The Making Of The Modern Arab World

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

20131210

Egyptian author Tarek Osman uncovers the history of the modern Arab world by tracing some of the great political dreams that have shaped it, from the nineteenth century to the Arab Spring.

Throughout the series, he focuses on two countries that are currently high on the news agenda: Egypt and Syria. As Tarek discovers, these are also the states from which many of the crucial characters and ideas in this story emerged.

In the first episode, Tarek takes us back to Egypt's early nineteenth century encounters with Europe.

He traces the journey of the Islamic scholar al-Tahtawi, who spent several years in Paris in the 1820s. There he was deeply struck by many exotic aspects of French culture, from constitutional governance, through forms of dress and dance, to newspapers. Back in Egypt, he became part of a burgeoning push to modernise his home country.

And Tarek visits what is now a major Cairo hotel, but in 1869 was a vast neoclassical palace, newly built to host the celebrations for the opening of the Suez Canal. Sitting on the garden terrace, he hears of the delights of 'the century's grandest party'.

Through scenes like this, he explores how, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, even as the Ottoman, British and French Empires asserted their power in the Arab world, a cultural renaissance was spreading.

It brought an explosion in literacy, campaigns for women's rights, and a flowering of artistic creativity from novels to cinema.

But the First World War saw Britain and France cut a secret deal to divide parts of the Arab world between them. And the reassertion of colonial power after the war brought major rebellions, such as the 1919 Egyptian Revolution and the 1925-7 Syrian rising against the French.

As Tarek hears, these were in the minds of some of those who, in 2011, took to the streets to protest against their rulers.

And so Tarek traces how, in the years between the world wars, what some historians call the liberal period in the Arab world began to lose credibility.

After all, the lives of the growing Arab middle-class might have been enriched by the Nahda, but many ordinary people remained impoverished. And many still chafed against colonial power.

And so new, harder-edged ideas began to emerge.

In 1928, a young teacher called Hasan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Ismailiya in northern Egypt, to oppose the cultural dominance of the West and reassert Islamic values.

And meanwhile, a much more secular vision of a better future for the Arab world was taking shape too: Arab nationalism.

PRODUCER: Phil Tinline.

Tarek Osman traces the characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world.

Tarek Osman traces characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world

20131217

Tarek Osman explores the rise and fall of Arab nationalism.

Tarek Osman traces characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world

The Rise Of Islamism

20131224

Egyptian author Tarek Osman uncovers the history of the modern Arab world by tracing some of the great political dreams that have shaped it, from the nineteenth century to the Arab Spring.

In the third programme, he explores the many forces which converged and led to the unexpected rise of Islamism or political Islam from the 1970s onwards, a force which came to fill the vacuum left by Arab Nationalism.

Tarek examines the reasons for the re-emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and across the region, and the gradual cultural shift that changed the landscape of the Arab world .

Tarek Osman examines the rise of Islamism from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Tarek Osman traces characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world

20131231

Egyptian author Tarek Osman uncovers the history of the modern Arab world by tracing some of the great political dreams that have shaped it, from the nineteenth century to the Arab Spring.

In this final programme, he examines the build up to the Arab Spring as two worlds collide. As the previous experiments with liberalism, nationalism and islamism founder the region's presidential hard men seek to consolidate their power by passing it onto their sons. At the same time, riding the wave of a population explosion which leaves two thirds of the Arab world under 25 years old, a new generation frustrated by the lack of jobs or political freedoms rises up to challenge the old order.

Producer: Neil McCarthy, Shoku Amirani.

Tarek Osman examines the build up to the Arab Spring, as two worlds collide.

Tarek Osman traces characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Comments
01		20131210	Egyptian author Tarek Osman uncovers the history of the modern Arab world by tracing some of the great political dreams that have shaped it, from the nineteenth century to the Arab Spring. Throughout the series, he focuses on two countries that are currently high on the news agenda: Egypt and Syria. As Tarek discovers, these are also the states from which many of the crucial characters and ideas in this story emerged. In the first episode, Tarek takes us back to Egypt's early nineteenth century encounters with Europe. He traces the journey of the Islamic scholar al-Tahtawi, who spent several years in Paris in the 1820s. There he was deeply struck by many exotic aspects of French culture, from constitutional governance, through forms of dress and dance, to newspapers. Back in Egypt, he became part of a burgeoning push to modernise his home country. And Tarek visits what is now a major Cairo hotel, but in 1869 was a vast neoclassical palace, newly built to host the celebrations for the opening of the Suez Canal. Sitting on the garden terrace, he hears of the delights of 'the century's grandest party'. Through scenes like this, he explores how, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, even as the Ottoman, British and French Empires asserted their power in the Arab world, a cultural renaissance was spreading. It brought an explosion in literacy, campaigns for women's rights, and a flowering of artistic creativity from novels to cinema. But the First World War saw Britain and France cut a secret deal to divide parts of the Arab world between them. And the reassertion of colonial power after the war brought major rebellions, such as the 1919 Egyptian Revolution and the 1925-7 Syrian rising against the French. As Tarek hears, these were in the minds of some of those who, in 2011, took to the streets to protest against their rulers. And so Tarek traces how, in the years between the world wars, what some historians call the liberal period in the Arab world began to lose credibility. After all, the lives of the growing Arab middle-class might have been enriched by the Nahda, but many ordinary people remained impoverished. And many still chafed against colonial power. And so new, harder-edged ideas began to emerge. In 1928, a young teacher called Hasan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Ismailiya in northern Egypt, to oppose the cultural dominance of the West and reassert Islamic values. And meanwhile, a much more secular vision of a better future for the Arab world was taking shape too: Arab nationalism. PRODUCER: Phil Tinline. Tarek Osman traces the characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world. Tarek Osman traces characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world
02		20131217	Tarek Osman explores the rise and fall of Arab nationalism. Tarek Osman traces characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world
03	The Rise Of Islamism	20131224	Egyptian author Tarek Osman uncovers the history of the modern Arab world by tracing some of the great political dreams that have shaped it, from the nineteenth century to the Arab Spring. Throughout the series, he focuses on two countries that are currently high on the news agenda: Egypt and Syria. As Tarek discovers, these are also the states from which many of the crucial characters and ideas in this story emerged. In the third programme, he explores the many forces which converged and led to the unexpected rise of Islamism or political Islam from the 1970s onwards, a force which came to fill the vacuum left by Arab Nationalism. Tarek examines the reasons for the re-emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and across the region, and the gradual cultural shift that changed the landscape of the Arab world . Tarek Osman examines the rise of Islamism from the 1970s to the 1990s. Tarek Osman traces characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world
04		20131231	Egyptian author Tarek Osman uncovers the history of the modern Arab world by tracing some of the great political dreams that have shaped it, from the nineteenth century to the Arab Spring. Throughout the series, he focuses on two countries that are currently high on the news agenda: Egypt and Syria. As Tarek discovers, these are also the states from which many of the crucial characters and ideas in this story emerged. In this final programme, he examines the build up to the Arab Spring as two worlds collide. As the previous experiments with liberalism, nationalism and islamism founder the region's presidential hard men seek to consolidate their power by passing it onto their sons. At the same time, riding the wave of a population explosion which leaves two thirds of the Arab world under 25 years old, a new generation frustrated by the lack of jobs or political freedoms rises up to challenge the old order. Producer: Neil McCarthy, Shoku Amirani. Tarek Osman examines the build up to the Arab Spring, as two worlds collide. Tarek Osman traces characters and ideas that have shaped the modern Arab world