The Erasure of Arab Political Identity: Colonialism and Violence

195 Pages·2017·2.96 MB·English

by  Salam Hawa

The Erasure of Arab Political Identity
T his book explores the long history of the evolution of Arab political identity,
which predates the time of the Prophet Muhammad and is characterised by
tolerance, compassion, generosity, hospitality, self-control, correct behaviour,
equality and consensus. The author argues that present-day struggles in many
Arab countries to redefi ne polities and politics are related to the fact that the
underlying political culture of the Arabs has been overridden for centuries by
successive political regimes which have deviated from the original political
culture that the Prophet adhered to. The book outlines the political culture that
existed before Islam, examines how the Conquests and the rule of the early
dynasties (Umayyad and Abbasid) of the Islamic world found it necessary to
override it, and analyses the eff ect of rule by non-Arabs – successively Mamluks,
Ottoman Turks and Western colonial powers. It discusses the impact of these
distortions on present day politics in the Arab world, and concludes by appealing
for a reawakening of, and respect for, the cultural elements underlying the
origins of Arab political identity.
Salam Hawa is an independent scholar, whose latest scholarly affi liation was to
the Institute of Globalization and the Human Condition at McMaster University,
Canada.
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41. The Erasure of Arab Political Identity
Colonialism and Violence
Salam Hawa
The Erasure of Arab Political
Identity
Colonialism and Violence

Salam Hawa
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Salam Hawa
The right of Salam Hawa to be identifi ed as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Hawa, Salam, author
Title: The erasure of Arab political identity, colonialism and violence /
Salam Hawa.
Other titles: Durham modern Middle East and Islamic world series; 41.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2017. |
Series: Durham modern Middle East and Islamic world series; 41 |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2016036337 | ISBN 9781138924147 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315678061 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Arabs–Politics and government. | Political culture–Arab
countries. | Political culture–Islamic countries.
Classifi cation: LCC JQ1850.A91 H388 2017 | DDC 320.917/4927–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016036337
ISBN: 978-1-138-92414-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67806-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Sunrise Setting Ltd, Brixham, UK
In memory of my parents
To F.K. for keeping the faith and
To H.F. for everything . . .
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface viii
1 Introduction 1
2 Pre-Islamic Arab political identity 12
3 Founding the fi rst Arab Empire 35
4 Of friendship and politics 62
5 Politics of hospitality 86
6 Arrival of the Turks 114
7 Erasing Arab identity 144
Index 180
Preface
S itting around the fi replace, one of our favourite stories as children was that of a
Bedouin chieftain whose eldest son’s gluttony shamed him and his tribe. As he
neared adulthood, the youngster’s behaviour did not improve, so the elders of the
tribe decided that he had to leave. With a heavy heart, his father sent him to a
sister tribe with a letter asking its chief to kill the messenger. Unaware of his
intended fate, the young man readied his steed, and set out on his journey. He took
refuge from the midday sun at a nearby oasis, where he drank heartily, and before
leaving tried repeatedly to force his horse to drink more, but the animal steadfastly
refused. Determined to take as much water with him as possible, he tried to over-
fi ll the water-skin, but only managed to burst it at the seam. Refl ecting on this dual
failure, he realised that in both cases it was he who was at fault, for the horse and
the water-skin stayed within their limits, but he did not. Ashamed, he understood
the consternation of the tribe elders, and vowed to refrain from gluttony. Upon
reaching his destination, he was welcomed, and when supper was laid out, he ate
sparingly, and behaved in a manner that was most pleasing to his host. Later that
evening he delivered the message, but the chief was bewildered by its contents.
Judging that there was more to the story, he refrained from acting on it and sent a
messenger of his own requesting further explanation. A fl urry of exchanges took
place that brought to light the young man’s epiphany, and his life was spared.
A s with many Bedouin tales, the story meant to convey to children the dangers
associated with bad behaviour. More signifi cantly, it also illustrated an Arab ‘rite
of passage’, the famed journey celebrated in so many pre-Islamic poems, during
which boys became men; a turning point in their lives when they had to prove their
worth to society, understand and acknowledge their rights and obligations, and
therewith become part of the whole. These stories lauded intelligence, courage,
wisdom, couth behaviour, generosity, refl ection, eloquence and self-control, char-
acteristics rarely ever mentioned in the West when describing the Arabs, their
culture and their traditions. Although pre-Islamic, children in the Arab world are
still brought up to believe that they should live up to these principles, as they con-
tinue to represent the highest level of ethics in Arab society. This book was inspired
by such stories, for they refl ected the culture that existed before religion and deter-
mined early Arab political identity. To understand the signifi cance of the violence
currently besetting the region, it is important to determine what these forces seek
Preface ix
to erase. As it turns out, in seeking to destroy all vestiges of pre-Islamic Arab
society, they appear intent on destroying what Arabs prize most: independence,
self-determination, equality and freedom above all else. The ferocity of their
attacks belies the fear they have of this society, its tolerance and its deep faith in
humanity.
As we in the West watch the destruction of the cities, communities and monu-
ments built by these ancient knights, we are also watching the destruction of the
most vital part of our humanity, one that was indelibly linked to what ancient
Greeks called the à graphos nómos , the unwritten secular law that regulated the
daily life of ancient civilisations. In Arabia it was called din al-’Arab, better known
today as the sunna, the pre-Islamic secular laws that defi ned early Arab political
identity in terms of jural equality, based on the idea that no one had the right
to rule another, and where kingship and hierarchy were eschewed and reviled.
In d in al-‘Arab we fi nd the concept of honour (‘i rd ) measured in how well they
gave refuge, off ered hospitality and friendship, protected women and children,
treated animals, and yes, killed when necessary. What should astonish us today is
the recognition that such a primitive society adhered more to its ‘unwritten laws’
than we do when it comes to complying with written and signed international agree-
ments which promise to protect human rights, right to asylum, refugee resettle-
ment, the environment and the humane treatment of animals.
I am not suggesting that we return to the primitive state of pre-Islamic Bedouins,
but cannot overlook the irony of Western nations’ justifi cation of ‘bombing’ the
countries built on these ancient lands into becoming ‘democratic’, and the equiv-
ocation in their dealings with the terror groups currently erasing evidence of the
history and culture of the region. To agree, even tacitly, to this destruction brings
to mind Foucault’s critique of European Enlightenment reason’s fall into ‘d éraison ’,
unreason, or madness. He believed that the condition took hold of Europe as it
attempted to retain its belief in its own humanity while brutally colonising the
globe. To mask its inner contradictions and posit its self as the pinnacle of prog-
ress and civilisation, it had to erase not only its own history, but also, and more
importantly, it had to deny others theirs. However, having established its methods
as the measure of civilisational progress, it was joined by like-minded actors
thereby multiplying the contradictions, and as these rise to the surface the intensity
of erasing and rewriting history also accelerates, which is perhaps what we are
currently witnessing in the Middle East and elsewhere.
It is in the spirit of keeping alive the voices of these “mute immortals”, in Susan
Pinckney Stetkevych’s words, that I have written this book. For the descendants of
the Arabs, so that they may closely examine the narratives of their long and noble
heritage, for those in the region made homeless by recent events, so that they
could make sense of the brutality visited upon them, and to encourage other cul-
tures to author a history undefi ned by others. Perhaps, and less realistically, the
book was also written to point to the possibility of freedom in an egalitarian polity.
Unlike Kant, I believe that in the West we have only begun to retrace our maturity;
our success hinges on us gaining in consciousness and appreciation of the otherness
in others .