Arab Nationalism and Palestine
| Date | 01 June 1983 |
| Published date | 01 June 1983 |
| Author | E.G.H. Joffé |
| DOI | 10.1177/002234338302000204 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Arab
Nationalism
and
Palestine
E.G.H.
JOFFÉ
Despite
the
fact
that
the
Arab-Israeli
conflict
is
the
critical
issue
in
the
Arab
World,
there
is
a
striking
lack
of
sympathy
with
the
specific
demands
of
the
Palestinians,
both
amongst
Arab
regimes
and
the
Muslim
populations
in
the
area.
National
consciousness
has
few
indigenous
roots
in
the
Middle
East
because
of
the
assumptions
of
universality
within
Islam.
When
it
did
arise,
it
was
a
specific
response
to
European
technological
dominance
and
political
aggressiveness
and
to
the
newly-awakened
ethnic
con-
sciousness
of
the
late
Ottoman
empire.
Moreover,
it
did
not
express
itself
as
nationalism
in
the
European
sense.
Instead
it
turned
to
the
ready-made
vehicle
of
Arabic
to
define
a
much
wider
entity
—
the
Arab
Nation.
The
strong
Muslim
component
involved
in
this
ultimately
made
the
concept
acceptable
to
Arab
population
at
large.
Three
different
and
at
times
conflicting
concepts
—
Muslim,
Arabic
and
secular
identity
—
confronted
European
colonialism
and
Zionism
until
1948.
These
concepts
altered
only
when
the
Palestinians
began
to
create
an
effective
national
community
after
1967,
leading
to
an
ideological
contradiction
within
the
Arab
World
that
explains
the
ambivalence
shown
towards
the
Palestinian
issue
today.
Arabism
has
been
shown
to
be
vacuous
and
divisive,
whereas
nation-states,
with
their
claims
to
secular
ethnic
nationalism,
have
led
to
Camp
David
in
the
case
of
Egypt,
and
the
Iran-Iraq
War
elsewhere.
The
only
remaining
source
of
ideological
relevance
for
the
Muslim
World
is
a
return
to
pure
Islamic
social
organization,
and
this
rejects
all
question
of
secular
nationalism.
In
short,
although
the
issue
of
Israel
as
an
alien
intrusion
within
the
Muslim
World
is
relevant,
the
issue
of
Palestinian
nationalism
is
not.
Marxism
was
not
the
only
European
affliction
forced
upon
the
Arab-Muslim
world:
Another,
earlier
one
was
secular
nationalism.
Kishk
is
even
more
con-
temptuous
of
secular
nationalism
than
he
is
of
Marxism,
more
certain
of
its
disruptive
consequences.
Arabs
were
so
convinced
of
the
power
of
secular
nationalism,
so
taken
by
its
mystique,
he
says,
that
they
were
willing
to
set
aside
their
religious
beliefs
in
pursuit
of
the
nationalist
dream.
J
The
ideas
of
Muhammad
Jalal
Kishk,
as
out-
lined
above
by
a
perspicacious
observer
of
the
Arab
World
in
the
recent
past,
encapsulate
many
of
the
views
now
current
amongst
Muslims
in
the
wake
of
recent
disasters
in
the
Middle
East.
Not
only
has
Egypt,
once
the
leader
of
the
Arab
world
in
its
struggle
against
both
Israel
and
its
own
underdevel-
opment
under
the
charismatic
leadership
of
Abdul
Gamel
Nasser,
now
chosen
its
own
path
through
the
Camp
David
Peace
Process,
thus
betraying,
in
Arab
eyes,
both
regional
and
popular
aspirations,
but
Arab
govern-
ments
themselves
have
demonstrated
a
less
than
enthusiastic
response
over
the
fate
of
the
Palestinians
in
Lebanon.2
Yet,
such
cynicism
is
not
limited
just
to
governments,
for
many
Arabs
themselves
show
a
strange
reluctance
to
accept
the
reality
and
implica-
tions
of
a
Palestinian
nation
or
of
the
state
it
may
one
day
inherit.
This
is
not
to
suggest
that
Arabs
generally
are
not
acutely
aware
of
the
nature
and
tragedy
of
the
Palestinian
struggle,
or
that
the
Arab-
Israeli
conflict
is
merely
a
cynical
abuse
of
commitment
by
Arab
regimes
desperate
to
find
some
means
of
sustaining
a
political
equilibrium.
No
doubt
such
factors
do
play
a
part,
but
the
sincerity
of
the
emotions
expressed
widely
throughout
the
Middle
East
cannot
be doubted.
However,
it
has
struck
this
observer
at
least
-
and
he
has
reason
to
believe
that
he
is
not
alone
-
that
the
real
issue
for
most
Arabs
is
not
the
justified
demand
for
statehood
by
a
nation
dispersed,
but
the
fact
of
an
intrusion
by
an
alien
religious,
cultural
and
ethnic
community
into
a
region
that
they
regard
peculiarly
their
own.
The
state
of
Israel,
for
most
Arabs,
is
more
than
just
a
community
of
Jews.
After
all,
Jewish
communities
have
lived
amongst
Mus-
To continue reading
Request your trial