Synopses & Reviews
and#147;No author has brought to light the central themes of the origins and the multiple points of departure as well as the transitions and transformations of the idea of Lebanon in one study. It is one of the most significant monographs on Lebanon in a decade, and the best study of the formation of nationalism in the Levant since James Gelvinand#8217;s
Divided Loyalties.and#8221; and#151;Jens Hanssen, author of
Fin de Siand#232;cle Beirut: The Making of an Ottoman Provincial Capitaland#147;Carol Hakimand#8217;s work is a deeply textured, thoroughly researched history that contests the view that and#145;Lebanismand#8217; was the singular and inevitable expression of Lebanese national identity. The Origins of the Lebanese National Idea will interest not only scholars and students of the Middle East, but is sure to provoke much-needed soul searching and controversy among Lebanese citizens and and#233;migrand#233;s who wish to understand their history and the roots of the contemporary Lebanese predicament.and#8221; and#151;James L. Gelvin, author of The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know
"Engaging and original, Hakim provides the most persuasive explanation to date of the genesis of a Christian state in Lebanon -- and the great power patronage needed to privilege that vision over rival national ideas. A major contribution both to the study of nationalism and to the emergence of the modern Middle East."and#151;Eugene Rogan, University of Oxford and author of The Arabs: a history
and#147;A subtle and original study of the way in which the idea of an independent Lebanon began to take hold in the late 19th century. A model of careful research which pays proper attention to the texts involved and the context in which they were written. A pleasure to read.and#8221;and#151;Roger Owen, author of The Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents for Life
Review
"The author does an excellent job. . . . Highly recommended."
Synopsis
In this fascinating study, Carol Hakim presents a new and original narrative on the origins of the Lebanese national idea. Hakimand#8217;s study reconsiders conventional accounts that locate the origins of Lebanese nationalism in a distant legendary past and then trace its evolution in a linear and gradual manner. She argues that while some of the ideas and historical myths at the core of Lebanese nationalism appeared by the mid-nineteenth century, a coherent popular nationalist ideology and movement emerged only with the establishment of the Lebanese state in 1920. Hakim reconstructs the complex process that led to the appearance of fluid national ideals among members of the clerical and secular Lebanese elite, and follows the fluctuations and variations of these ideals up until the establishment of a Lebanese state. The book is an essential read for anyone interested in the evolution of nationalism in the Middle East and beyond.
About the Author
Carol Hakim is Associate Professor of History at the University of Minnesota.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration
Introduction
1 The Emergence of Lebanism: The Lebanese Setting
2 The Emergence of Lebanism: The French Connection
3 The 1860 Massacres and Their Aftermath: A Map for Lebanon
4 The Church and the Mutasarrifiyya
5 The Mutasarrifiyya Framework: An Equivocal Legacy
6 The Secular Elite and the Mutasarrifiyya
7 The 1908 Revolution and Its Aftermath
8 Toward a Greater Lebanon
Notes
Bibliography
Index