Deck 12: The Arab Struggle for Independence: Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia From the Interwar Era to 1945

Question 1

France's creation of Greater Lebanon in 1920 mainly benefited this religious group by establishing them as the largest religious community within the territory.

A) Sunni Muslims
B) Maronite Christians
C) Shi'a Muslims
D) Druze

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT true about the French control of Syria?

A) Local Syrian governors and district commissioners were not granted independent decision-making authority
B) The French method of governing discouraged local politicians from practicing self-government
C) Decision-making authority rested with the French high commissioner and his staff was based in Beirut
D) The French ensured their position in the region through indirect rule

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT true about the great revolt of 1925-1927?

A) The revolt convinced French policymakers to renounce their plans for controlling Syria
B) The revolt quickly expanded from a local rebellion in Jabal Druze to a national movement of resistance
C) The French were driven out of the Jabal Druze by an armed uprising led by the local chieftain
D) Some 6,000 Syrians died throughout the revolt's duration

Answer 3

A

Question 4

How were the Anglo-Iraqi treaty of 1930 and Franco-Syrian draft treaty of 1936 similar?

A) Both granted the Middle Eastern states admission to the League of Nations
B) Both permitted the former mandate rulers to maintain military bases
C) Both permitted the former mandate rulers to defend the sovereignty of the Middle Eastern states
D) All of these answers are correct

Question 5

Which of the following was a crucial political issue facing Lebanon in the 1930s?

A) Anti-French revolts
B) The conflicting aspirations of Christians and Muslims
C) The lack of a constitution
D) All of these answers are correct

Question 6

As per the 1937 election, which principle emerged as a result of the establishment of a Maronite president and a Sunni prime minister?

A) Power-sharing
B) Religious intolerance
C) Divide and rule
D) Secularism

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT true about the 1932 Lebanese census?

A) It was the last official census taken in Lebanon
B) It did not include the Druze
C) It determined that all Christians outnumbered all Muslims by six to five
D) It answered for sectarian representation in political bodies

Question 8

"Confessional politics," or the apportionment of power among various religious communities, best characterizes the political system in which country?

A) Egypt
B) Iraq
C) Lebanon
D) Syria

Question 9

Which Islamic reformist was the leader of the Salafiyyah movement?

A) Rashid Rida
B) Muhammad Abduh
C) Abd al-Wahhab
D) Rashid Ali

Question 10

The success of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the head of the Wahhabi order, Ibn Sa'ud, in Arabia are evidence of _______________.

A) Pan-Arab unity
B) regional unity
C) Islamic awareness
D) desire for a segregated society

Question 11

Which of the following most accurately describes the ideas of Sati al-Husri?

A) Al-Husri argued that language was an insignificant component of nationhood
B) Al-Husri argued that religion was the most important prerequisite for nationhood
C) Al-Husri argued that Arabs constituted a single nation and should therefore be united in a single Arab state
D) Al-Husri argued that the Arab nation did not possess the necessary components required for nationhood

Question 12

What did Britain and the Free French leader Charles de Gaulle agree to on the eve of their joint invasion of Syria and Lebanon in 1941?

A) Syria and Lebanon would both be placed under the control of the Free French government
B) Syria would come under British influence and Lebanon under French influence
C) Lebanon would come under British influence and Syria under French influence
D) Both Syria and Lebanon would be granted immediate independence

Question 13

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe Lebanon's National Pact (1943)?

A) It spelled out the formula for sectarian representation in the Lebanese chamber of deputies
B) It determined each sect's level of political representation based on the 1932 census figures
C) It stated that a new census would be held before every new election to determine an accurate division of representation
D) It enshrined sectarian confessional politics as the basis for the Lebanese political system

Question 14

Between 1902 and the end of World War I, Ibn Sa‛ud was able to bring most of the Najd tribes under his authority. What was the reason for his success?

A) He combined his position as victorious tribal leader with his contacts to the leaders of European powers
B) He combined his position as victorious tribal leader with his religious status as the head of the Wahhabi
C) He used his religious status as the head of the Wahhabi to rule with an iron fist
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 15

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the terms of Treaty of Jiddah (1927)

A) It recognized Ibn Sa‛ud as the sovereign king of the Hijaz
B) It recognized Ibn Sa‛ud as the sultan of the Najd and its dependencies
C) In the treaty Ibn Sa‛ud recognized Britain's special relationship with the coastal rulers and pledged to respect their domains
D) It recognized Britain's rights to maintain a naval base at the Gulf of Aden to protect shipping to and from the Suez Canal

Question 16

In what way was the Syrian National Bloc similar to the Egyptian Wafd party and Nuri al-Said's coalition in Iraq?

A) All three were established by land-owning notables, who saw themselves as legitimate intermediaries between the Europeans and their respective populations
B) Independence from France and Britain was the primary goal of all three
C) All three sought to transcend sectarian divisions
D) All of these statements are true of these three political movements

Question 17

Which of the following most accurately describes sectarian divisions in Syria?

A) The relationship among Druze, Alawites, Christians, and Sunni Arabs has always been extremely tense, characterized by frequent episodes of sectarian violence
B) There are few sectarian divisions as Syria's population is ethnically and religiously monotonous
C) France isolated the Druze and the Alawites from national politics, ensuring Syrian political life would be under the sway of urban Sunni Muslims
D) None of these statements accurately describe sectarian divisions in Syria

Question 18

How did the Shi‛a come to be underrepresented in Lebanon's power-sharing structure?

A) Through the National Pact compromise of 1943
B) Through the dictates of the French high commissioner in 1943
C) As a minority group in a newly emerging parliamentary system, Shi'a representation was muffled by the Sunni majority
D) In a twisted attempt to impose their version of Ottoman tradition, the French fostered a favoritism of the Sunnis over other groups

Question 19

Antun Sa‛adah, a Lebanese Christian who founded the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Beirut in 1932, was:

A) A Syrian regional nationalist who believed that Syrian history transcended Arab, Islamic, and Christian history, and emphasized its ancient Phoenician heritage
B) A Syrian regional nationalist who saw Syria's Arab identity as a source of Arab unity that transcended religious and sectarian differences
C) An advocate of Christian Arabs who stressed the need for Christians in Syria and Lebanon to unite
D) None of these answers accurately describe Antun Sa'adah

Question 20

What was Saudi Arabia's main source of state revenue in the 1930s?

A) Petroleum, with the help of British companies
B) Petroleum, with the help of US companies
C) Annual pilgrimages to Mecca
D) Date palms and other agricultural goods

Question 21

A key element to France's imperial rule in Greater Syria was its promotion of national unity.

Question 22

In 1922, France encouraged political fragmentation by providing minority groups-the Druze and the Alawites-separate states within Syria proper.

Question 23

Sons from the Sunni urban notable families made up the majority of the Syrian military.

Question 24

Its 1926 constitution granted Lebanon complete independence.

Question 25

A 1937 election established the principle that, in Lebanon, the president is always a Christian, and the Prime Minister is always a Sunni Muslim.

Question 26

The great __________________ of 1925-1927 became a symbol of the common Syrian objection to the mandate and all that it represented.

Question 27

In the early 1900s, Syria's principal political organization was the __________________.

Question 28

The __________________ viewed Lebanon as their own special Christian homeland.

Question 29

Through the compromise established in the __________________ of 1943, Christians accepted Lebanon's Arabness, and Muslims acknowledged the country as a separate state and renounced plans to merge with other Arab states.

Question 30

Abd al-Aziz ibn Sa'ud established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after overthrowing King __________________ of the Hijaz.

Question 31

Describe the French claim to Syria-what interests did the French feel the need to protect through imperial rule?

Question 32

How did the French mandate's authority over Syria damage Syrian political life?

Question 33

Describe the objectives of regionalism when used by various communities or heads of states.

Question 34

How did Abd al-Aziz ibn Sa'ud obtain the loyalty of the tribes he brought under his authority?

Question 35

In what ways did Rashid Rida's Islamic reformism differ from that of Muhammad Abduh?

Question 36

Identify and briefly explain the three factors upon which France based its imperial claim in Syria?

Question 37

Why did Ibn Sa'ud enjoy a higher degree of legitimacy than his Hashimite rivals in the years immediately following World War II?

Question 38

Briefly describe the events and significance of the great revolt of 1925-1927.

Question 39

What is one similarity and one difference between the founding leaders of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Ibn Sa‛ud and Kemal Atatürk, respectively?

Question 40

What factors led to Sharif Husayn's declining popularity in the wake of World War I?

Question 41

With the defeat of Ottomanism in World War I, what ideologies emerged to replace this established pillar of communal identity? Explain and provide examples of each of the major new ideologies.

Question 42

How did the interwar colonial policies of France differ from those employed by Britain in its colonies?