 192). Similarly, pressures by antagonistic Crusaders in the Syrian region induced Nestorians and Monophysites to convert to Islam. By the end of the sixteenth century there were less than 50,000 Jacobite families in Syria and a few congregations in Iraq, predominantly around Baghdad (Gibb and Bowen, Islamic Society and the West, p. 229). 2

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Those Christians who continued to practice their beliefs did so, not because they were barred entry into the Islamic community, but because they chose not to convert, preferring to continue their autonomous existence first as dhimmis and then as millets. This status insured them a wide range of religious and administrative freedom without closing the door to social intercourse with their Muslim brethren. The survival of these minority Christian communities (in sharp contrast to the fate of the Muslim minority in Spain following the reconquest, which preceded by less than two decades the Ottoman conquest of the Syrian-Egyptian region with its large reservoir of Christian communities) owes much to the principle of tolerance continued by the Ottomans, who, I might add, have not always received due credit for it. The dhimmi concept of administrative separateness for Christian communities continued in the Ottoman system, which termed these communities millet. Each existing community was recognized and allowed to preserve its autonomous status. An elected leader, usually the highest ranking ecclesiastic in the community, served as liaison with the Ottoman government. Given the corporate structure of Ottoman society, it was easier to deal with minorities as members of a recognized community than as individuals. Accordingly, each community was represented before the Sublime Porte by a representative of the elected leader. The communities were also represented on local government councils. Internally, the millet enjoyed full religious and personal freedom. They had their own schools and religious establishments, and their right to own property was safeguarded. With few exceptions this system of communal autonomy survived in varying degrees through the nineteenth century. Each community retained its individuality and freedoms with minimum interference from either the majority elements or the governing authorities. But these communities were not entirely closed entities, and living as these Christians did among Muslim majorities could not help but influence their cultural norms and lifestyles. Indeed, the relative fluidity of such relations encouraged Arabization of their language and Islamicization of their social ways. 1 This sort of supranational arrangement demanded loyalty to the sultan from the millet, in exchange for which they were defended and generally were not pressured into accepting the religion of the majority. The same attitude applied to dissident Muslim sects like the Druses in Lebanon and the Alawis in Syria. The earliest Europeans to come into contact with these Christian communities were intrigued by their complete millenary habituation to life in the midst of a majority public and government of an entirely distinct and alien culture, and their normally cordial and familiar terms with friends outside their community— yet the extent also to which the latter holds, by kinship, tradition, religion, shared techniques of living, and sometimes shared fears, their truest loyalty and sense of belonging. 2

'Albert H. Hourani, "Minorities," in The Contemporary. (New York: Random House, 1965), p. 208. Longrigg, The Middle East, p. 108.

Middle East, ed. Benjamin Rivlin and Joseph S. Szyliowicz

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Intervention

This system of reasoned tolerance and coexistence underwent considerable strain when pressures generated by European imperial ambitions and Western missionary societies seeking converts from these traditional communities resulted in the erosion of Christian loyalty to legitimate authority and peaceful relations with the majority. The unwise and sometimes fatal patronage of European powers, coupled with the indiscreet nationalistic ambitions of certain Christian elements, eventually aroused suspicion and generated ill will among the Muslim majority; for such activity could only have an adverse effect on majority interests. The hostility thus aroused was both intercommunal and intracommunal. The role of Catholic missions in the seventeenth century and onward to wean sectarians away from the Orthodox church, as well as from the Jacobite and Nestorian churches, brought about resentment and outright hostility. It also helped push the affected communities into closer working arrangements with both their Muslim brethren and the governing authorities. This afforded the sultan's government opportunities to give demonstrable proof of protection to the harassed Christian millet and to safeguard their interests against turncoats and intruders. For in the span of a hundred years or so, Latin orders and their proselytizing activities had succeeded in nearly doubling the number of Syrian church-based communities and in destroying the tolerance and mutual accommodation hitherto prevailing between Christian sects on one hand and Muslim sects on the other. Indeed, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the bitterness engendered between the Uniates and their mother-churches often erupted in violence, with their animosities, mutual antipathies, and suspicions lasting well into the present century. 1 During the second half of the nineteenth century, as these Uniates gravitated, for reasons almost invariably inimical to majority rights and interests, toward closer working relations with their foreign "protectors," not only the affected denominations but also the Muslim majority began to look upon them with increasing suspicion and hostility, particularly in Syria and Lebanon and, after the British occupation in 1882, in Egypt as well. Until the British advent, the relative tolerance on the part of the Muslim majority in Egypt had not only permitted indigenous Coptic and Jewish communities to fit themselves into the framework of Muslim society and to enjoy certain traditional functions and privileges, but had also allowed Christians from the Syrian region who had immigrated into Egypt since the late eighteenth century to rise to positions of prominence in the commerce and administration of the country. 2

Move Toward Secularization and Reform During the nineteenth century, minority communities were looked upon less as dhimmi or millet and more as ra'iya ("shepherded subjects"), a term applied equally to the Muslim subjects of the sultan as well and connoting greater egalitarianism of minority and majority communities. Evidence of egalitarianism was manifest also in the greater fluidity that was

^Robert Haddad, Syrian Christians in Muslim Society, An Interpretation (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970), p. 49. ^These early immigrants were mostly from the Maronite and Greek Catholic millet of Lebanon-Syria. So integrated did they become in the Egyptian sociopolitical framework that their services came to be regarded as essential to the working of the administration, wherein lies the secret of their rise to prominence and the vast fortunes that some of them amassed.

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developing between the communities owing to improved communications and newly evolving interests. Indications are that in certain areas where Muslim and Christian elements lived in close proximity to each other, common interests and similar ways of life tended to overcome sectarian prejudices. The latitudinarian attitude toward religion, for which country folk exhibit greater proclivity, no doubt contributed to this relaxed atmosphere. 1 Another blow at sectarian barriers was being dealt by the institution of tanzimat reforms on the part of ruling authorities, under strong pressure from the West, f r o m 1839 onward. These reforms emphasized the equalization of rights and responsibilities, as well as services to the state, for majority and minority subjects, the goal was to create a base for the secularization of the state thereby destroying the sectarian frame of social reference. 2 Similar trends were emerging in the areas of intellectual pursuit. Certain Christians like Butrus al-Bustani began to postulate that the Arabic language and the culture that it sired could provide common grounds of identification for Christian and Muslim alike. Other Christian and Muslim secularists began to nourish this concept in the subsequent decades of the nineteenth century and to inculcate it with Western style dynamism. But for most Christians, breaking away from traditional norms, as this budding ideology implied, was not as painful a process as it was for most Muslims, who were not yet prepared to distinguish between the Islamic and the Arabic components of their traditions. 3 Spearheading this secularist trend were Orthodox Christians w h o were convinced that secularism alone could eventually eliminate all sectarian demarcations between communities. They incurred the wrath of the church hierarchy for espousing such an ideal. But they appeared ready to shoulder the risks entailed, however destructive of church beliefs might prove to be, if they could establish a pattern of loyalties to which both Muslim and Christian could adhere outside those calling for membership in a religious millet. They doggedly pursued this goal, constantly reinforcing their efforts with Western-type motivation. Although they did not completely do away with sectarian separatism and its attending particularistic ideals, they covered much ground in that direction. 4 Such attempts by Christian intellectuals to chart ideological courses transcending sectarian boundaries were to a considerable degree the result of the precarious position they found themselves in vis-a-vis majority elements. This was a result of increasing intervention by the great powers on behalf of the Christian communities in situations that often ran contrary to majority interests and Ottoman sovereign rights and prerogatives. As Professor Hourani put it, The activities of the European Powers improved the situation of the religious minorities, but also drew upon them the hatred of the Government and the majority. They were regarded as potential traitors, sources of weakness and instruments of European policy: in general as danger to the Empire and to the Islamic community. 5 ' o i b b and Bowen, Islamic Society and the West, p. 256. ^In 1847, for instance, a law was passed requiring the conscription of Ottoman Christians for naval and military service. Around 1855, cizya payments by Christians were formally abolished in favor of a special tax paid in lieu of military service. Envcr Ziya Karal, Osmanh Tarihi (Ankara, I c)47), V, 184. ^Haddad, Syrian Christians, p. 73. 4

F o r a fuller analysis, see Hisham Sharabi, Arab Intellectuals and the West : The Formative (Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins Press, 1970), pp. 53 ff. -'Hourani, "Minorities," p. 213.

Years,

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Because Christians and Jews could more readily abandon their traditional socio-religious habits, even emigrate to other parts of the Western world—and also because of the rise of a new class, the bourgeoisie, owing to increasing trade relations with the West — patterns of loyalty began to change noticeably. Improved communications, coupled with growing concentrations of this new Levantine element in urban centers, had the effect of increasing the frequency of contact between members of one community and another. Adopting more readily than the Muslim to Western ways, and affecting these in speech and in mannerisms, the Westernized Christian and Jew could readily establish political and economic contact with the West. This was particularly true in Egypt, where Christians and Jews moved rapidly into government positions and trading establishments in disproportionate numbers. They upset the social balance and, at the same time, aroused the jealousy and hostility of majority elements who felt discriminated against by the Western presence. Perhaps to compensate for the widening gap between minority andjnajority elements, the more conscientious Christians, particularly in Syria, espoused ideological positions clearly political in aim, but they avoided taking direct political stands so as not to arouse the strong opposition of Ottoman authorities. They were not all of one mind as to the best way to reform the political order. There were pro-Ottoman reformists like Ahmad Faris al-Sidyaq and Salim Sarkis, and strong opponents like Suleiman al-Bustani and Khalil Ghanim, both of whom had held official positions in the Ottoman government but who ended up supporting the Young Turk movement that eventually overturned Sultan Abdul Hamid's rule. Another faction, writing in the comparative safety of British Egypt, generally defended the British presence and thereby managed to alienate further majority sentiment toward Christian minorities. But as Arabism began to gather momentum, a good number of Christian intellectuals began to identify themselves with it and sought to enhance its secular orientation. 1 Their espousal of the secular aspects of Western culture did not, however, convince Muslims to join them on this neutral plateau. Indeed, the Islamic reformist movement espoused by Afghani, Abduh, and even the Christian Adib Ishaq, was in part directed against the political and social ideals for which the West stood in the preachings and writings of Christian intellectuals.

Particularistic Ideologies and Pan-Arab Nationalism World War I resulted in new political divisions for the Arab world and in a greater immediate Western presence: Egypt came under direct British rule, as did Palestine and Iraq, and Syria and Lebanon came under French rule. The over-all impact of Western rule was to strengthen separatist movements and to fragment the Arab nationalist trend, which hitherto had enjoyed a broader appeal. Under the mandate, erstwhile minority elements came to the forefront of political and economic life in their respective states as they continued to capitalize on their Western connections. Some, taking advantage of Western rule to consolidate their separatist trends, espoused particularistic ideologies — Phoenitianism by Maronites in Lebanon, Pharaonism by Copts in Egypt. But in spite of hindrances from governing elements, the architects of broader ideologies did not cease to advocate a nationalism that cut across national lines. Again the leaders of such movements as the Syrian Nationalist and the Ba'ath were largely Orthodox Christians who, in articulating their political philosophies, revealed a better territorial, ethnic, linguistic, secular, and constitutional understanding of liberal Europe's development, and ^For more on this subject, see Sharabi, Arab Intellectuals, p. 57.

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consequently were chiefly responsible for instilling the nascent pan-Arab trend with the dynamism that translated the nineteenth-century ideal into a progressing reality. 1 As one observer explained it, "Their geography and ecclesiastic history obliged the Orthodox Melkites to view their destiny in Syrian (and later in Arab) terms." Furthermore, Western political, social, and organizational norms, however imperfectly perceived, seemed to provide keys to defining those terms in a manner acceptable to the Syrian Muslim. For, with whatever reluctance, the Orthodox Melkite, in contrast to the Maronite and to some degree the Uniate Melkite as well, could only conceivc of a policy in which the Syrian Muslims would be the numerically dominant element. The unencumbered development of the Orthodox Melkites then depended finally upon the Muslim's abandonment of a polity grounded in Islamic law and institutions. 2 Advocates of particularistic ideologies, strong among Maronites and Uniate Melkites, could not overcome the nagging notion that the triumph of pan-Arab nationalism would signify the triumph of the Muslim. Socialistic measures introduced by President Nasser of Egypt in the early 1960s and the policy of nationalization in Syria adversely affected certain Christian elements, bourgeois middlemen, who found themselves suddenly separated from the base of their economic power and prosperity. To Maronites and other Uniates this was proof enough of their Lebanese coreligionists allegations that the triumph of Arab nationalist policies at home and abroad would signal a status of subjugation for them. The drift to Lebanon from Egypt and Syria meant a drift to Maronite particularism. 3 As a French authority observed, "It devolves on Arab nationalists, Christian and Muslim, to create an entity where the temporal remains charged with religious values and to participate in the same humanism, itself wholly dependent upon the Arab-Muslim legacy. 4 During the period between the two world wars, minority elements enjoyed political and economic success out of proportion to their numbers. This tented to reinforce particularistic attitudes among the more recalcitrant opponents of secular ideologies transcending denominational lines. Still, those Christians who already had separated church from nation in their convictions and lifestyles pursued with renewed vigor the broader aims of Arab nationalism. Educated and sophisticated new generations have come to appreciate more intensely the need for relegating particularistic ideals to the background and for concentrating instead on building a unified state motivated by secular principles that would not altogether eliminate religion from the personal life of the individual. Political exigencies and adverse experience in connection with the unresolved Palestinian problem and the four major wars that it has generated to date have taught young Muslims and Christians alike that particularistic ideologies serve only the interests of those who wish to keep Arab society and culture divided along outmoded and worn out lines.

^For a full treatment of the subject, see Caesar E. Farah, "Impact of the West on Ideological Conflicts in the Arab World," Islamic Culture, XXXV, no 2 (April, 1961), 100-14. ^Haddad, Syrian Christians, pp. 86-87. 3 lbid„ p. 95. ^Louis Gardet, "Nationalisme arabe et communauté musulmane", Correspondance d'Orient, no. 5 (Brussels, 1961), p. 275, cited in Haddad, Syrian Christians, p. 95.

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One reads occasionally that the constitutions of certain Arab countries stipulate that Islam is the religion of the state. Such proclamations constitute a defensive mechanism, stemming more from the psychology of self-assurance than from any deep conviction that nonMuslim citizens pose a threat to the majority religion. More often than not these constitutions declare tolerance of religious differences and equal rights for all — full equality before the law, freedom of opportunity in public and private life, and freedom of religious belief and the exercise thereof. If suspicion of minorities lingers on in certain quarters, it is because of the minorities, suspected loyalties. This explains why Islamic slogans are raised in attempts to solidify Islamic loyalty in the face of the adverse experiences resulting from the Christian West's unwavering support for Israel and the partisans of a politically Christian Lebanon. Those Christians who find in Israel's existence and behavior toward its neighbors a source of comfort and assurance of triumph for their narrow sectarian ideals, have incurred the contempt of those Christians who do not share their view. Be that as it may, one must conclude that the Christian minorities in the Arab world have become increasingly an integral part of their respective societies in terms of opportunities, experiences, and aspirations they share with their Muslim brethren.

RELIGION, ETHNICITY AND CONFLICT IN THE SYRIAN REGION

The Syrian region, comprising modern-day Syria and Lebanon, contains within its territorial span the most diverse and representative form of ethnic and religious groupings of the Arab world. Indeed, it is here that we find the greatest concentration of heterodox sects, both Muslim and Christian, and the best example of ethnic groupings surviving either independently or, for the most part, in the garb of some religious sect. The question we wish to address in this presentation is not so much how such diversity was fostered or allowed to survive, but how this assortment of ethno-scctarians managed to get along for so many centuries until the balance was radically upset and confrontation rather than co-existence became the norm in recent times.

Disunity in Diversity Before we can comment on their relationships and interactions over the centuries and the factors conditioning such attitudes as they have manifested towards each other, it behooves us first to adumbrate them and place their numbers in some perspective. Among the Christians, who constitute some 20% of a 15 million total today, 1 we find, in order of commercial predominance, Byzantine-rite or Orthodox, representing historically and ethnically Greek and Arabian elements with concentrations in Syria proper, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine-Israel. Next we have the Maronites, historically deriving from northern Syria but concentrating themselves in the mountain fastness of Lebanon following strife and resistance in the tenth century. In terms of derivation, they represent Aramaic and South Arabian stock albeit they have chosen, as the politics of the period decreed, to refer to themselves either as Phoenicians or, for a while in the Crusading era, particularly during St. Louis' Crusade, as Frenchmen. Today they hold themselves forth as descendants of the Phoenicians or original Lebanese. The Byzantine rite Uniates, known otherwise as Greek Catholics or Melkites, had split from the Orthodox following disputed elections of a bishop in the late eighteenth century in northern Syria. They are concentrated today in the Aleppo and central Lebanon regions. While religiously, they are closest to their Orthodox brethren, politically, they identify more with fellow Uniate Maronites. The Armenian, a community with its own sectarian preference, is divided among Gregorian (the oldest recognized Christian sect) and Catholic since they acknowledge the leadership of Rome and not Istanbul (seat of the ecumenical Greek Orthodox patriarchate). They fled to the Syrian region following the hardships endured in eastern and southern Anatolia (presently the heartland of modern Turkey) during World War I and have integrated well politically in the Syrian region while preserving much of their cultural and religious heritage.

According to statistics provided by Baer for post-independence Syria when, including Lebanon, the population numbered around six million, the percentage of religious, denominational and ethnic affiliation was as follows: 15% Christian, 11% Alawite, 3% Druze, 1% IsmS'tli, ethnic Kurds 8%, Armenians 4% and Turcomans 3%, See his Population Society, 108-14.

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The Jacobite or Syrian Orthodox was the sectarian choice of the earliest Arabian elements to declare themselves Christian. For some centuries, they were dominant but gradually the majority gravitated to the Byzantine rite. They too have a branch that was lured over to Rome due to the work of Latin missions in the region from the eighteenth century onward. The Uniate branch is often confused with Chaldean Christians, largely because R o m e chose to lump them with the Nestorians who were won over to Rome and who, like the Armenians, had their own distinguishing branch of Christianity. Bishop Nestor gave his name to the Christian faith adopted by the ancient Assyrians, in the same manner as Bishops Jacobus and Maron imparted their names to their followers. Latin rite Catholics, like their Protestant counterparts (represented by an assortment of Episcopalians, Calvinists, Evangelists and Baptists), constitute a negligible part of the whole. The non-native sects originated in Europe and America and were implanted in the region because of the influence exercised over the Ottomans by the Catholic and Protestant European great powers and the Christianizing missions that they endorsed and protected, often over the resistance of native sects. They have figured less prominently in the politics of sectarianism or confessionalism of the region in recent times. They are concentrated chiefly in the Holy Land with Jerusalem serving as their pivotal base.

Muslim

Sectarianism

The Muslim sects are no less numerous than the Christian. By and large, the bulk of Muslims are either Arab in origin or ancient Syrians who became Arabized in Islam. There are also Kurds who subscribe, for the most part, to Sunni Islam. As noted above, Sunnis represent the overwhelming majority of sectarian affiliations in the Syrian region, including Palestinians and Jordanians. The Muslim community is divided between Sunni or orthodox Muslims, constituting some thirteen million in the Syrian region (including Lebanon and Palestine/Israel) and the Shi'ah who, in turn, are subdivided into a number of confessions. T h e mainline Shi'ah, or Twelvers, are known as Matawila in Lebanon. They constitute over a million there and are divided politically along Amal and Hizbullah lines, the latter being the more activist and militant. In Syria proper, an offshoot of the Shi'ah, known as Nusayris or 'Alawis constitute some three quarter of a million (with some several thousand in northern Lebanon) yet are the dominant political force in that country today. Another important offshoot are the Druzes with concentrations in southern Lebanon and Syria and northern Israel. They have little political voice in Syria, a strong one in Lebanon and in Israel, they are the only Muslim element trusted enough by the Israelis to have them serve in their armed forces. There are, in addition, insignificant numbers of Ismailis, or Seveners (some several hundred in Lebanon and a f e w thousand in Syria) whose main interest is in spreading knowledge of their faith through well defined institutions of learning and research. T h e Jewish community or the third of the religious systems of the region, is largely concentrated in the present state of Israel; most of the Jews of Lebanon and Syria—formerly a f e w thousand—have left for Israel. Like the 'Alawis of Syria, the Jews of Israel control the political destiny of the state with the non-Jewish elements playing a negligible, if any, role in its political life of the country.

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The Foreign Connection Having defined broadly the religious systems and denominations prevalent in the Syrian region, we shall now attempt to show how the ethnic connection with religion is established. It is safe to state that the predominant element of Sunni Muslims and Orthodox Christians is the Arabian, both of the southern and northern variety. The Maronites for the most part are likewise of Arabian, largely southern, albeit in the fifth and sixth centuries they were identified with a militant element known as the Maradah who, when Arab Muslims were attacking Byzantine territories, tended to support the Byzantines as the lesser of the two evils. After fleeing to the northern mountains of Lebanon in the ninth century, they established a connection with the Crusaders. This led to their acquiring a European (largely French and Italian) ethnic connection but not enough to water down the original. Culturally, on the other hand, especially in the next several centuries, they came to identify themselves more and more with their Catholic counterparts in Europe, especially the French. The Shî'ah Muslims of the Twelver persuasion are heavily infused with Persian blood; indeed, as early as the seventh century, the Umayyad caliphs of Syria allowed large numbers of them to settle in the west central and southern regions of Lebanon. Fiarly in 1500, the rising Safavid dynasty in Persia established Shiism as the national religion of their country in order to distinguish themselves from the Sunni Ottoman dynasty to the west. Ethnic elements in Syria of the Shiah persuasion subscribed largely either to the Twelver or the Sevener branch. The 'Alawites are concentrated largely in the northwest corner of present day Syria. They too betray strong foreign ethnic connections antedating the Byzantine era. French archeologists in the 1930s sought to establish a Phoenician connection for them on the basis of studies pointing to cultic practices surviving from that period. Again during the Crusading century, they too acquired a heavy infusion of European blood, located, as the Alawis were, along the main route of the land invasion of the Crusaders. Another element that found itself intermixing with the Europeans are the Greek Catholics. Concentrated largely in the Aleppo region and active in the silk trade with European traders, they were susceptible to intermarriages and to an on-going process of acculturation that made them, like their Maronite fellow Uniates, quite comfortable in a Francophone culture. While the Druzes may have had Persians in their line, they derive largely of Arabian, both southern and northern stock. They acquired their separatist identity following the work of Darazi, a minister of the eleventh century Fatimid caliph al-Hakim of Egypt. In the nineteenth century, they were courted by American Protestant missions, who believed they could convert them to Protestantism and establish for them a British connection, largely to counter their Maronite adversaries' French connection. During the same century, the Russians acquired a similar protective status vis-à-vis the Byzantine rite Christians in the Syrian region. This connection was less menacing and more tolerable to their Ottoman overlords before the Crimean war than that of the French and the British, largely because the Russians were seen as protecting Ottoman interests in Syria while the French and British had designs on the region. The only elements of the region that relied on no European connection were the Muslim, both Sunni and mainline Shiah. Islam, being an Arabian religion in its inception and historical development, it stood to reason that the tie would only become stronger over the centuries. Yet when it came to a choice between espousing a form of Arabism betraying secular connections, the tradition-oriented ulema tended to veer away and espouse an ideology strictly Islamic in its orientation.

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The Greek Christians in this century, especially following the lapse of Russia into Bolshevism, tended to support a universalist secularist ideology given the fact that they, like their Sunni counterparts, were dispersed in the Syrian region and were not anchored in any particular geographical locality.

The Search for a Unifying Ideology In the waning days of the Ottoman imperium, Greek-rite Christians and Sunni Muslims supported the call for a modified and modernized form of Ottomanism in order to safeguard the traditional ethno-sectarian lines first defined under the rubric of the millet structure. The Ottoman sultans had established the millet system quite early in the career of the state as the mode best suited to exercise sovereignty over disparate elements, both Christian and Muslim, that had been integrated politically in the empire. It was in line with the Islamic injunction that allowed peoples who worshipped the same one God of diverse backgrounds ethnically to continue their established form of worship under the protective umbrella of Islam and those who were in charge of its destiny. The prototype of the millet was the dhimmi of the Arab caliphal era which lasted until the Ottoman takeover in 1517. The effect of the millet system of governing minority elements was to solidify the sense of identity, ethnic and sectarian, characterizing each. All Jews of the empire constituted one millet headed by its grand rabbi. Each Christian millet was headed by its highest ranking clerical official, bishop to patriarch. Muslims, however, were regarded as belonging to the dominant and ruling millet headed by the sultan and advised on matters affecting it by the Shaykh al-lslam, the top-most adviser on Islamic matters to the sultan. The millet structure allowed the Orthodox community's leadership to enjoy greater cavil and clerical power than it had in the days of the Great Church of the Byzantine empire 1 . But the latitude granted each ethno-sectarian community coupled with the pattern of autonomy that ensued only served to consolidate differences and keep them apart juridically and religiously. This type of compartmentalization of loyalties served 1) to strengthen the hold of clerical heads in preserving a religious identity which, in turn, lent validity to the underlying ethnic derivation and 2) to provide a ready made tool for the imperial powers of Europe to exploit this sense of separatism of each to rally support against the other. This was legitimized by the protégé system that evolved in strength in inverse proportion to the weakening of the bonds of loyalty to the ultimate governing authority regionally and centrally.

Separatism and Isolation The pattern of insular existence prevalent among ethnic and sectarian groupings did not foster close ties. Yet it would be an exaggeration to subscribe to the views of French authors who, in justifying their rule over Syria (1920-45), spoke of a "minority complex" strengthened over the centuries by "a collective and pathological susceptibility, which makes every gesture of the neighboring community appear as a menace or a challenge to one's own community" 2 . ^Haddad, 21. Weulersse, Paysans, 77.

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Detached Arab scholars view the attitudes of minority groupings in a much more moderate light, particularly since they led an existence prescribed by the dhimmi or millet status which did ensure relative harmony among the sects. This historical fact would refute the harsher view that antagonisms characterized relationships before the injection of imperial rivalries on the Middle East scene 1 .

European

Meddling

What the Ottomans had granted in the heyday of their power as a privilege to "friendly powers" boomeranged in the nineteenth century. Tolerance now became a license for European powers to meddle in millet affairs. Direct interference eventually became the instrument for disrupting millet loyalties. A s one might surmise, the Ottoman sultan's bond with his non-Muslim subjects and heterodox Muslim elements were being loosened by the protégé system that enabled each European power to cast an umbrella of "protection" over co-religionist sects of the empire 2 . It is during this phase that inter-sectarian mistrust arose with minority Muslim sects growing suspicious of fellow Muslims adhering to the majority system and the Muslims growing angrier over direct European meddling on behalf of protégés of various millets. What positive good might have come from such European interference was offset by the end results: conflict and hatred. As Professor Hourani noted, "The activities of the European Powers improved the situation of the religious minorities (Christian), but also drew upon them the hatred of the Government and the majority. They were regarded as potential traitors, sources of weakness and instruments of European policy: in general as dangers to the Empire and to the Islamic community" 3 . In the nineteenth century, millets were looked upon by the ruling sultan more as reaya (shepherded flock) than as subjects. It implied a paternal concern for the well being of the governed albeit the means were not always there to provide for their economic and administrative welfare. The situation was rendered more negative when, in the nineteenth century, rival European powers intensified their interference even in the process of governing. The aim of such interference was to disrupt the Ottoman empire and hasten its territorial disintegration as finally came to pass at the end of World War I. This unwarranted interference not only served to aggravate relationships of the millets with the sultan's government, but also with each other as inter-sectarian suspicions and hatreds mounted.

Roots of Sectarian

Confrontation

Muhammad Ali's conquest of Syria in 1831 and his institution of domestic changes not popular with most of the sects, led to resistance, especially on the part of the Druzes in southern Syria or the Hawran who rose in revolt in 1838. Lacking sufficient man power to suppress the revolt, his son Ibrahim (commander of the Egyptian forces) armed and enlisted Maronites of Mt.

^Hourani, Syria and Lebanon, 137-45; also his 'Race, Religion and Nation State in the Middle East" in his A Vision of History. 2 With the exception of the British who cast their protective arms around the Druzes of Mt. Lebanon and some of the Christian sectarians who had embraced Protestantism. See Tibawi, American Interests (77 seq) for more detail on the Protestant-Druze-British connection. • Hourani, "Minorities", 213.

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Lebanon to suppress the Druzes. When ousted from the region in 1840, Maronites and Druzes confronted each other for the first time in an atmosphere of hostility. The French had lost the special status they had enjoyed under Muhammad Ali in Syria, particularly in Mt. Lebanon where they had encouraged the Uniate clergy to cement relationships with the Egyptian pasha's deputy, Emir Bashîr II, the governor of Mt. Lebanon. French consular agents, some of Maronite origin 1 , sought to regain the influence that they enjoyed during the Egyptian interregnum 1831-40) by urging their Uniate protégés to resist the authority of Druze overlords who, after 1841, came to enjoy the protection of British consular agents. Having played a key role in the recovery of Syria for the Ottoman sultan, the British gained a strong political voice in the councils of his government, the Sublime Porte, as the French lost their traditional influence by having supported Muhammad Ali. It was Palmerston as First Secretary for Foreign Affairs who had engineered the European Quadruple alliance that ousted the ally of France, Muhammad Ali, from Syria.

Impact of the Crimean War (1853-1856) Another aggravating factor in inter-denominational and sectarian relationships was the increasing encroachment of Evangelical Protestantism, which sought converts from whichever millet lent itself to the process. As a consequence, they encountered strong resistance from both the Uniate and Greek Orthodox millets,, abetted by France and Austria on one hand and Russia on the other. The Ottoman governor at Damascus spoke up for the native millets under siege with support from the Russian consul general of Syria. The Russians supported their proteges against the imperial encroachments of French and British rivals and the assault of evangelical missions on the patriarch's flock 2 . The Crimean War of 1853-56 reversed the political prestige of the Russians in Syria and turned a once tolerant Muslim millet anti European and anti Christian. Civil disturbances along ethno-sectarian lines had been generated in the Syrian region in the 1840s as a result partially of the intensification of Anglo-French rivalry. The intersectarian conflicts that ensued culminated in major catastrophes and massacres in 1860 in both Damascus and Mt. Lebanon. There followed two years of disturbances directed against Europeans by Muslim elements from Jidda in Arabia to Aleppo in Syria. The Crimean War was the last straw in arousing Muslim anger against Christian supporters of the European powers who pushed the Ottomans into the war. It was also the first time that more recruits from the Syrian region had been compelled to serve in Ottoman armies battling in the Crimea. In the eyes of Syrian Muslims, the Christian millets had now become the instrument for disrupting Ottoman rule from within and without.

^To wit, Poujade, consul in Beirut in the 1840s and principal agent in stirring up Maronite wars with the Druzes. His Arabic name was Abu Jawdah, a prominent Maronite family of Mt. Lebanon. 2 For the range and extent of resistance to Protestant attempts to convert natives see Tibawi 31-58; also Caesar Farah's following articles: "Protestantism and Politics" and "Protestantism and British Diplomacy in Syria". A detailed one-volume account published in 2000 under the title of The Politics of Interventionism in Ottoman Mount Lebanon, 1830-61.

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Ideology

What made the process of disruption irreversible was the absence of any uniform ideology that could cut across millet lines of sectarian demarcation. Hitherto, the only unifying factor was a thin thread that tied the heads of each millet to the central governing authority in the person of the sultan. Each millet had no reason to think in terms of how it could be bound ideologically with a neighboring one leading, as it did for centuries, a smuggish sclf-contained existence and being preoccupied almost exclusively with its own internal affairs. But as nationalism gained currency in Europe, it was bound to spill over into Syrian society under a variety of inducements, not the least of which were the educational establishments promoted by both Catholic and Protestant missions. It was not long before more Syrians availed themselves of Western ideas through dircct contact and indirect exposure. A process of modernization evolved in the latter part of the nineteenth century as a result also of increased journalistic publications which reflected much of the progress taking place in Europe. There were publications that were devoted to bringing to light the great cultural heritage of Arab Islam by focusing on the classical age when Arabic and Islamic contributions were at the height of achievement. As the process stepped up in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, educated and enlightened Ottoman citizens, Christian and Muslim alike, began to take pride in this rich heritage and to search for ways to cut across millet lines in order to strengthen the Ottoman state as the best alternative to complete disintegration. Regrettably, the "Reformed Ottomanism" that they advocated as a common unifying denominator was shattered on the rock of the secularist nationalist preachings of Pan Turanism and of the Pan Arabism that evolved in reaction to the former. Both were secular and nationalistic ideologies. Meanwhile, the Islamic community of the Arab world had been energized by preachings of an Islamic revival and purification aimed at accentuating the basics of Islam, eliminating the dead weight of medieval accretions and uniting all of Islam for political action to counter the imperial assaults of the European powers. One might call this process the beginnings of an "Islamic nationalism", some scholars choose to call it "Islamic fundamentalism". A better definition would be "Islamism". It was more a prescription for modernization than a springboard for action against imperialism whose course was chosen by the two secular ideologies of Turanism and Arabism. World War I brought the process to a halt and new patterns in search of communal identity and fulfillment evolved in consequence of the Syrian region lapsing under French rule instead of gaining the independence its nationalist leaders sought. New political divisions took place in the Arabian provinces of the east. Greater Syria was fragmented politically to form Lebanon, Syria and Palestine without respect for the millet structure that simply lapsed with the demise of the Ottoman empire. The over-all impact of French rule was to strengthen separatist movements along sectarian lines in order to weaken the pan-nationalist or Syrian movement for unity and independence. Under the Mandate system sanctified by the League of Nations in 1920, the French proceeded to redraw the Syrian political map. Palestine was bartered away to the British in exchange for oil concessions in the northern Iraqi region. The rest of Syria was carved up into statelets which did indeed respect, to some extent, ethno-sectarian proclivities of the natives: the 'Alawites had their own administration in the northwest, the Sunni Muslim and

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other sectarians w h o inhabited the interior stretching f r o m Aleppo to Damascus constituted another entity and the Druzes were allowed to have their own structure in southern Syria and the Hawran. Only Lebanon was excluded f r o m an arrangement that would respect traditional ethno-sectarian separatism for the simple reason it was too small, even after the French added to the original administrative unit, vast tracts, like the Biqa' valley to the east, Tripoli and environs to the northwest and what is now southern Lebanon bordering on present-day Israel. They also respected administratively the pattern of allotting government posts by sectarian affiliation in proportion to the size of each. T h e main purpose was to reward the Uniate Catholic denominations for their traditional ties to France. T h e over-all impact of Western rule in Syria as in Palestine, Egypt and Iraq, was to strengthen separatist movements and to fragment any ideological trend calling for unity and independence 1 . Thus, under the Mandate system, ethno-sectarian minorities emerged to the forefront of political and economic life in their respective administrative entities as they continued to capitalize on their Western connections. Under the umbrella of French rule, some took advantage to consolidate their separatist trends in the guise of "Phoenicianism" for the Maronites of Lebanon or "Zionism" for the Jews of Palestine, the two elements that steadfastly combated any trend towards political assimilation in a broader political entity as called for by majority and even minority sects (like Druzes and 'Alawites) in the Syrian region whose political fragmentation they resisted and continue to do so until today. Advocates of Broad-Based

Ideologies

Those who espoused a broad-based unifying movement derived f r o m the majority millet or Sunni Islam. Those who resented the ouster of Sultan Abdiilhamit in 1909 continued to espouse a nationalism grounded firmly in Islam. The secularist Muslims tended to advocate Arab nationalism as best suited to cut across denominational and sectarian lines and serve as the instrument for gaining independence with the religious tie being relegated to the background. Greek Christians took the initiative in advocating specific ideologies that would serve such a purpose. They, like their Sunni counterparts, were dispersed in the Syrian region. So no particularistic ideology based on a territorial configuration could serve such a purpose as it might for Maronites in Lebanon or Jews in Palestine. Druzes and 'Alawites, while enjoying strong communal bonds among themselves, were not strongly advocating a territorial base to perpetuate a separatist existence. Nor were indeed the Shiah Muslims who too were concentrated in certain areas of the region. It is only in the last decade, following the success of the Islamic revolution in Iran and the avowed aim of its Ayatollahs to export the process that their fellow Shiah supporters led by the activist Hizbullah undertook to launch a campaign to establish an Islamic republic in south Lebanon where they constitute a majority of the inhabitants. In spite of hindrances from governing French authorities, the architects of broader ideologies did not cease to advocate an all-embracing nationalism. T h e leaders of such movements as the Syrian Nationalist Party 2 and the Ba'th Party 3 had one basic motive in mind, ^For a fuller treatment of the impact, see Caesar E. Farah, "Impact of the West", 100-14. Its ideologue was Antun Sa'adi, a young Greek Orthodox who hailed from the Shuwayr town of M t Lebanon, but, under pressure of Mandate authorities, was compelled to flee to Argentina on board a German submarine in 1938. He maintained that all inhabitants of the greater Syrian region (stretching from the Taurus mountains in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba in the south, the Euphrates in the east to the Mediterranean in the west) constituted one nationality and one inherited tradition enriched by the diversity of those who inhabited it historically. He returned in 1947 to continue his work but was betrayed by Husni al-Za'im, the then military dictator of Syria, who handed him over to the Lebanese government. Fearing he might undo the Lebanon that they inherited from the French, they tried him for treason and executed him. The movement did not die with his death and has since then experienced a revival. ^Founded by Michel 'Aflaq, another Greek Christian and Salah al-Bitar, a Sunni Muslim, both of Damascus, in 1947 as a full-fledged political party with branches in other Arab countries, titled "The Arab Resurrectionist Socialist Party" with a pan-Arab platform and a Syrian role in leading the Arab world towards reunification. (Resolutions of the Fifth National Congress of the Party in 1962). 2

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the former: independence and unity of Greater Syria; the latter: independence and unity for Syria as a prelude to the unification of all Arabs as once advocated by the late nineteenth century Pan-Arab advocates 1 . In articulating their political philosophies, these and other enlightened leaders revealed a better territorial, ethnic, linguistic, secular and constitutional understanding of liberal European principles. They now found themselves in the vanguard of a dynamic movement that aimed at translating nineteenth-century Arab ideals into a progressing reality2. Greek Christians, both Orthodox and Uniate, were not alone in the search f o r a broad-based ideology that would cut across ethnic and denominational lines albeit they took the initiative, aided by an assortment of Druzes, Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and 'Alawites. Yet in spite of the non-denominational ideological base sought for it by its founder, the Syrian Nationalist Party catered largely to the Greek Orthodox population 3 . Perhaps it is because as one observer put it, "Their geography and ecclesiastic history [which] obliged the Orthodox Melkites to view their destiny in Syrian (and later in Arab) terms, however imperfectly perceived" 4 . He goes on to state further that "with whatever reluctance, the Orthodox Mclkite, in contrast to the Maronite and to some degree the Uniate Melkite as well, could only conceive of a polity in which the Syrian Muslims would be the numerically dominant element" 5 . Hut for the effectuation of the secular ideal advocated by Christian nationalist ideologies, the Muslim would have to abandon a polity historically grounded in Islamic law and institutions, a course which the majority who had been turning increasingly back to Islam for moral and political guidance were not prepared to do. The Ba'th leadership has taken cognizance of this phenomenon and has responded by catering more and more to the Islamic dimension as an aid in advancing Ba'th ideology, especially after the disaster of the H a m a uprising in 1982 which targeted the Sunni Muslim activists' attempts to unseat the Ba'thi government of Hafiz al-Asad. Today the Ba'th finds itself in a stronger position in view of the progress achieved economically and internationally. T h e majority of Syrians, including the Sunnis who hitherto mistrusted this leadership, have shown greater tolerance for it.

Impact

ofNasserism

The brand of Arab nationalism that was destined to enjoy the greatest appeal in the Arab world was that advocated by President Nasser of Egypt who in the 1950s, mesmerized his listeners from Morocco to Yemen through the powerful broadcasts of "The Voice of the Arabs", gaining a large following, especially among the rank and file of Muslims and Arab nationalists alike. But the short-lived union with Syria (1958-1961) did not serve to promote his brand of ideology which came to be defined largely as Nasserism because it stressed a socialism which adversely affected the fortunes of middle class elements, both Muslim and Christian, in Syria. It resulted from the policy of nationalization which Nasser had first implemented in Egypt and now sought to transplant in Syria 6 . ' For a brief account of the Ba'th party's rise to predominance, see Rabinovich, Syria under the Ba'th. Farah, "Impact of the West" and Christian Communities, 11. 3 Zuwiyya-Yamak, The Syrian Social Nationalist Party, 142. 4 Haddad, 86. 5 Ibid., 86-87. 6 For a concise statement on Nasser's socialism, see Kerr, "The Emergence of a Socialist". 2

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T o Maronite and other skeptics among minority groups, Nasserism was proof enough that the triumph of his brand of nationalism would signal a status of subjugation for them, especially when the socialism and nationalism now promulgated was to be based on Islamic premises with attending legal implications for non-Muslim communities. T h e rise of Islamic tendencies in Arabia, Egypt, Iran and Jordan, only served to accentuate the fears of Christian communities, particularly of the Uniate Catholics of Lebanon. For them the ascendancy of nationalism anchored in Islam would signal a return to the erstwhile dhimmi status of early Islam, especially if the so-called Muslim fundamentalists should succeed in putting into effect an Islamic agenda for the reorientation of state and society. The creation of the state of Israel, anchored as it is in politicized Judaism and fueled by Zionist ideology, may have served to date to ensure the Jewish identity in a sea of hostility and in a situation not comfortable to live with when one considers that the non-Jewish Muslims and Christians in Israel and the neighboring territories have persisted over the last forty-seven years in their struggle to assert their own independent identity. While entities such as the Uniates of Lebanon have no territorial base to fall back on, nor even a commensurate military capability to foster a comparable separatism, Israel, by contrast, has been completely successful in ensuring the separatism of the Jewish community which it serves. A f t e r a bloody struggle lasting fifteen years, the Maronites have come around to the realization that they need to reach an accommodation with other sectarians, as hostile as Ihey may be to the idea of a "Christian" state, in order for them to perpetuate the status quo ante bellum and allow them to salvage some of their para-military organizations like the Phalangists. Resisting any attempt to submerge their identity in a sea of Arabism or Islamism has been at the core of their struggle to safeguard a separate and Christian identity for Lebanon, even though the majority of Lebanese of all sects did not share their goals. Only after having failed on the battlefield and lapsed into factional bloody fighting among themselves did the Maronites and their supporters accede to the Taif agreement of 1989 which, for all practical purposes restored with some slight modification the system that had prevailed in Lebanon before the civil war. One need not recount the painful events of the last two decades which demonstrated, once again, that when politics is wedded to religion, nothing but disaster for all concerned can ensue. Quite clearly, the so-called Lebanese civil war was anything but what the pro-Maronite propagandists were trumpeting at home and abroad, that the struggle is for the survival of Christianity when, in reality, the struggle was f o r preserving the political and economic ascendancy of this community and its allies among Sunni Muslim factions 1 . Most of the rest— Druzes, Shiahs, Greek Christians, Armenians and Sunni Muslims (including Palestinians) — were aligned against them. In Syria, there was no question of Sunni activists seeking to undermine the ruling 'Alawite faction's hold on government as the brutal suppression in 1982 of the H a m a uprising of conservative Sunnis instigated by Muslim Brethren activists clearly demonstrated.

' See Caesar E. Farah's "Lebanon at the Crossroads" in The Middle East Annual.

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Communities

The tenuous status of Christian and other minority communities in the Syrian region today is the result of their having called in the foreigner for protection. Its roots lie more immediately in the period between the two World Wars when the region was under French domination, a strongly Catholic power who incurred nothing but the wrath of non-Muslim communities for its discriminating policies against non-Uniate communities. By fostering and exploiting the differences between ethno-sectarian communities in order to strengthen their hold on Syria, the French aggravated relations among the sects. 'Alawites and Druzes were prevented f r o m integrating into the predominantly Sunni Muslim state until after Syria gained its independence. Encouraged to avail themselves of geography and demographic concentrations in the northwest and southwest of Syria, 'Alawites and Druzes were able to strengthen their solidarity and collectively. This rendered them less susceptible to full integration in a nation-state to which they had not become accustomed, owing to the separatist existence promoted from even before the French era.

Concluding

Remarks

With the rise of Islamic tendencies in the Syrian region, as demonstrated more recently by parliamentary elections in Jordan, the insistence of the Hizbullah in pursuing the establishment of an Islamic republic in south Lebanon, and other evidence of hostility towards secular nationalism in the region, as still typified by Ba'th party principles, one can continue to foresee the concern of minority sects over the prospects of Islam becoming the dominant political ideology of the region. Whether fear and suspicion can be dissipated by minority communities recognizing at last that their long-range survival rests with espousing an ideology that lies outside the realm of ethno-sectarianism is a matter of speculation at present. Suffice it to say, such communities no longer play the assertive role that they once had when they could rely on some outside power to sustain their separatist proclivities. Their fate lies in their making the necessary accommodation that would enable them to survive, as they did in early centuries, with an Islam asserting itself ideologically, as it must, given the overwhelming numerical advantage it enjoys not only in the Syrian region, but throughout the Middle Bast as well.

Bibliographical

References

Baer, Gabriel, Population and Society in the Arab World, New York, 1964. Collelo, Thomas, Ed., Lebanon, a Country Study, 3d. ed, Washington D.C. Government Office, 1987. Farah, Caesar, Christian Communities in the Arab World: Majority-Minority Relations, North Dartmouth: AAUG Information Papers N 12 (March 1974), 1-13. "Impact of the West on Ideological Conflicts in the Arab World" in Islamic Culture, 35/2 (1961), 100-114. "Lebanon at the Crossroads" in The Middle East Annual, Boston : G. K. Hall, 1982), 69-112. "Protestantism and British Diplomacy in Syria" in International Journal of Middle East Studies, 7 (1676), 321-344. "Protestantism and Politics, the 19th Century Dimension in Syria", Palestine in the Late Ottoman Period, ed. David Kushner (Jerusalem & Leiden: Brill, 1986), 320-340.

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Haddäd, Robert, Syrian Christians in Muslim Society, an Interpretation. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970. Hourani, Albert, A Vision of History., Beirut, 1961. "Minorities" in The Contemporary Middle East, ed. Benjamin Rivlin & Joseph Szyliowicz, New York: Random House, 1965. Minorities in the Arab World, London, 1947. Syria and Lebanon, London, 1946. Kerr, Malcolm, "The Emergence of a Socialist Ideology in Egypt" in The Middle East Journal, XVI (1962), 127-144. Rabinovich, Itimar, Syria under the Ba'th, 1963-1966: the Army-Party Symbiosis, New York: Halsted Press, 1972. Rondot, Pierre, "The Minorities in the Arab Orient Today" in Middle Eastern Affairs, X (1959), 214218. Tibawi, A. L., A Modern History of Syria, London, 1969. American interests in Syria, 100-1910, Oxford, 1966. Weulersse, J., Paysans de Syrie et du Proche Orient, Paris, 1946. Zawiya-Yamak, Labib, The Syrian Nationalist Party: an Ideological Analysis, Cambridge, Mass., 1966.

THE IMPACT OF THE WEST ON THE CONFLICT OF IDEOLOGIES IN THE ARAB WORLD

The impact of the West on the evolution of conflicting ideologies in the Arab World during the past century and particularly in the interim of the first and second World Wars has been determinative if not decisive. Although the impact has been linked historically with the cultural reawakening of the Arab World, it revealed itself most intriguingly and paradoxically in the political relations of the leading European states, France and Britain, with the Arab World. There were three important developments in the nineteenth century of relevance to the course and pattern of Western involvement in the Arab World: the rise of a modern state in Egypt inspired by Western techniques and ideals as represented by revolutionary France; the emergence of a puritanical Muslim revivalist, ideology in the Arabian peninsula which pointed out the feasibility of a general Islamic awakening; and the eruption of sectarian warfare in Lebanon and Syria which focused attention on the rivalistic interests and aims of the two European powers and paved the way for the rise of particular and conflicting ideologies. 1 These developments set the stage for the pattern pursued by the West in its dealings with the Arab World, defined broadly as one of challenge and response. In the nineteenth century the Europe of liberalism and nationalism provided the impulses for an intellectual fermentation and a subsequent cultural and political awakening which recognized the need for reform. More specifically, the West established educational institutions that became instrumental in the Arab rediscovery of a glorious past; it opened up avenues of travel to European centers of intense nationalistic and liberal thinking where receptive Arab minds were exposed to revolutionary ideologies based thereon, and it introduced modern media of communication, such as the press, which gave rise to scores of publications and journals that served as vehicles for diffusing the rediscovered wealth and eloquence of classical Arabic literature and the Arabic language, as a testimony of supreme Arab achievement in forlorn times. 2 Aroused intellectual curiosity opened the gates to highly charged western concepts-' which eventually supplied the impetus for developing a nationalistic conscience that found expression in "Arabism" (al-'Urubah). During this formative stage, ideological fermentation was rife and rebellious against traditional ideals; for although enlightening, the intellectual awakening proved to be diversifying and at times confusing. Yet as ideas began to take on socio-political forms, two definite trends emerged: a nationalistic secular movement sired by Western ideals and purposing the revitalization of the Arab World by combining nationalism and constitutionalism, reformism and revolutionary activism, and a non-secular Islamic revivalist movement aiming at preserving the solidarity of the Muslim World under the Ottoman caliphal authority in the face of an aggressive West. 4 ' For a thorough review of this problem see Farah, C. E. Problems of the Ottoman Administration 1840-1861, Princeton University, Ph. D. dissertation, 1957. 2 Arab Office, The Arab World and the Arab League (ed. S. C. Wadi), 1951, p. 4.

in the

Lebanon,

•^More specifically, such concepts, as "fatherland", "nation", "nationalism", "equality", "natural rights", "liberalism", "democracy" seized upon as symbols of awakening; for details consult Khuri, Ra'id, al-Fikr al'Arabi al-Hadlth Beirut, 1943, pp. 125 seq. ^For a broader analysis see Nuseibeh, H. Z. The Ideas of Arab Nationalism, Cornell University Press, 1956.

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Three groups affected by Western knowledge were instrumental in the crystallization of these trends: a "Westernized" group that embraced fully and unreservedly the ideals of the West and spearheaded Western policy interests in the Arab World; a "middle-of-the-road" group that adapted western ideals to its Arabic heritage, rendering it activistic and nationalistic and that steered an independent course politically, and finally a "rejectionist" non-secular group brandishing the sword of revitalized Islamism to dam the tide of western ideals and their impact on the thinking of Arabs exposed to them. 1 The course of the two trends evolving under stimuli derived from the West became more clearly distinguished in the opening decade of the twentieth century under the impact of the panTuranian policy of the Young Turks when the A r a b secularists demanded greater political freedom, while the Islamists argued for solidarity with the Ottomans. As the dust on the fruitless struggle settled at the outbreak of World W a r I, Arab thinkers found themselves in two conflicting camps: pan-Islamism and pan-Arab nationalism. Adherents of the former were strong in Egypt; of the latter in Lebanon and Syria. Jamal al-Din al-Afghani has been regarded as the foremost formulator of the pan-Islamic ideology in modern times, conceived by him as an essentially defensive weapon against the encroachment by Western powers on Islamic lands. In Egypt al-Afghani won over to his thinking such powerful thinkers as M u h a m m a d ' A b d u h and the latter's Syrian student, Muhammad Rashid Rida, plus many other disciples of "al-'Urwah al-Wuthqa." 2 Egyptian thinkers seized upon pan-Islamism as a weapon for combating British colonialism there. An alliance thereby was struck up with "Egyptianism," a movement that had been striving towards the same goal ever since A h m a d 'Urabi had uttered the cry "Egypt for the Egyptians." 3 Egyptianism was strictly a particular ideology invoked by the British impact and struggling within the framework of Islamism and Ottomanism to free Egypt f r o m British control. Passionately involved in their special problem, Egyptian thinkers were unconcerned with the problem of the Arab nationalists in Syria who similarly employed their ideology as a weapon for ridding themselves of another foreign rule, the Ottoman. The Arab nationalists, led mostly by Christians but soon joined by Muslims 4 who did not share the Egyptian Muslim sense of kinship with the Ottoman state, and having despaired of obtaining administrative reforms, began soliciting support f r o m Europe. A s a matter of fact the first Arab nationalist conference held in 1913 was convened in Paris. 5 When the demands formulated at this conference and submitted to the Porte came to naught, Arab intellectuals and officers went underground in their secret societies and bided their time for action.

' A leading advocate of this position in recent years is 'Abd al-Rahman 'Azzam; for a detached presentation of his view see his al-Risälah al-Khilidah, Cairo, 1947 edition. - T h e s e include such leading literary figures as 'Abdallah al-Nadim, Qäsim Amin, Waliy al-Din Yakan and Mustafa al-Manfalüti; for other partisans of pan-Islamism see Rida, M. R., Tarikh al-Ustadh al-lmam al-Shaykh Muhammad 'Abduh, Cairo; al-Manar, 1931, vol. II, pp. 339 seq. 3 O n November 4, 1879, a group of army officers led by Arabi and supported by al-Afghani founded the Nationalist Party, first of its kind in Egypt, to fight the mounting British influence. See 'Arabi, A., Kashf alSitär 'an Sirr al-Asrär fi al-Nahdah al-Misriyah al-Mashhürah bi al-Thawrah al-Arabiyah, Cairo, Vol. I, p. 16. 4 I t was towards the end of the nineteenth century when Muslim Arabs, largely owing to the preachings of 'Abd alR a h m ä n al-Kawakibi, began to assume a prominent role in the Arab nationalist movement; see an article by Muhammad Kurd 'Ali in al-Hiläl, April, 1939 issue, p. 24. 5 Khatib, Muhibb al-Din al-, al-Mu'tamar al-'Arabi al-Awwal Cairo, 1913, p. 19.

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With the outbreak of the war, prodded by excesses committed by Ottoman military authorities in the Syrian provinces, the nationalists rallied under the banner of revolt unfolded by Sharif Husayn of Mecca who agreed to support the allied war effort in return for British recognition of full independence and unity for all Arab states north of the Sinai Peninsula. Yet when the time for accounting arrived, the Arab leaders of the nationalist revolt discovered to their chagrin what while they consented to enter the war on certain terms, their allies in the Sykes-Picot agreements already had decided on the division of their lands into French and British controlled territories. A fruitless effort was made at the Paris Peace Conference to secure the fulfillment of the allied pledge and in 1920, "the year of catastrophe", at San Remo, Britain and France won legal recognition for a political a priori under the guise of the mandate. The years 1920-1948 of the mandate are important in that they revealed fully the political facet of the Western impact, when the West shifted, in the eyes of Arab idealists, from the role of inspirer and guide to that of a despotic aggressor. Whereas hitherto the impact was mostly tacit, inspiring and largely cultural, henceforth it becomes open and aggressive, aiming at the realization of political ends. To achieve such ends, the West resorted to the tactics of divide and rule. While Ottoman rule may have been barren in cultural values and lacking in creative impulses, it had not attempted to destroy the Arabism of such areas as Lebanon and Syria. 1 Under the Ottomans the Arab provinces in west Asia enjoyed administrative unity, but as "... the dust on World War I settled in the Arab World, there arose from the confusion of these eventful early post-War years ten political entities under diverse foreign administration in the area whose people expected to emerge independent and unified." 2 With the process of dismemberment approaching its end, some twenty-five separate political entities came into existence on Arab soil under French, British, Spanish and Italian installed regimes. 3 With Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Lebanon already tucked under her belt, France in 1920 proceeded to uproot the short-lived Arab kingdom in Syria of Faysal, the son of H u s a y n ; Britain consolidated her hold in Iraq, carved Transjordan out of Syria and rewarded Abdallah with its throne, and then looked on tacitly while the Zionist ideology began to implant itself feverishly in Palestine. Armed uprising in protest against the peace settlement were the reaction of the thwarted Arab nationalists in Syria, Palestine and Iraq. 4 It is while seeking to broaden the base of their political control that the mandatory powers, and especially France, resorted to the policy of encouraging and supporting a new form of shu 'ubiyah, or particular ideologies based on sectarian distinctiveness, in order to distract from the pan-Arab ideology of the nationalists. Yet in the debris of shattered expectations and reverses, the nationalists acquired a clearer notion of their basic ideals and goals, namely to undo dismemberment and work for unification and independence. The foundation for the rising edifice of Shu'ubiyahs, had already been excavated under Ottoman rule: in the autonomous existence of sectarian millets and in the close ties certain millets enjoyed under the capitulatory system with European powers. Consequently, particular, ideologies were confined almost exclusively to the groups in certain localities that had enjoyed extensive contacts with Western nations. 5

^Atiyah, Edward, The Arabs, Edinburgh; Penguin 1955, pp. 42. seq. ^Sayegh, Fayez A., Arab Unity, New York; Evin-Adair, 1958, p. 36. Ibid., p. 42. 4 Antonius, George, The Arab Awakening, New York; Putnam 1946 p. 312. 3

5

F o r details consult Sharrarah, 'Abd al-Latif, Fi al-Qawmlyah

al-'Arabiyah,

Beirut: Qalffit, 1957, p. 73.

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As movements based on distinguishing ideologies developed and expanded in the period under consideration, they tended to fall into three broad categories: the strictly local movements 1 such as "Phoenicianism" in Lebanon and "Pharoanism" in Egypt; regional movements 2 such as Greater Syrian nationalism, and pan movements 3 such as pan-Arab nationalism and panIslamism. The champions of these particular ideologies consisted of organized political parties and societies as well as non-affiliated intellectual groups. France seems to have specialized in fostering local movements, while Britain tended more often than not to support the regional and pan movements. The strategy of both aimed at preoccupying the newly created political units with problems and grievances peculiar to them and to drive wedges between the units. 4 The weapons of France in cultivating ideological separatism were religious and educational institutions already at work in areas such as Lebanon and Algeria; the weapon used by Britain was the manipulation of rival political trends within and without the Arab states under her jurisdiction. In the Lebanon, France launched her mandate with a proclamation of strong ties and friendship with the Catholic communities, namely, the Maronite, which she singled out for special consideration over many others in recognition of their traditional support for French interests in the area and of their efforts in bringing about the mandate. 5 In the schools administered by official and non-official French organizations, young Christians began to learn that they were Phoenicians, not Arabs. A separative ideology based on Phoenicianism and accentuating sectarian differences was cultivated assiduously with the aim of cementing loyalty ties with France. 6 Phoenicianism as the ideology of Lebanon received strong support in the preachings of Catholic religious orders, in numerous publications and journals sponsored by them, and in the new archeological discoveries widely publicized. The vocal organ of Phoenicianism in the Lebanon has been the Maronite dominated alkatd'ib (Falange), a scout-like organization that came into existence at the instigation of French authorities in 1936. Essentially a defensive organization, it seems to lack a long range creed or purpose as attested by its constitution and by a membership fluctuating with the crises involving it. 7 Although it has predicated its existence on the notion that a distinctive Lebanese

1 Among the local movements may be listed "Kurdism" and "Assyrianism" in "Druzism" in Syria ; Zionism in Palestine, and "Berberism" in north Africa.

Iraq; "Alawaytism" and

^These would embrace the Greater Syria and the Fertile Crescent Unity schemes of the Hashimite monarchs 'Abdallah and Faysal II, the Nile Valley unity idea, and unity of the Maghrib movement. 3 Also International Communism and pan-Medlterraneanism. 4

Husri, K. S. al-, Difd 'an al-'Urubah, Beirut: Dar al-'Ilm, 1957, p. 8. ^During World War the Maronite Patriarch Huwayk supported by leading Maronite spokesmen in Lebanon, Egypt, Paris, the United States and Brazil, such as Iskandar 'Ammun Shukri Ghanim, Naeim Mukarzal and others, called for French support to protect the "Lebanese nation." While the King-Crane Commission in 1919 was seeking out the views of the Arabs for the League of Nations, Huwayk was in Paris pressuring the government for a French mandate and the Maronites in Lebanon were telling the commission that they wanted an independent Lebanon under French protection. The Maronites were never enthusiastic about the Arab revolt and grew exceedingly suspicious when following his election to the throne of Syria, Faysal did not acknowledge an independent Lebanon outside Syria. French military authorities who opposed the British placing of Faysal on the throne of Syria encouraged Maronite resistance and aroused their fear by alleging that the Bedouin followers of Faysal would institute a reactionary government based on Islamic law in the Lebanon. Consult Faria, N. A., 'Hatha al-'Alam al-'Arabi, Beirut, 1953, pp. 91 seq.; al-Husri, S. K., Yawm Maysalun, Beirut, 1947; Sayigh, A., Lubman al-Ta ifi, Beirut: Dar al-Sira al-Fikri, 1955, pp. 137, 139, 141, 143. 6

Husri S. K. al, Muhatlarat fi Nushu'

7

Bayhum, M. J., al-'Urubah

al-Fikrah

wa al-Shu'ubiyat

al-Qawmlyah, al-Hadlthah,

Beirut: Dar al-Ilm, 1956, p. 176. Beirut: Kashshaf, 1957, pp. 172-73.

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nation has existed from Phoenician days, Article 1 of its constitution wherein the founders of the Kata'ib pledge "... to strive constantly to create a Lebanese nation" does not bear out their contention. 1 The Kata'ib was but one of numerous political organizations upholding conflicting ideological beliefs allowed to thrive on Lebanese soil by French authorities. In the late 1930's and early 1940's almost every sect in the Lebanon, Christian and Muslim, had organized societies and parties embodying a particular ideology. 2 The Kashshaf and its successor in 1937, the Najjadah, both Muslim organizations, rejected the theory that Lebanon was Phoenician and argued strongly that it was an Arab country; hence the reason why it should unite with Syria. Many Christians, including Maronites, tended to reject Phoenicianism in favor of Syrian nationalism and Arab nationalism. 3 Although French policy on the whole favored the evolution of local ideologies, it did not hinder the rise of regional ideologies as well, namely "Mediterraneanism" and geographical Syrian nationalism. The former was an off-shoot of Phoenicianism and largely an intellectual expression asserting that Lebanon and France, being Mediterranean basin countries, enjoy a basic cultural unity rooted in history, and hence Lebanon should turn to France rather than to Syria, the repository of lingering Arab nationalism. 4 The latter owed its inception to archaeological findings which pointed to pre Arabo-Islamic civilizations that thrived in close affinity on Syrian soil in its geographical expression. These findings were publicized widely in the speeches and writings of such Frenchmen as the Jesuit Henry Lammens, who was among the first to stress the historical cultural unity of Syria antedating the Arab era. The partisans of this regional ideology were organized into the Syrian Nationalist Party formally in 1937 under the leadership of Antun Sa'adi, which rejected strongly the ideological contentions of the adherents of Phoenicianism and of Arab nationalism. With the motto "Syria for the Syrians and the Syrians constitute a single nation", the party evolved the most elaborate and highly articulated ideology know to any organization in the Arab World. It was the first party based on a set of well-defined ideals and a compelling purpose. In its philosophy and organizational structure it betrayed the influence of the German romanticists, Hegel and Fichte,

' Qlibrusi, A., Nahnu wa Lubnan, Beirut 1954, pp. 83-85. 2

F o r the Orthodox Christians: "The Order of Ghassan", founded in 1943; for Shi'i Muslims: al-Tala l of Rashld Baydiin and al-Wahdah of Ahmad al-As'ad, and for Sunni Muslim groups: 'Ubbad al-Rahman, and al-Ikhwan alMuslimin; for additional details see Sayigh, A., op. cit., p. 151. French authorities had nurtured two other particular ideologies centered on "Lebanism" or "Phoenicianism:" 'al-Nahdah al-Lubndniyah and al-Sibdqah alLubnaniyah; both died out, however, before attaining maturity. Only the parliamentary election party, alKutlah al-Wataniyah and al-Kata'ib have managed to survive with pro-France policies. 3

W e find evidence of this in the writings of eminent literary figures such as Butrus Bustani, Amin al-Rayhani, May Ziadah, Jubran Khalil Jubran, Nadra Mutran, Fu'ad Azmun, Iliya Abu-Madi, Mikha'il Nu'aymah and others, all of whom favored a broader nationalism in which Lebanon would have a leading role (Qubrusi, op. cit., pp. 49 seq). This would lend force to the assertion that prior to the French mandate ideological particularism was not an expression of sectarian distinctiveness. Sayigh, A., op. cit., p. 147. ^The leading Lebanese spokesmen of the movement were Charles Karam, Hector Khalat, Sa'id ' Aql and Yusuf al-Sawde; their vocal publication was al-Majallah al-Lubndniyah established in 1919. Some of them played a leading role at the 1935 conference held in Morocco by partisans of "Mediterraneanism" ; see Sayigh, A., alFikrah al-'Arabiyah ft Misr, Beirut al-Gharib, 1959.

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and the Nazi ideology. 1 It rejected sectarianism as the basis of ideological conception and as a criterion of nationhood, denounced the sectarian ideologies flourishing in the Lebanon and opposed the notion that the Syrians formed an Arab nation. 2 The party struggled to eliminated Frcnch domination as the first step towards creating a new political and social order in Syria. Although it gained a sizable adherence immediately following World War II, its opposition to Arab nationalism proved to be its nemesis and its executioners were the Phoenician nationalists. 3 In the ideological conflict it appears that the French were operating on two fronts: on the one hand they encouraged the particular ideologies of the Christian sects to oppose those of the Muslim sects, and on the other hand they permitted the existence of regional ideologies to block the path of the Arab nationalist ideology. 4 The attitude of France towards the broader ideologies became noticeably relaxed as World War II approached. Societies and organizations supporting the Arab nationalist ideology were allowed to flourish, mainly on the premises of the American University of Beirut, the traditional breeding ground of Arab nationalism. 5 Among the leading Lebanese parties advocating such an ideology were '"Isbat al-'Amal al-Qawmi" 6 and "Hizb al-Nida' al-Qawmi." 7 Both rejected sectarian ideologies and insisted on co-operation with other Arab countries to eliminate foreign domination. That the grip of particular ideologies should begin to loosen was inevitable in the growing demand of Arab nationalists everywhere f o r independence and unity and in the increasing sympathetic attitude of Great Britain. From 1941 onwards Britain, long weary of the machinations of her ally in the Fertile Crescent area, decided the time had come to eliminate France officially from the Lebanese and Syrian scene. From the middle of the nineteenth century on Britain had tended to support Arabism and Islamism in Syria in order to counter the close

' Sa'adi was particularly impressed by their emphasis on geographical unity and national cohesion. In the insignia, other heraldic trappings, and uniforms of the militia the Nazi influence is obvious. For the constitution of the party see Dustur al-Hizb al-Suri al-Qawmi al-ljtima'i wa Qawaninihi. Beirut, 1955. For the influence of Fichte and Hegel consult Sharrarah, op. cit., p. 74. 2

T h e attitude of Sa'adi towards Arab nationalism changed following his return from exile in 1947; recognizing the mounting strength of this ideology, he maintained that his ideology represented true Arabism having served as "the front of the Arab World... its sword... and its shield" (cited in al-Ahzab al-Siydslyah fi Surlya, Damascus: al-Ruwwad, 1954, p. 97). -'its advocates were among those who conducted the trial and execution of Sa'adi; see Lebanon. Qadiyyat alHizb al-Qawmi, Beirut: Ministry of Information, 1949. 4 F o r instance, French Government officials were encouraging the president of the Syro-Lebanese Society in Paris, Shukri Ghanim— whose friendship for France was widely known—to support the ideology of Syrian nationalism; while another friend, Edward al-Dahdah, was asked to work on tying Syrian nationalism to France. Again in 1938 France attempted to win over Syrian Nationalism to her side by attempting to unite Syria and Iraq, although Iraq was under British jurisdiction, by supporting the advocates of this scheme: George Samne, Haykal and Khayrallah Khayrallah; see Sayigh, A. al-Fikrah op. cit., p. 150. 5 There were al-'Urwa al-Wuthqa, al-Nadi al-Thaqafl al-'Arabi and, since 1954, "Mu'tamar al-Khirrijin al-Da'im li Qadaya al-Watan al-'Arabi," organized by the alumni association of the university under Emile Bustani. See Mu'tamar al-Khirrijin, Ma-Huwa Mu'tamar al-Khirrijin al-Da'im li Qadaya al-Watan al-'Arabi, Beirut: no date, pp. 3 seq. 6 I t had its inception in the Arab Conference of 1933 which aimed at finding ways to unify the course of Arab nationalism and to eliminate foreign domination. ^Organized in 1944-45 on the premise that Lebanon constitutes an Arab nation.

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support of France for the Catholic sects. With the outbreak of World War II Britain actively committed herself to Arab unification schemes to eliminate the cnticement of Nazi propaganda and sympathy among the Arabs. T h e showdown came in 1943 when Britain backed the candidates of the Constitutional Election Party in I x b a n o n against the candidates of the National Election Party supported by France. The British-backed candidates won but were deposed by the French authorities. In the revolution that ensued Lebanon gained her independence and the British-supported Bisharah al-Khuri was re-instituted as President of the republic. With his inclinations to the Arab nationalist ideology, Lebanon began to rediscover her Arab orientation at the expense of the particular ideologies. The efforts of France to nurture ideological separatism in Syria were crowned with the least success despite her use of force on more than one occasion to suppress Arab nationalist revolts. Scores of Syrian Arab nationalists, organizations and societies had been active in Syria prior to the mandate. Although a dent was made among certain groups, namely, the Westernized who aped French culture and sought independence in the name of the principles of the French Revolution, 1 and although France sought to carve up Syria ideologically as well as physically, she was not able not uproot the Arab nationalist ideology from the minds of the Syrians. 2 The Lebanon may have enjoyed the reputation of having sired intellectually the Arab nationalist ideology, but it was in Syria that its fires continued to burn in spite of all efforts to extinguish them. In Aleppo, the 'Alawite country, Jabal al-Druz and Damascus resistance remained too strong to be overcome. 3 The urge to assert the ideals of Arab nationalism during the period of the mandate is evident in the writings of its outstanding advocates, such as S a t i ' a l - H u s r i , its f o r e m o s t ideological formulator. It can be seen also in the constitutions of almost all the political parties that sprung into existence during the two decades, 1930 to 1950, which call for constant struggle to obtain independence from foreign domination and unity. The first to be organized formally under the mandate was '"Isbat al-'Amal a l - Q a w m i " 4 (League of National Action) with the dual purpose of working for independence and for complete unity with other Arab countries. The party attacked the Franco-Syrian Treaty of 1936 on the ground that it aimed at isolating Syria from the goals of the Arab nationalist ideology.

^Maktab al-Ba'th al-'Arabi, Dhikra Maysalun, Beirut, 1954, p. 5. That the Arab nationalist ideology was firmly implanted in the thinking of Syrians is attested to in the discourses of the French Victor Bérard in the French Senate, April 6, 1921, as cited by Rabbath, Edmond in his Unité Syrienne ei Arabe, Paris, 1937, 1p. 41.