Nijmeh Hajjar is a Senior Lecturer and Chair of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at The University of Sydney. Her research interests include gender issues in modern Arabic culture, literature and cinema. Her other publications include Living Arabic in Context, Beirut, 2005. LIBRARY OF MODERN MIDDLE EAST STUDIES Series ISBN: 978 1 84885 243 3 Selected titles: for a full list of titles see www.ibtauris.com/LMMES 75. Britain and Turkey in the Middle East: 85. The New Arab Journalist: Politics and Influence in the Early Cold War Era Mission and Identity in a Time of Change Mustafa Bilgin Jeremy Ginges and Laurence Pintak 978 1 84511 350 6 978 1 84885 098 9 76. Satellite Realms: Transnational Television, 86. Reclaiming Women’s Rights in Islam: Globalization and the Middle East The Challenge to Muslim Patriarchy Naomi Sakr Hanaan Balala 978 1 86064 688 1 978 1 84885 118 4 77. Globalization and the Gulf 87. The Young Turk Legacy and National John Fox and Nada Mourtada Sabbah (eds) Awakening: From the Ottoman Empire to 978 1 84511 144 1 Atatürk’s Turkey Erik J. Zürcher 78. Israeli Cinema: 978 1 84885 271 6 East/West and the Politics of Representation Ella Shohat 88. Across the Wall: Towards a Shared 978 1 84511 312 4 View of Israeli-Palestinian History Ilan Pappé and Jamil Hilal 79. Occidentalism in Turkey: Questions of 978 1 84885 345 4 Modernity and National Identity in Turkish Radio Broadcasting 89. Cultural Encounters in the Arab World: Meltem Ahiska On Media, the Modern and the Everyday Tarik Sabry 978 1 84511 653 8 978 1 84885 359 1 80. Narrating Islam: Interpretations of 90. Palestine Online: Transnationalism, the Muslim World in European Texts Communications and the Reinvention of Identity Gerdien Jonker and Shiraz Thobani (eds) Miriyam Aouragh 978 1 84511 978 2 978 1 84885 364 5 81. The Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s 91. The Tuareg in a Globalised Society: Succession Crisis: The Politics of Liberalisation Saharian Life in Transition and Reform in the Middle East Ines Kohl and Anya Fischer (eds) Mohammed Zahid 978 1 84885 370 978 1 84511 979 9 92. Orientalism and Conspiracy: Politics and 82. Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Conspiracy Theory in the Islamic World Propaganda in Education Arndt Graf, Schirin Fathi and Ludwig Paul Nurit Peled-Elhanan (eds) 978 1 84511 813 6 978 1 84885 414 7 83. The Emergence of Modern Istanbul: 93. Honour Killings: International Human Rights Transformation and Modernisation of a City and Crimes Against Women in Turkey Murat Gül Leylâ Pervizat 978 1 84511 935 5 978 1 84885 421 5 84. Beyond Islam: 94. Postcolonialism and Feminism in Maghrebi A New Understanding of the Middle East Women’s Literature Sami Zubaida Abdelkader Cheref 978 1 84885 069 9 978 1 84885 449 9 THE POLITICS AND POETICS OF AMEEN RIHANI The Humanist Ideology of an Arab–American Intellectual and Activist Nijmeh Hajjar TAURIS ACADEMIC STUDIES an imprint of I.B. Tauris Publishers LONDON • NEW YORK Published in 2010 by Tauris Academic Studies An imprint of I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com Distributed in the United States and Canada exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © 2010 Nijmeh Hajjar The right of Nijmeh Hajjar to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Library of Modern Middle East Studies 102 ISBN 978 1 84885 266 2 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress catalog card: available Printed and bound in India by Thomson Press (India) Camera-ready copy edited and supplied by the author To YOU for all the love and care! CONTEnts Abbreviations ix Preface xi Introduction 1 1 Intellectual Formation: Migration, Travels and Life Experience 21 2 Writer and Political Activist 43 3 Progress, Reform and Revolution 69 4 Justice, Freedom, Democracy and Socialism 96 5 Arabs and Ottomans: Reform, Decentralisation and Independence 120 6 Lebanon and Syria: Between Patriotism and Nationalism 145 7 Arab–French Encounter: The French Mandate in Lebanon and Syria 170 8 Arab Nationalism: Ideals and Endeavours 194 Epilogue 232 Notes 249 Bibliography 279 Index 293 ABBREVIATIONS AAB American Authors and Books AAK Al-A‘mal al-‘Arabiyya al-Kamila ACA Around the Coasts of Arabia APD Arabian Peak and Desert Atlan Atlantic Monthly AUB American University of Beirut Bookm Bookman CCAS Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies CLP Le Comité Libanais de Paris CUP Committee of Union and Progress Cur Hist Current History DIM Dar al-‘Ilm lil-Malayin E.I.2 The Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition) HUP Harvard University Press Hutaf Hutaf al-Awdiya IJMES International Journal of Middle East Studies Int Studio International Studio ISA Ibn Sa‘oud of Arabia Khalid The Book of Khalid LLP Lebanon League of Progress MADN al-Mu’assasa al-‘Arabiyya lil Dirasat w-al-Nashr MDWA Markaz Dirasat al-Wahda al-‘Arabiyya MAJ al-Majmu‘a al-Kamila MEJ Middle East Journal Muluk Muluk al-‘Arab Nubdha Nubdha fi al-Thawra al-Faransiyya OUP Oxford University Press TNYTBRM The New York Times Book Review and Magazine x The Politics and Poetics of Ameen Rihani PO Public Opinion PUL Publications de l’Université Libanaise PUP Princeton University Press Rasa’il Rasa’il Amin al-Rihani RGPL Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature SCC Syrian Central Committee Shadharat Shadharat Min ‘Ahd al-Siba SMLLL The Syrian–Mount Lebanon League of Liberation SMLRC The Syrian–Mount Lebanon Relief Committee al-Tatarruf al-Tatarruf w-al-Islah UCP University of California Press UTP University of Texas Press WFAR Where to Find Ameen Rihani WIWANAA Who is Who Among the North American Authors WIWL Who is Who in Literature Wujuh Wujuh Sharqiyya wa Gharbiyya WWWA Who Was Who in America PREFACE This is a study of the contribution of Arab–American writer and activist Ameen Rihani, a leading literary figure and a most engaging Arab humanist of the twentieth century. It is an examination of Rihani’s socio-political thought and activism and his role as an intellectual who sought to engage both East and West. It discusses his endeavour to generate change in the Arab world within the conceptual and practical framework of his understanding of progress, liberation and unity. With his dual Arab-American identity and his humanist outlook, the quest for Arab progress, democracy and liberation from foreign rule, remained at the heart of Rihani’s engagement of both East and West. My analysis of the development of Rihani’s thought is anchored in my understanding of the dialectical link between his life experiences in the Arab world, the USA and Europe, and his literary creativity and activist commitment as a humanist intellectual. While viewing Rihani’s contribution in the wider context of contemporary Arabic thought and the changing conditions of the Arab East in his age, I give special attention to his efforts to engage his contemporary Arabs and Westerners alike. The Introduction provides a general framework of Rihani’s contribution and sets out the aims and methodology of this book. Chapter One outlines Rihani’s life and experiences in order to understand his ideas and activities. This biographical sketch focuses on important factors in Rihani’s childhood in Lebanon, his early youth in the USA and his subsequent travels and constant movement between the Arab world and the West. It is based on careful research into his books and articles, and his correspondence with literary and political figures and members of the general public, supplemented by further references in the writings of his brother and nephew. In tracing Rihani’s intellectual development, I highlight important influences, particularly his wide-range readings in Arabic and xii The Politics and Poetics of Ameen Rihani Western literatures, on his formation and on the evolution of his thought and activism. His travels in Arabia in 1922–23, which were a turning point in his journey as an intellectual and activist, receive special attention here. Chapter Two examines Rihani’s importance as a writer and political activist. The first two sections focus on two crucial dimensions of his contribution as a major and prolific Arabic and English essayist, and as a critical yet accessible historian. In discussing his contributions to the press in the West and in the Arab world, I highlight his advocacy of avant-garde views on religious tolerance, political reform and East-West mutual understanding. The second section of this chapter analyses Rihani’s historical methodology and his attitude to the past, highlighting his significance as a pioneer of critical historical writing in the modern Arab world. Rihani was no armchair writer but an intellectual activist interested in seeing social, cultural and political change in Arab societies. The third section of this chapter focuses on his efforts as a motivated, independent, and critical political activist. I discuss this against the background of the social and political transformation of Arab societies, and in the context of debates about the Middle East in the USA and Europe during his life time.