Arab Unification
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arab unification is a movement that seeks to unite the various Arab nations of the Middle East and North Africa into a single, secular, Pan-Arab state. It is worth noting that there is a difference between the Arab unification movement and the movement that seeks to create a unified Islamic Middle East. The Arab unification movement wants to establish a secular government, as opposed to the other movement which seeks to create a system based on Islamic law.
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[edit] Origins and Leaders
The idea of Arab unification was first encouraged by the French and British governments during World War I because they were seeking allies in their fight against Germany and the Ottoman Empire. At this point the central figure of the movement was Husayn ibn Ali, the ruler of Mecca at the time and a member of the lineage of Muhammad. However, at the end of the war, the Europeans forsook their commitment to the Arabs and partitioned most of the Middle East between Great Britain and France[1].
The cause of unification was taken up again in the 1940s by an organization called the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM). It was led by George Habash, a medical student at the American University of Beirut and later a Palestinian politician. The ANM was heavily socialist and opposed to the state of Israel. Around this same time Nasserism, based on the teaching of President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, was rising as an important force in favor of Arab unification[2].
[edit] Decline
After the defeat of the Egyptian forces in the Six Day War in 1967 against Israel, both of these movements were largely dissolved. Nasserism still exists today in some countries, but the Arab Nationalist Movement disappeared altogether. The cause has not died though[3].
[edit] Failed Attempts at Pan-Arab State
There have been several attempts to bring about a Pan-Arab state by many well known Arab leaders that ultimately resulted in failure. The first was led by King Faisal II of Iraq and King Hussein of Jordan, his cousin. They brought their two countries together under the name Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan. This federation fell apart after the Iraqi Army's coup d'etat. The United Arab Republic was the second attempt. Formed in 1958 under Nasser, it was a union between Egypt and Syria. It lasted for only 4 years, when Syria withdrew due to disagreements. Two later attempts were conducted by Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi; these were the Federation of Arab Republics and the Arab Islamic Republic. Both failed before beginning - see Pan-arabism.
[edit] Future
Since these nations failed, the cause of unification has become increasingly fractured, but factions still exist in the Middle East who are pushing towards this goal[4].
