Politics

Arabism is a mental illness

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العروبة المتعبة ..عقاب ! – syriano The issue here concerns Antoun Saadeh and his diagnosis of the ills of Arabism, or rather, his analysis of the issue of Arabism, The Arabism that Saadeh meant and described as a disease is the Arabism of the Baath, which we have come to know practically over the years, especially after Saadeh’s death, as well as the Arabism of Hafez al-Assad, which we have also come to know, then the Arabism of Sati’ al-Husri, and even the Arabism of Aflaq and the Arabism of al-Arsuzi, and in general the Arabism of Arab nationalism and the Arabism of the nation of Ibn Abdullah, then the Arabism of the Arab homeland from the ocean to the Gulf, This is precisely the Arabism that Antoun Saadeh described as a psychological illness. We add to that the word “incurable,” meaning that it is a malignant psychological illness that leads to death in all cases.

Arabism, that malignant, delusional, bankrupt disease, far from science and close to superstition, is a psychological disease, because it distorts the soul and mind and confuses them by planting intellectual mines in both, If we had lived in the first half of the last century, we would have doubted the validity of Saadeh’s statements, and we would not have been able to imagine Arabism as a terminal illness, even if Nizar Qabbani had lived at that time, and even if he had sworn on the holy book,He thought long and hard before saying that Arabism is a “punishment,” or rather, a ruin.

That failed, bankrupt, unscientific, and unrealistic delusional Arabism was a psychological illness, because it distorted the mind by planting illusions and mines in it, Why did the poet describe Arabism as “punishment”? Because the matter of Arabism became clear and exposed in the second half of the twentieth century, It became clear that it was narcissistic, murderous, racist, chauvinistic, and corrupt, It does not unite but divides, It is a return to the cave or stone age, like its cave-dwelling religious partner, Arabism does not recognize pluralism and refuses to benefit from its advantages, It is exclusionary, isolationist, and non-communicative, It is like the state of the countries of the region between the Gulf and the Ocean now: total and complete ruin.

Saadeh viewed Arabism with astonishment, not admiration. Saadeh’s Syria differed drastically from Aflaq’s Arabism, who was aware of the intertwining of Islam and religion, Consequently, in the early 1940s or late 1930s, he promoted the idea that Arabism was Islam and Islam was Arabism, arguing that Arabism could only coexist with other identities through assimilation and the absorption of one group into another, Otherwise, he warned, the sword and the cleaver would be used to sever necks, For the sake of assimilation, Aflaq also sought to Islamize Christians, whose proportion among Syrians was significant at the time, This pursuit of assimilation continued to suppress pluralism, leading Syria to its current state, For example, the Kurds and others were forced to become Arabs through a process called “Arabization,” which necessitated the establishment of what was termed the Arab Belt, and later the Upper Belt, around the Kurds’ necks to suffocate them, We still don’t understand why a Syrian must be “Arab”!!!

    Arabism was considered sacred like religion, and it carries a religious burden like language, Every group or entity that is keen on homogeneity naturally rejects everyone who does not assimilate into it, and rejects everyone who remains in its space, as was the case with the Kurds and will remain with others under Arabism.  This was also the mentality of conquests and Islamization, and the mentality of spreading religion on the basis that it is the true religion and others are infidel and false, Moreover, it is the religion of the Creator.

  Arab nationalism includes  all Arabic speakers, even those outside the Syrian homeland, and the Muslim nation includes all believers, even those outside the Syrian homeland or the Arab region, according to the concept of loyalty and disavowal,  Within the Syrian homeland, Arabists exclude non-Arabs or those who do not wish to be Arabs from the right of citizenship, wholly or partially, according to loyalty and disavowal.   The Sunni Ottoman Turk became closer to them than the Syrian Kurd, and the Mauritanian closer to them than the Syriac, Thus, religion became a factor of internal division in pluralistic homelands, and Arabism or Arab nationalism became a factor of internal fragmentation, not a factor of bringing together the different around common denominators,  This Arabism wanted to unite what nature, life, and circumstances had separated, and to fragment what life and circumstances had united.  This was the Arab nationalism that Saadeh described as a psychological disease that distorted the mind, logic, and perception.

 Saadeh said some seventy years ago that Arabism was bankrupt, at a time when it was an obvious identity!  How do we evaluate Arabism and Arab nationalist thought now after all these years?  Has Arab nationalism succeeded in any of life’s battles… unity… progress… peace… the Palestinian cause… democracy… freedoms… the economy… Cilicia… Alexandretta… territorial unity… divisions based on sectarianism, the constant need to possess the tool of factional or sectarian hegemony, and the erosion of understanding between people in all other areas of life? Where was the success of Arab nationalism and in what area of ​​life?

Aflaq viewed Arab identity as a sacred axiom,  as expressed in his 1957 article, “Arab Nationalism and the Nationalist Vision”: “For the Ba’ath Party, Arab nationalism is a self-evident truth that imposes itself without discussion or struggle, This model is unparalleled except in the structure of the Syrian National Front during the Assad era, Ethnic and racial characteristics are a non-negotiable axiom. Since Arabism is Islam, any religion, it is also non-negotiable, The practice of self-deception and empty Arab pride is non-negotiable, as are the concepts of hopes and dreams, According to the principles of non-negotiation, responsibility for the Kurdish issue and its escalation, and for pushing the Kurds to seek their interests through equal citizenship—which racist Arab nationalism has stripped from them—must be understood, In short, all the country’s misfortunes stem from the duality of Arabism and religion…!”

The Arabism that Saadeh considered a psychological illness was a fantasy far removed from reality—an Arabism based on origin, race, language, and religion,  Is it conceivable that Saadeh would side with Arab nationalism, that is, with the racists?  Is it conceivable that Saadeh would side with those who inject religion into the state?  Shouldn’t Saadeh have told those who merge religion and the state, “You are pathological cases and need treatment?”  Anyone who views nationalism through the lens of religion is ill,   Nationalism is not based on religion, Religion is international and universal, while nationalism is national and regional, meaning it is linked to a geographically defined and internationally recognized homeland,  Nationalism is the awareness of people of the unity of their social, economic, and political lives through commonalities with those who are different, regardless of their religion, origin, or class.  Syrians are not a race, a language, or a religion, nor are they all of these combined into a single society,  Syrians, as a people or a political state, are not subject to the rulings of any religion, nor is it their civic duty to obey the commands of any religion. It is of no concern to them what religion a Syrian adheres to, or that a Syrian practices their religion as they wish in their personal sphere!

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