Iraqi Arab Nationalism

Peter Wien presents a provocative discussion on the history of Iraq and the growth of nationalism during the 1930s and early 1940s. He deconstructs the established view that a large proportion of the nationalist movement in Iraq during this period was heavily influenced by Nazi Germany, arguing that the admiration for Germany was highly nuanced, and only rarely translated into admiration for Nazism. National unity and patriotism were important, but models of leadership were overwhelmingly based on Iraqis and not Hitler. Analyzing the activities of the Iraqi youth and Jewish Iraqis, Iraqi Arab Nationalism gives an understanding of Iraqis from diverse backgrounds. It incorporates source material not previously used in discussions of Iraq and nationalism and contains autobiographical and biographical material from officers, intellectuals and politicians, along with contemporary journalistic writings, which sheds new light on Iraqi nationalism.

When the statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down in Baghdad's Firdous square, Iraq was entering a new phase of uncertainty. This is a country whose history has been shaped by foreign occupations, authoritarianism, wars and violence. Its identity was always a matter of controversy. The incompatibility between Iraq as a territorial entity and the various cultural identities of its population made it more difficult for Iraqis to imagine their 'Nation'. This Identity Problem has been made worse by a political power which has always based itself on the hegemony politics of exclusion. Through a long journey in the historical processes and socio-political conflicts, the author tells the story of a country devastated by its legacy, seeking to reconcile with itself and re-imagine its nationhood.

Contributors, including C. Ernest Dawn, Mahmoud Haddad, Reeva Simon, and Beth Baron, provide a broad survey of the Arab world at the turn of the century, permitting a comparison of developments in a variety of settings from Syria and Egypt to the Hijaz, Libya, and Iraq.

Examines the fundamental determinants of Iraqi policy, influences that lie deep in the cultural history, recent political developments, and geographic configurations of the country.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of figures -- Avant-Propos -- 1 Introduction: a critique of Arab nationalism -- 2 The trials and tribulations of the poet Fu'ad al-Khatib: a biographical essay on the origins of Arab nationalism -- 3 Holding up the mirror: imperialism and the poetics of cultural pan-Arabism -- 3.1 Saladin the Victor: national Saints, Great Men, and the rise of the individual -- 3.2 From the glory of conquest to paradise lost: al-Andalus in Arab historical consciousness -- 4 Of Kings and Cavemen: museums and nationalist museology in twentieth-century Egypt -- 5 Damascus transfers: dead bodies and their translocal meanings -- 6 Nearly victorious: the art of staging Arab military prowess -- 7 Arab nationalism, fascism, and the Jews -- 8 Epilogue and conclusion: broken narratives -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index