Muslim-Christian relations in Palestine during the British mandate period
Abstract
My dissertation
examines
Muslim-Christian
relations
in Palestine during the British
mandate period, specifically, around the question of what constituted
Palestinian-Arab identity. More broadly
speaking, the dissertation
addresses the topic within the
context of the larger debate
concerning the role of material
factors (those
related to
specific
historical developments
and circumstances) versus that of
ideological
ones. in
determining
national
identities. At the beginning
of the twentieth, century, two models
of
Arab
nationalism were proposed-a more secular one emphasising a shared
language
and culture
(and thus, relatively
inclusive
of non-Muslims) and one wherein
Arab identity
was seen as essentially an extension of the Islamic
religious
community, or umma.
While
many
historians dealing
with
Arab
nationalism
have
tended to focus
on the role of
language (likewise, the role of
Christian Arab
intellectuals), I
would maintain that
it is the latter
model that proved
determinative
of
how
most
Muslim Arabs
came to conceive of their identity
as Arabs. Both
models
were essentially
intellectual
constructs; that the latter
prevailed
in the end reflects the
predominance of material
factors
over
ideological
ones.
Specifically, I
consider the
impact
of social, political and economic changes related to the Tanzimat
reforms and
European
economic penetration of the nineteenth century; the role of proto-nationalist
models of communal
identification-particularly
those related to religion; and
finally,
the role played
by
political actors seeking to gain or consolidate authority through the
manipulation of proto-nationalist symbols.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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