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Syria

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Lebanon

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The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP)^[1] is a nationalist political party in Syria and Lebanon. It advocates the establishment of a Greater Syrian national state, including present Syria, Lebanon, the Hatay Province of Turkey, Israel, the Palestinian territories, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, Cyprus, Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait ^[2]. This page lists presidents of Lebanon. ... Émile Lahoud General Émile Geamil Lahoud (Arabic: اميل لحود, Armenian: Իմիլ Լահուտ) (born January 12, 1936) is the President of Lebanon. ... This page lists prime ministers of Lebanon. ... Fouad Siniora Fouad Siniora (alternative spellings: Fuad Siniora, Fouad Seniora) is the Prime Minister of Lebanon, a position he assumed on 19 July 2005, succeeding Najib Mikati. ... This is the list of the Lebanese government that was formed by Fouad Siniora on 19 July 2005. ... The Parliament of Lebanon is the Lebanese national legislature. ... This page lists speakers of the Parliament of Lebanon. ... Political parties in Lebanon lists political parties in Lebanon. ... Elections in Lebanon gives information on election and election results in Lebanon. ... Lebanon is divided into 6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah). ... The 6 Governorates of Lebanon are divided into 25 Districts (Aqdya, singular - qadaa) -- or 26, counting the Governorate of Beirut which is not subdivided into districts. ... The foreign policy of Lebanon reflects its geographic location, the composition of its population, and its reliance on commerce and trade. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... Greater Syria, as claimed by Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) Greater Syria, also known (in a historic context) as Syria, or Bilad ash-Sham (Arabic: بلاد الشام) is an irredentist term that denotes a historic region in the Middle East bordering the Mediterranean. ... shows the Location of the Province Hatay Flag of the Republic of Hatay (1938-1939) Hatay is a province of southern Turkey, situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and Syria to the south and east. ... The West Bank map The Gaza Strip map Palestinian territories is one of a number of terms used to describe, from Arab point of view, areas captured by Israel in the Six-day War of 1967, whose political status has been the subject of negotiations between Israel and the Palestine... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 For other uses of the word Sinai, please see: Sinai (disambiguation). ...

Founded in Beirut in 1932, the party has played a significant role in Lebanese politics at various points, notably being involved in attempted coups in 1949 and 1961. It was active in resistance against the Israeli occupation of Lebanon from 1982 on. It is now part of the pro-Syrian bloc, along with Amal and Hezbollah, and has only limited popular support in Lebanon. In Syria, the SSNP became a major political force in the early 1950s, but was thoroughly repressed in 1955. It remained organised, and in 2005 was legalised and joined the Baath Party-led National Progressive Front. It is thought to be the largest legal party in Syria apart from the Baath, with perhaps 90,000 members. For other uses of Amal, see the disambiguation page. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Baath Party symbol Party flag The Arab Socialist Baath Party (also spelled Bath or Baath; Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي) was founded in 1947 as a radical, secular Arab nationalist political party. ... The National Progressive Front (NPF), established in 1972, is a political party created by former Syrian President Hafiz Al-Asad to give the impression of a democratic state. ...

Foundation and early years

The SSNP was founded by Antun Saadeh, a journalist/philosopher from an Greek Orthodox family in the Mount Lebanon region. Saadeh had emigrated to South America in 1919 (via the USA where he stayed for about a year before continuing on to Brazil), at the age of fifteen, and in the years he lived there engaged in both Arabic-language journalism and Syrian nationalist political activity. On his return to Lebanon some ten years later he continued working as a journalist and also taught German in the American University of Beirut. In November 1932 he established the first nucleus of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. The party operated underground for the first three years of its existence. After it began overt activity, it was the object of harsh repression by the French mandatory authorities. Saadeh himself was arrested several times, and in 1938 was forced to stay South America after a visit he made there before the outbreak of World War II.^[3] Antun Saadah (March 1, 1904-July 8, 1949) was a Lebanese social nationalist thinker and founder of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church is a religious organization which claims to be the continuation of the original Christian body, founded by Jesus and his Twelve Apostles. ... Mount Lebanon, as a geographic designation, is the mountain range that extends across the whole country of Lebanon along about 160 km (100 mi), parallel to the Mediterranean coast and rising to 3,090 m (10,137 ft). ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Syrian nationalism refers to the nationalism of Syria, as a cultural or political entity. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mandates in the Middle east and Africa. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

The party he founded was organised along the lines of the European fascist movements of the 1930s, with a hierarchical structure and an extremely powerful leader. Its ideology was an entirely secular form of nationalism; indeed, it posited the complete separation of religion and politics as one of the two fundamental conditions for real national unity. The other condition was determined economic and social reform. ^[4]

Saadeh's concept of the nation was that it was shaped by geography, not by ethnic origins, language or religion, and this led him to conclude that the Arabs could not form one nation but many nations could be called Arab. Arab nationalist thinker Sati' al-Husri considered that Saadeh "misrepresented" Arab nationalism, incorrectly associating it with a Bedouin image of the Arab and with Muslim sectarianism. Palestinian historian Maher Charif sees Saadeh's theory as a response to the religious diversity of Syria, and points to his later extension of his vision of the Syrian nation to include Iraq, a country also noted for its religious diversity, as further evidence for this. ^[5]. The party also accepted that due to "religious and political considerations", the separate existence of Lebanon was necessary for the time being. ^[6] Sati al-Husri was a Syrian writer and intellectual whose ideas are widely considered to have played a fundamental role in the development of Arab Nationalism. ... A Bedouin man resting on a hillside at Mount Sinai Bedouin, derived from the Arabic (‎), a generic name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic pastoralist groups, who are found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via... Maher Charif (Arabic: ماهر الشريف, transliterated Mahir ash-Sharif) is a Palestinian Marxist historian specialising in modern Arab intellectual history and the history of Arab political movements. ...

Lebanese historian Kamal Salibi gives a somewhat contrasting interpretation, pointing to the position of the Greek Orthodox community as a large minority in both Syria and Lebanon for whom "the concept of pan-Syrianism was more meaningful than the concept of Arabism" while at the same time they resented Maronite dominance in Lebanon. Saadeh, according to Salibi, Maronites (Marunoye ܡܪܘܢܝܐܶ; in Syriac, Mâruniyya مارونية in Arabic) are members of an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ...

found a ready following among his co-religionists. His idea of secular pan-Syrianism also proved attractive to many Druzes and Shiites; to Christians other than the Greek Orthodox, including some Maronites who were disaffected by both Lebanism and Arabism; and also to many Sunnite Muslims who set a high value on secularism, and who felt that they had far more in common with their fellow Syrians of whatever religion or denomination than with fellow Sunnite or Muslim Arabs elsewhere. Here again, an idea of nationalism had emerged which had sufficient credit to make it valid. In the Lebanese context, however, it became ready cover for something more archaic, which was essentially Greek Orthodox particularism." ^[7]

From 1945 on, the party adopted a more nuanced stance regarding Arab nationalism, seeing Syrian unity as a potential first step towards an Arab union led by Syria. ^[8]

The SSNP in Lebanon, 1947-1975

Greater Syria, as claimed by SSNP

Saadeh returned to Lebanon in 1947. In 1949, after the cancellation of legislative elections in Lebanon in which he had hoped for electoral success, the party attempted a coup d'état, which failed. In the face of a massive crackdown, Saadeh fled to Syria, where he declared the first Social Nationalist Revolution. but the Syrian military dictator Husni al-Za'im handed him over to the Lebanese authorities and he was executed. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1230x870, 553 KB) Summary Greater Syria, as claimed by SSNP Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1230x870, 553 KB) Summary Greater Syria, as claimed by SSNP Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... The Parliament of Lebanon is the Lebanese national legislature. ... Husni al-Zaim (1897 - 1949) (Arabic: حسني الزعيم) was a Syrian military man and politician. ...

The party was seen in these years as a right-wing, anti-Communist and pro-Western organisation.^[9] During the Lebanese civil war of 1958 party members participated on the Government side, fighting against the Arab nationalist rebels in northern Lebanon and in Mount Lebanon.^[10] The party was subsequently legalised. US Marines on patrol in Beirut, summer of 1958. ...

In 1961 the party launched an abortive coup attempt in Lebanon, resulting in renewed proscription and the imprisonment of many of its leaders. In prison the SSNP militants read and discussed politics and reconsidered their ideology, coming under the influence of Marxist and other left-wing ideas. By the beginning of the 1970s, the party had undergone a considerable ideological transformation, and was seen as decidedly left-wing and no longer deeply inimical to Arab nationalism. These ideological turns, however, resulted in splits, and there are now 2 groups still laying claim to Saadeh's mantle.

Civil war and resistance

Proof of this new orientation came with the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war of 1975. SSNP militias fought alongside the nationalist and leftist forces, against the Phalangists and their right-wing allies. An important development followed with the renewal of contact between the party and its former bitter enemy, the Syrian Baath Party ^[11] Combatants Lebanese Front Syrian Army LNM PLO Commanders Bachir Gemayel Dany Chamoun Kamal Jumblatt Yasser Arafat The multi-sided Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) had its origin in the conflicts and political compromises after the end of Lebanons administration by the Ottoman Empire and was exacerbated by the nation... The Lebanese National Movement was led by Kamal Jumblat, a prominent Druze. ... The Kataeb Party, better known in English-speaking countries as the Phalange, is a Lebanese political party that was first established as a Maronite nationalist youth movement in 1936 by Pierre Gemayel. ... Baath Party symbol Party flag The Arab Socialist Baath Party (also spelled Bath or Baath; Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي) was founded in 1947 as a radical, secular Arab nationalist political party. ...

After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and subsequent rout of the leftist forces, a number of the leftist organisations regrouped to engage in resistance to the Israeli occupation. Along with the Lebanese Communist Party, the Communist Action Organization, and some smaller leftist groups, the SSNP played a prominent role in this. One of the best-known early actions of the resistance was the killing of two Israeli soldiers in the Wimpy Cafe on west Beirut's central Rue Hamra by party member Khalid Alwan. The party continues to commemorate this date. A party member, Habib Tanious Shartouni, was also responsible for the assassination of Lebanese president Bachir Gemayel in a bomb attack on 14 September 1982. In 1983 the party joined the National Salvation Front established to oppose the abortive accord with Israel signed by Gemayel's brother and successor Amine Gemayel. It remained active in the Lebanese resistance until Israel's withdrawal from the remaining occupied territories in 2000, although the role of all the secular groups was in later years almost entirely eclipsed by the more effective military performance and propaganda of the Shia fundamentalist group Hezbollah. The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP, Arabic, الـحـزب الشـيـوعـي اللبـنـانـي hizbu-sh-shuy‘uÄ«-l-lubnānÄ«) is a Marxist political party in Lebanon. ... The Communist Action Organization (COA) or Organization of Communist Action (Arabic munażżamatu-l-‘amali-sh-shuyū‘ī fÄ« lubnān, French Organisation de lAction Communiste du Liban, OCAL) was a minor Marxist-Leninist political party and militia in Lebanon. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Bachir Gemayel Bachir Gemayel, first name also spelt Bashir (Arabic: بشير الجميل), (November 10, 1947 – September 14, 1982) was a Lebanese military commander, politician and president elect. ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... Amine Gemayel Amine Gemayel (Arabic: أمين الجميل) (born 1942) was President of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988. ... Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ... This article is becoming very long. ...

The SSNP took a pro-Syrian position in debate about Syria's role in Lebanon. Its popular support in Lebanon is now rather limited. The Syrian presence in Lebanon, also known as the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, began in 1976 as a result of a Lebanese government invitation during Lebanons civil war, and ended in April 2005 in response to domestic and international pressure after the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik...

The SSNP in Syria

In Syria the SSNP grew to a position of considerable influence in the years following the country's independence in 1946, and was a major political force immediately after the restoration of democracy in 1954. It was a fierce rival of the Syrian Communist Party and of the radical pan-Arab Baath Party, the other main ideological parties of the period. In April 1955 Colonel Adnan al-Malki, a popular figure who was a very popular figure in the Syrian army, was assassinated by a party member. This provided the Communists and Baathists with the opportunity to eliminate their main ideological rival, and under pressure from them and their allies in the security forces the SSNP was practically wiped out as a political force in Syria. The Syrian Communist Party evolved out of the Syrian-Lebanese Communist Party founded in 1924. ... Baath Party symbol Party flag The Arab Socialist Baath Party (also spelled Bath or Baath; Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي) was founded in 1947 as a radical, secular Arab nationalist political party. ...

The SSNP's stance during the Lebanese civil war was constant with that of Syria, and that facilitated a rapprochement between the party and the Syrian government. During Hafez al-Assad's presidency, the party was increasingly tolerated. After the succession of his son Bashar in 2000, this process continued. In 2001, although still officially banned, the party was permitted to attend meetings of the Baath-led National Progressive Front coalition of legal parties as an observer. In Spring 2005 the party was legalised in Syria, as the first non-socialist and non-Arabist party. It is considered to be one of the largest political parties in the country, after the ruling Baath Party, with perhaps 90,000 members.^[12] This page lists presidents and other Heads of State of Syria. ... Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (بشار الاسد) (born September 11, 1965) is the current President of Syria and the son of former President Hafez al-Assad. ... The National Progressive Front (NPF), established in 1972, is a political party created by former Syrian President Hafiz Al-Asad to give the impression of a democratic state. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ...

Outside Lebanon and Syria

Apart from in Lebanon and Syria, the party also has a following among the large diasporas of these countries. It has overseas branches in a variety of countries, including Australia, USA, Brazil, Argentina and several Western European countries. It is less popular in the rest of the Middle East, with a very small number of supporters in Jordan and the 'Palestinian Authority' areas, but practically no following in more peripheral parts of what it refers to as Greater Syria. Look up Diaspora in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

Footnotes

1. ↑  In Arabic: الحزب السوري القومي الاجتماعي al-Hizb as-Sūrī al-Qawmī al-Ijtimā`ī; often referred to in French as Parti Populaire Syrien.
2. ↑  Irwin, p. 24; ssnp.com "Our Syria has distinct natural boundaries…" (accessed 30 June 2006).
3. ↑  Charif, pp. 243-244n
4. ↑  Hourani, p. 326
5. ↑  Charif, p. 216
6. ↑  Hourani, p. 326
7. ↑  Salibi, pp. 54-55
8. ↑  Hourani, p. 326
9. ↑  Seale, p. 50
10. ↑  Article on pro-SSNP website on the party's role in the 1958 civil war, visualised 19 January 2006
11. ↑ (Seale, p. 349)
12. ↑  Asia Times article by Syrian political analyst Sami Moubayed, visualised 19 January 2006

The Arabic language ( ), or simply Arabic ( ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic and Aramaic. ...

References

• Charif, Maher, Rihanat al-nahda fi'l-fikr al-'arabi, Damascus, Dar al-Mada, 2000
• Hourani, Albert, La Pensée Arabe et l'Occident (French translation of Arab Thought in the Liberal Age)
• Irwin, Robert, "An Arab Surrealist". The Nation, January 3, 2005, 23–24, 37–38. There is an online version, but only the first two paragraphs are shown to non-subscribers.
• Salibi, Kamal, A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered, London, I.B. Tauris, 1998 ISBN 1-86064-912-2
• Seale, Patrick, Asad: the Struggle for the Middle East, Berkely, University of California Press, 1988 ISBN 0-520-06976-5
• Information on Lebanese parties, from Lebanese nationalist-leaning website www.cedarland.org

Albert Habib Hourani (March 31, 1915 – January 17, 1993) was a prominent scholar of Middle Eastern history through much of the 20th century. ... The Nation logo The Nation is a weekly left-liberal periodical devoted to politics and culture. ... I.B. Tauris is a publishing house based in London and specializing in non-fiction. ...

External links

• SSNP website (in Arabic)
• SSNP website (in Arabic)
• SSNP School
• Another SSNP website
• SSNP Information Network
• Democratic Group at SSNP (Tayyar Demokrati)
• Tahawolat Magazine Articles about society and culture