UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Transnational Rebellion: The Syrian Revolt of 1925-1927 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/99q9f2k0 Author Bailony, Reem Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Transnational Rebellion: The Syrian Revolt of 1925-1927 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Reem Bailony 2015 © Copyright by Reem Bailony 2015 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Transnational Rebellion: The Syrian Revolt of 1925-1927 by Reem Bailony Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2015 Professor James L. Gelvin, Chair This dissertation explores the transnational dimensions of the Syrian Revolt of 1925-1927. By including the activities of Syrian migrants in Egypt, Europe and the Americas, this study moves away from state-centric histories of the anti-French rebellion. Though they lived far away from the battlefields of Syria and Lebanon, migrants championed, contested, debated, and imagined the rebellion from all corners of the mahjar (or diaspora). Skeptics and supporters organized petition campaigns, solicited financial aid for rebels and civilians alike, and partook in various meetings and conferences abroad. Syrians abroad also clandestinely coordinated with rebel leaders for the transfer of weapons and funds, as well as offered strategic advice based on the political climates in Paris and Geneva. Moreover, key émigré figures played a significant role in defining the revolt, determining its goals, and formulating its program. By situating the revolt in the broader internationalism of the 1920s, this study brings to life the hitherto neglected role migrants played in bridging the local and global, the national and international. ii Starting with the Ottoman reforms of 1908, this study first explores the evolving political consciousness of the mahjar in relationship to the growth of international society and institutions. From the late Ottoman period to the Paris Peace Conference and the establishment of the League of Nations, Syrian and Lebanese communities abroad sought to impact the political climate of homeland through the writing of petitions, and the formation of societies and associations. With the bombardment of Damascus in October of 1925, the study shifts its lens to Geneva. Syrians lobbied the League of Nations through numerous petitions calling for justice and intervention. By virtue of residing outside the mandated territories, diaspora groups were able to bypass the censorship of the French mandatory government. Consequently, groups such as the Geneva-based Syro-Palestinian Congress acted as the external representatives of nationalists within Syria. By petitioning the League, Syrian émigrés partook in a civic order that was particular to local concerns within Syria, but which played out in the international circles of Geneva and Paris. In studying the connections between the local and global, the dissertation goes on to consider how the philanthropic engagement of the mahjar in 1925 shaped the civic discourse in south Lebanon. Detractors of the rebellion utilized diasporic networks abroad to wage a campaign for compensation that hinged on the mandate government’s need to protect Lebanon’s Christian minority. While previous histories of the revolt have depicted it as crucial to a popular Syrian nationalism, this study argues that it was also equally meaningful for the assertion of a Lebanese, confessional republic. Even as Syrians and Lebanese mobilized around the League of Nations and French mandate, émigrés also coordinated with various liberal, Pan- Islamist. and Communist networks that operated across state borders. Though the system of nation-states ultimately prevailed, the dissertation highlights how the concerted efforts of divergent networks in connection with the revolt complicate our understanding of the postwar iii international system. Lastly, the project considers the aftermath of the revolt, and the exile of rebel leaders to Transjordan. As migrants, rebel refugees challenged the borders and states of the interwar period. iv The dissertation of Reem Bailony is approved. Lynn A. Hunt Michael Provence Roger Waldinger James L. Gelvin, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2015 v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter 1 The Roots of Syrian Transnational Activism 20 Chapter 2 The Bombardment of Damascus: An International Affair 75 Chapter 3 The Local and Global in South Lebanon 118 Chapter 4 Transnational Rebellion: Wilsonian, Pan-Islamist and Communist Anti- Imperialism 163 Epilogue 205 Bibliography 220 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Deciding to pursue graduate studies in modern Middle East history was my choice to take a road “less traveled.” Unlike the narrator in Robert Frost’s paradoxical poem, I do not look back at my choice with remorse. Nor did I travel the road alone. Along the way, I accumulated the immeasurable support of numerous people and institutions, to which I owe the following acknowledgments. I begin by thanking my dissertation committee for steering my project and guiding me towards the finish line. James Gelvin has provided me with invaluable instruction and critique throughout the various stages of my graduate career. With his mentorship, I've learned to become a better historian, teacher, thinker, and writer. I could not have asked for a more challenging and supportive advisor. I'm also deeply appreciative of Lynn Hunt's advice, instruction and support over the past seven years. As a naive first year student, I emerged out of her historiography course prepared to tackle the coming years. This work could not have been possible without the prior work of Michael Provence, whose monograph on the 1925 rebellion provided me with a launching point to conceive a new project. Since being my undergraduate advisor, he has provided me with years of encouragement. It is thanks to him that I decided to make history my profession. I'm also grateful to Roger Waldinger for his time and support. His critical work on international migration has helped shape my theoretical approach, making my dissertation richer in the process. This project would not have been possible without the steadfast support of UCLA's History Department. I am immensely grateful to Hadley Porter, Ebony Shaw, and Deborah Dauda for keenly and patiently attending to my concerns. They made sure I received the vii guidance and support I needed to finish my degree. My graduate career, research, and dissertation were made possible with the financial support of the following awards: the Foreign Language and Area Studies Scholarship through the Center for Near Eastern Studies at UCLA, the UCLA History Department Graduate Summer Research Mentorship, the UCLA History Department Pre-Dissertation John Fellowship, the UCLA Department of History Research Travel Award, the UCLA Department of History Chair Quasi-Endowment Fund, the Millennium Endowed Graduate Fellowship Grant, the UCLA Department of History Dissertation Year Fellowship, and the Paul Turovsky Summer Research Travel Stipend. As a lifelong student, I owe much to the teachers who have educated me. I begin with my high-school A.P. U.S. history teacher, Thomas Ihlbrock, who challenged me to think critically about history. As an undergraduate student at UCSD, Hasan Kayalı was the first to teach me about the history of the region, and the first to identify my talent for the discipline. At UCLA, Güliz Kuruoğlu dutifully taught me the Turkish language, and supported my FLAS in Turkish at Boğaçizi University. Michael Cooperson first introduced me to the challenges of translating tenth century Arabic literature. I gained invaluable experience as a teaching assistant to Michael Morony, and I learned to be passionate about my craft by watching Kelly Lytle-Hernandez and Robin Kelley teach courses in U.S. history. My research has spanned three continents, and in each there reside archivists, librarians, researchers, and scholars who I give credit for facilitating my work. In Geneva, I would like to thank Jacques Oberson and the staff at the League of Nations Archive. In France, I am indebted to historian Sandrine Mansour-Merien, as well as the staff at the Centre des Archives Diplomatiques de Nantes, the archives of Ministère des Affaires Étrangères in Paris, the Archives Nationales de France, and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. In London, I was viii assisted by the archivists at the British National Archives. In Lebanon, I am grateful to the archivists and staff at the AUB Library in Beirut, Helene Sader at AUB’s Department of History, Professor Souad Slim at Balamand University, the kind staff at the Ba‘aqlain Library, Guita Hourani at the Lebanese Emigration Research Center, Sami Salameh at the Archives of the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkirké, the staff at the Phoenix Center for Lebanese Studies at the Université de Saint-Esprit-Kaslik, and Dr. Mounir Mhannah in Rashaya. In Washington D.C., I am thankful for the assistance of Dr. Muhannad Salhi at the Library of Congress, as well as Joe Hursey at the Archives Center at the Smithsonian National Museum. I would also like to thank Matthew Stiffler at the Arab American National Museum, as well as Hani Bawardi at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. The staff at the University of Minnesota’s Immigration History Research Center were helpful and kind. Last but not least, I want to thank UCLA’s Middle East librarian, David Hirsch, as well as recognize the generous support of the librarians and staff at UCLA’s Young Research Library. I found a niche for my work at the numerous conferences I’ve attended and presented at over the years. I am especially grateful to Akram Khater at North Carolina State University, and the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Studies for first providing me with the space to converse with other like-minded scholars who were equally fascinated with the mahjar. During the 2012 Mashriq and Mahjar conference, I benefitted from the feedback of Akram Khater, Andrew Arsan, John Karam, and Jacob Norris.