Naguib Azoury or Negib Azoury ( ar, نجيب عازوري;
transliteration
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...
, Nagīb ʿĀzūrī; was a
Maronite
The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...
Christian who espoused
Arab nationalist
Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...
ideals, most notably in the book ''Le réveil de la nation arabe''.
Early life and education
The details of Azoury's birth are uncertain. According to one source, Azoury was born around 1873 in the village of
Azour
Azour (also spelled Aazour) is a village in Lebanon, located from Sidon and south of Beirut. It is 830 meters above sea level. Azour's area stretches for 263 hectares (2.63 km²; 1.01518 mi²).
The municipality of Azour is located in ...
. He studied in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
at
l’Ecole des sciences politiques and later studied at the Ottoman civil service school in
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 (" ...
. In 1898, Azoury began administration work in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, serving as an Ottoman official for several years.
Activities after Jerusalem
In May 1904, following a conflict with his brother-in-law and Jerusalem's Mutasarrif Kazim Bey, Azoury went to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and condemned the
mutasarrif
Mutasarrif or mutesarrif ( ota, متصرّف, tr, mutasarrıf) was the title used in the Ottoman Empire and places like post-Ottoman Iraq for the governor of an administrative district. The Ottoman rank of mutasarrif was established as part of a ...
in the newspaper ''al-Ikhlas''.
Azoury moved to Paris and allegedly founded the “Ligue de la Patrie arabe”; as of December 1904 and January 1905, this organization included only Azoury and another person. Later, Azoury was sentenced to death “''in absentia''…’for having left his post without permission and having proceeded to Paris where he
addevoted himself to acts compromising the existence of the
ttomanEmpire.’”
In December 1904 and January 1905, Azoury’s Ligue released two manifestos, both titled “The Arab Countries for the Arabs” and published in Arabic and French. The Ligue directed its first manifesto to “All the Citizens of the Arab Homeland Subjected to the Turks”; the second manifesto addressed the “Enlightened and Humanitarian Nations of Europe and North America.” These manifestos preceded Azoury's most well-known text, ''Le réveil de la nation arabe''.
''Le réveil de la nation arabe''
In January 1905, soon after the Ligue issued its manifestos, Azoury published ''Le réveil de la nation arabe dans l’Asie turque''—or, more commonly, ''Le réveil de la nation arabe'' (''The Awakening of the Arab Nation''). ''Le réveil de la nation arabe'', Azoury's most significant work, has been termed “a minor classic in Arab nationalist literature.”
Key ideas and influences
''Le réveil'' included a comprehensive discussion of the relationships between 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) ...
and the world powers. Most significantly, Azoury openly urged the Arab provinces to sever their ties with the Ottoman Empire. In addition to the text's nationalistic nature, ''Le réveil'' exhibited anti-Zionist sentiment and decried
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
aspirations in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. Azoury envisaged “that Zionist and Arab nationalist aspirations were likely to come seriously into conflict,” writing that "two important phenomena are emerging at this moment in Asiatic Turkey. They are the awakening of the Arab Nation and the latent effort by Jews to reconstitute on a very large scale the ancient Kingdom of Israel... They are destined to fight each other continually until one of them wins." He also criticized what he viewed as French anti-clerical actions in Jerusalem and Lebanon.
Some assert that the text was likely heavily influenced by Azoury's career in the service of the Ottoman Empire. Azoury had firsthand experience of corrupt administrators as well as the flawed system that could not stem the arrival of Jewish
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
or their acquisition of land.
Reception and criticism
Azoury largely wrote ''Le réveil'' for French readers; in fact, the book was written in French. The book apparently was not initially influential among Arabs, but it did spark dialogue in Europe and especially in France. European officials considered ''Le réveil'' an important text for gaining insight to the region, and the book is credited with encouraging European aspirations regarding the Ottoman Empire by “
laimingthat the Arab provinces were ripe for revolt, and that a movement already existed that needed only the assent of Europe to bring about the final confrontation.” Yet, Azoury admitted later “that the book sought not to describe Arab discontent so much as to create it.” The work is criticized as being a falsely nationalistic text, intended to pander to Europe rather than to rouse Arab nationalistic sentiment.
One year after ''Le réveil''’s publication, Farid Kassab—an Arab from Beirut who was attending school in Paris—criticized Azoury’s work, writing a pamphlet that supported the Ottoman Empire and
Jewish settlement in Palestine while rejecting Azoury’s idea of an Arab nation.
Later life
In April 1907, while still in Paris, Azoury published the first monthly issue of ''
L’Independence arabe
''L'Independence arabe'' was a monthly political magazine with a special reference to the independence of the Arabs. The magazine was based in Paris, France, and published for one year in the period of 1907–1908.
History and profile
''L'Indepe ...
''.
In order to secure funding for the publication, Azoury offered to place his knowledge of
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, the various pan-Islamic committees, and the regional political “web” at the service of France. Azoury was investigated at this point by uneasy French authorities, but he was largely dismissed as posing no danger. During their investigation, French authorities found no definitive evidence supporting the existence of Azoury's Ligue de la patrie arabe—for which, along with a similarly dubious Arab national committee, Azoury claimed to speak.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azoury, Naguib
Lebanese writers
Lebanese Arab nationalists
Lebanese Maronites