The Syrian Social Nationalist Party

by Salim Mujais

  PALESTINE

  From there Saadeh continued to Haifa where he arrived with only three Syrian pounds in his pocket. He had paid the driver five Syrian pounds and referred him to Nayef Qawar for the balance of the trip fare. His visit coincided with dramatic measures by the British in an attempt to stem the tide of infiltration of supporters of the Palestinians from Lebanon and Syria manifested by a barbed wire enclosure 98 called “Tegart’s Wall” after Sir Charles Tegart, adviser to the Palestine Government on the suppression of terrorism! 99

  In Haifa, Saadeh needed to get in contact with the SSNP branch, but he had no addresses or phone numbers. Fortuitously, he encountered a young British woman whom he had met that past winter when she came to Lebanon to ski. She got him in contact with the SSNP members in the city. The requirements of secrecy precluded the notification of SSNP members in Haifa of the imminent arrival of their leader. It is peculiar, however, that Saadeh did not have their contact information suggesting that his departure from Lebanon was as precipitous as the events suggest. Saadeh stayed for only one night and the following day in Haifa, met with the SSNP membership and reviewed their activities and progress. He sent a coded cable to Beirut informing his colleagues of his arrival at Haifa. Funds for his onward travel were secured through the sales of copies of Nushu’ al-Umam he carried with him. On Wednesday evening, June 22, he boarded the ship Tristino headed for Larnaca, Cyprus.

  CYPRUS

  After landing in Larnaca, Saadeh took a bus to Platres, a mountain town on the southern slopes of the Troodos range in the center of the island. The village is situated in a heavily forested area with pine and cedar trees. The remoteness was suitable for remaining undetected.

  Saadeh enjoyed the natural beauty of the area. He planned to stay for 4 to 6 weeks in the area recovering his strength and energies before proceeding on the trip to visit the Syrian diaspora.100 For a man who needed to recover his strength after years of intense struggle and hardship, Saadeh seemed unable to let go. Over the first month of his stay on the island, he wrote over 30 letters. A third of these letters were to Fakhri Maaluf who at the time held the post of President of the High Council, in effect the leader of the SSNP after Saadeh’s departure. This was a time for reflection on many events and developments, and Saadeh proceeded to share his thoughts with his closest lieutenant.

  Saadeh was certain of the nefarious intent of the Lebanese government and the French Mandate towards him, particularly as the strength of the SSNP became apparent, and they got wind of the military preparations underway. There were irreconcilable differences between the national liberation movement and the colonialists and their cronies.101 Most of Saadeh’s co-workers believed that the threat was real and arrests imminent. Abdallah Qubersi, however, belittled the early signs of the threat such as the closing of an-Nahda. His contacts in the Department of Justice led him to believe that these developments were the result of misunderstandings that could be easily resolved. All that was required was for Saadeh and Thabit to visit the examining magistrate for a deposition. He clearly did not see the trap. Saadeh was appalled by Qubersi’s naïve assessment and the danger he was exposing him and other SSNP members to by his nonchalance. In addition to sharing this assessment with Fakhri, he wrote a severe reprimand letter to Qubersi chiding him for his cavalier handling of a matter of grave consequences.102 He told him that his misplaced confidence in the judicial system portrayed a level of unprecedented political ignorance about the subservience of the system to the political forces in government. He reminds him “the national movement that I [Saadeh] lead is the only real threat to colonial policy and all local political elements in collusions with the colonialists.” He warns Qubersi that if the development in the case of Gabriel Munassa leads to his extradition from the British area of control into the hands of the French, that he will hold him responsible. “If I am captured, you will be my Judas!”

  Saadeh’s departure from Syria had been precipitous and under great secrecy. Preparations for the trip to the Syrian diaspora could not be undertaken or announced until after he left Syria. Within a week after his arrival in Cyprus, he started in earnest the planning for the larger trip. He wrote to Fakhri Maaluf:

  “The communications department has to issue a press release to the overseas branches of the SSNP and the Syrian press announcing the trip and preparing for the campaign I will undertake. The Office of Overseas Branches has to send instructions to the leaders of the various regions to prepare.” 103

  From Cyprus, Saadeh had planned to go to Egypt and from there to the Gold Coast (present day Ghana, but at the time a British colony) and onward to the Americas. The trip was to start in mid-August 1938.104 He hoped to reach North America before a delegation of the Bloc headed there and then visit South America.105

  Throughout his stay in Cyprus, Saadeh’s letters to his lieutenants in Syria stressed the need to continue with the military training program. He proposed specific individuals for the tasks,106 and called for the organization of commando units under great secrecy.107 He informed Fakhri of his discussion with Qawar in Transjordan as to the feasibility of arms purchases there and seems to have been seconded in his plans by the great enthusiasm of Nehmeh Thabit for the ‘military option.’108

  ITALY

  Saadeh’s original plan was to proceed from Cyprus to the Americas, first to the United States, and then to Central and South America to visit the Syrian communities and establish a system of political and financial support for the SSNP operations in the homeland. The discovery of his whereabouts by the French Mandate and the risk of extradition from Cyprus necessitated a rapid departure from Cyprus prior to the completion of his original travel plans. It is likely that he used the time to explore the potential of establishing political relations with European powers that could be more favorable to the Syrian cause than the French and British. There is a gap in the documentation of his whereabouts of one month between his last letter to Fakhri Maaluf from Cyprus (July 23) and the letter to him from Rome (August 22). What we learn from subsequent documentation is that he arrived in Rome, and had made contact with Italian authorities who had been very courteous towards him and the SSNP. The Italian authorities had afforded him a secure means of communication with the SSNP in the homeland via their diplomatic courier system, and had offered to host members of the SSNP in Italian universities to pursue graduate degrees in fields of their choice. These developments suggest a nascent degree of cooperation. It is unclear, however, why there was no further development of the relationship. The Italian authorities already had their collaborators among Syrian groups, notably Christian separatists in Lebanon and advocates of Pan-Arabism in the person of Shakib Arslan. They may have found these groups more amenable to their purposes. Saadeh stayed in Italy until mid-October 1938 and from there traveled to Germany.

  GERMANY

  A branch of the SSNP formed in Berlin in 1937 among Syrian students studying in the German capital. The leader of the branch was Masoon Abideen who had originally studied at Konigsberg and then moved to Berlin to complete his studies towards a doctorate. Abideen was very active among Syrians students in Germany, contributed articles to an-Nahda in Beirut, and appears to have established contacts with German authorities obtaining a license to publish a periodical in Arabic dedicated to the issues of the SSNP.109 After some initial difficulties, Saadeh was able to establish contact with the SSNP branch and planned a trip to Germany to visit his Party members and explore the political position of the German government vis-à-vis Syria. Like their Italian counterparts, German authorities treated Saadeh with great courtesy for his travel to Germany and during his stay. The members of the SSNP met Saadeh at the Berlin train station in organized formations with the SSNP salute. The German fiancée of Abideen presented Saadeh with a bouquet of flowers and the group escorted Saadeh to the Kaiserhof hotel where Saadeh spent his stay in Berlin and where he held various meetings with SSNP members and Arab students.110

  Antoun Saadeh greeted by members of the
SNP branch in Berlin and Syrian students studying in the German capital. 1938.

  He evidently met with German officials concerned with the affairs of the Middle East, and delivered a lecture at Humboldt University about the political vision of the SSNP and its strategy for Syria.111 There is no available documentation about the nature of these early contacts with the German government. The German government appears to have been reluctant at this point in time to overtly undertake any activity that may appear belligerent towards French or British colonial dominions.112 Further, what we learn from subsequent correspondence between Saadeh and the SSNP delegation tasked with re-establishing contacts with the German authorities in 1941, was that Saadeh was disappointed that the German government had given preference to its relations with advocates of Pan-Arabism and Pan-Islamism like Shakib Arslan and the Mufti of Palestine Amin Husseini over an alliance with the SSNP.113

  Saadeh’s visit to Germany was naturally a fodder for his opponents’ criticism. A year after the visit, in October 1939, the Arab Agency based in Damascus claimed that Saadeh had traveled to Berlin with two associates (Rushdy Maaluf and Shafiq Samara) to direct the Arabic broadcast of Berlin radio. Further, the Arab Agency claimed that on behest of the German government, Saadeh was collaborating with Daoud Mujais in Berlin to publish an Arabic newspaper in the German capital.114 Daoud Mujais was a public supporter of the SSNP in Mexico where he resided at the time of the claim,115 and by then Saadeh had been in South America for close to a year.

  * * *

  1 The brutality of the French suppression of the insurgency in 1925 was amply documented in the international press. As an example see Times magazine issues of August 17, 1925, September 21, 1925, October 12, 1925, November 09, 1925, November 23, 1925, November 30, 1925, December 14, 1925

  2 Martel to the French Foreign Ministry, April 13, 1934, quoted in Peter A. Shambrook: French Imperialism in Syria, 1927-1936. Garnet & Ithaca Press, Reading, 1998.

  3 Ila al-Souriyin al-Qawmiyin al-Ijtima’iyin: Zikra la Tamout (To the Syrian Social Nationalists: A memorable Day), Complete Works, volume 6, pp 85-87.

  4 Jean Dayyeh: Muhakamat Antoun Saadeh (The Trial of Antoun Saadeh). Fajr an-Nahdah, Beirut, 2002.

  5 The flag of the SSNP contains three colors: black, white and red. Black represents the background in the center of which there is a white circle, and in its center is a red cyclone with four sides. The black background is divided horizontally by white lines. The colors have symbolic meanings: black symbolizes seriousness and authority, white symbolizes honesty and devotion and red symbolizes strength and courage. Another element in the iconography of the SSNP is the party salute: Tahya Souria (Hail Syria or Long Live Syria). This salute also predated the SSNP and many Syrian writers, at home and abroad, used it in their writings. Adopting it by the SSNP in its written literature as well as in its chants has made the salute symbolic of the party. An example of use among immigrants is reported in an article in the New York Times. The Times correspondent quotes from an article written by Joseph Khoury, an editor of the Syrian periodical ash-Shaab published in New York. The expression tahya Souria (Hail Syria) is unmistakably used. New York Times, October 6, 1918.

  6 The party anthem lyrics were written by Saadeh in 1937 during his third imprisonment, to a Russian tune, but the music was later composed by Zaki Nassif. An alternate set of lyrics was developed by the poet Said Aql and was set to music but was not adopted and did not gain popularity.

  7 One of the earliest enthusiasts for the historical argument was Yussef Muruweh. In a pamphlet entitled al-Arqam al-Suriyah fi al-Tarikh (Syrian Numeral in History), published in 1956, he advocated the theory that “Syrian” numerals were derived from a Syriac origin and were based on the number of angles in the depiction of the numeral.

  8 See An-Nahda issue 52, page 1.

  9 Jean Dayeh: Saadeh wal-Naziyah (Saadeh and Nazism). Fajr al-Nahda, Beirut, 1994, pp 49-59.

  10 Jean Dayeh: Saadeh wal-Naziyah (Saadeh and Nazism), 1994, p 50.

  11 Gibran Jureij, Min al-Ju’bat, volume 2, pp99-102.

  12 Ibid.

  13 See New York Times, November 23, 1935, page 6. “Syrians stone cars; wound 2 French soldiers: Troops Rushed to Halt Riot at Damascus: “The trial of 39 members of the new Syrian National Party was nearing… Included among those who will go on trial is a naturalized United States citizen of Syrian birth, Fouad Moufarej, formerly of New York. The trial will be based on the single charge that the party was organized as a secret society and was not registered according to French law. The authorities, however, are investigating various allegations that the group is supported by Germany, Italy, or Soviet Russia”. Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1963), Chicago, IL:Jan 22, 1936, p15.

  14 Cahier du Bolchevism, 13eme annee, Numero 1-2, January 15, 1936.

  15 Gibran Jureij, Min al-Ju’bat, volume 2, pp99-102.

  16 Ibrahim Hananu was born in Aleppo in 1869 and studied law in Istanbul. He had been a fierce opponent of the French mandate. He was in his sixty-sixth year and had been in poor health because of tuberculosis. He was viewed as a national hero having kept the ranks of the Aleppo National Bloc unified and successfully prevented the Damascus wing of the Bloc from making damaging compromises with the French authorities.

  17 al-Ma’rakah al-Siyasiyah al-Tarikhiyah al-‘Ula (The First Political Historical Battle), Complete Works, Beirut, 2001, volume 7, pp 7-22.

  18 Hamid Frangieh (1907–1981) received a thoroughly francophone education in French missionary schools. In 1930, he graduated in law from university St. Joseph in Beirut. Besides his career as a lawyer, he became in 1933 one of the cofounders and columnists of the “Le Jour” newspaper. He was elected to parliament repeatedly between 1932 and 1957 before he withdrew from political life due to illness. He was appointed minister several times: Minister of finance in 1938 and 1944, and minister of foreign affairs and education in 1941, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1955.

  19 The final composition of the delegation was dominated by National Block leaders. Peter Shambrook: French Imperialism in Syria, 1927-1936. Garnet & Ithaca Press, Reading, UK, 1998, p 204.

  20 The Chicago Daily Tribune reported his release: “Syrian Nationalist Freed. Beirut. Syria. May 12, (AP). Antoun Saadi, leader of the new Syrian Nationalist party, completed today his prison term imposed in November for organizing a secret party. He has determined to continue his activities in the cause of independence. Within three years, Saadi recruited 10,000 followers, largely from the ranks of young intellectuals, causing concern for French authorities administering France’s mandate over Syria”. Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1963). Chicago, IL: May 13, 1936, p18.

  21 In a letter from prison dated March 8, 1936, he tells one of his lieutenants: “I will be released on the 12TH of May and on that day I want to see the Party with its branches, flags and discipline for our task is great. Let the members prepare for this with vigilance for the final say in the destiny of Syria should be ours”. Dayeh, Jean: Muhakamat Antoun Saadeh (The Trial of Antoun Saadeh), Fajr al-Nahda, Beirut, 2002, p202.

  22 He seemed conflicted about this development for in correspondence with some lieutenants he puts a brave face on the development: “After my release from prison on May 12, we continued in our quiet policy to be able to persevere in our constructive work. We prohibited the members from mounting any demonstrations and announced a plan for visits whereby each region sends an official delegation. This program lasted for two weeks during which I was unable to do anything except receive delegates”. Letter to Assaf Abu Murad. Complete Works, volume 9, pp9-10.

  23 Complete Works, volume 2, pp31-36.

  24 Pierre Vienot in Politique Etrangère, Volume 4, issue 2, pp 103-121, 1939.

  25 The periodical al-Masa’ (The Evening) was publishing articles maligning the SSNP and accusing it of being on the payroll of a foreign government. Members of the SSNP in Beirut started stalking Aref al-Ghurayeb, the author of the pejorative articles, and finding an opportunity on June 17, they followed
him to his apartment, forced the door and delivered a severe beating.

  26 For a detailed description of the events see an article by Antoun Saadeh: Muzakarat al-Hizb al-Souri al-Qawmi al-Ijtima’I ila Usbal al-Umam sanat 1936 (Memorandum of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party to the League of Nations in 1936), in Antoun Saadeh: Complete Works, volume 6, pp 555-558.

  27 Complete Works, volume 4, pp1-7.

  28 The Palestine Post quipped that 6250 pages of evidence had been collected and that the documents weighed 30 kilograms!

  29 The petition was filed as being from the “Syrian National Party regarding the independence and future political and economic welfare of Syria, with supporting documents and statistical data”. The letter carrying the response of the French government arrived at the League on November 4, 1937 (CPM1964). The report of the League reviewer M. Palacios was registered on November 18, 1937 (CPM1997).

  30 The federal status did not escape the attention of foreign journalists. The reporter of the Chicago Daily Tribune writes: “These five states [Lebanon, Alaouites, Druze, Damascus, Aleppo] come under a coordinated mandatory administration, the high commissariat, established at Beirut, capital of Lebanon. There are no passport or custom barriers between the five states, and the arrangement looks like a federal one, not unlike that of America”. Alex Small: From across the sea. Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1963). Chicago, IL: May 24, 1936, p15.

  31 “From the moment the SNP appeared on the political scene as the liberator of the rights of the populace and the sovereignty of the nation from the monopoly of the feudal classes that had bargained away our national sovereignty, the reactionary forces hastened to oppose it in the name of the Arab cause. They alleged that with its second basic principle, the SNP aims to antagonize the Arabs and resist the idea of close relations between Arab states. These reactionaries and manipulators did not even define for the public the nature of this Arab cause that they claim to represent.”