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Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam

Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam(Arabic:عبد الرحمن حسن عزام;8 March 1893 – 2 June 1976), also known asAzzam Pasha,was anEgyptiandiplomat and politician.[1]He was the firstSecretary-Generalof theArab League,from 22 March 1945 to September 1952.[2]

Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam
عبد الرحمن حسن عزام
1st Secretary-General of the Arab League
In office
22 March 1945 – September 1952
Preceded byInaugural holder
Succeeded byAbdul Khalek Hassouna
Personal details
Born(1893-03-08)8 March 1893
Shubak al-Gharbi,Giza Governorate,Khedivate of Egypt
Died2 June 1976(1976-06-02)(aged 83)
Cairo,Egypt

Azzam also had a long career as anambassadorandparliamentarian.He was an Egyptian nationalist, one of the foremost proponents ofpan-Arabidealism, and opposed the partition ofPalestine.[3]

Family and early life

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Abd al-Rahman Azzam's father, Hassan Bey, was born into an upper-class Arab family which became prominent during the first half of the nineteenth century in Shubak al-Gharbi, a village nearHelwan(south ofCairo).[4]His grandfather, Salim Ali Azzam, was one of the first Arabs to become director of the southernGiza Governorate;his father, Hassan Salim Azzam, was also active in many regional governing bodies.[5]Azzam's mother, Nabiha, was also descended from a distinguished family. Her father, Khalaf al-Saudi, was a landowner andshaykhand her mother's family descended from several Arabian Peninsula tribes.[5]

According to biographer Ralph Coury, scholars and others have concluded that Azzam's "Peninsular" origins explain his later assumption of Arab identity. As early as 1923, a British official wrote: "The Azzam family, though settled in Egypt for some generations, come of good old Arab stock, and have always clung tenaciously to Arab traditions and ideals of life", adding, "in estimating Abdul Rahman's character, his early up-bringing and his Arab blood must never be forgotten."[6]However, Coury writes that the Azzams were completely assimilated into village life and did not see themselves as different from other Egyptians. Azzam once said, "We were not brought up with a strong consciousness ofBedouindescent. We were Arabs because we were 'sons' or 'children' of the Arabs in contrast to the Turks, but the term 'Arab' as such was used for the Bedouin and we would not apply it to one another. "[7]

Childhood and education

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Abd al-Rahman Azzam, the eighth of twelve children, was born on 8 March 1893, in Shubak al-Gharbi. His family werefellahin dhwati( "notable peasants" ), whose position was determined by land, wealth, and political power.[7]The Azzam household was frequently home to gatherings of the village elite, and he developed an interest in politics at an early age. According to his brother, Abd al-Aziz Azzam, Azzam was a "born politician" who would stand at the top of the stairs as a child and give political speeches to his siblings.[8]

In 1903, the Azzam family moved to Helwan to facilitate Hassan Bey's attendance at government meetings in the city.[9]Theeffendiswho were frequent visitors to Shubak were now neighbors, and the friendships which quickly developed between the effendi children and Azzam led him to insist on attending a secular primary school (ibtidaiyyah) instead of theAzhar.[10]Azzam remained in Helwan through secondary school and, upon graduation, decided to study medicine. About his decision, he said: "I wanted to be active in politics and I thought that I could practice medicine wherever that struggle might lead."[11]In 1912 Azzam left Egypt forLondon,where he enrolled inSt. Thomas’ Hospital Medical School.

In London Azzam joined the Sphinx Society, a political group where he quickly became prominent. However, after his first year of study he grew concerned withdevelopments in the Balkansand felt compelled to contribute to the Ottoman cause.[12]Unsure of the form that contribution would take, Azzam decided to leave London for theBalkansand spent considerable time inIstanbul,Albania,andAnatolia.During his travels, Azzam connected with like-minded political activists and spoke with many non-Egyptian Arabs.[13]

Back in Egypt, he was banned by occupation authorities from returning to England because of his nationalist activities there and in Egypt;[14]arrangements were made for him to attend theCairo Medical School of Qasr al-Ayni.[14]While studying in Cairo, Azzam became disaffected with theBritish occupation;this revived his desire to leave the country and join the Ottomans.[15]

Libyan resistance: 1915–1923

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Azzam actively participated in theLibyan resistanceagainst theItaliansfrom 1915 to 1923. In December 1915, he left Egypt to joinNuri Beyand a group ofOttomanofficers who were leading aSenussiarmy against the British.[16]After fighting ceased andSayyid Idrisand the British signed a peace treaty in 1917, Nuri Bey and Azzam moved to Tripolitania in the hope of developing a centralized authority.[16]On 18 November 1918, leaders met atal-Qasabatand proclaimed theTripolitanian Republic.After negotiations between the Italians and Tripolitanian chiefs, on 1 June 1919 the Fundamental Law of Tripolitania (granting the natives full Italian nationality) was enacted. Despite the agreement, the Italians refused to implement the law. This led to the formation of the National Reform Party, led by Azzam, to pressure the Italians to uphold the law.[16]The Italians refused to concede, and in January 1923 Azzam accompanied Sayyid Idris into exile in Egypt.[17]By 1924, opposition in Tripolitania had waned.[16]

Azzam credited his tenure in the earlyLibyan resistance movementwith his turn to Arabism. In 1970, he said: "When I was a boy, I was an Egyptian Muslim. Being an Egyptian and Muslim didn't change. But from 1919 on, with Syria and Iraq gone, I started talking of Arabism. Living with the bedouin, etc. worked gradually to make me a supporter for something Arabic. The Tripolitanian Republic decisively marked the shift to Arabism."[18]

Wafd membership: 1923–1932

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Azzam's return to Egypt coincided with a number of debates by theWafd,the palace and the British about the newconstitution.Hoping to reestablish himself in the country, he ran for office in 1924 and was elected to parliament as a member of the Wafd.[19]As a parliamentarian, Azzam became well-known through his articles for the party's newspaper.

Due to his time in Libya, the Wafd often chose him to represent the party at formal meetings and international conferences. Azzam's most important trip as an Egyptian Wafd representative was to the 1931General Islamic ConferenceinJerusalem.Because members of the Azhar andSidqiministry were strongly opposed to two of the conference's major agenda items–the creation of a new Islamic university in Jerusalem and restoration of thecaliphate–the Egyptian government refused to send an official delegate to the meeting.[20]However, Azzam and several other members of the Egyptian opposition attended the conference. Taking an active part in the proceedings, he was elected to the congress' executive committee and discussed Arab nationalism at length. This conference is one of the first instances in which Arab nationalists included Egypt in thepan-Arabnation.[21]

In November 1932, Azzam and several other party members left the Wafd. Although he was viewed by some as a traitor, he maintained that changes in his opinions were the reason.[22]Azzam's reputation for knowledge of Arab affairs was valued, and he soon became a member of the palace entourage surroundingKing Faruq.

1932–1945

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After breaking with the Wafd, Azzam joined the elite ranks of liberals—all Wafd and Liberal Constitutionalist dissidents—who had supported liberal proposals for a coalition government in 1932.[23]In 1936,'Ali Mahirappointed him Egyptian ambassador to Iraq and Iran, and in 1937 theNahhasministry increased his diplomatic ministry to include Saudi Arabia.[24]In 1944 he was appointed minister for Arab affairs and Azmir al Hajj.[25]

Secretary-General of the Arab League 1945–1952

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In 1945, Azzam was selected as the first Secretary-General of theArab LeagueduringWorld War II.One of his first acts as Secretary-General was to condemn the 2–3 November 1945anti-Jewishrioting in Egypt in which Jewish- and other non-Muslim-owned shops were destroyed and theAshkenazisynagogue in Cairo's Muski quarter was set ablaze.[26]

In a 2 March 1946 address to theAnglo-American Committee of Inquiryinto the problems of European Jewry and Palestine, Azzam explained the Arab League’s attitude towards Palestine and rejected theZionistclaim to the region:

Our brother has gone to Europe and to the West and come back something else. He has come back with a totally different conception of things, West and not Eastern. That doesn't mean that we are necessarily quarreling with anyone who comes from the West. But the Jew, our old cousin, coming back with imperialistic ideas, with materialistic ideas, with reactionary or revolutionary ideas and trying to implement them first by British pressure and then by American pressure, and then by terrorism on his own part – he is not the old cousin and we do not extend to him a very good welcome. The Zionist, the new Jew, wants to dominate and he pretends that he has got a particular civilizing mission with which he returns to a backward, degenerate race in order to put the elements of progress into an area which wants no progress. Well, that has been the pretension of every power that wanted to colonize and aimed at domination. The excuse has always been that the people are backward and that he has got a human mission to put them forward. The Arabs simply stand and say NO. We are not reactionary and we are not backward. Even if we are ignorant, the difference between ignorance and knowledge is ten years in school. We are a living, vitally strong nation, we are in our renaissance; we are producing as many children as any nation in the world. We still have our brains. We have a heritage of civilization and of spiritual life. We are not going to allow ourselves to be controlled either by great nations or small nations or dispersed nations.[27]

Azzam attended an Arab League council meeting inBloudan,Syria, between 12 and 18 June 1946, which discussed the dangers of a possible confrontation with the Zionist movement and the Arab support to the Palestinians. He later returned to Egypt where he metJ. Rives Childs,and informed him of the Arab decision to discuss Palestine with the United Kingdom which controlled the ground.[28]

However, Azzam visitedParistwice in 1946 and 1951, where he discussed Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco issues which brought him criticism from the French journals.[29]

On 11 May 1948, Azzam warned the Egyptian government that because of public pressure and strategic issues, it would be difficult for Arab leaders to avoid intervention in the Palestine War and Egypt might find itself isolated if it did not act in concert with its neighbours. Azzam believed thatKing Abdullah of Jordanhad decided to move his forces into Palestine on 15 May, regardless of what the other Arabs did, and would occupy the Arab part of Palestine (blaming other Arab states for failure).King Faroukresolved to contain Abdullah and prevent him from gaining further influence and power in the Arab arena.[30]Six days afterthe Arab interventionin the conflict began, Azzam told reporters: "We are fighting for an Arab Palestine. Whatever the outcome the Arabs will stick to their offer of equal citizenship for Jews in Arab Palestine and let them be as Jewish as they like. In areas where they predominate, they will have complete autonomy."[31]

Controversy over "war of extermination" quote

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Main article:Azzam Pasha quotation

One day after theIsraeli Declaration of Independence(14 May 1948), troops and volunteers fromSyria,Iraq,EgyptandTransjordanentered Palestine and joined several thousand Palestinians. This marked the beginning of the1948 Arab–Israeli War.[32]Azzam reportedly said on that day (or on the eve of the war), "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades." The quotation was usually cited to a press conference in Cairo, broadcast (in some versions) by theBBC.[33]In 1961, an Egyptian writer called the quotation "completely out of context": "Azzam actually said that he feared that if the people of Palestine were to be forcibly and against all right dispossessed, a tragedy comparable to the Mongol invasions and the Crusades might not be avoidable... The reference to the Crusaders and the Mongols aptly describes the view of the foreign Zionist invaders shared by most Arabs."[34]

In 2010, doubt of the quotation's source was voiced byJoffeandRomirowsky[35]andBenny Morris.[36]It was the subject of an article by David Barnett and Efraim Karsh.[37][38]Azzam's quote was found to have originated in an 11 October 1947 interview for the Egyptian newspaperAkhbar el-Yom:"Personally I hope the Jews do not force us into this war because it will be a war of elimination and it will be a dangerous massacre which history will record similarly to the Mongol massacre or the wars of the Crusades. I think the number of volunteers from outside Palestine will exceed the Palestinian population."

At the time of Azzam's interview, theUnited Nations Special Committee on Palestinehad presented its report recommending thatPalestinebe partitioned into Arab and Jewish states and acorpus separatumaround Jerusalem. However, no decision had yet been made by the UN and no Arab state had formally decided on military intervention in Palestine. After the partition resolution was passed, the comparison of the Zionists to the Mongols and crusaders was repeated when Azzam told a student rally in Cairo in early December 1947: "The Arabs conquered the Tartars and the Crusaders and they are now ready to defeat the new enemy", echoing what he had said to a journalist the previous day.[39]

TheAkhbar el-Yomquotation, without its initial caveat, appeared in English in a February 1948Jewish Agencymemorandum.[40]Over the next few years, the same partial quotation appeared (with its correct 1947 source) in several books;[41]however, by 1952 many publications (including one by the Israeli government) had moved its date to 1948.[42]With this inaccurate source, it has appeared in hundreds of books and thousands of websites.[37]

Views on Arab unity

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According to historians Israel Gershoni and James Jankowski, Azzam denied that the Egyptian nation was a continuation of Pharaonic Egypt. Instead, he believed that "modern Egypt had been shaped primarily by 'Arab religion, customs, language, and culture'"[43]and asserted a linguistic basis for Egyptian identification with the Arabs.[44]

Personal life

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Azzam was the son-in-law ofKhalid Al Hud Al Gargani,a Libyan advisor ofSaudi KingAbdulaziz Al Saud.[45]One of Azzam's daughters married toMohammed bin Faisal Al Saud,the son of SaudiKing FaisalandIffat Al Thunayan.[46]One of Azzam's great-nephews,Ayman al-Zawahiri,led the terrorist groupal-Qaedafrom June 2011 to July 2022.[47]

Death

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He died on 2 June 1976 in Cairo, and was later buried at Azam Mosque in Helwan.[29]

Writings and legacy

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In his introduction toThe Eternal Message of Muhammad(published by Azzam in Arabic in 1938 asThe Hero of Heroes or the most Prominent Attribute of the Prophet Muhammad),Vincent Sheeanwrites: "In Damascus as well as inDjakarta,IstanbulandBaghdad,this man is known for valour of spirit and elevation of mind... he combines in the bestIslamicmode, the aspects of thought and action, like theMuslimwarriors of another time who are typified for usWesternersby the figure ofSaladin."In the book Azzam extols Muhammad's virtues of bravery, love, the ability to forgive, and eloquence in pursuit of the diplomatic resolution of conflict, calling Islam incompatible with racism or fanatical attachment to" tribe, nation, color, language, or culture ".[48]

Malcolm X's reading ofThe Eternal Message of Muhammadand his meeting with Azzam are recounted in his autobiography. These events marked the point at which he turned towards orthodox, traditional Islam.

In 1998 Ralph M. Coury published a book about his early nationalist activities,The Making of an Egyptian Arab Nationalist: The Early Years of Azzam Pasha, 1893-1936,which was printed by Ithaca Press in London.[49]

References

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  1. ^Nisan, 2002.
  2. ^Bob Reinalda; Kent Kille (21 August 2012)."Biographical Dictionary of Secretaries-General of International Organizations"(PDF).IO BIO Database.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 28 September 2013.
  3. ^Louis, 1986
  4. ^Coury, 1998, p. 15.
  5. ^abCoury, 1998, p. 16.
  6. ^Coury, 1998, p. 22.
  7. ^abCoury, 1998, p. 24.
  8. ^Coury, 1998, p. 48
  9. ^Coury, 1998, p. 29.
  10. ^Coury, 1998, p. 31.
  11. ^Coury, 1998, p. 49.
  12. ^Coury, 1998, p. 67.
  13. ^Coury, 1998, p. 75.
  14. ^abCoury, 1998, p. 96.
  15. ^Coury, 1998, p. 100.
  16. ^abcdCoury, 1988, p. 64
  17. ^Coury, 1988, 65
  18. ^Coury, 1988, p. 69
  19. ^Coury, 1998, p. 234
  20. ^Gershoni and Jankowski, 1995, p. 148
  21. ^Gershoni and Jankowski, 1995, p. 150
  22. ^Coury, 1998, p. 257
  23. ^Coury, 1998, p. 387
  24. ^Gershoni and Jankowski, 1995, pp. 153–156
  25. ^I. H. Baqai (May 1946)."The Pan-Arab League".India Quarterly.2(2): 148.JSTOR45067282.
  26. ^Beinin, 1998, pp. 64–65
  27. ^Quoted Richard H.S. Crossman,Palestine Mission: A Personal Record,NY, Harper & Brothers, 1947, pp. 109–110
  28. ^"صدقي باشا فاوض اليهود على هجرة خمسين ألفا فقط".hounaloubnan(in Arabic). 18 August 2017.
  29. ^ab"عبد الرحمن عزام باشا أول زعيم قررت ثورة يوليو الإطاحة به بعد الملك فاروق".Al Jazeera(in Arabic). 6 October 2020.
  30. ^Gergesm 2001, p. 154–155
  31. ^Palestine Post,21 May 1948, p. 3.
  32. ^Henry Laurens,La Question de Palestine,Fayard, Paris 2007 vol. 3 p. 106.
  33. ^Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre (1972).O Jerusalem!.Grafton Books.Efraim Karsh.Palestine Betrayed.p. 209.Benny Morris (1999).Righteous Victims.p.219.
  34. ^"The Toynbee-Herzog debate".The Egyptian Economic & Political Review.7(3): 6–9, 20–30. March 1961.
  35. ^AH Joffe and A Romirowsky (2010). "A Tale of Two Galloways: Notes on the Early History of UNRWA and Zionist Historiography".Middle Eastern Studies.46(5): 655–675.doi:10.1080/00263206.2010.504554.S2CID147251065.
  36. ^Benny Morris (July–August 2010). "Revisionism on the West Bank".The National Interest:73–81.
  37. ^abTom Segev (21 October 2011)."The makings of history / The blind misleading the blind".Haaretz.in reference to aWikipedia discussionof Sep–Oct 2010.
  38. ^David Barnett and Efraim Karsh (2011)."Azzam's genocidal threat".Middle East Quarterly.18(4): 85–88.
  39. ^"British Institute Gutted; Demonstration near Cairo".The Times of India.3 December 1947. p. 5.Margaret Pope(1 December 1947). ""Will Fight to Finish," Says League Official ".The Scotsman.p. 2.
  40. ^Jewish Agency for Palestine, Memorandum on acts of Arab aggression to alter by force the settlement on the future government of Palestine approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations, Submitted to the United Nations Palestine Commission. Lake Success, New York. 2 February 1948. A copy appears inUN document S/710Archived2 November 2012 at theWayback Machine.
  41. ^Isidor Feinstein Stone (1948).This is Israel.Boni and Gaer. p. 21.Konni Zilliacus (1949).I choose peace.Penguin Books. p.259.
  42. ^Harry Levin (1950).I saw the Battle of Jerusalem.Schoken Books. pp. 164–165.John Roy Carlson (1951).Cairo to Damascus.Alfred A. Knopf. p.266.Rufus Learsi (1951).Fulfillment: the epic story of Zionism.World Publishing Company. p.384.Joseph Schechtman (1952).The Arab Refugee Problem.Philosophical Society. p. 6.Israel Office of Information (January 1952).The Arabs in Israel.
  43. ^Gershoni and Jankowski, 1995, p. 29
  44. ^Gershoni and Jankowski, 1995, p.120
  45. ^"Leading personalities in Egypt (British diplomatic document)"(PDF).Nasser Library. 8 October 1946. p. 8.
  46. ^J. E. Peterson (2003).Historical Dictionary of Saudi Arabia(2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 29.ISBN9780810827806.
  47. ^Liptak, Kevin; Atwood, Kylie; Bertrand, Natasha; Judd, Donald (1 August 2022)."US kills al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in drone strike in Afghanistan".CNN.Retrieved1 August2022.
  48. ^Rippin, 2000, p. 197–198
  49. ^Ibrahim Abu Rabi (Winter 2000)."Book review".Arab Studies Quarterly.20(1).JSTOR41858323.

Sources

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  • Beinin, J.(1998).The Dispersion Of Egyptian Jewry. Culture, Politics, And The Formation Of A Modern Diaspora.University of California Press.ISBN0-520-21175-8
  • Coury Ralph (1988). "'Arabian Ethnicity' and Arab Nationalism: The Case of Abd al-Rahman Azzam ".Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt.25:61–70.doi:10.2307/40000870.JSTOR40000870.
  • Coury, Ralph. (1998)The Making of an Egyptian Arab Nationalist: The Early Years of Azzam Pasha, 1893-1936.Reading, UK: Ithaca Press.
  • Gerges, F. A. (2001). Egypt and the 1948 War: Internal conflict and regional ambition. In E. L. Rogan, A. Shlaim, C. Tripp, J. A. Clancy-Smith, I. Gershoni, R. Owen, Y. Sayigh & J. E. Tucker (Eds.),The War for Palestine: Rewriting the History of 1948(pp. 151–177). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-79476-5
  • Gershoni, Israel and James Jankowski (1995). Redefining the Egyptian Nation, 1930-1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Louis, W. R. (1986).British Empire in the Middle East, 1945-1951: Arab Nationalism, the United States, and Postwar Imperialism.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-822960-7
  • Morris, B.(2003).The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-81120-1
  • Morris, Benny (2001).Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001.Vintage.ISBN0-679-74475-4
  • Nachmani, A. (1988).Great Power Discord in Palestine: The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry into the Problems of European Jewry and Palestine, 1945-1946.London: Routledge.ISBN0-7146-3298-8
  • Nisan, M. (2002).Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-Expression.McFarland & Company.ISBN0-7864-1375-1
  • Rippin, A. (2000).Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices.London: Routledge.ISBN0-415-21782-2
  • Sachar, Howard M. (1979).A History of Israel,New York: Knopf.ISBN0-679-76563-8
  • Torstrick, R. L. (2000).The Limits of Coexistence: Identity Politics in Israel.University of Michigan Press.ISBN0-472-11124-8
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Preceded by
Office established
 Secretary-General of the Arab League
1945–1952 		Succeeded by
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