by Raymond Ibrahim<\/p>\n
Private Papers<\/em><\/p>\n O<\/span>n occasion, one finds a historical pattern that provides a paradigm useful for interpreting contemporary world events.\u00a0 One such paradigm is the almost eerie parallel between Germany\u2019s history \u2014 its progress from Nationalism to Fascism and ultimately Terror \u2014 and the recent history of the Arab world.<\/p>\n Nationalism, of course, originated in Europe. But what nationalism came to mean or embody to any particular people varied over time and place, and its articulation had much to do with specific historical circumstances.\u00a0 As a result, two highly antithetical forms of nationalism eventually emerged: the one, rooted in the Enlightenment, was aligned with liberal and \u201crationalist\u201d thinking; the other, child of Romanticism, came to embody everything primordial: race, \u201cblood,\u201d language, culture, and religion. Consider, for example, the different sorts of nationalisms espoused by France and Germany. In France, nationalism was connected with concepts of individual liberty, rational cosmopolitanism, and citizenship. Germany\u2019s later nationalism was built almost purely on a sentimental regard for the supposedly heroic past and the mystic blood-ties of the\u00a0volk<\/i>.<\/p>\n Thus nations like Germany put more emphasis on the\u00a0volk<\/i>\u00a0than on the citizen, and on the\u00a0geist<\/i>, the unique, defining \u201cspirit\u201d of the people, than on civic rights or political structures. According to the 18th<\/sup>-century German philosopher Herder, \u201cNature produces families; the most natural state therefore is one people [volk<\/i>] with a natural character. . . .\u00a0 Nothing seems more obviously opposed to the purpose of government than the unnatural enlargement of states, the wild mixing together of different human species and nations under one scepter.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n As to why German nationalism developed along these lines, two considerations are important.\u00a0 First, when threatened, a people often find solace by withdrawing into solidarity with others who share a same common background \u2014 racially, linguistically, culturally, theologically, and historically\u2014while viewing all who do not share in these common primordial bonds as the dreaded \u201cOthers.\u201d\u00a0 Conveniently enough, during the birth of German nationalism, there was in fact another hostile Other \u2014 the French.<\/p>\n Secondly, prior to 1871, the \u201cGerman nation\u201d was in fact composed of many petty kingdoms and principalities.\u00a0 After the Napoleonic invasions, it became urgent for Germans to define and assert themselves through unification.\u00a0 What better way to find cohesion than falling back on common traditions and values?\u00a0 It is around this time that German history \u2014 or better, Teutonic myth \u2014 came to play a leading role in shaping the national consciousness: Wagnerian operas, based on the heroic Teutonic past, became popular. Historical characters like Arminius, who vanquished the Roman legions in the<\/p>\n Teutoburg Forest in 9A.D., became objects of veneration, if not emulation.<\/p>\n S<\/span>imilarly, Arab nationalism developed along \u201cromantic\u201d lines. After nearly five centuries of foreign rule \u2014 from Ottomans to the Western colonial powers, primarily French and British \u2014 the Arab peoples, in order to find cohesion and identity in the rising world of nation-states, fell back on primordial bonds of kin, religion, shared history, and culture.\u00a0 And just as in Germany, the liberal principles of Enlightenment nationalism came to be inextricably linked with the Arab peoples\u2019 oppressors (the French and British), giving the Arabs even more reason to shun \u201cWestern\u201d liberal-democratic nationalism as a foreign import, a product of the oppressive Other.<\/p>\n Moreover, again similar to Germany, the so-called \u201cArab world\u201d was \u2014 and still is \u2014 in reality made up of some 20 different states that needed some ready-made ideology in order to unify quickly.\u00a0 Arab political scientist Bassam Tibi sums this phenomenon well:<\/p>\n Arab nationalism in the colonial period, which persists\u00a0until the present<\/i>\u00a0time, is intellectually related to Italian and German nationalisms, which have been defined by C.J. Hayes as \u2018counternationalism\u2019. . . .\u00a0 Arab nationalism, once francophile and partly anglophile, changed with the British and French colonisation of the area and became anti-British and anti-French, and germanophile. . . .\u00a0 It [germanophilia] was closely connected with the\u00a0historical circumstances<\/i>\u00a0which influenced Arab nationalism.\u00a0 Furthermore, the germanophilia was narrow and one sided.\u00a0 The German ideology absorbed by the Arab intellectuals at this time was confined to a set of nationalist ideas which had gained particular currency during the period of the Napoleonic Wars [i.e., when the Germans were most threatened by the Other].\u00a0 These ideas carried notions of romantic irrationalism and a hatred of the French to extremes.\u00a0 They excluded from consideration the philosophers influenced by the Enlightenment . . . on the grounds of what was considered to be their universalism.\u00a0 They were particularly attracted by the notion of the \u2018People,\u2019 [Volk<\/i>] as defined by German Romanticism, which they proceeded to apply to the Arab nation [emphases added].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Like Herder before them, Arab thinkers came to make similar assertions regarding the concept of the nation.\u00a0 For instance, Sati al-Husri (1882-1968), a very influential political figure, would \u201cpraise German Romanticism for having brought about the idea of the nation as distinct from the state, well before the French or British ever did.\u00a0 He then fused the German concept of the nation with the Arabic concept of \u2018group solidarity\u2019 (asabiyya<\/i>), which he derived from Ibn Khaldun.\u201d For al-Husri,<\/p>\n Unity was more than mere blood; there was a spiritual quality as well. Husri did not specify the form of government that could best effect the regeneration of the Arab nation he favored. He did not rule out political dictatorship, was certainly aware of the totalitarian aspects of his thinking, and, like many of his Arab contemporaries, expressed some admiration for fascism. For Husri, freedom did not mean democracy or constitutionalism; it meant national unity. For him, nation (umma<\/i>) denoted a group of people bound together by mutually recognized ties of language and history. This was distinct in his mind from state (dawla<\/i>), a sovereign and independent people living on common land within fixed borders.\u00a0It should be emphasized that\u00a0<\/i>umma\u00a0for Husri was a purely secular entity, not a religious one\u00a0<\/i>[emphasis added].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n More to the point, many concepts that were embodied in German words and that were central to Germany\u2019s nationalism \u2014\u00a0Geist<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Volk\u00a0<\/i>\u2014 had their exact counterparts in Arabic words which also held important connotations for Arab nationalists, e.g..,\u00a0Ruh<\/i>\u00a0(spirit) and\u00a0Umma<\/i>.\u00a0 Even today, these concepts are still prevalent in much of Arab political writings.\u00a0 Political scientist Hamid Rabi (d. 1989) \u201cfinds the German national school worthy of consideration . . . and admires the way the German thinkers, when faced with the humiliation of the French conquest, delved into their own Teutonic heritage in search of cultural and civilisational roots that raised the Germans\u2019 awareness of their national distinctiveness and \u2018authenticity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n E<\/span>ven though Germany and the Arab world have faced similar circumstances, thereby generating similar responses, there is one final element that helped increase radicalization: war, defeat, and humiliation, as experienced by Germany in WWI and the Arab debacle at the hands of the Israelis in 1967, the culmination of Islam\u2019s long decline before the rising power of Europe.\u00a0 As a result, both Germany and the Arab world, after experiencing these defeats to their arch-enemies \u2014 their most despised Other \u2014 proceeded to fall into a stricter, more radical mode of primordial nationalist thinking.<\/p>\n Far from abating, German nationalism, after Germany\u2019s defeat in 1918 in WWI would become more ossified; race, and all \u201cauthentically German\u201d aspects (e.g., culture, history) came to have an even more exaggerated importance to many Germans in defining themselves (again, vis-\u00e0-vis the Other).\u00a0 This is when that ever so tenuous line separating nationalism from fascism was crossed.\u00a0 With the rise of the Nazi party, German nationalism went to the extreme: the supposed superiority of the Aryan race (while quite popular during the turn of the century already) became the starting point for the ensuing (and megalomaniacal) German world view.\u00a0 All \u201cnon-Aryans\u201d \u2014 gypsies, Slavs, and of course the Jews \u2014 were ostracized or slaughtered; \u201cdeviants\u201d (i.e., obviously non true-blooded Germans, such as homosexuals and liberals in general) were also persecuted.\u00a0 All things became black or white, good or bad, right or wrong.\u00a0 A \u201cright\u201d form of \u201cGerman\u201d conduct was expected from the people. Democracy was nonsense.\u00a0 Women were expected to lead traditional lives, keeping their husbands and families their first priority.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Medieval German symbols and even pagan cults dedicated to the dark gods of the Teutoburg Wald (such as Wotan) became commonplace.\u00a0 Indeed, that the Nazi party itself was greatly associated with the swastika \u2014 a historic, Teutonic symbol \u2014 demonstrates the importance that perceived attachments with the past had for the Germans.<\/p>\n An ideal example of the radicalization that Germany experienced is well demonstrated by the life of an average German man who fought in WWI and underwent a profound change \u2014 that is, the\u00a0Fuhrer\u00a0<\/i>himself, Adolf Hitler.\u00a0 The evidence indicates that Hitler had little personal bitterness towards Jews (not withstanding his purported vow of vengeance on the art academy that rejected him and was possibly headed by Jews).\u00a0 Yet after the German defeat of WWI, increasingly to both Hitler and other Germans the Jews became even more singled out as traitors to the Fatherland \u2014 after all, they were not \u201ctrue\u201d Germans.\u00a0 As for Germanic history\/legend, Hitler was a zealous fan: his favorite books were about Teutonic gods and pure German lineages; Wagner\u2019s wildly passionate dramas of the heroic and romantic held a special place in his heart.\u00a0 Hitler himself would proclaim, \u201cAny who wish to understand me must first understand Wagner.\u201d\u00a0 Thus on the eve of WWII, Germany, once defeated and humiliated a mere two decades ago, stood taller and prouder than ever, with a form of uncompromising and ruthless nationalism.<\/p>\n B<\/span>ased on this brief outline of Germany\u2019s overall transformation after their major defeat, many parallels with Arab responses vis-\u00e0-vis the continuous Arab defeats to Israel (not to mention recent American humiliations) can be discerned.\u00a0 Again, an enemy Other \u2014 the Jews \u2014 helped shape a people\u2019s nationalism.\u00a0 With one disastrous defeat after another \u2014 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 (accompanied with extreme humiliation and indignation) \u2014 at the hands of the Jews, many Arabs, far from forfeiting their primordial form of nationalism, have delved deeper into their roots, seeking for elements that are glorious and heroic, and most importantly, that are authentically \u201cArab\u201d \u2014 and what can be more \u201cauthentically\u201d Arab than Islam itself, founded by an Arabian Prophet, revealed in the Arabian tongue, and preaching victory in face of oppression?<\/p>\n In many respects, it is precisely for this reason that there has been an Islamic resurgence in parts of the Arab world: seen by some as the\u00a0Ruh<\/i>\u00a0of the \u201ctrue\u201d Arab\u00a0Umma<\/i>, many Arabs, trying to rationalize why they have fallen from once proud heights, have found the answer in Islam.\u00a0 In their frantic search for identity and cohesion vis-\u00e0-vis the Jewish menace, many Arabs find in Islamic fundamentalism the logical conclusion of nationalism, for it provides a divinely sanctioned identity \u2014 and a war commanded by God Himself. Thus out of an already romantic (i.e., fascist) though disaffected nationalism, Islamic Fundamentalism was born.<\/p>\n So even though Islam is a religion, the historic rise of Islamic fundamentalism betrays certain commonalities with the German response of Nazism.\u00a0 And that it is also a religion, gives it more import and legitimacy, as God himself is at the heart of it.\u00a0 The Jew becomes a more pronounced and hence more despised Other: for now he is no longer just a foreign invader; he is also an impious infidel defiling God\u2019s holy lands.\u00a0 And just as was the case in Nazi Germany, a greater intolerance for others takes place: non-Muslims are condemned and often persecuted.\u00a0 Right and wrong ossify; conformity to \u201ccorrect\u201d Islamic conduct is stressed.\u00a0 Deviants such as homosexuals are rooted out.\u00a0 Jihad takes on renewed and urgent importance; talk of the crusades and heroes like Saladin (compare with Arminius) become commonplace.\u00a0 Osama bin Laden et. al. are very fond of musing on and evoking the prowess, dignity, and piety of Islam\u2019s forbears \u2014 such as 7th<\/sup>\u00a0century Khalid, \u201cthe Sword of Allah.\u201d\u00a0 Women are to return to traditional roles \u2014 husbands and family are prioritized.\u00a0 And, just as symbols of Germany\u2019s historic past (e.g., the swastika) played an important role in keeping the link with the glorious and \u201cauthentic\u201d past alive, so too do Arab symbols become prominent: beards, turbans, and veils \u2014 back by popular demand \u2014 are to an extent symbolic, evidencing this link to the past.<\/p>\n And so, in certain respects, Islamic fundamentalism is an old phenomenon in a different form. Just as for Germany, wars and wounded egos have produced a vicious backlash in many parts of the Arab world.\u00a0 But these commonalities and shared histories are not only instructive regarding the causes of Nazism and Islamic fundamentalism; perhaps they can also shed some light on how to handle the latter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Parallels between Germany and the Arab World by Raymond Ibrahim Private Papers On occasion, one finds a historical pattern that provides a paradigm useful for interpreting contemporary world events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[227,785],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-1sa","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1327,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/newt-challenges-the-myth-of-palestinian-nationalism\/","url_meta":{"origin":5590,"position":0},"title":"Newt Challenges the Myth of Palestinian Nationalism","author":"victorhanson","date":"December 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce S. 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But historically, the modern nation-state has proven uniquely suitable to preserving individual rights. The American nation in particular was successful in uniting individuals of different races, ethnic\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5352,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/jihad-studies-as-trivia\/","url_meta":{"origin":5590,"position":3},"title":"Jihad Studies as Trivia","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim Private Papers This article was first published in Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard. 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