Arab Patriotism: The Ideology and Culture of Power in Late Ottoman Egypt

Synopsis

Arab Patriotism Presents The Essential Backstory To The Formation Of The Modern Nation-state And Mass Nationalism In The Middle East. While Standard Histories Claim That The Roots Of Arab Nationalism Emerged In Opposition To The Ottoman Milieu, Adam Mestyan Points To The Patriotic Sentiment That Grew In The Egyptian Province Of The Ottoman Empire During The Nineteenth Century, Arguing That It Served As A Pivotal Way Station On The Path To The Birth Of Arab Nationhood. Through Extensive Archival Research, Mestyan Examines The Collusion Of Various Ottoman Elites In Creating This Nascent Sense Of National Belonging And Finds That Learned Culture Played A Central Role In This Development. Mestyan Investigates The Experience Of Community During This Period, Engendered Through Participation In Public Rituals And Being Part Of A Theater Audience. He Describes The Embodied And Textual Ways These Experiences Were Produced Through Urban Spaces, Poetry, Performances, And Journals. From The Khedivial Opera House's Staging Of Verdi's Aida And The First Arabic Magazine To The ‘urabi Revolution And The Restoration Of The Authority Of Ottoman Viceroys Under British Occupation, Mestyan Illuminates The Cultural Dynamics Of A Regime That Served As The Precondition For Nation-building In The Middle East. -- Part I. The Making Of The Khedivate -- The Ottoman Origins Of Arab Patriotism -- The Ottoman Legitimation Of Power : The Khedivate -- The European Aesthetics Of Khedivial Power -- Part Ii. A Garden With Mellow Fruits Of Refinement -- A Gentle Revolution -- Constitutionalism And Revolution : The Arab Opera -- Part Iii. The Reinvention Of The Khedivate -- Hārūn Al-rāshīd Under Occupation -- Behind The Scenes : A Committee And The Law, 1880s-1900s -- Distinction : Muṣṭafā Kāmil And The Making Of An Arab Prince -- Conclusion : The Ottoman Origin Of Arab Nationalisms. Adam Mestyan. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 313-344) And Index.