THIRTEEN
The Roots of Arab Bitterness
Few topics in Middle East history have generated as much heat—and as
little light—as Arab nationalism. Few people are as poorly understood
as today's Arabs. Even deciding who is an Arab or defining what is meant
by Arab nationalism can easily get scholars and students into trouble, with
both the Arabs and their detractors. Nevertheless, Arabs are becoming
more politically active in the twenty-first century. In our analysis we may
find that what is called Arab nationalism is now dissolving into many dif¬
ferent movements, whose common feature is that they pertain to various
Arabic-speaking peoples who seek to control their own political destinies.
We must study these various manifestations of Arab feeling. And let us not
fool ourselves: Arab feeling is strong and is likely to get stronger. It is also
sometimes bitter, owing to some of the Arabs' unhappy experiences in the
early twentieth century. Let us see what happened, and why.
ARAB NATIONALISMWhat is Arab nationalism? Simply put, it is the belief that the Arabs consti¬
tute a single political community (or nation) and should have a common
government. Right away we can see problems. There is no general agree¬
ment on who is an Arab. The current definition is that an Arab is anyone
who speaks Arabic as his or her native language. This is not enough. Many
speakers of Arabic do not think of themselves as Arabs, nor do other Arabs
so regard them: Take, for example, the Lebanese Maronites, the Egyptian
Copts, and of course the Jews born in Arab countries who went to live in
Israel. A more eloquent definition is one adopted by a conference of Arab203