How Significant Was the Presence of Foreign Powers as an Influence on the Nature and Growth of Arab Nationalism in the Years 1900-2001

How significant was the presence of contrasted bureaus as an influence on the temperament and emergence of Arab patriotism in the days 1900-2001? During the years 1900-2001 a subjugate of significant preventatives occurred which affected the gain and nature of Arab nationalism. Several refer pressures considerably influenced a change in the nature of nationalism including, economic levers, organisations and host presenses in the substance East. Arab nationalism arose out of the fear of the possibility and subsequently the certainty of European or American dominance. The emerging ideology believed either Arabs to be united by both a shared speech and history.Foreign intervention in the warmness East long predated the First domain fight, dating back to during the 19th century. However, the time in which it had most strength on Arab nationalism in the area str etc.ed from 1914 onwards. During this period m both Arabs were restiff of being rule by outside powers. The refore, the link between foreign intervention between 1900 and 2001 and the consequent changes to Arab nationalism were very strong. In the years onward 1900, nationalism had always been an underlying movement in the Middle East. Martin Kramer demonstrates this view of Arab nationalism Awake, O Arabs, and arise.By selecting this phrase from an Arab poem Kramer shows that the Arab propensity for an uprising is trying to be stirred. However, he goes on to voice the creed of, many Arabs have suspended their belief in the Arab nation, and now openly doubt whether there is a collective Arab mission. This has guide to a triumph of the nation states, whereby Arabs prefer to be seen as Syrian, Egyptian etc. This was the expiry of the retreat of Arab nationalism. In the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire move to combat the growth of European power and influence.Borrowing money to develop their infrastructure, and build up industry. However, modernisation saw them fall even more(preno minal) under the gibe of the Europeans, who provided loans for the process. Academics like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Qasim Amin encouraged the reinterpretation of Muslim principles in response to the modern serviceman as a way to break free from the foreign powers colonialism, especially Europes. Nationalist movements, like the Young Turks of Anatolia, in any case arose. Secular nationalism was especially strong among non-Muslim communities, which could not full articipate in Islamic nationalist movements. Arab nationalism within individual states was showtime to repugn the authority of the Ottoman Empire. Greece won independence from the Ottomans in 1832, and other Balkan nations began to conform to suit. The British decided to enter the region following a prevalent speech by Asquith, he declared, It is the Ottoman g everywherenment, and not we, who have sound the death knell of Ottoman dominion not only in Europe but in Asia. The following month an attack was launched ag ainst the Ottomans. This was the beginning of British intervention in the Middle East.After WW1 Europe still regarded the Arabs as a subject race that were ruled by the British. It was also felt up that the Arabs should be grateful that theyd been liberated from the Ottoman rule. The sole key figure to believe that Arab self-determination was underestimated was Woodrow Wilson of America. When Britain was to move into Egypt and disc everyplace the wealth of the cotton wool industry, however, the Egyptian Arabs were still in famine, poverty and were denied the right to take any part in Egyptian legislature. As a result nationalism fermented even further.Agreements including the Hussein-McMahon correspondence, Sykes-Picot and the San Remo resolution provoked and increased Arab distrust of the Europeans. This view is back up by William L. Cleve cut down in his book detailing the Middle East . He believed the Hussein-McMahon correspondence showed Hussein as initially having limited or no Arab nationalist qualities. He was not an Arab nationalist and did not think in terms of the ideology of Arabism. He was instead an ambitious dynast who used his Islamic status as Sharif Hussein wanted to claim his familys landed estate and gain sole power.This was also true of the Arab fighters in the 1916 Arab revolt assist by the British they wanted gold and weapons much more than Arab independence. Cleveland luxuriouslylights these points and the item that the promises made in the correspondence prompted contentment on both sides, as the British wanted to see the fall of the Ottomans and Hussein wanted leadership. However, McMahons vocabulary was so ambiguous and so vague.. that it has given rise to hostile interpretations over whether Palestine was included as part of the future nonparasitic Arab state.It is for this reason that the Arabs began to distrust Britain. The correspondence was between the British high commissioner, Sir Henry McMahon and descendant of the p rophet and Arab leader, Sharif Hussein. For the British it was a useful agreement as they already saw the Ottomans as a threat. However in the long term it buzz offd unrest in the Middle East and general distrust of Britain. The agreement is useful in masking the un arrive at language used by the British to avoid either having to give land to the Arabs or create an argument. Deborah J.Gerner agrees with Cleveland in that secret agreements , caused Britain especially to be viewed negatively by the Arabs It is clear from this agreement Sykes-Picot that Britain had no intention of fulfilling its commitment to behave Arab independence in the Levant at the end of the war, whatever major power have been promised in the Hussein-McMahon correspondence. This was the view many Arab nationalists would have taken. This secondary bloodline offers a late 20th century vantage point of the betray which gives it an extra degree of credibility. From 1900 to 2001, the United States has had glo bal interests in the Middle East, the U. S. as made itself a key foreign power by exploitation its strong diplomatic, economic, and military power in upkeep of its national interests. This was demonstrate in 1919 where under chairperson Woodrow Wilson the League of Nations was formed it was quick to turn out a series of mandates laying out the colonial boundaries of the Middle East according to the U. S. These boundaries were not ideal for the Middle Eastern inhabitants however, the U. S. managed to nurture a positive reputation throughout World War One. I believe this to be a result of the British-French mistrust created as a result of previous agreements that were not stuck to.Therefore the US seemed more trustworthy and was viewed as a valuable ally. In the years between the wars Arab nationalist face-off towards foreign intervention continued to grow. By 1952, Gamal Abdal Nasser had led a putsch against the Egyptian king and was named president of Egypt. He ended official British influence and became a truly symbolic leader for all Arabs. He tried to unite Egypt and Syria into a single United Arab Republic, but this cause lasted for only a few years. It was clear Nasser saw foreign powers such(prenominal)(prenominal) as Britain as intervening trouble proposers this is demonstrated by his clear dis-like of the Baghdad pact of 1955. Nasser saw the Baghdad Pact as an mover of Western intervention and he feared that Jordan, Lebanon and Syria might also be win over to join . In order to conquer this threat from the west Nasser utilised the power of radio to broadcast to millions of Arabs all over the military man. This was perhaps the graduation of a worldwide effort for Arabs to unite, therefore, Egypts opposition to the occidental intervention in the Middle East was a main contributor to the growth of Arab Nationalism in the 1950s.Nassers personal international prestige grew immensely and by the end of 1955 he was seen as the leader of the Arab world. This was important as the Arabs now had a firm identity and leader to follow, incomparable to the ar we Arabs one big lie? question voiced in Kramers book. Between 1955 and 1958 key events occurred which furthered the growth of Arab nationalism. Firstly, the Czech arms deal of phratry 1955 Nasser had agreed to buy arms from the Czech government, including Soviet aircraft and tanks.Once again Nasser was showing his independent power and this created a worry for the West, however, the worry was not without cause as on hearing the military news Arabs all over the world began to rejoice in their Arab-ness and the conquering of the foreign powers. Similar felicity followed in 1956 with the Suez crisis, Britain and France were severely humiliated at having failed to regain control of the Suez Canal. hitherto though the canal had been withdrawn from as a result of the U. S. withdrawing their support, the Arab world saw this as a victory against Western powers.As a result of lon g years of Western dominance, a small victory such maintaining the Suez Canal led to widespread Arab nationalism. In the 1940s the U. S. began to involve itself more thoroughly in Middle Eastern politics. This was in order to defend its national interests, the most important being the fight against communism, namely the Soviets during the arctic War. Guaranteeing a secure supply of oil, and ensuring that no single power dominated the region were big priorities for the U. S. More recently, fighting terrorism was made a priority especially after 9/11 in 2001. The U.S. has support leaders and governments it considered to be stable allies, like the Saudi royal family, Israel, and Egyptian governments, since Anwar Sadat was elected in 1970. A good usage of the U. S. hindering the growth of Arab Nationalism whilst protecting self interests was in 1953 when anxious about emergence Soviet influence in Iran during the Cold War, the U. S. toppled the regime of Irans elected native minist er Mossadeq, who intended to nationalise the Iranian oil industry. The U. S. backed a coup against Mossadeq and forced the election of the young Reza, Shah of Iran.America had demonstrated its control over the region and whilst this could have created anger and a sense of nationalism, it was not to fully rise until 1979. The new prime minister enforced many western policies throughout his reign and was head of a very oppressive government. 1979 led to an Islamic revolution against the Shahs regime and put a new variant of Islamic state into power governed by Islamic jurists and scholars. The popular villainy of the Shah also created hatred of his American supporters, and the revolutions anti-American passion led to the attack of the U. S.Embassy in Tehran, where 53 hostages were held for more than a year. This is a prime example of how a foreign power created a violent change in the nature of Arab Nationalism, an earlier example of this can also be shown from the Palestinian refu gee problem up until 1949, this was the result of an energetic Zionist effort that began before the turn of the century. Such historians as Ben Gurion supported this Israel was intended to be a national home for Jews, both spiritually, historically and physically. Nearly 75,000 Jews fleeing persecution from Nazi Germany, make up refuge there.But its creation came at a heavy price. In accompaniment to the many Jews who died struggling to create the new state, many Arabs were killed and hundreds of thousands of Arabs were either displaced by Jewish settlers or became unwilling citizens of Israel and voluntarily left the region. The U. S. under President Truman were firmly in support of the new Jewish homeland and this was confirm when American airplanes were seen as essential to the Israeli victory in the 1967 Six-Day War that placed Israel against Arab powers.And when the Yom Kippur War in 1973 again threatened the Jewish state, a massive U. S. airlift of war material was crucial t o Israels survival in the conflict. Up until this event the U. S. had been seen to be extremely forward in trying to gain peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours, key achievements included the 1978 Camp David conflict that negotiated peace between Egypt and Israel and the 1993 Oslo peace agreements that established a role model for negotiating peace between the Israelis and Palestinians started the process for achieving a Palestinian state peacefully.However any(prenominal) Arab critics claim the superpower had not done all that it can to bring in about peace in the region. Especially as much of the U. S. support to Israel was in the form of military equipment and the U. S. economy and jobs were devoted to continually upgrading the Israeli army. Some Palestinians argue that the U. S. was too committed in its support for Israel to make unbiased decisions and was unwilling to pressure the Israelis to negotiate peace, interested only in fuelling the rivals.