Studies on nationalism in the "Arab World" have dealt with the socio-economic conditions through which the nationalist phenomena emerged. Notwithstanding the importance of these conditions, the focus here is on the cultural aspects as manifested in the language of the discourse and ideology. Proto-nationalist and nationalist phenomena could not exist outside their discourse and ideology through which they were modeled, shaped, and identified as a conceptual framework through association, behavioral patterns, and loyalty to collective identities. Theorists of nationalism tend to deal with the terms 'nation' and 'nationalism' as givens without specifying the exact time and place in which the terms had been coined to signify their concepts. This book focuses on nationalist and ethnic discourse through textual analysis from classical and modern Arabic. Tracing the development in the usage of terms related to collective identities, the present study shows that Arabic print language, education, and press originally used of al-umma to signify several connotations in accordance to its user, creating perplexity for defining al-umma. Chapters trace the usage of umma, qawm, sha'b, and 'arab in the classical texts; investigate the development of the nationalist discourse since the end of the 19th Century until 1940; and deal with four religious communities in Syria and Lebanon, as well as the role of their intellectuals in formulating ideas concerning their self-image in nationalist terms. Throughout, the study keeps track of the changes in Arabist discourse of the term umma. A conclusion reevaluates the ethnic and nationalist discourse at the present time, showing that the elitist characteristics of al-umma — the nation — has had a limited influence on subduing parochial identities, such as tribes and religious communities, as well as the Islamic cosmopolitan identity.
Preface vii
Note on Transliteration x
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Genealogy of the Modern Terminology 6
al-Umma, al-'Arab and Qawm 6
Al-Shu'ubiya and Ethnic Debate between Arabs and 'Ajam (Persians) 11
Al-Umma and al-'Arab in Ibn Khaldun's Writings 20
Chapter 2 Al-Umma and Nationalism 26
The Emergence of Arabism 26
The Limited Sphere of Arabism 34
The Voice of the Arabic Press 40
Literary Arabic and its Limits 51
Chapter 3 The Lebanese Christians Searching for Their Nation 58
Syrian Nation versus Arab Nation 58
From Syrian to Lebanese Nation 64
Arabism and Syrian Nationalism Contest Greater Lebanon 67
Fitting Lebanese Nationalism to Greater Lebanon 73
Chapter 4 The Shi'ite 'Asabiyya in the Era of Arabism 78
Unrest and Perplexed Community 78
A New Stratum Contests the Traditional leadership 80
New Education and New Intelligentsia 82
Al-'Irfan a Channel for New Ideas 87
The Shi'ites and the New Lebanese State 90
Chapter 5 From Nusayriyya to Alawiyya 98
Religious Legacy in the Eyes of Modern 'Alawis 98
When Nusayriyya Becomes 'Alawiyya 104
Between French Colonialism and Arab Nationalism 105
Claiming Pure Arabism and Genuine Imamate Shi'ism 114
Chapter 6 Druze Intellectuals and Nationalism 119
Druze "Unitarianism" and its Isma'ili and Sufi Roots 119
Shakib Arsalan a Pioneer of Arabism 123
Accommodating the Communal 'Asabiyya to Nationalism 127
Crystallizing National Ideas via Damascus and Palestine 131
'Ali Nasir al-Din "One Arab umma" / Sa'id Taqiy al-Din "Several ummas" 139
Conclusion 144
Notes 151
Bibliography 177
Index 188
Overview
Studies on nationalism in the "Arab World" have dealt with the socio-economic conditions through which the nationalist phenomena emerged. Notwithstanding the importance of these conditions, the focus here is on the cultural aspects as manifested in the language of the discourse and ideology. Proto-nationalist and nationalist phenomena could not exist outside their discourse and ideology through which they were modeled, shaped, and identified as a conceptual framework through association, behavioral patterns, and ...