Syria and Lebanon Under the French Mandate: Cultural Imperialism and the Workings of Empire

328 Pages·2018·3.6 MB·English

by  Idir Ouahes

‘This excellent study is a welcome addition to the scholarship cuS idir ouahes
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on the inter-war mandates of Syria and Lebanon.’ Lny
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Patricia M.E. Lorcin, Professor of History and Samuel Russell Chair in u Syria
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Humanities, University of Minnesota Twin Cities a and
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‘Ranging from classrooms and museums, to archaeological ir
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sites and vernacular journalism, in this richly evocative text p
Idir Ouahes reveals how Syrians contested the imposition et
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of French mandate rule in the realms of cultural heritage, iaha Lebanon
educational provision and print media.’ Le
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Martin Thomas, Professor of Imperial History, University of Exeter M
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French rule over Syria and Lebanon was premised on a vision of a special n d
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French protectorate established through centuries of cultural activity:
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archaeological, educational and charitable. Initial French methods of h L
organising and supervising cultural activity sought to embrace this vision ec under the French Mandate
and to implement it in the exploitation of antiquities, the management and Whe
promotion of cultural heritage, the organisation of education and the control o b

of public opinion among the literate classes. However, an examination of rkM cultural imperialism and the
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the first five years of the League of Nations-assigned mandate, 1920–25, i
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reveals that French expectations of a protectorate were quickly dashed by ga Workings of empire
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widespread resistance to their cultural policies, not simply among Arabists S
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but also among minority groups initially expected to be loyal to the French. o
The violence of imposing the mandate de facto, starting with a landing of F do
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French troops in the Lebanese and Syrian coast in 1919 – and followed by Ma
extension to the Syrian interior in 1920 – was met by consistent violent revolt. ptn
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Examining the role of cultural institutions reveals less violent yet similarly r
e
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consistent contestation of the French mandate. The political discourses
emerging after World War I fostered expectations of European tutelages
that prepared local peoples for autonomy and independence. Yet, even
among the most Francophile of stakeholders, the unfolding of the first years
of French rule brought forth entirely different events and methods. In this
book, Idir Ouahes provides an in-depth analysis of the shifts in discourses,
attitudes and activities unfolding in French and locally organised institutions
such as schools, museums and newspapers, revealing how local resistance
put pressure on cultural activity in the early years of the French mandate.
Idir Ouahes is Lecturer in History and International Relations at MIUC
Spain. He received his PhD in History from the University of Exeter and
also studied at SOAS, University of London.
Cover image: General Maxime Weygand, Commander in Chief Levant, idir
French mandate in Syria and Lebanon. Outside the church in Beirut,
Lebanon, after a Te Deum sung in his honour.
(Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images) ouahes
www.ibtauris.com
Ouahes/Syria and Lebanon artwork.indd 1 18/07/2018 17:12
Idir Ouahes is Lecturer in History and International Relations at
MIUC Spain. He received his PhD in History from the University of
Exeter and also studied at SOAS, University of London.
‘This excellent study is a welcome addition to the scholarship on the
inter-warmandatesofSyriaandLebanon.Ouahesfocusesonthecultural
institutions through which the French authorities imposed their rule,
ably demonstrating the ways in which the mandate system was
transformedintoapoliticalandculturalframeworkakintocolonialism.
While tracing the disillusion and contestations that ensued, he
nonetheless discusses the impact and disparate legacy of the period on
both the French and the diverse populations of the two mandates.’
Patricia M.E. Lorcin, Professor of History and Samuel Russell
Chair in Humanities, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
‘ResistingtheimpositionofFrenchimperialcontrolin1920sSyriawas
neversolelyamatterofviolentopposition.Rangingfromclassroomsand
museums, to archaeological sites and vernacular journalism, in this
richly evocative text Idir Ouahes reveals how Syrians contested the
imposition of French mandate rule in the realms of cultural heritage,
educational provision and print media.’
Martin Thomas, Professor of Imperial History,
University of Exeter
SYRIA AND
LEBANON
UNDER THE
FRENCH
MANDATE
Cultural Imperialism and the
Workings of Empire
I O
DIR UAHES
Publishedin2018by
I.B.Tauris&Co.Ltd
London•NewYork
www.ibtauris.com
Copyrightq2018IdirOuahes
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transmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,
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eISBN:9781786724106
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For my father, Rbah At-Mansu¯r.
_ ˙
Among the last of the Atlas Lions.

CONTENTS
Map and Figures xi
Preface xiii
Notes on the Text xv
List of Abbreviations xvii
Introduction Cultural Institutions and the Struggle to
Define the Mandate 1
Discursive and Political Opportunity Structures 2
The Formative Mandate Years: 1920–5 7
Historical Background 12
Historiography of the Mandate 17
The Shifts in Early Mandate Administration 28
Structure of this Book 35
1. Antiquities Protection and Excavation 37
Antiquities, Orientalism and Cultural Imperialism 38
Archaeological Activity in the Ottoman Period 42
League of Nations and Law 44
Protecting Antiquities 47
French and International Excavations 52
‘And our antiquities, will they return?’
Antiquities in the Press 55
Local Government Contestation of Claims of Culture 61
Conclusion 63
viii SYRIA ANDLEBANON UNDERTHEFRENCH MANDATE
2. Controlling Cultural Heritage: Museums, Tourism and
Exhibitions 65
Museums and Mise en Valeur 66
Organisation of Museums and Institution of Protection
in the Early Mandate 67
Compartmentalisation of Culture 69
Tensions and Initiative in Local Preservation Efforts 71
Tourism at the Outset of the Mandate 75
Exhibitions in the Early Mandate 81
The Beirut Fair and Mise en Valeur 84
Conclusion 87
3. Classrooms, Curricula and Content 89
French Instruction: ‘The Most Certain and
Efficient Way to Assure Our Influence’ 89
Classroom Control 96
The Fight for Arabic 103
Higher and Technical Education 107
Education and the Desire for Development 112
Conclusion 115
4. The Politics of Pedagogy 117
Political Capital, Funding and Clientelism 117
Organisation and Local Government Intervention 122
Women’s Education 126
Networks of Dissenting Education 127
Instrumentalising International Networks 132
Conclusion 136
5. Surveillance, Subsidies and Censorship: The Domestic
Arabic Press 138
Open Source Intelligence: The Service de la Presse 139
A Cantankerous and Informed Press 141
Syrian Unity in the Press 146
Censorship and Press Laws 151
Opposition to the Press Laws 153
Conclusion 161
CONTENTS ix
6. Subservience and Sanction? The Francophone Press 162
The Levantine Francophone Press 163
Syro-Lebanese Press Activity in Europe 170
The Republican and Right-Wing Metropolitan Press 179
The Leftist Press 188
The Colonial Lobby and Newspapers 192
Conclusion 195
7. Internationalism: The External Press 196
Suspicion of the British Press 196
Newspapers in the British Middle East 198
Russian Influence 202
The US-Based Press 204
The Mahjar American Press 209
The Regional Press 217
Conclusion 223
8. General Conclusion 224
Implementing and Contesting Mandatory Methods
through Cultural Institutions 224
Competing and Changing Visions of the Mandate 225
Notes 229
Select Bibliography 295
Index 305