al-Muntada al-Adabia was an organisation set up in the last years of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

to promote Arabic culture. Its publicly stated aims were non-political but it became an incubator for the growing

Arab Nationalist movement The Arab Nationalist Movement ( ar, حركة القوميين العرب, ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab''), also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Ar ...

. The 1908

Committee of Union and Progress The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقه‌سی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...

, ''Young Turk'', revolution promised to implement political reforms and the establishment of a constitutional government across the Ottoman Empire. The revolution was greeted with approval across the Arab world amongst those who hoped for more recognition of the Arabic language and Arabic culture. In practice the new regime sought to increase central control from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and to impose Ottoman Turkish as the language of government across the empire. In 1909 a group of Arab politicians and intellectuals opened a club house in Constantinople with meeting rooms, a library and a hostel. They called it ''al-Muntada al-Adabi'' - the Literary Club. Initially, since it had no political agenda it was accepted by the CUP authorities. It was an immediate success, swiftly reaching a membership of several thousand, mostly students, with branches in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Following the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the organisation came under suspicion of involvement in anti-Ottoman activities. In 1915 four members of the

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

branch were hanged for treason. Antonius, George (1938) ''The Arab Awakening. The Story of the Arab National Movement''. Hamish Hamilton. (1945 edition). pp.108,109

References

1909 establishments in the Ottoman Empire