Arab Ba'ath Movement

Arab Ba'ath Movement
Leader	Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar
Founded	1940
Dissolved	1947
Preceded by	Party of National Brotherhood
Succeeded by	Arab Ba'ath Party
Newspaper	Al-Tali'a
Ideology	Ba'athism
Colors	Black, Red, White and Green (Pan-Arab colors)
Politics of Syria Political parties Elections

The Arab Ba'ath Movement (Arabic: حركة البعث العربي‎‎ Harakat Al-Ba'ath Al-Arabi), also literally translated as Arab Resurrection Movement or Arab Renaissance Movement, was the Ba'athist political movement and predecessor of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.^[1] The party was first named Arab Ihya Movement (Harakat al-Ihya al-'Arabi) literally translated as Arab Revitalization Movement, until 1943 when it adopted the name "Ba'ath".^[2][3] It was founded in 1940 by Michel Aflaq.^[4][5][6] Its founders, Aflaq and Bitar were both associated with nationalism and socialism.^[7]

History

The Movement was formed in 1940 as the Arab Ihya Movement by Syrian expatriate Michel Aflaq.

Shortly after being founded, the Movement became involved in anti-colonial Arab nationalist militant activities, including Aflaq founding the Syrian Committee to Help Iraq that was created in 1941 to support the anti-British and pro-Axis government of Iraq against the British during the Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941.^[8] The Syrian Committee sent weapons and volunteers to fight alongside Iraqi forces against the British.^[9]

Aflaq unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for the Syrian parliament in 1943.^[10] After the Syrian election defeat, the Movement sought cooperation with other parties in elections in Syria, including the Arab Socialist Movement of Akram El-Hourani.^[11]

The Party became the Arab Ba'ath Party in 1947, and al-Hawrani's Arab Socialist Movement later merged into the party in the 1950s to establish the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.

References

1. Jasim M. Abdulghani. Iraq & Iran: the years of crisis. Croom Helm, Ltd., 1984. Pp. 27.
2. Michel Curtis. People and Politics in the Middle East. Transaction Books. Pp. 132, 139.
3. Jasim M. Abdulghani. Iraq & Iran: the years of crisis. Croom Helm, Ltd., 1984. Pp. 27.
4. Michel Curtis. People and Politics in the Middle East. Pp. 132.
5. David Seddon. A political and economic dictionary of the Middle East. London, England, UK: Taylor & Francis e-library, 2005. Pp. 19.
6. Ghareeb, Edmund A.; Dougherty, Beth K. Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Lanham, Maryland and Oxford: The Scarecrow Press, Ltd., 2004. Pp. 2.
7. Rami Ginat. Egypt's incomplete revolution: Lutfi al-Khuli and Nasser's socialism in the 1960s. Routledge, 1997. Pp. 11.
8. Spencer Tucker. The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Pp. 30
9. Spencer Tucker. The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Pp. 30
10. Spencer Tucker. The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Pp. 30
11. Spencer Tucker. The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Pp. 30