Martyrs' Day (Lebanon and Syria) - History: The Rise of Nationalism in The Beginning of The 20th Century - Arab Nationalism

Arab Nationalism

Inspired by the Young Turk Revolution, Arab delegates and political figures of the Empire started speaking of the Western notion of Arab nationalism (Arabic: القومية العربية‎) as well. The Arabs' demands were of a reformist nature, limited in general to 'autonomy', 'greater use of Arabic in education', and 'changes in conscription in the Ottoman Empire in peacetime for Arab conscripts' that allowed local service in the Ottoman army. At this stage Arab nationalism was not yet a mass movement, even in Syria where it was strongest. Many Arabs gave their primary loyalty to their religion or sect, their tribe, or their own particular governments. The ideologies of Ottomanism and Pan-Islamism were strong competitors of Arab nationalism.

Yet as the Turkish nationalism grew, discussion of Arab cultural identity and demands for greater autonomy for Greater Syria grew. These demands had been predominantly taken up by Christian Arabs for years but were now joined by some Syrian Muslim Arabs. Various public or secret societies (the Beirut Reform Society led by, 1912; the Ottoman Administrative Decentralization Party, 1912; al-Qahtaniyya, 1909; al-Fatat, 1911; and al-Ahd, 1912) were formed to advance demands ranging from autonomy to independence for the Ottoman Arab provinces. Members of some of these groups came together at the request of al-Fatat to form the Arab Congress of 1913. The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire had begun.

Resultantly, in 1913, intellectuals and politicians from the Arab Mashreq met in Paris at the first Arab Congress where desired reforms were discussed. They produced a set of demands for greater autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. They again demanded that Arab conscripts to the Ottoman army should not be required to serve in other regions except in time of war.