Evening star., 1947-10-19
By John c. Henry

By John c. Henry
Deeply disturbed by the Pales-
tine and Anglo-Egyptian treaty
issues and suffering internal dis
sension over the Greater Syria
plan, the renascent Arab Nation
alist movement is facing a critical
period in its current phase.
That the movement is of much
more than local political and
economic significance is obvious
from even a superficial study of
world history and an awareness Of
the geographic location of the ma
tions and the peoples involved.
Approximately 100000 Arabic
speaking Moslem people are spread
strategically from Morocco in the
west to the Persian Gulf in the
east, from Turkey in the north to
the Sudan in the south. Even
beyond these confines to the east are
the additional millions of Moslems
Of Pakistan and Afghanistan, tied
to the Arabic movement at least
on grounds of religion. Fundamen-
tally, from centuries back, they are
people Of positive culture and a
proud spirit-neither of which have
been destroyed by some 500 years
of foreign domination and a like
period OF economic Indulgence.
New Vehicle Constructed
Our own civilization in large
part sprung from the presently
Arab areas Of the Middle East and
it has not been a mere use of
words to describe the geographic
locale as the crossroads Of the
world. Would-be world conquerors
from Alexander through Napoleon
and from Wilhelm through Hitler
have properly recognized the stra-
tegic Importance of the area and
have failed in large part either be-
because they were unable to obtain
or to hold this natural bridge be-
tween the east and the west.
A rather sagacious capitalization
on the lessons of World War II and
of the postwar political opportunities
provided the stimulus for today's
resurgence of the Arab Nationalist
movement. For the movement a
new vehicle was constructed, the
Arab League, growing out of con-
ference of Arabic leaders in Alex
andria, Egypt, in October, 1914. On
the basis Of the protocol then agreed
upon, the League was created in
1945 with its membership including
Syria, Trans-Jordan, Iraq, Saudi
Arabia, the Lebanon, Egypt and
Yemen. With this membership the
League does not in full represent the
entire Arab Nationalist movement,
but 1t does bring into close policy
and working relationship the most
influential of the Arab nations and
the door was left open for affiliation
of the relatively few still outside.
Azzam Chief Spokesman
The individual leadership, reflect
ing the actual and potential in
huence Of the league, is a combina-
ton of youth and age. drawing upon
the experience of the centuries of
foreign intervention In the Middle
East and leavened by a latter-day
on footing Of inde-
pendence in the United Nations.
Although not the principal policy
maker perhaps, the principal spokes-
man Is a tall and fluent Egyptian
of peasant stock and English uni
versity education.
Abd-al-Rahman Azzam Pasha,
secretary general of the league,
made his entry into Arab Nationalist
agitation in the years Immediately
preceding World War I. Egyptian
service in Iran, Iraq,
Saudi Arabia and
Turkey occupied him between the
two wars and gave him opportunity
to demonstrate his ability and his
with regard to pan-Arab
interests. His influence, particularly
among the younger political ele-
ments, developed in. this period.
His natural choice as executive
head of the Arab League arose from
his success in persuading King Ibn
Saud of Saudi Arabia, not repre-
sented at the Alexandria Conference,
to join the movement-an essential
to vesting in the league real power
and influence among the Moslem
people.
Peace Is First Problem
More temperate and dispassionate
than some of his recent utterances
On the Palestine issue would indi-
cate, Azzam Pasha talked to me for
nearly two hours recently on his
that the Arab Nationalist
movement potentially is one Of the