The Arabic Language and National Identity: A Study in Ideology

Rating:
Summary: An important addition
Review: Such book is an important addition to two fields of studies. The first is the anthropology of language, namely the connection between languages and the phenomena of nationalism and national identity. The second field concerns nationalism and national identities in the Arab Middle East, especially the relationship between the Arabic language and national identity. This book embodies a rich effort to examine the works and ideas of prominent thinkers and scholars in the field of nationalism studies by examining its applicability in the case of the Arab nationalism. Moreover Sulieman uses a wide range of primary classical and modern sources, some of these sources have received only minor attention from scholars, despite their indicative content in studying Arab nationalism and the question of identity. Bu using these sources Suleiman shows how language has played an active role in shaping an Arab nationalism that had clear cultural character.
The book studies also territorial nationalism in the Arab Middle East and how this relates to the language issue as a factor in the conceptualization of national identity. In particular the ideas of Greater Syrian, Egyptian nationalism and Lebanese nationalism.