Pan-Arabism And Arab Nationalism: The Continuing Debate

224 Pages·1987·3.38 MB·English

by  Tawfic E Farah

Pan-Arabism
and Arab Nationalism

About the Book and Editor
This text focuses on the history of and prospects for Arab unity—
an issue of critical importance to students and scholars of Middle East
politics and culture. Dr. Farah combines analysis of valuable survey
research with historical and theoretical works by leading Arab and
Western scholars that interpret the current debate on the status of Pan-
Arabism and its future role in the Arab world.
The contributors discuss the relationship between Pan-Arabism and
individual state nationalism and explore the impact close ties between
Arab nationalism and Islam have had on Arab unification efforts.
Opposing views of Palestinian nationalism as both a unifying and
disruptive force in the Arab world are also presented. Additional chapters
discuss the importance of Arab identity among states struggling with
the double challenges of internal division and external pressures and
examine the waning of Pan-Arabism in the face of emerging "Western-
style" states.
This study of the Arab nationalist movement will be useful in courses
on the Middle East and North Africa. It will also be of value to scholars,
general readers, and specialists in their efforts to understand the sources
and nature of conflict in the modem Arab world.
Tawfic E. Farah is the editor of the Journal of Arab Affairs and president
of the Middle East Research Group, Inc. He edited Political Behavior in
the Arab States (Westview, 1983) and coauthored Survey Research in the
Arab World (Westview, 1985).
For Arne J. Nixon,
a friend who never blinks
Pan-A rabism
and Arab Nationalism
The Continuing Debate
edited by Tawfic E. Farah
Foreword by James A. Bill
Westview Press / Boulder and London
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Copyright © 1987 by Westview Press, Inc.
Published in 1987 in the United States of America by Westview Press, Inc.; Frederick A. Praeger,
Publisher; 5500 Central Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pan-Arabism and Arab nationalism.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Panarabism. 2. Nationalism—Arab countries.
3. Arab countries—Politics and government—1945-
I. Farah, Tawfic.
DS63.6.P36 1987 320.5,4/09174927 86-22366
ISBN 0-8133-0378-8 (alk. paper)
ISBN 0-8133-0377-X (pbk.: alk. paper)
Printed and bound in the United States of America
© The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Stan­
dard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Foreword, James A. Bill. . ix
Preface . xi
Introduction: A New Arab Man: Transformation and
Change in the Arab World, Tawfic E. Farah 1
1 Arab Nationalism: A Bibliographic Essay, Elie Chalala. 18
2 The Concerns and the Challenges, Saad Eddin Ibrahim 57
3 The Issue of Identity in Selected Arab Gulf States,
Faisal Al-Salem 68
4 Islam, Pan Arabism and Palestine: An Attitudinal Survey,
Stewart Reiser........... 85
5 The End of Pan-Arabism, Fouad Ajami. 96
6 The Arab Road, Fouad Ajami............. 115
7 Arab Nationalism: A Response to Ajami's Thesis on
the "End of Pan-Arabism," Hassan Nafaa 133
8 The Dying Arab Nation, William R. Brown............................ 152
9 Stress and Disintegration in the Arab World,
Abdul-Monem Al-Mashat 165
10 The October War and Arab Students' Self Conceptions,
Paul D. Starr 177
Postscript: The World Beyond the Words, Fouad Ajami 192
Contributors 203
Index. 204
vn

Foreword
The Arab world today slowly explodes from within while the super­
powers with their technological superiority apply relentless pressure,
thereby fueling and feeding the centrifugal social forces that lay imbedded
in the Arab experience. The internal divisions that crisscross the Arab
world divide along religious, regional, class, and ideological lines. The
traditional conflict and tension that have historically resulted in an
uneasy balance today threaten to shred the Arab social and political
fabric. The resultant suffering and pain, accompanied by desperate and
violent political acts, indicate the deepening seriousness of the situation.
The experiences of Lebanon and the Palestinians are two cases very
much in point.
In the face of a bombardment that includes Israeli preemptive military
attacks, Soviet and American political intervention, Western cultural
imperialism, and international economic pressures, Arab society, already
divided against itself, seeks to return to the two primordial pillars that
buttress a tenuous survival: the family and Islam. As the flood of Western
technology inexorably pours into the Arab world, it is accompanied by
such social and cultural by-products as the breakup of the family, urban
impersonalism and anomic conflict, pornography and crime, and rampant
materialism. Although by no means dominant or even generally accepted,
these social illnesses are present throughout the industrialized world
and are extremely contagious.
Beleaguered and besieged, the Arabs increasingly respond by retreating
to their familial and religious roots. Former ideological recipes such as
Marxism, Western capitalism, Arab socialism, Pan-Arabism, and secular
materialism clearly have declining appeal in the Arab world. A revived
and reassertive Islam—a civilization and way of life that stresses
primordial units and beliefs—is evident not only in Arab climes but
throughout much of the Third World. While Islam has always been very
much alive, it is now a surging force with deep and direct political
significance. As such, it has inundated forces such as Pan-Arabism and,
to a lesser degree, Arab nationalism. In the face of this revival, the
traditional Pan-Arab/Arab nationalist dialectic has faded in importance.
tx
X Foreword
In all of Tawfic Farah's scientific surveys of the attitudes and ori­
entations of young Arabs (described in his Introduction), whether carried
out in the Middle East or in California, he finds an increasing preoc­
cupation with and commitment to Islam. This important conclusion,
which is reinforced by the research results of Faisal al-Salem, occurs at
a time when there is little security and political trust among Arab young
people. Despite the power and prevalence of the Islamic movement,
however, the ideational candles of Arab nationalism and Pan-Arabism
continue to flicker.
Saad Eddin Ibrahim reminds us that there is an overlap between
Islamic univeralism and Pan-Arabism. One need not necessarily preclude
the other. Islam in fact could again act as an aggregating and integrating
force that might in the end promote Pan-Arabism. Alternatively, according
to the argument of Fouad Ajami, Pan-Arabism may be near death and
Islam could be the force that applies the coup de grace.
This collection of essays examines all facets of the Pan-Arab issue.
It has the valuable advantage of combining modern social science survey
research and sensitive, introspective self-analysis by Arabs themselves.
With three exceptions, all the contributions are the work of Arab scholars.
Although they do not all agree in their analyses, they share a deep
concern about the malaise that affects their lives and the lives of their
people. Will a powerful populist Islam help heal the internal wounds
or will it only exacerbate such social and political ulcers? Will this
revived and reviving Islam shield the Arab world effectively from the
interventionary incursions of the superpowers? What will be the rela­
tionship between resurgent Islam and Pan-Arabism? These and other
fundamental questions are raised in this volume.
The future of the Arab world promises to be a painful one. Yet, the
Arab people have a proven capacity to overcome adversity and to survive
the deepest of challenges. The modern world carries with it a new,
special, and frightening complex of challenges. This volume is printed
proof that the best Arab minds are once again at work searching for
the best methodology of survival. In so doing, they herein begin the
indispensable exercise of self-assessment and self-criticism. By examining
their own attitudes and orientations, they show that they have been
able to take the first and most difficult step. The reader is privileged
to be able to accompany them as they begin this personal, professional,
and political journey, a journey that concerns the survival and well­
being of a people.
James A. Bill
The University of Texas
Austin, Texas
October 22, 1985