Christian Arab nationalism between ideology and pragmatism the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Of Antioch Gregorios IV in the First World War

Abstract

ABSTRACT Whether for his political choices or his philanthropic activities, Gregorios IV Haddad, the Patriarch of Antioch and the Whole East 1906–1924, is still remembered as a strong supporter of Arabism. Arab nationalist historiography overwhelmingly locates Gregorios’s story within the ideological framework of Arabism nationalism. This ideological interpretation, however, simplifies the intricate political reality in the final decade of Ottoman rule in Syria, a period characterized by a multiplicity of identities including Ottomanism, Arabism and Islamism. More importantly, it downplays Gregorios’s political brilliance and pragmatic approach in running the affairs of the Greater Syrian Christians, a minority community that was subject to suspicion and censorship during critical historical junctures. This article examines some of the ways in which a leader of a religious minority navigated the political upheavals that characterized the Ottoman Empire’s last decade of power in Greater Syria. It will show that Gregorois’s sense of responsibility for his community obliged him to prioritize pragmatism over nationalist ideology in order to best respond to the political circumstances of the time.