A Study on the Developments of the Arab Nationalist Movement in Iraq (1908-1921)

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Iraq was part of the Ottoman Empire and consisted of the three states of Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul. The most important event in that period was the emergence of the Arab nationalist movement, a comprehensive movement and a harbinger of Arab unity. In Iraq, the Arab National Movement was formed as a result of several factors. The present research adopts a descriptive-analytical method in order to answer these questions: What factors influenced the formation of the Arab National Movement in Iraq? What developments take place? And in the end, what was the result? The article shows that in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Iraqi elite was formed under the influence of modern education in Ottoman schools. That group became the nucleus of Arab nationalists during the Young Turks’ rule. The policies of imposing the Turkish identity on the Arabs played a prominent role in arousing the sense of national identity and the unity of the Iraqi elite with the Arab National Movement. In response to the policies of the rulers of Istanbul, they formed nationalist groups and activities in Iraq’s cities in order to spread Arab nationalism. Their activities led to the preservation of the unity of the empire, but as the First World War progressed, the Iraqis also moved towards full independence from the Ottoman rule, which resulted in the participation of Iraqi officers in the 1916 Arab Revolt. At the end of the war, the most important result of the Arab National Movement in Iraq was the Sunni Arabs’ gaining power.