The Arab region was colonized by European powers in the 19th century after the weakening of the Ottoman Empire. European colonizers exploited Arab resources and suppressed education to maintain control. The Arab nations resisted colonization through armed struggle, sacrificing many heroes and martyrs. Models of resistance included Iraq gaining independence in 1932 after being a British protectorate, Syria and Lebanon becoming French mandates after World War 1, Egypt declaring independence from Britain in 1922, and Algeria gaining full independence in 1962 following an armed war for independence against France that began in 1954.

1. The Arab and Colonization
By Venkata Sai Karanam

2. Colonization of the Arab region
The colonization countries
weakened the Ottoman State,
which became incapable of
protecting its lands or the
lands of the Muslim peoples
and their holy places. The
Arab countries were
colonized by the Europeans
one by one and their riches
were exhausted. Colonialists
tightened their grip on them
and dominated them.

3. The Arab Struggle against Colonization
• Since the beginning of the 19th Century all the countries in the Arab
World except Saudi Arabia and Yemen, suffered from the existence of
colonization in their lands.
• The different European countries that colonized the countries of the
Arab World had policies which were the same. These were:-
1. To break up the unity of the Arab world.
2. To use up the riches and wealth of the Arab World for the good of the
colonialists.
3. To fight against education so as to increase ignorance in the Arab World.

4. • The Arab Nation refused the colonial attempts to take away its freedom
and did not accept the existence of colonization on its lands. As it had
fought the crusades and the Mongol attacks and freed itself from their
dangers, the Arab nation declared the revolution against colonization. They
resisted it with heroic armed struggle and showed magnificent examples of
sacrifice. Many heroes and martyrs were offered on the altar of freedom,
and the struggle against colonization did not ease until many Arab
countries attained their freedom and independence.

5. Models of the Arab armed Struggle against
Colonization
1. Iraq
• The Kingdom of Iraq was founded on 23 August 1921, under British administration
following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire.
• The kingdom of Iraq was granted full independence in 1932. The independent Iraqi
Kingdom under the Hashemite rulers underwent a period of turbulence through its
entire existence.
• During World War II, Iraqi regime of Regent 'Abd al-Ilah was overthrown in 1941 by the
Golden Square officers, headed by Rashid Ali. Iraq was later used as a base for allied
attacks on Vichy-French held Mandate of Syria and support for the Anglo-Soviet
invasion of Iran.
• In 1945, Iraq joined the United Nations and became a founding member of the Arab
League. More protests continued in spring, but were interrupted in May, with the
martial law, when Iraq entered the 1948 Arab-Israeli War along with other members of
the Arab League.
• In February 1958, King Hussein of Jordan and `Abd al-Ilāh proposed a union of
Hāshimite monarchies to counter the recently formed Egyptian-Syrian union. It ended
in 1958, when the monarchy was overthrown in a military coup, led by Abd al-Karim
Qasim.

6. 2. Syria
• At this time, the French also established colonies in the South Pacific,
including New Caledonia, the various island groups which make up French
Polynesia, and established joint control of the New Hebrides with Britain. The
French made their last major colonial gains after World War I, when they
gained mandates over the former Turkish territories of the Ottoman Empire
that make up what is now Syria and Lebanon, as well as most of the former
German colonies of Togo and Cameroon.
3.Egypt
• In December 1921, the British authorities in Cairo imposed martial law and
once again deported Zaghlul. Demonstrations again led to violence. In
deference to the growing nationalism and at the suggestion of the High
Commissioner, Lord Allenby, the UK unilaterally declared Egyptian
independence on 28 February 1922, abolishing the protectorate and
establishing an independent Kingdom of Egypt.
• During World War II, British troops used Egypt as a base for Allied operations
throughout the region. British troops were withdrawn to the Suez Canal area
in 1947, but nationalist, anti-British feelings continued to grow after the war.

7. 4. Algeria
• Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems.
From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria
was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion
are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest of French North
Africa, was never considered part of France.
• One of France's longest-held overseas territories, Algeria became a
destination for hundreds of thousands of European immigrants, known as
colons and later, as pieds-noirs. However, indigenous Muslims remained a
majority of the territory's population throughout its history.
• Gradually, dissatisfaction among the Muslim population with its lack of
political and economic status fueled calls for greater political autonomy, and
eventually independence, from France. Tensions between the two population
groups came to a head in 1954, when the first violent events of what was
later called the Algerian War began. The war concluded in 1962, when Algeria
gained complete independence following the March 1962 Evian agreements
and the July 1962 self-determination referendum.