page_title: Salim Ali Salam
section_title: Opponent of Ottoman Political Repression
hierarchical_section_title: Salim Ali Salam / Opponent of Ottoman Political Repression
caption_attribution_description: English: Salim Ali Salam delivering a eulogy for King Faysal I of Iraq on behalf of the Lebanese delegation that traveled to Baghdad in 1933
context_page_description: Salim Ali Salam was a prominent figure in Beirut at the turn of the 20th century who held numerous public positions, including deputy from Beirut to the Ottoman Parliament, President of the Municipality of Beirut, and President of the Muslim Society of Benevolent Intentions. He was the leader of the "Beirut Reform Movement," which called for the decentralization and modernization of the Ottoman Empire, and was also a member of the Executive Committee of the First Arab Congress which met in Paris in 1913 and formulated Arab national demands. He opposed Ottoman political repression during World War I, and the French Mandate of the post-war period. He stood out for his enlightened outlook and for his ability to communicate effectively with his contemporaries. He received the Ottoman nobility title of Bey. Today, a main avenue in Beirut is named after him.
context_section_description: Salim Salam was staunchly opposed to the political repression exercised by Jamal Pasha, the commander of the Ottoman fourth army during World War I, who was responsible for a campaign of persecution, including the hanging of many Arab nationalists on 6 May 1916 in Damascus and Beirut. In Beirut, the place of their hanging has since been renamed Martyrs' Square. 
  In his memoirs, Salim Salam recalls the following: "Jamal Pasha resumed his campaign of vengeance; he began to imprison most Arab personalities, charging them with treason against the State. His real intent was to cut off the thoughtful heads, so that, as he put it, the Arabs would never again emerge as a force, and no one would be left to claim for them their rights … After returning to Beirut [from Istanbul], I was summoned … to Damascus to greet Jamal Pasha … I took the train …, and upon reaching Aley we found that the whole train was reserved for the prisoners there to take them to Damascus … When I saw them, I realized that they were taking them to Damascus to put them to death. So … I said to myself: how shall I be able to meet with this butcher on the day on which he will be slaughtering the notables of the country? And how will I be able to converse with him? … Upon arriving in Damascus, I tried hard to see him that same evening, before anything happened, but was not successful. The next morning all was over, and the … notables who had been brought over from Aley were strung up on the gallows."
  Increasingly disenchanted with Ottoman rule, Salam supported the Arab Revolt, launched by Sharif Hussein of Mecca in 1916 and led by his son Emir Faisal, who later became King Faisal I of Iraq.
  With the end of World War I approaching, Salam went to see the Ottoman governor of Beirut, Ismail Hakki Bey, accompanied by Ahmad Mukhtar Bayhum and Alfred Sursock. Negotiations lasted all night, but they finally managed to convince the governor to leave the city. He left at six o'clock in the morning on 1 October 1918, escorted to the borders by one of Salam's sons.
caption: Salim Ali Salam delivering a funeral oration for King Faisal I of Iraq on behalf of the Lebanese delegation that traveled to Baghdad in September 1933
exif: {"Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "150", "Image YResolution": "150", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image ExifOffset": "102", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "577", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "393"}