Nationalism: 1920 to Present: Middle East

The common understanding of nationalism, which is sometimes synonymous with patriotism, is the sense of belonging and strong identification of an individual to a group of people or community within a polity such as nation or state. According to Ernest Gellner, it is primarily a political principle that considers that the political and national unit should be congruent. On the other hand, Liah Greenfeld regarded it as an essentially secular form of consciousness. All core players (Arabs, Israelis, Iranians, Turks, and minorities) have different nationalistic experiences based on how they utilized the concept for their own advantage. The historical beginning and material manifestation of nationalistic experiences in the Middle East can be traced from the implementation of the millet system of the Ottoman Empire after the Tanzimat (meaning “reorganization” to foster unity and oneness) reforms from 1839 to 1876. The term millet comes from the Arabic word Millah , which ...