Reconciliation of the Spirits and Fusion of the Interests. “Ottomanism” as an Identity Politics
The history of the different national traditions of social and political thinking in Southeastern Europe is usually examined in their relationship with the developments in the leading European nation states. This is certainly a legitimate approach, but it should be added that beside the multiple interactions between the “marginalized,” “small nations” in the “periphery” and the “European core” there was one more major actor—the multinational empires in the Eastern part of the continent. They ...
The Christians Between Ottomanism and Syrian Nationalism: The Ideas of Butrus Al-Bustani
In the Ottoman system the population of the Empire was organized upon a confessional basis, not upon a territorial or linguistic one. It was composed of religious communities each of which had its own internal organization and was controlled by a religious hierarchy. Socially and culturally each community (millet) formed a separate entity, each kept apart from the other. There was no attempt to create uniformity. Consequently, no intercommunal solidarity or social integation evolved in Ottoman society.
Socio‐political views of Salim al‐Bustani (1848–1884)
Salim al-Bustani (1848-1884),' the son of Butrus al-Bustani (1819-1883), is an example of a son who lived in the shadow of a famous father. Though some recognition has been given Salim as a precursor of Jurji Zaydan in the field of the Arabic historical novel,2 little notice has been given him as a socio-political thinker.3 However, even a cursory survey of the journal al-Jinan, the first major Arabic literary, historical, socio-political, and educational journal of the Arab world published biweekly in Beirut from 1870-1885 under the name of Butrus al-Bustani while in fact largely written by Salim4clearly points to Salim al-Bustani's interest in the major sociopolitical themes of the time themes which were to become traditional in the political thought of the Arab world during the latter half of the 19th century. This is evidenced by the fact that almost every issue of al-Jinan commenced with an editorial, dealing with sociopolitical problems, by Salim al-Bustani. It is interesting to note that during the first two years of al-Jinan, i.e. 1870-1871, these editorials had individual headings; e.g., al-Islah,5 Ruh al-Asr,6 al-Insaf,8 al-Hukkam,8 Sawt al-Umma,9 al-Huquq,'0 etc. However, those of 1872-1884 generally merely had the heading Jumla Siyasiyya." These bi-weekly editorials from two to four pages in length comprising over a thousand pages during the period 1870-1884 provide a broad basis for a study and evaluation of Salim al-Bustani's place in and contribution