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| The '''Syrian National Party''' was a quasi-] party that advocated ]n dominance over a wide swath of the ]. It was founded by ], who was executed in ] after a failed coup in ]; however, the party was still active in Syria in the mid-]. | The '''Syrian National Party''' was a quasi-] party that advocated ]n dominance over a wide swath of the ]. It was founded by ], who was executed in ] after a failed coup in ]; however, the party was still active in Syria in the mid-]. The party's vision of Greater Syria included Syria, Lebanon, ], ], ] and ]. | ||
| Saada believed that Syria's greatness had been tarnished through a series of invasions, especially the invasion of ] ]s shortly after the founding of ]. Saada in his writings often dismissed the ] influence on Syria as being "of the East". To him, Syria was a "]" nation, and its people "Syrians", never "Arabs". | |||
| The party's vision of Greater Syria included Syria, Lebanon, ], ], ] and ]. Saada believed that Syria's greatness had been tarnished through a series of invasions, mostly referring to those of the ]. Saada in his writings often dismissed the ] influence on Syria as being "of the East". His Syria was a "]" nation. These positions largely alienated the vast majorty of Syria's inhabitants who were mostly ] and ], though Saada never explicitly decried Arabs or Muslims as being a problem in Syria. He did however try to remove their influence in Syrian history making them "Syrians' as opposed to "Arabs". His writings, mostly either political polemics or historical works are very much works of historical ] to an almost extreme degree. Hisstory however did not support Saadah's claim to an historically unified Syria, Syria and most especially Lebanon had long been divided on the lines of ] and ], even ]. This is illustrated by the various religious and ethnic wars that had ravaged Syria from antiquity. The Druze-Maronite wars of the 1800s in Lebanon and Maronite-Muslim tensions have been prevelant until the prestent. Syria was a land of various ethnic groups and there, at least not until that point no group called "Syrians", rather there had been Druze, Arab, Christian, Shia, Orthodox etc. The Party sought to govern a Syria that had never existed. It's ideology drew heavily on those of the European fascists of the period, Mussolini was seen as a model to follow. The Party was a product of the widespread uncertainty of the ]. Many young men who joined the Party were of the poor working classes from the hill country or of the urban slums looking for a deeper meaning to their lives and for their country. | |||
| The Party was a product of the widespread uncertainty of the ], and its ideology drew heavily on the European fascists of the period, especially ]. Many young men who joined the Party were of the poor working classes from the hill country or of the urban slums looking for a deeper meaning to their lives and for their country. | |||
| The party drew its support mainly from ] Christians, ] and ]. | |||
| ⚫ | Although Saada never explicitly decried Arabs or Muslims as being a problem in Syria, his view of history largely alienated the vast majorty of Syria's inhabitants who were mostly ] and Arab. Neither were many ]s drawn to its message. The Party's message sounded to many like a revival of a kind of ], ] ]. Without support of either Maronites or Sunni Muslims, it is no surprise that the Party was short-lived. Many of the party's followers gravitated towards ], particularly that of the ] and the Egyptian president ]. | ||
| Saada's writings, mostly either political polemics or historical works, are works of extreme historical ]. Although Saada claimed that Greater Syria was historically unified, in fact Syria and, most especially, Lebanon had long been divided along lines of ], ], and even ]. Religious and ethnic wars had ravaged Syria from antiquity, and have continued in Lebanon down to the Druze-Maronite wars of the ] and the still-prevalent Maronite-Muslim tensions, only partially cooled since the ] (1975–1990). | |||
| Syria was and is a land of various ethnic groups and, at least until the establishment of the present Syrian state, there had been no group called "Syrians"; rather there had been Druze, Arab, Maronite Christian, Shia, ], etc. The Party sought to govern a Syria that had never existed. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| *Irwin, Robert "An Arab Surrealist". '']'', January 3, 2005, 23–24, 37–38. | *Irwin, Robert "An Arab Surrealist". '']'', January 3, 2005, 23–24, 37–38. | ||
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Revision as of 23:44, 12 January 2005
The Syrian National Party was a quasi-fascist party that advocated Syrian dominance over a wide swath of the Middle East. It was founded by Antun Saada, who was executed in 1949 after a failed coup in Lebanon; however, the party was still active in Syria in the mid-1950s. The party's vision of Greater Syria included Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Cyprus, Jordan and Iraq.
Saada believed that Syria's greatness had been tarnished through a series of invasions, especially the invasion of Arab Muslims shortly after the founding of Islam. Saada in his writings often dismissed the Arabic influence on Syria as being "of the East". To him, Syria was a "Western" nation, and its people "Syrians", never "Arabs".
The Party was a product of the widespread uncertainty of the 1930s, and its ideology drew heavily on the European fascists of the period, especially Benito Mussolini. Many young men who joined the Party were of the poor working classes from the hill country or of the urban slums looking for a deeper meaning to their lives and for their country.
The party drew its support mainly from Orthodox Christians, Druze and Shia Muslims. Although Saada never explicitly decried Arabs or Muslims as being a problem in Syria, his view of history largely alienated the vast majorty of Syria's inhabitants who were mostly Sunni Muslim and Arab. Neither were many Maronites drawn to its message. The Party's message sounded to many like a revival of a kind of atheistic, secular Byzantium. Without support of either Maronites or Sunni Muslims, it is no surprise that the Party was short-lived. Many of the party's followers gravitated towards Arab nationalism, particularly that of the Ba'ath Party and the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Saada's writings, mostly either political polemics or historical works, are works of extreme historical revisionism. Although Saada claimed that Greater Syria was historically unified, in fact Syria and, most especially, Lebanon had long been divided along lines of ethnicity, religion, and even tribe. Religious and ethnic wars had ravaged Syria from antiquity, and have continued in Lebanon down to the Druze-Maronite wars of the 19th century and the still-prevalent Maronite-Muslim tensions, only partially cooled since the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990).
Syria was and is a land of various ethnic groups and, at least until the establishment of the present Syrian state, there had been no group called "Syrians"; rather there had been Druze, Arab, Maronite Christian, Shia, Orthodox Christian, etc. The Party sought to govern a Syria that had never existed.
References
- Irwin, Robert "An Arab Surrealist". The Nation, January 3, 2005, 23–24, 37–38.