Syrian Aspirations and Realities
| Published date | 01 December 1956 |
| Author | Elie Salem |
| Date | 01 December 1956 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070205601100404 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
SYRIAN
ASPIRATIONS
AND
REALITIES
Elie
Salem*
T
HE political crisis
in
Syria
is
caused
by
hidden
disturbances
in
the
Syrian
soul
that
are
slowly
coming
into
the
open.
It
is
still
too
soon
to predict
the
consequences
of
this
develop-
ment.
For
those
who
know
the
Syrians
and
are
concerned
over
their
destiny,
nothing
is
more
perturbing
than
to
behold
the
logical
unfolding
of
the
crisis
resulting
from
what
has
been
com-
mitted
on
the
local
and
international
scenes
since
the
outbreak
of
World
War
I.
For
some
four
centuries,
Syria
constituted
a
part
of
the
Otto-
man
Empire
and
participated
loyally
in
its
Islamic
conservative
tradition.
The beginning
of
the twentieth
century,
with
the
grad-
ual secularization
of
the
world,
witnessed a
serious
turn
in
Syrian
loyalty.
Syrian
intellectuals,
under
the
influence
of
Western and
new
Turkish
ideas,
began
to
entertain
national
designs.
The
"Young
Turks,"
organized
in
the
"Committee
of Union
and
Progress,"
sought to
"turkify"
the
Empire
and
to
suppress
Syrian
nation-
alism,
but
succeeded
only in
intensifying
the
Syrian
desire
for
independence.
Western
Missions,
through the
spread
of
educa-
tion,
and
the
discovery
of
the
classical
Arab
heritage,
supplied
the
Syrians
with
the
historical
proponents of
national
existence.
The
concept
of
an
Arab
nation,
rooted
in
the
past
and
conscious
of
the
future,
independent
of
the
Turks,
free
and
sovereign,
ap-
peared
most
attractive.
In pursuance
of
this
objective,
secret
societies were formed,
political
parties
were established
and
news-
papers
were
filled
with
serious
and
suggestive
ideas.
Gradually
the Arab
movement
gained
momentum.
Since
the
inception
of
nationalism
in
the
Near
East,
the
Syrians
have
been
the
most
loyal
supporters
of
the
concept
of
an
Arab
nation
comprising
all
the
Arabic-speaking
peoples.
It
is
characteristic
of
them
politically,
to reach
beyond
the
local
and
merge
with
the
greater
whole.
This
explains
why
Syria
is
often
referred to
as
the
Prussia
of
the
Arabs,
an appellation which
is
no
longer
true
in
the
light
of
the
strong
Arab
line which
new
*Assistant Professor
of
Near
Eastern
Studies,
School
of Advanced
International
Studies,
The
John
Hopkins
University.
The
author
lectured
on
public
administration
at
the
American
University
of
Beirut,
1953-56.
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