How the West Stole Democracy from the Arabs

The Syrian Congress of 1920 and the Destruction of its Historic Liberal-Islamic Alliance

De: Elizabeth F. Thompson

Narrado por: Suzanne Toren

When Europe's Great War engulfed the Ottoman Empire, Arab nationalists rose in revolt against the Turks. The British supported the Arabs' fight for an independent state and sent an intelligence officer, T. E. Lawrence, to join Prince Faisal, leader of the Arab army and a descendant of the Prophet. In October 1918, Faisal, Lawrence, and the Arabs victoriously entered Damascus, where they declared a constitutional government in an independent Greater Syria.

At the Paris Peace Conference, Faisal won the support of President Woodrow Wilson. However, other Entente leaders at Paris - and later San Remo - schemed against the Arab democracy, which they saw as a threat to their colonial rule. On March 8, 1920, the Syrian-Arab Congress declared independence and crowned Faisal king of a "representative monarchy". Rashid Rida, a leading Islamic thinker of the day, led the constituent assembly to establish equality for all citizens, including non-Muslims, under a full bill of rights.

But France and Britain refused to recognize the Damascus government and instead imposed a system of mandates on the Arab provinces of the defeated Ottoman Empire. Under such a mandate, the French invaded Syria in April 1920, crushing the Arab government and sending Faisal and Congress leaders in flight to exile.

©2020 Elizabeth F. Thompson (P)2020 Tantor

Or, the gang divides up the Middle East

Really insightful telling of a period of history (post-WWI) that for me has been dominated by Versailles and the roaring 20s. The whole process of reapportioning the former Ottoman Empire was something I didn't even know had taken place, and this is a fascinating study of the duplicity involved in arriving at the end result.

Good listen

Well researched, well written. I found the trajectory of Rashid Rida especially interesting and unlike his common portrayal. I appreciate that the narrator can pronounce French (amazing how often this is not the case for books with many foreign-language words; her Arabic isn't quite right clear enough).

Can’t stop listening

I learned a lot from the book. Good narration. It joined the dots in the Middle East between WW1 and WW2

Less than meets the eye

A better title for this book would be "How France Sabotaged Syria's First Attempt at Democracy". If you don't know the surrounding history, this book reads like an engaging indictment of how perfidious European powers colluded to destroy Syria's only chance at democracy, and by vague extension, the whole Arab world. If you do know the surrounding history, its polemical, selective attention and frequent appeals to unsourced consensus sharply undercut the entire narrative. The author seems intent on painting a Chomsky-esque sense of smug self condemnation, but what is actually shown is far less than claimed, and the book selectively omits key themes that don't support the thesis. Few books go into quite as much detail on the Syrian Arab Kingdom's short life, but if you want to understand the big picture of the history and challenges in middle eastern governance and stability, look elsewhere.