Arab-Israeli Conflict (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
1995).
Arab League (official name: League of
Arab States)
The Arab League was founded in 1945 to serve
the collective interests of Arab countries that had
achieved their independence from European colo-
nial rule. The founding members were egypt, iraq,
Jordan, lebanon, syria, saUdi arabia, and yemen.
An additional 15 nations have become members
since 1945: algeria, Bahrain, Comoros Islands,
Djibouti, Kuwait, libya, Mauritania, morocco,
Oman, palestine, Qatar, Somalia, sUdan, tUni-
sia, and United Arab Emirates. The Arab League,
which has its permanent headquarters in cairo,
Egypt, is a secular organization that is guided
by the ideal of Arab unity and cooperation. It
is a forum where Arab states address common
issues relating to politics, law, security, transpor-
tation, communication, economic development,
and social and cultural affairs. The league’s char-
ter requires a secretary general as its chief officer,
but the supreme authority for the organization
is held by its council, which is composed of rep-
resentatives from the member states. The league
convenes summit meetings at least twice a year,
which are often attended by heads of state.
Despite the ideal of unity, there are serious
divisions within the organization that have been
caused by economic inequality, differences in
political organization and philosophy, personality
clashes among leaders, and various historical and
cultural factors. For example, Egypt’s domination
of the league under the leadership of President
Jamal Abd al-Nasir (1918–70), a strong secularist,
caused Saudi Arabia to create the mUslim World
leagUe in 1962. Later, Egypt was expelled from
the league for signing a peace treaty with Israel
in 1979, but it was reinstated in 1987. In another
example of disunity, members were unable to
peacefully resolve the crisis caused when Iraq
invaded Kuwait in 1990. They have also been
unable to form a common front for ending the
arab-israeli conFlicts, although they did pass a
unanimous resolution in March 2002 that called
for recognition of israel in exchange for Israeli
withdrawal from occupied territories in the West
Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights. Divisions con-
tinue to afflict the organization in the aftermath of
the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its
allies in March 2003 and the Lebanese-Israeli war
that erupted in July 2006.Further reading: Tawfiq Y. Hasou, The Struggle for the
Arab World: Egypt’s Nasser and the Arab League (London
and Boston: KPI, 1985).Arafat (also Arafa)
Arafat is a plain located 12 miles from downtown
mecca where pilgrims come to stand and listen to
sermons during the haJJ, the annual Muslim pil-
grimage. This gathering, which occurs at midday
on the ninth day of the 12th month of the Muslim
year (Dhu al-Hijja), is one of the essential require-
ments of the hajj. If a pilgrim fails to be there on
time, her hajj performance is considered to be
invalid, and she must perform it again another
year in order to satisfy the Islamic pilgrimage
requirement. The qUran mentions Arafat once:
“When you pour forth from Arafat, remember
God at the sacred monument, and remember how
he guided you when previously you had gone
astray” (Q 2:198). According to Islamic tradition,
Arafat is where adam^ and eve were reunited after
their expulsion from paradise and where gabriel
taught abraham the hajj rites.
Among the distinguishing features of the plain
are Mount Mercy, also called Arafat, a hill where
mUhammad gave a farewell sermon during the
hajj he performed just before his death in 632.
There is a large mosqUe nearby called the Namira
Mosque, where hajj sermons are delivered today
and broadcast throughout the world. There is
another mosque at Muzdalifa, the “sacred monu-
ment” mentioned in the Quran, where pilgrimsArafat 57 J