Syrian Aspirations and Realities

political crisis in Syria is caused by hidden disturbances in the Syrian soul that are slowly coming into the open. It is still too soon to predict the consequences of this development. For those who know the Syrians and are concerned over their destiny, nothing is more perturbing than to behold the logical unfolding of the crisis resulting from what has been committed on the local and international scenes since the outbreak of World War I. For some four centuries, Syria constituted a part of the Ottoman Empire and participated loyally in its Islamic conservative tradition. The beginning of the twentieth century, with the gradual secularization of the world, witnessed a serious turn in Syrian loyalty. Syrian intellectuals, under the influence of Western and new Turkish ideas, began to entertain national designs. The Young organized in the Committee of Union and Progress, sought to turkify the Empire and to suppress Syrian nationalism, but succeeded only in intensifying the Syrian desire for independence. Western Missions, through the spread of education, and the discovery of the classical Arab heritage, supplied the Syrians with the historical proponents of national existence. The concept of an Arab nation, rooted in the past and conscious of the future, independent of the Turks, free and sovereign, appeared most attractive. In pursuance of this objective, secret societies were formed, political parties were established and newspapers were filled with serious and suggestive ideas. Gradually the Arab movement gained momentum. Since the inception of nationalism in the Near East, the Syrians have been the most loyal supporters of the concept of an Arab nation comprising all the Arabic-speaking peoples. It is characteristic of them politically, to reach beyond the local and merge with the greater whole. This explains why Syria is often referred to as the Prussia of the Arabs, an appellation which is no longer true in the light of the strong Arab line which new

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