How the rise of competing for nationalist movements in the Ottoman Empire before and during World War I contributed to its collapse
Before the start of World War I, the Ottoman Empire controlled a vast territory, including modern-day Middle East, Turkey, and some regions in Europe and Asia. Although the dominant “nation” was Islamic Turks, there was a presence of Armenians, Kurds, Greeks, Arabs, and other ethnic minorities. The official state religion was Islam, although there were minority Christians, Jews, and others. Muslim adherents enjoyed all the rights of citizens while the rest endured discrimination and persecution. Since the “nations” enjoyed autonomy, they did not lose their identity and conscience.
Nationalism campaigns against the Ottoman Empire began to emerge after the idea developed and spread in Europe as a consequence of Romanticism and Enlightenment. As a result, minority communities such as Greeks and Montenegrins began to demand their independence from the Ottoman Empire through armed struggles. These identities used strategies such as the Greek War of Independence and the Serbian Revolution, Montenegrin, the Bulgarian National Revival, among other liberation movements. Other nationalist movements involving minorities included the Albanians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Arabs, Armenians, Assyrian, Bosnia, Kurdish, Jews, Macedonia, and Romanians. The independence of the “nation” left the Empire weaker, control few regions in the Middle East and modern-day Turkey. However, the Empire’s last straw was the competing interests of the Turkish and Arab nationalisms.
The rise of the Arab and Turkish nationalism was also responsible for the collapse of the Empire. The purpose of Arab nationalism was to bring various groups of Arab speakers under one umbrella to liberate their regions from the domain of the Turks. The ideology promotes the celebration of Arab civilization, literature, and language. By the start of World War I, Arab nationalism began to emerge fueled by educated urban elites in large cities. It was also drawing inspiration from trends emerging from the 19th-century that had led to the independence Slavic states and other Christian minorities. The movements did not get the nomadic communities because they were governing themselves. However, Arab nationalism would gain prominence with the advent of Turkish nationalism that did not appreciate the religious (Islamic) bond between the two civilizations together.
The rise of Turkish nationalism led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The campaigns for the development of a Pan-Turkish movement created the impression that the Turks were superior to other Muslims. As a result, there was disaffection among loyal subjects in Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Syria. At the same time, the completion of the Hejaz railway in 1908 caused resentment in the Arabian interior. Although the railway line made it easy for Muslims to travel to Mecca for Hajj, traditional clan leaders saw it as a form of disruption to their way of life. It also made it easier for the imperial regime to deploy its armies, tax collectors, among other agents. The community-based resistance was joined by city-based Arab nationalists to challenge domination. Therefore, by the time the Ottoman Empire was entering World War I, there was enough disaffection by the Arab nationalists that British imperialism used to gain a foothold in the region and fight the Empire’s army for its collapse. Thus, the alienation of critical partners and persecution of the minorities led to the destruction of the Ottoman Empire.