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Egyptian Internationalism in Weimar: The Case of the "Aegyptische Korrespondenz"
Abstract
The end of the First World War marked a new conceptual orientation in the Nahḍawi movement that was likewise expressed in a vast number of periodicals edited by Arab émigrés in the Weimar Republic. Germany seemed a good place for anti-colonial nahḍawi alignments: regarded as a fellow victim of the imperial postwar order, it served as a logical ally to contemporary Arab nationalists. In addition, the liberal climate of the Weimar Republic and the cheap living conditions were highly attractive to Arab migrants. First, especially Egyptians came to Berlin, where they gathered in clubs and political organizations and edited regular periodicals. Among them was the bimonthly German journal "Aegyptische Korrespondenz. Organ der ägyptischen Nationalpartei in Deutschland" (1921-1924). This paper aims to go beyond understanding periodicals such as the "Aegyptische Korrespondenz" as primarily nationalist. Rather, I consider them to be predictors for and serving as a panopticon of a larger contemporary anti-colonial Nahḍawi movement that surged in the immediate postwar period and lasted, in Weimar, until the early 1930 ́s. In contrast to the (very few) studies on Arab periodicals in Germany published especially by Gerhard Höpp, I seek to outline the international orientation and transnational connection of these authors and editors. Periodical editing in Weimarian migrant circles served as a political practice of and a meeting place for political actors with varied political aspirations. They, however, often shared a greater goal: overcoming the imperial postwar order. Using the "Aegyptische Korrespondenz" as an example, I aim to highlight how articles which at first appear to pursue a nationalist agenda were in fact internationally oriented in their argument. Moreover, the journal gathered, besides a great number of highly acclaimed Arab politicians and thinkers, guest authors from all around the world. It is thus perfectly suited to illustrate the profound internationalism propagated by Arab Nahḍawi intellectuals in European exile during a time of multiple political crises and global reorientation.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Egypt
Europe
Sub Area
None