Revisiting Hitti's Thoughts on Palestine and Arab Identity
Philip K. Hitti was the first scholar to study Arab-American immigration to the United States. Highly influential during the twentieth century, his ideas have lost much of their appeal to current interpreters of the early diaspora of Arab-A...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pluto Journals
2019-03-01
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| Series: | Arab Studies Quarterly |
| Online Access: | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.41.2.0150 |
| _version_ | 1797687496840052736 |
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| author | Gregory J. Shibley |
| author_facet | Gregory J. Shibley |
| author_sort | Gregory J. Shibley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Philip K. Hitti was the first scholar to study Arab-American immigration to the
United States. Highly influential during the twentieth century, his ideas have
lost much of their appeal to current interpreters of the early diaspora of
Arab-Americans called Syrians at the time. This article revisits Hitti's
thought, focusing on the issues of Palestine and Arab identity. Using primary
source material from Hitti's archived papers, plus multiple secondary sources, I
argue that Hitti maintained consistency, both in his advocacy of the general
Arab stance opposing a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and in his construction of
Arab identity as different from Syrian identity. On Palestine, Hitti clashed
with Albert Einstein, in public discourse and in an acerbic private exchange of
correspondence. On Arab identity, Hitti held firm to a strict interpretation,
distinguishing Syrians, conceptualized as Christian, from Arabs, conceptualized
as Islamic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:18:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ade2c72da2a94dce9ae540014f51a29b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0271-3519 2043-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:18:49Z |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | Pluto Journals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arab Studies Quarterly |
| spelling | doaj.art-ade2c72da2a94dce9ae540014f51a29b2023-09-13T10:23:25ZengPluto JournalsArab Studies Quarterly0271-35192043-69202019-03-0141215017110.13169/arabstudquar.41.2.0150Revisiting Hitti's Thoughts on Palestine and Arab IdentityGregory J. ShibleyPhilip K. Hitti was the first scholar to study Arab-American immigration to the United States. Highly influential during the twentieth century, his ideas have lost much of their appeal to current interpreters of the early diaspora of Arab-Americans called Syrians at the time. This article revisits Hitti's thought, focusing on the issues of Palestine and Arab identity. Using primary source material from Hitti's archived papers, plus multiple secondary sources, I argue that Hitti maintained consistency, both in his advocacy of the general Arab stance opposing a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and in his construction of Arab identity as different from Syrian identity. On Palestine, Hitti clashed with Albert Einstein, in public discourse and in an acerbic private exchange of correspondence. On Arab identity, Hitti held firm to a strict interpretation, distinguishing Syrians, conceptualized as Christian, from Arabs, conceptualized as Islamic.https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.41.2.0150 |
| spellingShingle | Gregory J. Shibley Revisiting Hitti's Thoughts on Palestine and Arab Identity Arab Studies Quarterly |
| title | Revisiting Hitti's Thoughts on Palestine and Arab
Identity |
| title_full | Revisiting Hitti's Thoughts on Palestine and Arab
Identity |
| title_fullStr | Revisiting Hitti's Thoughts on Palestine and Arab
Identity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Revisiting Hitti's Thoughts on Palestine and Arab
Identity |
| title_short | Revisiting Hitti's Thoughts on Palestine and Arab
Identity |
| title_sort | revisiting hitti s thoughts on palestine and arab identity |
| url | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.41.2.0150 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gregoryjshibley revisitinghittisthoughtsonpalestineandarabidentity |