The Challenge of Arabization in Syria

Abstract

The eclipse of Arabic that took place in the last part of the eighteenth
and the early nineteenth century was caused by several factots. This paper
looks at the mxons for this eclipse and also sheds light on the revival of
Arabic in the Arab world in general and in Syria in particular.
The conquest of Syria and Egypt by Salim I in 1516 and 1517 marks
a definite stage in the extension of Ottoman sway over the Arab world.
His crushing victories made him the master of Iraq and Syria and enabled
him to enter Cairo and establish his rule over Egypt. Under his successor,
Sulaymh the Magnificent, the subjection of the Arab world was extended
westward along the North African coast and southward as far as Yemen
and Aden. Upon Stdaymiin’s death in 1566, the Ottomans ruled the Arab
world from Algeria to the Arabian Gulf, and from Aleppo to the Indian
Ocean. In addition to the sacred cities of Makkah, Madinah, and Jerusalem,
it embraced Damascus, the fitst capital of the Arab empire, and
Baghdad, whose sciences had once illuminated the world. With varying
fortunes, and frequently accompanied by war and revolt, the Ottoman
Empire maintained itself in these territories until the end of the eighteenth
century and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Ottoman Empire witnessed
a movement of reform and reorganization under Abmad III(1703-
30) and his successors. However, the Arab world did not seem to benefit
very much from it. In addition, these reforms, intended primarily to arrest
the Empire’s decline and restore vitality to its system, sought to establish
Turldsh as the language of instruction. Later on, Arabic was abandoned
and Turkish became the language of instruction in government schools
and educational institutions.‘ Only Arabic grammatical rules, which were
indispensable for an understanding of Ottoman literature, were taught and,
quite often, by Turkish teachers ...