Author Topic: Pan-Arabism's Legacy of Confrontation with Iran  (Read 3127 times)

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Pan-Arabism's Legacy of Confrontation with Iran
« on: January 03, 2008, 08:47:56 PM »
Pan-Arabism's Legacy of Confrontation with Iran
By: Dr. Kaveh Farrokh

Pan-Arabism's Legacy
Few Iranians (or westerners) have heard of Pan-Arab nationalists such as Satia Al-Husri, Sami Shawkat, Michel Aflaq or Khairallah Tulfah. Their version of Arab nationalism is as anti-Western as it is anti-Persian. The philosophies of these men have done much to inspire generations of Arab leaders such as Gamal Abdel Nasser, who passionately advocated the changing of the Persian Gulf to "Arab Gulf", or Saddam Hussein, who defined his Arabism by the extent of his brutality against Iranians (Kurds, Persians, etc.).

Before we engage in this relatively long discussion of pan-Arabism and Arab chauvinism, let us (Iranians) remind ourselves, that we too have our faults and are not perfect. In fact, I have always found the attitudes of a number of Iranians against Arabs embarrassing and unfair. Nevertheless, I also find the hostile anti-Iranian attitudes and actions of the pan-Arabists shocking (you will read some of these in this commentary). As you read this article, please balance your feelings with how many of us Iranians are also embarresingly chauvinist, with cultural expressions such as "uncouth Arab" or "Lizard eaters". Undoubtedly, Iranians of all stripes are offended at the "Arab Gulf" scandal, not to mention pan-Arabist attempts at fomenting Arab racism against Iranians. A powerful distinction must be made between people who project ignorance and hatred, versus Arabs as a whole, who, in my opinion (and by personal experience), are kind, compassionate, intelligent, and resourcefu l.

To understand the pan-Arabists, it is necessary to briefly sketch the history and origins of this movement and how this mindset remains a danger to international peace and stability. Al-Husri, along with other pan-Arab thinkers such as Michel Aflaq, helped forge the basis of the modern pan-Arabist identity of the 20th century. Unfortunately, as with other chauvinist philosophies such as Nazism, pan-Turkism, Persian chauvinism, Nordicism, pan-Arabist thinking leads inevitably to violence and confrontation, in this case against the Western and Iranian worlds.

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Interesting article. Arabs and Persians are two completely different people. Arabic is Semitic and Afro-Asiatic, while Persian is Indo-European, like English, German, Spanish, and Armenian. Even their appearance is different. Hajj Al-Amin Husseini, Michel Aflaq, Yasser Arafat, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and Muslim terrorists have a lot in common. We often think of then as being anti-America and Israel. They also are ardent anti-Iran/Persian, more so than anti-America. Saddam Hussein's last word was "Down with Persians!" Arabs and Persians will never get along with thousands of years of animosity. It does not end overnight. In fact, I have many Arab and Persian friends and they never hung out with each other. Okay, maybe one instance, that's an exception.
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
-Napoleon Bonaparte

Allow enemies their space to hate; they will destroy themselves in the process.
-Lisa Du