ABSTRACT
During the formative stage of Arab nationalism in the early twentieth century, newly formed Arab states developed strong collective identities to replace those lost by the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. This chapter illuminates just a few of the many ways that minorities in the Arab world related to various strains of nationalism. It examines Palestinian Christians as an example of a relatively small population of non-Muslim Arabs. Some, such as Iraqi Kurds, are linguistic and ethnic minorities. Others, like Arab Christians in Palestine, Jordan, and Syria, are part of the ethnic majority but represent a religious minority. Despite the Empire's best efforts, it continued to lose power vis-a-vis Europe, and the second half of the century saw government efforts shift from Ottomanism to Islamism, and finally to a nascent version of Turkish nationalism as it sought to stave off European encroachment.
