T3: Statehood and Pan-Arabism

Who did the Arabs want independence from at the start of the 20th century?

Who did the Arabs want independence from at the start of the 20th century?

• European colonial rule

What was the result of WW1 for Arabs?

• Arab nationalism was boosted by the Arab Revolt in which an Arab army thought against the Turks

• Further strengthen after the war, in opposition to continued European domination

What is Arab nationalism/Pan-Arabism?

• A movement striving for Arab political unity

Treatment by the GPs in WW1

• Had been promised land during WW1 but not given it

What were the mandates?

• Britain and France were granted mandates over Arab lands in the Treaty of Versailles to govern them until they were ready to govern themselves

• France gained Syria and Lebanon and Britain gained Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq

What were the aims of Pan-Arabism?

• The desire for Arab political unity

• To establish one Arab state

Fragmented nature of the Arab world before WW2

• Before WW2 they weren’t as united but during WW2 jewish immigration increased which meant Arabs united against them

Opposition to Zionism before WW2

• Before WW2, many people didn’t see the need for Jews to be in the Middle East which led to opposition

• There were Arab-Jewish riots, in 1921 unrest in Jaffa and Tel Aviv led to Arab attacks on Jews and their property which led to Britain stopping Jewish immigration. Britain also told the Arabs that only a small part of Palestine would be a Jewish homeland

Who was Nasser and what did he do?

• He was the leader of Egypt and he was seen as a leader of the Arab world by the mid-50s because of: his military strength, his propaganda ‘voice of the Arabs’, the Suez Canal and the Baghdad pact

• Some Arab counties felt that Arab nationalism was a cover for Egyptian imperialism

• He implemented Arab socialism through the nationalisation of industry, the Aswan dam and developed healthcare and education

• He untied the Arab world through the Voice of Arabs, Cairo conference, military campaigns against Israel and union with Syria

What was Egypt like after Nasser?

• Sadat was president next and served for 11 years, he was assassinated by army officers, he served VP twice to Nasser, led Egypt in Yom Kippur War, engages in negotiations with Israel and the PLO strongly opposed him

• Mubarak was president after Sadat and was elected 4 times, the longest serving ruler, VP to Sadat for many years, focused on economy and improved lives of some but left millions in poverty, cracked down on Muslim Brotherhood, condemned by Arab world for links with Israel

French rule of Syria

• 1920 = confirmed Syria as a French mandate and French forces occupied Damascus - force used to squash Arab risings, press censorship was enforced

• 1936 = French government rejected Syrian independence

• 1945 = French left Syria

The Assads in Syria

• In 1970 Assad seized power from the Ba’ath party who believed in Arab unity.

• 1970s: the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood began a civil war against Assad and the Ba-atheists with mass killings and international terrorism

• In 2000 Assad’s son succeeded him and initially allowed greater freedom which he soon restricted

Soviet influence in Syria

• The communists were gaining in support as Soviet influence increased in Syria

Conflict between Syria and Israel

• Syria has never recognised Israel as a legitimate state and does not accept Israeli passports as legally valid for entry into Syrian territory

• Israel likewise regards Syria as a hostile state and generally prohibits its citizens from travelling there

• Six Day War 1967: caused by disputes over the Suez Canal ended in Israeli victory with over 18,000 Arab causalities and 700 Israeli casualties

Influence of Muslim Brotherhood in Syria

• Syria had its own branch of the MB

• Like in Egypt, it believed that Islam should play a central role in the government and legal system

• It was a Sunni-dominated body which attracted increasingly wide support and constituted the main opposition to the Baathist government

• In the 1970s Assad ordered a crack down on Muslim Brotherhood arresting over 8000 members and later killing 500 unarmed MB prisoners

• Membership of MB was then made a capital offence punishable by death

• Syria resulted in stopping MB by mass killings rather than arresting members like Egypt did

What is Wahhabism?

• A religious Sunni Muslim movement

• Most laws in Saudi Arabia were derived from the Koran with laws enforced by religious police

Saud monarch

• They have stayed in power for so long because they have made Wahhabists happy, just about appeased the west enough and have been excused of spreading extremist ideology.

• They have very well balanced the needs and wants of many different people making sure to not make anyone overly angry

What was the impact of oil in Saudi Arabia?

• The Saudi King enjoyed many luxuries but his country was poor so he allied with the West, particularly the USA, in order to prospect for oil

• After WW2 oil production brought great wealth to the country and SA looked to the non-Muslim west to help them as SA didn’t have the technology and expertise to do it on their own

• The country’s alliance with the west was made even stronger by the Saudi fear and hatred of communism

• The wealth generated by oil allowed Saudi Arabia to develop majorly

• There was some opposition to the alliance with the West but the Saudi leaders showed they were devoted Muslims through the building of mosques and Islamic school

Saudis Arabia’s relations with the West

• The West had the expertise, skills and technology to develop and protect the oil in SA

• The alliance was made stronger by SA’s hatred for Soviet communism

Khomeini

• Leader of the Islamic revolution of 1979

• Was forced into exile by the Shah’s government in Iran

• In 1978 there were hug strike and demonstrations calling on the Shah to abdicate

• The Shah left Iran to receive cancer treatment and never returned

British rule of Jordon

• During WW1 Arab nationalism was growing, encouraged by the British

• Many affairs were left to British officials e.g. defence, finance and foreign policy

• In 1921 Transjordan was made a British mandate

• Jordan became independent in 1946

• Roads, communications, educations and other public serviced slowly but steadily developed during British rule

Jordan’s monarchy post-WW2

• End of WW2 saw the British attempt to pull back from financial and political responsibility for this mandate leading to them having full independence

• The king was assassination in 1951 but was replaced by his son

Ataturk in Turkey

• Made women equal to men politically

• Turkey was very advance and rich, ahead of its time at this point

Persecution of minorities in Turkey

• Kurds discourages from speaking Kurdish and dressing in their Kurdish clothes

• Large Kurdish landowners were relocated to the west of the country

• Not recognised as Turks

• Many Kurds fled Turkey whilst the remaining minority were often persecuted

Turkey’s current stability

• Has one of the largest economies

• The banning the wearing of headscarves for girls in higher education was overturned in 2008

• There’s less than a 10% gap in male and female school attendance and 79% of women can read and write

• 2010 there was an attempt to overthrow the government but this wasn’t successful

Western influence in Iran

• Independent but British control of oil

• During WW2 British and USSR troops invaded but they withdrew their troops after 1945

• After the nationalisation of the oil industry Britain persuaded other to not buy Iran’s oil

Mossadeq

• Leading member of parliament that said “ Oil resources of Iran, like its soil, its rivers, its mountains, are the property of the people of Iran”

• He gained huge support and in 1951 the Shah was forced to appoint him PM

The Shah in Iran

1979 Revolution in Iran

Hostages in Iran

Iran’s war with Iraq

British control of Iraq

Baathist takeover

Sunni/Shi’ite divisions in Iraq

Saddam’s Iraq

Oil in Iraq

Iraq-Iran War 1980-88

First Gulf War 1991

Second Gulf War 2003