The Rise Of Arab Nationalism

The Pan Arab nationalist Movement was formed in 1951 by George Habash a Left wing secularist, whom also funded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) a secularist, Marxist organization which had ties to the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China. The Nationalist Movement was revolutionary and Pan-Arabist. It placed emphasis on the formation of a nationally conscious intellectual elite which would play a vanguard role in a revolution of Arab consciousness. This movement would seek to enlighten the Arab state and give deference to Western Imperialism. By 1952 however, the Colonial and Commonwealth Relations Office produced a document, entitled “The Problem of Nationalism” a branch of the British Foreign Office. This document was to help safeguard Great Britain as a world power particularly in the economic and strategic fields against the inherent dangers of Arab Nationalism.