The Impact of “European Modernism” on the Mediterranean: A Brief Historical Perspective

The word modern etymologically derives from the Latin word “modernus”, literally meaning “just now”. It is mostly recognized that in the history of humanity the Modern Period started in 1648 with the treaty of Westphalia, which ended 30-years war within the European continent. However, here we have to mention that the period of Renaissance has laid down the foundation of the modern time intellectually. The term “modern”, which has found its deep reflection in Europe is closely related to the Mediterranean as such, because the Renaissance and the moves towards modernity started from the Mediterranean. Venetian, Florentine, Andalusia, and Arab merchants, have brought the not only the capital into the Western and Central Europe but the ideas of the ancient philosophers, another view to the arts and science. All these boosted up the processes of modernization of European societies.

However, in this writing the term “modernism” will be used in its political meaning, specifically the one given to it within the context of Western / European perception, literature and rhetoric. When it comes to modernism in Europe, we have to understand the emergence of such important concepts like state, nation, nation-state, sovereignty, national interest, and national economy. It was the time, when the transition from feudalism and scholasticism to rationality/ scientific approach or positivism, and secularism. These ideas were enrooted into the European society, and this led to another important period of European history, called Enlightenment. Later on, the grand philosophies and ideas of Enlightenment, like democracy, liberalism, socialism, nationalism in their turn has shaped the socio-economic, political structures and even state-formation in the Mediterranean, and especially Eastern Mediterranean region.

Those ideas have been brought into the Mediterranean with the Napoleonic war in Egypt, which in fact started the era of colonization of this part of the world. It was the time after French revolution, when the absolute monarchy had been overthrown and establishment of French republic followed. With the start of Napoleonic expedition, Britain and France pushed the Ottoman Empire back and became new powers in the region and the world. In this process, Eastern Mediterranean came under control of the British and the Western Mediterranean was merely colonized by French.  The unity of the Mediterranean, or Mediterraneanism concept was created for the sake of the colonial countries in certain periods. With regard to French colonialism, it is indicated in the point that, Mediterranean is a geographically united, historically unique European space. To Europanize the Mediterranean, France tried to show the Mediterranean as a cradle of the European civilization, to construct the connection between the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome and the modern Europe. European colonization of Africa was demonstrated as a revival of Latin or Christian Africa inherited from Roman Empire. It is also indicated that the concept of Barbary was invented by the Europeans to better involve in the region. To eliminate Barbary and to bring civilization was an essential aim of the colonizers. It was the time that Mediterranean turned from “a divide” to “a junction”.

Together with colonization, the intellectuals from different parts of Mediterranean region has moved to Europe and got into a close contact with the philosophers and their ideas, which were later brought to the region. The processes of state-formation in Europe during the “Spring of Nations” and following formation of Italy and Germany, independence of Greece, the ideas of nationalism that was in the core of those processes in Europe has moved into the Mediterranean and especially, its Eastern part.

Nationalism in Arab Mediterranean

The nationalism in the Mediterranean, because this idea determined the future and main processes and dynamics in the region for decades. The modern Mediterranean, the one we know today, started to emerge in the period of radical transformations within the system of international relations. It was in the first decades of the XX century, when region began to take its contemporary shape, both spatially and mentally, on the ruins of “holy alliances” and empires that collapsed under the pressure of new ideas and world conflict, like WWI. A special attention should be drawn to the Arab region, better known as Middle East. A fundamental role in the process of formation and development of Arab states and self-affirmation of the Middle East region in the international community and affairs was played by the ideas of Arab Nationalism (“al-qawmiyya al-arabiyya”) and Arabism (“al-uruba”). Even though, the roots of Arabism idea can be traced back to the times of early years after the death of Prophet Muhammed, resulted in the Sunni-Shi’a Schism, modern Arabism can be seen as a part of Arab nationalism phenomenon. In the literature on the topic the concepts of Arab nationalism, Arabism, pan-Arabism, Arab Socialism and related to those are used differently by different scholars and thinkers, are given different meanings and perceptions, are used as either complementary concepts or completely distinct ones. However, what unites those is that each had its own imprint in the developments, dynamics and even destiny of certain Arab countries and region as a whole.

Notwithstanding to various views on the origins of the idea of Arab nationalism, this phenomenon is considered to be the product of firsts decades of XX century influenced by the ideas and examples of Western European Enlightenment, nation – states formation processes and movements that took place in late XVIII – and throughout XIX centuries. Thinkers like Sati al-Husri, Qustantin Zuraiq, Abd al-Rahman al-Bazzaz, Edmond Rabbath were the key thinkers of Arab Nationalism in the post- WWI and interbellum period of XX century.

The process of formation and strengthening of nationalism ideas in the Arab world was constituted by both internal and external factors. During the Ottoman rule on the territories of modern Middle Eastern states, the pan-Islamic ideology was “muffling” self-awareness of Arabs as a distinct community, which differs by ethnic origin, language, cultural varieties from Turkic counterparts. However, by the end of XIX century, Christian population of Syria and Lebanon seeing threat coming from the pan-islamization policies of Ottoman sultan Abd al-Hamid II, started to make propaganda of language as first differentiating element between two ethnicities: “Most people in this region used to identify themselves according to religious, territorial, and tribal affiliations, so radical was the idea to be identified according to the common Arabic language”.  This played a considerable role since resulted in the revival of Arabic language and its use in the daily life as a method of self-expression. This lead to the creation of a narrow, but still educated stratum in the Arabic community, which could develop and spread the ideas of Arabic self-awareness. Moreover, Western European missionaries and Arab (majorly Egyptian, due to the efforts of Muhammad Ali and Egyptian intellectual elite of that period) students studying in France, Italy, and Britain “absorbed” the European ideas of nationalism and brought them to region. Opening of the language schools and translation of European texts to Arabic had lead to the widespread of modern ideas in the region. At the same, Western European countries seeing the weakening and approaching collapse of the Ottoman Empire made efforts to strengthen their positions in the region. By disseminating nationalism ideas within the Arab-resident territories, Western powers transformed Arab nationalism from peaceful movement to revolutionary and separatist one, thus bringing closer the momentum of collapse of Ottoman Empire. At the same time, together with nationalism, the Fabian socialism ideas also “penetrated” into the region. This non-revolutionary socialism, became a “convenient” background for Western countries to keep their colonies under control. Notwithstanding to the fact that Arab nationalism takes its ideological roots in the European nationalistic ideas, these are different processes. European nationalism can be regarded as more natural one than that in the Arab world, since was a result of the mixture of industrialization, urbanization, commercialization, growth of literacy and educated masses (if analyzing through the perspective of modern approach of nationalism theory propagated by Karl Deutsch)  and had the aim of reorganizing the states from within. Arab nationalism instead seems to be more as reaction to the outside conditions and aiming to protect the religion as the only unifying bastion; it was not coming from the core, from the community which understood its unity based on certain cultural components, rather the one of Islam.

Therefore, Arab nationalism became a complex ideology based on history, language, culture and religion constructed by the processes of self-identification, self-awareness, self-determination, gaining independence and at the same time confrontation to the “alien” Western culture and its influence in the region.

Having emerged in the previous centuries and getting power in the first decades of XX century, ideas of Arabism and Arab Nationalism reached their apogee after the WWII, when became more formulated and solid politic-ideological structures. It was the formation of Arab League in 1945 that became the symbol of institutionalization of ideas of Arabism and Arab nationalism, followed by formation and strengthening of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party and the Firmest Bond Movement (“al-urwah al-wuthqa”). The former one played a crucial role in formation of United Arab Republic between Syria and Egypt (1958-1961), which was seen as a sign towards a pan-Arab state, and then in consolidation of longstanding Assad (1970- up to date) and Saddam Hussein (1968-2003) regimes in Syria and Iraq respectively. This consolidation became possible also due to the revision of direction of driving forces towards Arab unity: the unity from below, from masses, not at states level.

Another important event that stimulated the growth of ideas of Arab nationalism and Arabism was the formation of Israeli state within the Arab world and defeat of Arabs in the Arab-Israeli war in 1948. According to Gamal Abdel Nasser, this defeat became a catalyst of pan-Arabic nationalist activities, since Egyptian army officers saw weakness and disunity of Arab countries as the reason of this defeat.  It is worth to say that being the leader of pan-Arabism movement, Nasser always saw the state of Israel as a constant obstacle on the way to the Arab national unity, thus gaining more support towards the consolidation of powers of pan-Arabism movement.

Gamal Abdel Nasser has culminated the era Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism, which is classified as era of “Radical Arab Nationalism”.  He became a symbol of Arab unity and dignity, anti-colonial and anti-imperialist movement in the region. In the conditions of Cold War he challenged the trends and established closed ties with Soviet bloc while fighting British and French imperialist powers, nationalized Suez Canal in 1956, was the most prominent anti-Zionist proponent and understanding the importance of Islamic religion in the country and region, made the attempts to combine Islam and Socialism in the Arab world, which brought him closer to both secular and more conservative regimes from the region, thus consolidating his power not only in Egypt but also spreading the influence throughout the region.

The Nasserism ideology became the outcome of the rhetoric of Gamal Abdel Nasser, which was welcomed by other Arab countries. Being anti-capitalistic in its nature, but also rejecting the communism as such, since was seen as incompatible with religious background of the region, Nasserism was equalized to phenomenon called “Arab Socialism” co-related with Arab nationalism and pan – Arabism. However, the defeat of the Arabs in Six Days War in 1967 has completely changed the rising trend of Arab Nationalism and ideology lost majority of it followers among the political elites of the Arab countries.

The concept of nationalism is not about division between “us” and “others” and “us” being better than “others”. A homogeneous structure is laid down in the core of nationalism. The nationalistic ideas can develop once this homogeneity, in terms of ethnicity, language, religion, culture, common interests, and peculiarity with respect to other groups, communities, nations is understood and accepted by all members of the community. Mediterranean countries are by nature heterogeneous ones, representing a “cocktail” of histories, tribes, confessions, languages and dialects, traditions, thus resulting in the multiple expressions of self-identifications and identity problems. Therefore, Arab nationalism was not a based on homogeneity, instead its main aim was to unite all these parts of the “puzzle” and find a common base for all of those, to make them at least superficially homogeneous.