Arab fascism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arab fascism (Arabic: الفاشية العربية) is a far-right ideology combining fascism with Arab nationalism.
The ideology emerged shortly after the First World War and grew during the interwar period. As the rise of Arab fascism was concurrent with the Arab independence from the Ottoman Empire, Arab fascists were very Anti-Turkish.[1] Arab fascism grew with support from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, and Arab fascists became increasingly antisemitic after the establishment of Israel.[2][3][4][5] Arab fascism first grew in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, and Egypt.[6][7][8][9] Some Arab fascists adhered to Arab-Islamic nationalism, while the rest were secular.[10][11]
Michel Aflaq had purchased a copy of The Myth of the Twentieth Century, a book about Nazism.[12] Ba'athism was described by Cyprian Blamires as being inspired by Arab fascism, although with the addition of socialism.[13][14][15] Saddam Hussein was sometimes described as a fascist or being influenced by fascist ideology and state leaders like Adolf Hitler.[16][17][18] In 1941, Arab fascists in Iraq committed the Farhud, an antisemitic pogrom.[19][20][21][22]
During the 1930s and subsequent decades, nationalist movements across the Arab world drew significant influence from European fascist ideologies, with this trend being actively promoted by both Italy and Germany. Mussolini strategically positioned himself as a promoter of Arab nationalism, particularly to expand Italian regional power. In Italian Libya, he was given titles such as "hero of Islam" and "defender of Islam," and Italian authorities established a parallel Libyan Arab Fascist organization.Throughout the 1930s, antisemitic sentiment grew in various Middle Eastern regions as fascist and Nazi ideologies gained appeal among Arab nationalist leaders. Representatives from Syria and Iraq participated in the Nürnberg party congresses, and Mein Kampf was translated into Arabic multiple times. Both German and Italian governments conducted extensive propaganda campaigns targeting Arab audiences, with particularly strong pro-German feelings developing in Egypt By 1939. Three organizations demonstrated the most direct influence from European fascism: the Syrian People's Party (also called the Syrian National Socialist Party), Iraq's Al-Futuwwa youth organization, and Egypt's Young Egypt movement (known as the Green Shirts). These three shared common characteristics of anti-rationalism, anti-intellectualism, emotional appeal, and territorial expansionist goals. Sami Shawkat, who developed the ideological framework for the Futuwa movement, promoted a vision of a unified "Arab nation" with expansionist ambitions.[23]
See also
References
- ↑ International Journal of Middle East Studies 42 (2010), 311–32
- ↑ Achim Rohde: State-Society Relations in Ba'thist Iraq: Facing Dictatorship, London / New York 2010.
- ↑ Islamstudien ohne Ende, ed. Rainer Brunner et al. (= Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 54,1), Würzburg 2002, 517–528.
- ↑ Gershoni / James P. Jankowski: Confronting Fascism in Egypt: Dictatorship Versus Democracy in the 1930s, Stanford 2010;
- ↑ Peter Wien: Iraqi Arab Nationalism: Authoritarian, Totalitarian and Pro-Fascist Inclinations, 1932–1941, London / New York 2006.
- ↑ Jankowski & Gershoni 1995, p. 69.
- ↑ Rabinovich, The war for Lebanon (1989), p. 80
- ↑ "Near East: Trouble in Paradise". Time. 21 April 1941.
- ↑ René Wildangel: Zwischen Achse und Mandatsmacht: Palästina und der Nationalsozialismus, ed. by Zentrum Moderner Orient (= ZMO- Studien 24), Berlin 2007.
- ↑ Hourani, p. 326
- ↑ Jankowski 1975, p. 49.
- ↑ Wild 1985, p. 131.
- ↑ Wistrich, Robert S. (2003). "The Old-New Anti-Semitism". The National Interest (72): 59–70. ISSN 0884-9382. JSTOR 42897483.
- ↑ Terrill, W. Andrew (2012). Lessons of the Iraqi De-Ba'athification Program for Iraq's Future and the Arab Revolutions. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. ISBN 978-1-58487-527-7.
- ↑ Blamires, Cyprian (2006). World Fascism: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576079409.
- ↑ Beinin, Joel (28 September 2020). "Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser Was a Towering Figure Who Left an Ambiguous Legacy". Jacobin. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ↑ Bergen, Peter (30 January 2003). "This link between Islamist zealot and secular fascist just doesn't add up". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ↑ Coughlin, Con (2005). Saddam: His Rise and Fall. Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0060505431.
- ↑ Bashkin, Orit (2008). The Other Iraq: Pluralism and Culture in Hashemite Iraq. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804774154.
- ↑ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa: D-K Por Philip Mattar, p. 860
- ↑ Memories of state: politics, history, and collective identity in modern Iraq by Eric Davis Eric Davis, University of California Press, 2005, p. 14 ISBN 978-0520235465
- ↑ Davis, Eric (April 2005). "History Matters: Past as Prologue in Building Democracy in Iraq". Orbis. 49 (2): 232. doi:10.1016/j.orbis.2005.01.004.
- ↑ G. Payne, Stanley (1996). A History of Fascism, 1914-1945. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 352. ISBN 9780299148737.
Bibliography
- Blamires, Cyprian (2006). World Fascism: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576079409.
- Jankowski, James P. (1975). Egypt's Young Rebels: 'Young Egypt': 1933–1952. Hoover Institution Press. ISBN 9780817914516.
- Jankowski, James; Gershoni, Israel (1995). Redefining the Egyptian nation, 1930–1945. Cambridge Middle East Studies. ISBN 9780521475358.
- Wild, Stefan (1 January 1985). "National Socialism in the Arab Near East Between 1933 and 1939". Die Welt des Islams. 25 (1–4): 126–173. doi:10.1163/157006085X00053. JSTOR 1571079.