The story of founding a pan-Arab organization in AUB

President Costi Zuraik closed the Frankenstein of his own thought

BEIRUT - History Page Editor

December 2003

The collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 had very devastating effects on the Arab world forcing the Arabs to look for an institution to unite them after they were left out to dry by the western countries, who wanted to divide the Middle East among themselves.

This called for Arab unity and saw immediate response, especially among the youth who desperately needed to revolt against their humiliating conditions.

 The establishment of Al-Urwat al-Wuthqa Association(Arabic for the Firm Bond), a pan-Arab student union at the American University of Beirut (AUB), was a student attempt to unite young Arabs, voice their concerns, and sponsor events that promote the Arab culture.

The exact date of the establishment of Al-Urwat al-Wuthqa can be traced back to the year 1918, when it was officially recognized by the university administration.

The founding members of the organization were many among them were, Mehieddine Nsouli, Adib Mezher and Rashid Jabi. The group adopted the name of Al-Urwat al-Wouthqa after the Journal of the famous Muslim ulama at the turn of the century including Mohammad Abdo and Jamaliddine al-Afghani, who in Paris launched a magazine with the same name calling for modernization and Arab unity.

The association clearly stated in its charter that its aim was to enforce the spirit of nationalism and spread it within the students and to practice and promote Arab oratory in order to salvage the deteriorating Arab language.

The group had its own anthem, al-Nusour (Eagles), that was composed by the famous Lebanese poet Said Akl while its music was written by the Fliefel brothers, the same musicians who composed the music of the Lebanese national anthem.

One of the main activities of Al-Urwat al-Wouthqa was to organize weekly debates for its members to address topics ranging from renaissance in  the Umayyad Period to posing questions on the progress of the West.

It also held poetry contests that focused on nationalistic themes.

In one of these poetry sessions, a poetic confrontation between the pan-Arab poet Beshara Al-Khoury and Said Akl, known for strictly defferenciating between Lebanese nationalism and pan-Arabism, saw Akl attacking Arabism, which in turn prompted a series of poems in response.

Al-Urwat al-Wuthqa lived three different stages. The first stage focused on the Arabic language. The second stage was marked by the pan-Arabism, while the final stage saw political activism, which eventually lead to its downfall.

The first two stages of Al-Urwat al-Wuthqa were mainly dominated by activities of pan-Arabismthrough organizing lectures, trips and exhibitions. The greatest achievement of Al-Urwat al-Wuthqa, however, was its magazine which was published at times on a monthly bases. The group even hosted a concert for Assi Al-Rahbani and Fairouz at West Hall before they became landmark names.

As an AUB club, Al-Urwat al-Wuthqa required a faculty advisor to monitor and supervise its activities. Several important names assumed this role including Anis Khoury Makdisi, Boulos Khoury, Habib Khourani, Nabih Fares and Constantinw Zuraik, the group’s spiritual father were advisors.

Zuraik in particular played a very important role in molding Al-Urwat al-Wuthqa. He also founded, with a number of the group’s members, the Movement of the Arab Nationalist, the ancestor of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The final stage of the group’s history would be marked with radical political activism as the association would not only remain a place where poetry is dominant, but rather a center that would rally around it zealous students.

The first major confrontation between Al-Urwat al-Wuthqa and the administration came as the result of a student decision to demonstrate in Jan. 1952, to protest the cruel measures of the Syrian police against their fellow demonstrating Syrian University students.

The Lebanese government and the AUB administration notified students that demonstrations were prohibited and severe measures would be taken to suppress it.

Archie Crawford, Dean of Students, warned foreign students, participating in demonstrations, that they will be deported, an act  which only added to student enthusiasm to go to the streets and clash with security forces.

This group was transformed from a social club to an active association that rally students on national interests.

The AUB administration, now politically neutral,  shut down the increasingly politicized group in 1954. The university senate, and Zuraik himself acting as the university president, stopped the activities of what emerged to be the Frankenstein of Zuraik’s thought.

The group was the cradle of many movements, which followed, and nurtured members such as George Habash, Wadie Haddad and other militant figures that had a lasting effect on their communities.