George Antonius
Template:Short description Template:Expand Hebrew Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox philosopher
George Habib Antonius, CBE (hon.) (Template:Langx; October 19, 1891Template:SpndMay 21, 1942) was a Lebanese author and diplomat who settled in Jerusalem. He was one of the first historians of Arab nationalism. Born in Deir al Qamar to a Lebanese Eastern Orthodox Christian family, he served as a civil servant in the British Mandate of Palestine.<ref name="The Worlds of George Antonius">Template:Cite book</ref> His 1938 book The Arab Awakening generated an ongoing debate over such issues as the origins of Arab nationalism, the significance of the Arab Revolt of 1916, and the machinations behind the post-World War I political settlement in the Arab world. In the book, he raised concern about the fate of religious coexistence in Palestine in the face of Zionist colonization, while also recognizing the horror of anti-Jewish Nazism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Early life and careerEdit
Antonius was born on October 19, 1891 to an Eastern Orthodox Arab family in the Lebanese village of Deir al-Qamar. He was brought up in Alexandria, Egypt, where his father, Habib Antonius, was already well established.<ref name="The Worlds of George Antonius" />
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After graduating from Victoria College in Alexandria, Antonius attended King's College at Cambridge University from 1914 to 1930, where he joined the British civil service first in Egypt and then Mandatory Palestine.<ref name="The Worlds of George Antonius" /> He then became the deputy in the Education Department in Mandatory Palestine. In 1925, Antonius joined Gilbert Clayton in the newly formed Saudi Arabia, as his translator and advisor in the negotiations to agree on the boundaries of Saudi Arabia<ref>University of Oxford. St Antony's College. Middle East Centre. George Antonius Collection. Fonds level description. Biographical history: Antonius, George Habib (1891–1942)</ref> with Iraq, Transjordan and Yemen.<ref>Report by Sir Gilbert Clayton, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G., on his missions to negotiate certain agreements with the Sultan of Nejd, and instructions issued to him in regard to his mission, National Archives, 25 November 1925, CO 935/1/7</ref>
He resigned his position in 1930 to become the Middle East field representative of the Institute of Current World Affairs in New York City. He was secretary general to all the Arab delegations to the London Conference of 1939.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Antonius was a follower of Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. He acted as a liaison officer for al-Husseini in negotiations between Palestinian Muslims and the Catholic Church to reach an anti-Zionist agreement. Antonius was among the first Arabs to promote pro-Arab positions regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict in universities in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
PhilosophyEdit
{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} Antonius traced Arab nationalism to the reign of Mehmet Ali Pasha in Egypt. He argued that the Arab nation (which consists of racial and cultural-linguistic elements) has been "dormant" for centuries and that Protestant missionaries from the United States had a specific role in the renewal and "awakening" of the Arabic as a national language. He saw the role of the Syrian Protestant College as central to this development, although he notes that later on, by the end of the 19th century, that role has diminished, since the college initiated instruction in English. By then the torch of the movement had been passed to Arab intellectuals residing in the region of Syria and in Europe and to Arab officers in the Ottoman army who formed a secret society to ultimately promote Arab nationalist interests. These officers proved particularly useful later during World War I after the leadership of the movement openly shifted allegiance to support the Entente. Other than tracing the birth of the Arab national movement, Antonius also argued that it was Great Britain that dishonored its prior commitments to the Arabs and instead pursued its own colonial interests at the expense of what Antonius calls the "true will of the people," namely unity and independence of the would-be Arab state.
Personal lifeEdit
Antonius was the son-in-law of Faris Nimr who was a Lebanese journalist and founder of the newspaper Al Muqattam.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His wife, who he married in 1928, Katy Nimr, was a daughter of Faris Nimr, a wealthy Lebanese Christian and cultural activist. Antonius had a difficult relationship with the British. Despite his senior position he and his wife were refused membership in the Jerusalem sports club which had a "No Natives" policy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
LegacyEdit
An annual lecture is given in his memory at St Antony's College, Oxford.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
GalleryEdit
- LondonConference1939.jpg
London Conference, St. James' Palace, February 1939. Palestinian delegates (foreground), Left to right: Fu'ad Saba, Yaqub Al-Ghussein, Musa Alami, Amin Tamimi, Jamal Al-Husseini, Awni Abdul Hadi, George Antonius, and Alfred Roch. Facing the Palestinians are the British, with Sir Neville Chamberlain presiding. To his right is Lord Halifax, and to his left, Malcolm MacDonald.
- MuftiHouse.jpg
While writing The Arab Awakening, Antonius was a tenant at the Shepherd Hotel.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
External linksEdit
- Antonius, George. The Arab awakening: the story of the Arab national movement. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1939.
- Kramer, Martin (1996) Ambition, Arabism, and George Antonius in Arab Awakening and Islamic Revival: The Politics of Ideas in the Middle East, ed. Martin Kramer (New Brunswick: Transaction, 1996), 112–23.
- Documents of Western Betrayal and Arab Opposition from The Arab Awakening