A Question of Arab Unity - Disillusion - 03 Mar 08 - Pt.1

By the late 1950s, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt's president, was the Arab world's most powerful and influential leader.

With his own brand of socialist ideology and political victories he impressed and inspired the Arabs, giving a new meaning to Arab Nationalism. But Nasser's very success, begged the question -- does unity need a collective effort or could the Arab Nation be built by a single leader?

Nasser's drive for unity with Syria would answer that question. Pan Arabists promised that the fusion would bring liberation, stability and prosperity. But in the hands of actual practitioners it seemed to be converted to a tool of domination, wielded in this case by the Egyptians over the Syrians. Disillusion set in.

In the end, it was the fragile United Arab Republic that suffered. The merger of Nasser and the Baath turned into a struggle for control within the camp of Arab Nationalism. The union did not release the pent-up potential that only the combining of Egypt and Syria could tap.

In the meantime Nasser had come under increasing pressure to confront Israel. Arab leaders began doubting his sincerity in defending Palestine, the cause he claimed to support.

Counting heavily on Arab support, Nasser's stated his intention to attack Israel, although militarily stretched to the breaking point with a large part of Egypt's army fighting in Yemen. The Arab Defence Pact was put to the test in 1967, in what became known as the Six Day War. In a pre-emptive strike on June 5, Israel destroyed most of Egypt's air force on the ground.

Arabs refer to the Six Day War as the Naksa -- the Defeat. The Arab Defence Pact failed, Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine was occupied and Syria lost the Golan Heights. Nasser was humiliated.

The military defeat of 1967 showed lack of coordination among Arab states, Arab land was lost, the common enemy was victorious and it served a big blow to Arab self confidence.

In this episode we look at what is left of Nasserism and discuss the implications of the defeat of 1967 which worked its way deep into the collective Arab psyche.

Two voices were raised in opposition to Arab nationalism. One spoke the language of allegiance to individual states. The other spoke of loyalty to a universalist Islam.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Arab
• Unity
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• al
• jazeera
• aljazeera
• Nasser

[kadema100]

PLS brothers dont fight LEts call for MUslims uNIty

long live islam long live muslims united with out race region or creed

[Alkindi90]

@iraqiblaze a Muslim unity is not possible and it is frankly quite stupid idea. there should cooperation of course, but the real unity is between Arabs. what is in common between us and fucking Pakistanis? between us and Persians? Islam? what else?

[Marduniya]

I support Arab nationalism. I would love to see nothing more than another Arab-Israeli conflict where the whole Arab World is again humiliated by a handful of Jews in a matter of weeks. Palestinians are killed every day while the rest of the Arab World is either bending over for America or killing each other for bread! Such is life in the Arab World - an amalgamation of starving desert tribes and homosexual, paedophile "kings".

[manticorex5452452]

long live Arab nation, long live Palestine.

Glory for Djamal abdelnasser, Houari Boumediene, Georges Habash !

[Portubella12458]

Not to mention a muslim state would exclude the non-muslim arabs to an extent, so people would have to be mindful of that, and learn to be tolerant, as Islam advocates. It will take an extremely long time to mend the wounds people bear- and we're not just talking muslims and non-muslims here, but women and men.

Black / white racism still survives today, so that's already one indication that old hate dies hard.

[Portubella12458]

I do think there should be unity between muslims, it's got to such a point where that won't happen unless different sects sort themselves out and cast away their differences/ change their religious views. If they were to unite under one muslim nation, I think the vast differences would eventually cause discord again.

You hear sunnis say that shi'a aren't real muslims, you hear that wahabis are all extremists etc etc. Muslims need to get back to ISLAM first, then worry about other issues.

[intezam]

Nationalism is wrong!

[1802ibrahim]

@iraqiblaze

I Agree :)



[iraqiblaze]

@1802ibrahim any form of extremism is wrong, be it religious, nationalist or political, even in islam we are told not to be extremist, but at the end of the day, it is muslim unity we should be after, because that is when we will be strong, look now, we have the numbers, 1.5bn muslims in the world, we have the natural resources, yet look is what is happening to our people, we are being invaded, occupied and murdered, why? because we are divided, when we are one nation, muslim nation, we can grow

[1802ibrahim]

@iraqiblaze

Well Arab unity is important seeing that all borders on the map are made by the colonialists. But I was just warnig of extremist Arab unity as advocated by Sadat and Nasser who suppressed Islam.

[iraqiblaze]

@1802ibrahim i do not believe in arab nationalism, i believe in islam, but i think arab unity is the key to muslim unity, because when shia and sunni governments can get along, shia and sunnis will be more likely to get along