Mohammad Ali Al-Ajlouni: a Figure of the Great Arab Revolt (1893 – 1971) Pjaee, 17 (7) (2020)
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MOHAMMAD ALI AL-AJLOUNI: A FIGURE OF THE GREAT ARAB REVOLT (1893 – 1971) PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020) MOHAMMAD ALI AL-AJLOUNI: A FIGURE OF THE GREAT ARAB REVOLT (1893 – 1971) Ibrahim Ahmad AL-Shyyab Al-Balqa Applied University / Al-Huson University College / Jordan Ibrahim Ahmad AL-Shyyab: Mohammad Ali AL-Ajlouni: A Figure of the Great Arab Revolt (1893 – 1971) -- Palarch’s Journal Of Archaeology Of Egypt/Egyptology 17 (7). ISSN 1567-214x Keywords: Mohammad Ali AL-Ajlouni; Great Arab Revolt; Arab Renaissance; Jordan History; Arab Army. ABSTRACT Mohammad Ali AL- Ajlouni was one of the figures of the national movement and the Arab nationalism at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was also one of the most important leaders of the first generation who believed in the principles of the great Arab revolt which called for freedom, independence and liberation from injustice and tyranny which the Arab nation had under the rule of the Unionists. He was one of the first officers who showed Arab awareness under the rule of the Turkish(Ottoman Empire). So, he joined the Arab revolution which reflected hopes and ambitions of the Arabs. AL- Ajlouni fought in many battles of the revolution after meeting Prince Faisal in Aqaba 1917” and joining the revolution army. The most important battles he fought were: Wadi Musa, Jurf Aldrawish, Tafilah and Maan. Then, he moved to Damascus where he fought in the battle of Maisaloun. Finally, he returned back to Jordan and stayed there until his death. Introduction The leader Mohamad Ali AL-Ajlouni is considered one of the prominent figures of the Arab national movement and nationalism at the beginning of the twentieth century. Also, he is one of the earliest leaders who believed in the principles of the great Arabic revolution which called for freedom and independence from the injustice and the tyranny that the Arab nations faced 5933 MOHAMMAD ALI AL-AJLOUNI: A FIGURE OF THE GREAT ARAB REVOLT (1893 – 1971) PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020) under the rule of the Unionists. After graduation, AL-Ajlouni joined the Ottoman Army with many Arab officers at that time. He was one of the Arab officers in the Ottoman army who discovered that the Progress and the Union party controlled the Ottoman Empire, that started to follow a policy cope with the plans of the colonial countries and the Jewish agency which aimed at eliminating the Ottoman Empire through imposing their Turanism nationalist ideas on the non-Turkish nations under the banner of Caliphate.1 The Arabs were of the first nations that suffered from the policy of forced Turkification, which caused a great response between the Arab officers in the Ottoman army who suffered from the mistreatment of their Turkish leaders who most of them were from the Progress and Union party. This policy led to an internal boring and refusal movement which soon escalated between the Arab officers who were serving in the Ottoman fourth army which deployed in the Levant front and controlled by one of the fiercest anti-Arab unionist leaders (Gamal Basha Alsaffah) who practiced the ugliest acts of killing and hanging of the free figures of the Arab nations in Syria and Lebanon. This policy led to an internal boring and refusal movement which soon escalated between the Arab officers who were serving in the Ottoman fourth army which deployed in the Levant front and controlled by one of the fiercest anti-Arab unionist leaders (Gamal Basha Alsaffah) who practiced the ugliest acts of killing and hanging of the free figures of the Arabic nations in Syria and Lebanon. No doubt that these tyranny policies that were practiced by the unionists such as (Gamal Basha Alsaffah ) were one of the main reasons and factors that accelerated the disobedience and the refusal movement of many Arab officers in the Ottoman army who joined the great Arabic revolution. Mohamad Ali Al-Agloani was one of the earliest officers who refused the grievance and injustice and joined the Arab revolution at the first chance. His Name, Birth and Inception Mohamad ben Ali Ibrahim Al-khateeb (known as AL-Ajlouni), was born in 1893 in Angarah one of Ajloun’s region villages. His father was a teacher in the village and his grandfather was a soldier in the army of Ibrahim Basha Almasry. He studied in Al-kuttab (a small elementary school) which was run by his father, then he continued his education in a public school in Ajloun. Then, his eldest brother took him to Damascus to continue his education but he failed in the Turkish language exam, so his father sent him to Al-Azhar in Egypt (azharian) but he couldn’t continue his education because of the First World War. He spent the summer vacation in his village at that time, so he couldn’t return back. At that time the Ottoman authorities called him up for the military service, and sent him to the Officers Reserve School in Baalbek. Later, 1- Al-Dustour newspaper website: Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ali al-Ajlouni and three of his sons held the ministerial post, July 2, 2009, p. 1-2. http://www.addustour.com//.htm 5934 MOHAMMAD ALI AL-AJLOUNI: A FIGURE OF THE GREAT ARAB REVOLT (1893 – 1971) PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020) he joined the military college in Istanbul to graduate as an officer in the Ottoman army. Mohammad Ali AL-Ajlouni and His Military Beginning He was sent to the military school (The officers Reserve School) in Baalbek, after he was called by the Turkish government for the military service. He said “in the meantime we were with our colleagues in the school feeling pain and burning, and chatting about our bad condition. He said “There were more than two hundred Arab young men in the officers’ military school which was called (The exclusive service). They were the vanguard of the school’s students, among them were doctors, engineers and lawyers, where some of them were connected to the Covenant Party or The Young Arab Association Party.2 Mohammad Ali AL-Ajlouni from Baalbek to Anatolia (Adana Province) When officials felt that we had a lot of meetings, after they trampled spies and eyes on us, it was decided to separate the course officers and to be appended to the army but not the armed brigades. He also said I was with eight officers, one of them was the Jerusalemite Hashem Dagani. We were sent to Anatolia to work in the command of the transport detachments. There, he was hired as a commandant for the detachments under the presidency of admiralty Othman bey and with him the staff officer captain Ahmad Nazeeh Bey from Kalas town. He added we had a direct communication in Tartous as the command of the detachment was there, and we had meetings with some Arab officers in Tartous and other meetings with some passers-by toward Istanbul.3 At that time our relationship with the Turks became worse because of ethnicity, and as a result of that I was imprisoned twice; I do not know why. After that my mental and health condition got worse and I was infected by Malaria fever, then I was moved to Tartous for hospitalization.4 Mohammad Ali AL-Ajlouni and the Beginning of The National Awareness Al-Ajlouni said” the beginning of the national awareness for me was early through an accident that I witnessed one morning in Baalbek. I saw a group of our Turkish colleagues surrounding some people hanged on the gallows, they cursed them and described them as traitor Arabs. One of my colleagues asked one of the Turkish non-commissioned officers saying “If they are traitors, they got their punishment but what is the fault of Arabs to call all of them as traitors “and the answer was that all Arabs are traitors and they will have their punishment soon.5 Mohammad Ali AL-Ajlouni and His Transition to the National Work Joining the Great Arabic Revolt. 2 - Al-Ajlouni, Memories of the Arab Revolution, p. 21, Suleiman al-Musa, Photos of the Tournament, p. 188. 3 -Al-Ajlouni, Memories, p. 22-23. 4 - Al-Ajlouni: Memories, p. 24-25, and Suleiman al-Musa, photos of the tournament, p. 188-189. 5 Nicolas Ziadeh: The Arab Revolution, p. 133-134, and Al-Ajlouni: Memories, p. 21, Suleiman al-Musa: Photos of the Heroism, p. 188. 5935 MOHAMMAD ALI AL-AJLOUNI: A FIGURE OF THE GREAT ARAB REVOLT (1893 – 1971) PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020) AL-Ajlouni said that this Baalbek accident left deep impact on me. I realized that the Turks do not see us as (Arab officers) friends in the army, but they consider us as untrusted figures. From this day I began thinking about my nation and its independence.6 Mohammad Ali AL-Ajlouni and Hearing of the News of the Revolt Mohammad Ali AL-Ajlouni was at Tartous hospital when some merchants from Aleppo came to visit their friends and told them the news of the revolution. They told me that Sharif Husain (Sharif of Mecca) announced revolution on the Turkish government and the independence of Arabic nation. The news had great impact on us as if it came from heaven to return the trust which was trampled and to draw new wide lines in the life of the Arab nation full of strength, optimism and a new dawn. The smiles began to appear on the faces of the wounded Arab officers and their relatives, and since that time I immediately promised myself to go to the revolution square in spite of the difficulties of the road.7 Mohammad Ali AL-Ajlouni in His Way to the Revolution Squares Al-Ajlouni started working on joining the revolution, as he asked the chief doctor in Tartous hospital to let him join the service after the improvement in his health condition, who after great insistence, agreed.