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The Meaning of Disaster
- GenresHistoryMiddle East
74 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 7, 2023
For a book as influential as this one (this was where the term "al-Nakba" was coined) I'm surprised that there are literally no reviews or ratings. As this was written contemporaneously to the Nakba it obviously has a lot of holes in it, but I do think this is still valuable to read in order to understand how it shook the intelligentsia of the Arab world, and you can definitely see the seeds of secular Arab nationalism all over. Sadly, there is a fair bit of legitimately antisemitic rhetoric (like "there's a reason why Jewish people were kicked out of so many places," not just opposition to israel) but this is a historic document and it should be taken with a big grain of salt. It is a shame that a few Zionists have capitalized on this to paint anyone referring to the genocidal actions by the israeli forces & zionist militias by the term "nakba" as anti-semitic, especially since the term has long been removed from the original author! Overall, Zuraiq has pithy prose and doesn't mince words, for better or worse, and it is definitely an interesting read, although not one I would recommend if someone doesn't already have some understanding of the occupation of Palestine.
tl;dr: important document where "al-nakba" was coined, but i don't recommend unless you want to understand the response of the arab world to the catastrophe more
tl;dr: important document where "al-nakba" was coined, but i don't recommend unless you want to understand the response of the arab world to the catastrophe more
January 2, 2024
Unvarnished Jew hatred.
On the one hand Zurayq talks about progress and enlightenment for the Arab world. But on the other he calls for a crusade—repeatedly—against the Jews in Israel. The tiny country populated by a small number of Jews somehow posed a mortal threat to the enormous Arab world. Brilliant people—and Zurayq was certainly an intellect—can be evil.
Importantly, Zurayq never refers to “Palestinians.” Instead, he refers repeatedly to “Arabs in Palestine.”
Additionally, Zurayq describes the Arabs fighting against the Jews as, “in general, the struggle of an effete dilettante and not the struggle of one ready to die—as though only lip service and not actual obligations were involved.”
Furthermore, Zurayq confirms, “It will also be said that the Arabs of Palestine proved themselves weak and impotent; that no sooner had the first bombs fallen than they fled in utter rout, evacuated their cities and their strongholds, and surrendered them to the enemy on a silver platter, that a large number of them had fled even before the battle and had taken refuge in the other Arab countries and in remote regions of Palestine.”
Moreover, Zurayq wrote, “I do not deny that cowardice and disintegration have appeared among the Arabs, in Palestine and elsewhere.”
This is the disaster, the nakba, as Zurayq saw it. Far from the tale that has taken hold in our time, the disaster was the failure of the Arabs in Palestine to fight. Likewise, the disaster was the defeat of the Arab Legion to the Zionists in the nascent State of Israel.
Contrary to Zurayq’s insistence, the British supported the Arab Legion on the ground while working against the Zionists in the United Nations. Contrary to Zurayq’s narrative, the Americans and the British had imposed naval blockades on the Jews, and they worked together to reverse the vote for partition.
These and other glaring factual contradictions ordinarily come at a cost, and the high price is one’s credibility.
Despite the repeated grandstanding, the crux of this concern over control of Palestine is buried in the book. But first, Zurayq recites the dreaded parade of horribles of Biblical proportions. “The state will open its doors to thousands of immigrants who will pour into it from Europe and to millions of dollars which will flood in from America. Thus it will become a human and financial force which will be difficult to contain in its own area and which will overflow into the remainder of the Arab countries by every possible means and thus constitute, during a situation of world disturbance, a great danger for those countries.” It is as if Zurayq read the first ten sentences of the Book of Exodus for xenophobic inspiration.
And here is the crux of the concern. “The danger is aggravated by the fact that it occupies the coast and the sea passages and is established in a vital area between Arab countries. For Palestine is the bridge between these countries, and if a foreign power conquers it [i.e. the Zionists], relations between them will be disrupted, and the chain of cooperation and unity will be broken.”
The time has come for the enlightenment and progress that Zurayq described to take hold without any further crusade against the Jews in Israel, the Disputed Territories, Gaza, or elsewhere.
On the one hand Zurayq talks about progress and enlightenment for the Arab world. But on the other he calls for a crusade—repeatedly—against the Jews in Israel. The tiny country populated by a small number of Jews somehow posed a mortal threat to the enormous Arab world. Brilliant people—and Zurayq was certainly an intellect—can be evil.
Importantly, Zurayq never refers to “Palestinians.” Instead, he refers repeatedly to “Arabs in Palestine.”
Additionally, Zurayq describes the Arabs fighting against the Jews as, “in general, the struggle of an effete dilettante and not the struggle of one ready to die—as though only lip service and not actual obligations were involved.”
Furthermore, Zurayq confirms, “It will also be said that the Arabs of Palestine proved themselves weak and impotent; that no sooner had the first bombs fallen than they fled in utter rout, evacuated their cities and their strongholds, and surrendered them to the enemy on a silver platter, that a large number of them had fled even before the battle and had taken refuge in the other Arab countries and in remote regions of Palestine.”
Moreover, Zurayq wrote, “I do not deny that cowardice and disintegration have appeared among the Arabs, in Palestine and elsewhere.”
This is the disaster, the nakba, as Zurayq saw it. Far from the tale that has taken hold in our time, the disaster was the failure of the Arabs in Palestine to fight. Likewise, the disaster was the defeat of the Arab Legion to the Zionists in the nascent State of Israel.
Contrary to Zurayq’s insistence, the British supported the Arab Legion on the ground while working against the Zionists in the United Nations. Contrary to Zurayq’s narrative, the Americans and the British had imposed naval blockades on the Jews, and they worked together to reverse the vote for partition.
These and other glaring factual contradictions ordinarily come at a cost, and the high price is one’s credibility.
Despite the repeated grandstanding, the crux of this concern over control of Palestine is buried in the book. But first, Zurayq recites the dreaded parade of horribles of Biblical proportions. “The state will open its doors to thousands of immigrants who will pour into it from Europe and to millions of dollars which will flood in from America. Thus it will become a human and financial force which will be difficult to contain in its own area and which will overflow into the remainder of the Arab countries by every possible means and thus constitute, during a situation of world disturbance, a great danger for those countries.” It is as if Zurayq read the first ten sentences of the Book of Exodus for xenophobic inspiration.
And here is the crux of the concern. “The danger is aggravated by the fact that it occupies the coast and the sea passages and is established in a vital area between Arab countries. For Palestine is the bridge between these countries, and if a foreign power conquers it [i.e. the Zionists], relations between them will be disrupted, and the chain of cooperation and unity will be broken.”
The time has come for the enlightenment and progress that Zurayq described to take hold without any further crusade against the Jews in Israel, the Disputed Territories, Gaza, or elsewhere.
May 11, 2023
Being one of the first books to be published soon after the Nakba in 1948—and I believe, the first author to refer to the tragedy as Nakba or the Catastrophe — this work is an essential reading if you want to understand the general feelings and the prevailing sentiments of the (moderate?) Arabs at that time.
In this book, Constantine Zurayq - a staunch believer of universal humanity - succintly summarized the root causes of the catastrophe that befall upon the Palestinians in particular and the Arabs as a whole: 1) the Arabs' disunity and 2) the evilness of the Zionist project.
But as the translator R. Bayly puts it, "he neither indulge in self-pity nor advocate extremism". Instead, in a critical manner, he urged the Arab nations to band together in order to fight against Zionism, which he rightly categorized as their biggest enemy.
More importantly, this fight, he added, must be fought not on the basis of racial superiority, religious bigotry or revenge, but instead must be based on human rights, freedom and high principles.
In this book, Constantine Zurayq - a staunch believer of universal humanity - succintly summarized the root causes of the catastrophe that befall upon the Palestinians in particular and the Arabs as a whole: 1) the Arabs' disunity and 2) the evilness of the Zionist project.
But as the translator R. Bayly puts it, "he neither indulge in self-pity nor advocate extremism". Instead, in a critical manner, he urged the Arab nations to band together in order to fight against Zionism, which he rightly categorized as their biggest enemy.
More importantly, this fight, he added, must be fought not on the basis of racial superiority, religious bigotry or revenge, but instead must be based on human rights, freedom and high principles.
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May 21, 2024#39 in challenge
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December 14, 2024A stupid book written by a stupid man.
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