Jacques Berque: The Pen and the Sword

Author(s): Jacques Berque and Suha Sabbagh

Source: Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Winter, 1986), pp. 109-118
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies
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INTERVIEW

JacquesBerque: The Pen and

the Sword
BorninAlgeriain 1910,JacquesBerqueis amongthemosteminent scholarsof
theArabworld.Professorat theCollegede France,he has written
a scoreof
works-notablyThe Arabs,FrenchNorthAfrica,and Egypt:Imperialism
and Revolution.Professor
BerquewasinterviewedfortheJournal byDr. Suha
SabbaghoftheInstitute Studieson 23 April1985 in Washington,
forPalestine
D.C.

Sabbagh:In yourbook,The Arabs,youdescribe theArab-Israeli as a

conflict
problem betweenthetwodescendants of Shemlwho havefollowed opposite
approachesto theWest.In thisrespect is closeto thatof other
yourposition
Orientalists,
particularly
Massignon,2 who perceivedtheproblemin purely
Semiticterms,as a conflict
betweencousins,thedescendants of Isaac and
Ishmael.'At othertimes,youhavedealtwiththeproblem within a national
liberation
movement framework.In light
ofthesetwopositions,whatis thebasic
theoretical
construct
throughwhichyouviewtheArab-Israeli conflict?

Berque:By pointingout the difference betweenmypositionand thatof

Massignonyouhave highlighted boththe divergence of opinionbetween
twogenerations ofOrientalistsand thechangeswhichI soughtto introduce
intothisdiscipline.Massignonwas especiallyconcernedwithproblemsof
a religiousand mystical,not strictly
an historical,nature.Since myfirst
book,TheArabs,whichappearedin 1960, I have triedto understand and
to showthattheArabs,and thiswas myexpression, "have been evolving
fromthesacredto thehistorical;"thatis, theyweremovingfroma world
dominatedby metaphysical problems,as Massignonsaw it, to a world

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110 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES

dominated byhistoricalproblems. Thishascompletely altered thepercep-

tionsonemayhavehadoftheArabworldanditsdestiny. Forbyplacing
theArabsin a worldsubjecttohistory, I situatedthemin thesameworld
as thatoftheWesterners, therealmofmodernity. Thatis notto saythat
modemity doesnothavea metaphysical aspect;butthatis another issue.
TheArab-Israeli conflictwhich,at thetime,hadstillnottakenon the
proportions ithassince1967,ispartofthedecolonization process-hence
itsruthless character.Let us lookat it thisway:whilethethreegreat
empires thathaveaffected Islamiccountries fromMoroccoto Indonesia-
France,GreatBritain, andtheNetherlands-were grantingindependence
to theirformer coloniesandprotectorates, oneArabcountry (Palestine),
unliketheothers, witnessed theestablishment ofa newcolony.Anditwas
a colonialism farworsethantheothers. Whydo I usetheterm"worse"? It
isnoton sentimental impulse. It isbecausethetraditionalimperial powers
brought something withthemtothepeoplestheycolonized. At leastthey
brought internationallanguages withthem-they broughtEnglish, French.
WhatdoesZionism bring?Hebrew? AretheArabsgoingto giveup their
language tousea language whichismorelimited inexpression andinscope
thantheirs?
Moreover, Zionistcolonialism in Palestine
movesagainstthetideof
history-hence itsharshness, itstragic character,thepassions it inspires,
and hence the dramawe Europeans have experienced as concemed
witnesses to Palestinian suffering. This is whyI have qualified Zionist
ascendancy in Palestineas an absolute colonialism,thatis, a colonialism
without parallelandwithout compensation.

Sabbagh: Yourwritings oftheArabworld

onthedirection inthetwentieth
century
implytheexistence
ofa time
lagbetweentheEuropeanandArabexperiences;
that
is,theArabworld a process
isundergoing ofnational which
development Europe
experiencedintheRomantic
Age.4Where doesthePalestinian movement
national
fitintoyour Inother
analysis? words,doyoufindthePalestinian tobeof
struggle
thekindthatcharacterized
theRomantic Ageordo youplaceit amongother
nationalliberation
movements?

Berque:I findin Arabhistory

thesamestagesthrough whichEuropehas
passed.I consider'Abd al-Qadiral-Jaza'iri,5
the heroof the Algerian
struggle
againsttheFrench,botha nationalist
anda Romantic hero.The
Palestinianstruggle,
however,is a resistance
movement and thereforea
different
phenomenon. Before
thelarge-scale
Jewish settlementin Pales-
tine,therehad beennationalists movements
and nationalist in Greater

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 BERQUE 111

Syria,which,ofcourse,included Palestine.
However, thesemovements
wereofan earlierkindwithlittlein common withthelaterresponseto
Zionistaggression.
The Palestinianmovement is comparable
to resistance
movements whichhave emerged in similarconfrontations
withaggres-
sion-theFrenchresistanceduring WorldWarII, or theAlgerian resist-
anceduring thestruggle
forliberation,forexample.Thesearehistorical
whichdiffer
types from thoseofthefirstphaseyoumentioned.

DoesArafat
Sabbagh: thequalities
possess ofa Romantic
hero?

Berque:No, sincehe is ofthesecondstage.I wouldcompare himtothose

oftheFrench resistance.InAlgeria
andMoroccoI havemetwithresistance
leaderssimilar
toAbu'Ammar, whomI hadthepleasure ofmeeting about
fiveyearsago in Baghdadduring evening.I remember
an unforgettable
wewerehaving
quiteclearly dinner.
On thetablewasoneofthosesplendid
fishfrom theTigris.As Arafatmovedtoward thetable,he toldme,"Lan
nurayyihwa lannastariyyih"(wewillnotbe still,norwillwe allowthem
AndI thinkthatis whathe hasdone.
tranquillity).

Yourecently
Sabbagh: remarked
thatresistance
movementshavetwoinseparable
thegunandthepen.Insodoing,
elements, youraised
thequestion
oftheroleof
theintellectual
and theroleof interpretation
in thePalestinian
resistance
movement.Whatdifferences
doyouseebetween thePalestinian
intellectual
and
hisAlgerian
counterpart?

Berque:You have touchedupona theoretical studywhichI havebeen

conducting forsometimeand whichis closelyrelatedto Gramsci's6
I firmly
theories. believeintheroleoftheintellectual
andI haveillustrated
thisin TheHistory oftheArabsespecially
withregardto thehistoryofthe
liberationmovements withwhichI ammostfamiliar. I remember a time
whenthe nationalist movement in Moroccoconsisted of sometwenty
intellectuals.
Ofcourse,thesetwentyexpressedtheaspirationsofmillions
ofMoroccans. Butat thattime,themillions weresilent,intimidated,
or
simplydidnotknowwhattosay.Thesepeople,whoat thetimewereled
by 'Allal al-Fasi,7
wereintellectuals
in the realsenseof the word.In
Algeria,therewerepeoplelikeFarhat'Abbas,8whoinitiated themarch
toward independence. TherewerealsomenlikeShaykhBen Badis9and
ShaykhIbrahimi.10 However,in discussing one mustalso
intellectuals,
speakofcontrasts, fortospeakofideologies
meanstospeakofconflicting
ideologies.There are purelynationalist secularideologies,
ideologies,

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112 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES

Islamicreformistand fundamentalist ideologies, socialism,and commu-

nism.Theseideologies havealwaysexisted,to varying degreesblurred,
alignedand concurrent.Occasionally, one has dominated theothersor
theyhavejoinedforcestoform a common front,as theAlgerians didwhen
theymetinTripolito unify thevarious factions.
ForArabsinparticular,theroleoftheintellectual ishighlyesteemed,
especially
thepoet.Howcanoneforget theroleofthepoet,insofaras the
poetexpressesthecollective
future? The Palestinians areno exception to
whatI haveillustrated
throughout theArabworld, from theshoresofthe
AtlantictoIraq.Can oneforget theEgyptian poetSamial-Barudill at the
timeofthe'Urabi12 oral-Zahawi13
revolt, inIraqatthestart ofanti-British
nationalism?
In eachofthesecountries, onecannamesuchfigures. Among
theTunisians,therewasal-Shabbi,14 a poetin thetradition oftheApollo
group15inEgypt.He wrotea superb hymn tolifewhichwason thelipsof
an entiregeneration
ofTunisians, evenbefore theTunisians knewthey
wererevolutionaries.
And in France,whatwouldtheFrenchResistance
have been withoutAragon16
or Malraux?17

Do youperceive
Sabbagh: a difference
intheroleofthePalestinian
intellectual
ofthediaspora?
because

Berque:Hereyoutouchupona sociological issue,thephenomenon of

emigration andtheproblems itcreates.
Thereis no question thatemigra-
tionhas a divisiverole.I haveknownrichPalestinians in certainGulf
countrieswho have assumedimportant positionsand thereis nothing
revolutionary aboutthem.Clearly,to be thrown outofone'scountry is
It isunnatural
disastrous. toliveoutsideone'shomeland exceptforlimited
periodsorwhenit is voluntary. Bydefinition,thewordrefugee indicates
personswhoseflight isinvoluntary.However, I thinktheconsequences for
Palestinianswillbe limited becauseevenbefore theZionistoccupation,
Palestineknewcultural pluralism.Therewereevenelements ofRussian
influence
cultural in Palestine.The Palestinians,
withmoreopportunities
thanotherArabs,havebeenableto confront diverseworld
successfully
cultures.
Ingeneral, Arabsappreciate andhavedealtwithitrather
diversity
well,whileremaining loyaltotheir
heritage.Atthispoint,however, larger
problems oftheliterary, andmoralheritage
aesthetic, (turath)arise.The
Arabs,likeotherpeoplein the world,are beingseparated fromtheir
Theymustremedy
origins. thesituationbyfinding a junctionbetween
invadingmodernity andtheirculturalandspiritual identity.

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 BERQUE 113

Sabbagh:In hiswork,The WretchedoftheEarth,FrantzFanon18presents a

three-phasedtheory whichhas received
of decolonization, littleattention
as it
appliesto theArabworld.Fanonarguedthatduring thefirstphase,theArabs
absorbed Westernculture,includingtheEuropeanperception of theArabsas
Thesecondstage,which
inferior. isa rejection
ofthefirst
intheform ofa cultural
returntothepast,producesArabnationalism andIslamicfundamentalism. The
third
phaseproduces truenational which
consciousness, inturnsparks theprocess
In light
ofdecolonization. ofthepolitical
currentsprevailingtodayin theArab
world,howdo youviewtheapplicability ofFanon'stheory?

Berque:This is an excellentquestionwhich permitsme to honor the

memory ofFanon.
I oftenthinkofhimwithregard to LebanonbecauseFanonalsosaidthat
theoppressed, ratherthantakingrevengeon theoppressor, oftenbecome
embroiledin internecine This is whathappenedin Lebanon.When
strife.
we see Maronitesand Sunnis,or Sunnisand Shi'a, or Druzeand others,in
the processoffighting one another,insteadofconstructing a unitedfront
againsttheenemy,it is a confirmation ofFanon'sthesis.It also meansthat,
at leastin thiscase, Arab consciousness has not developedveryfaralong
the roadto trueliberation.
I have, however,been criticalofFanonbecausehis ideasweremorbid
and masochistic.He was a psychiatrist and had a tendencyto use
psychoanalytical analysis and treatthe naturalphenomenonof national
revoltorresistance as ifitwerepathological.In fact,itwasfarsimplerthan
that. Colonialismarrivesbringingwith it overwhelming technological
superiority. It encountersno greatresistance.The attractionof superior
technology works,andtheaffected populations knowinstinctively thatthey
mustmasterit. This is the timeoftheromantic hero,not ofnationalism.
Timepasses,groupsoftheyoungform,study,andbeginto realizethatthey
are capable of handlingthe same tools as the Westerner,or even of
manufacturing theirowntools.In anycase, theyouthrealizethattheycan
modernize withoutpayingthepriceofa mutilated individualorsociety.At
thispoint,theyouthbecomeinvolvedin a movement ofsubstitution
which
eventually replacesthecolonizer.Nothingis morenatural.The colonizers
shouldhave knownfromthebeginning thatthiswouldhappen,insteadof
fighting theprocessat each step.
Once freedfromthemassivepresenceofthecolonialpower,problems
arise-realproblems to whichthenationalstruggle is onlya prelude.What
is independence? In short,-independence is therightto have problems.It
is likea nineteen-year-old leavinghome.Beingindependent fromhisfather

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 OF PALESTINESTUDIES
114 JOURNAL

meansthathe consents in life:he is obligedto earna

to havedifficulties
living,to choosea direction forhislife,andto establish a family.
Several
solutionsarepossible, andtheArabworld hassought theminalldirections
andforms. Western bourgeoisliberalismhasoftenrevealedthatit is but
anotherface of colonialism. Socialismhas oftenshownitselfto be
tyrannical bureaucracy. I knewandwasa greatadmirer ofGamal'Abd
al-Nasir.In general, however,onecansaythattheArabmasses havebeen
deceived byWestern ideasinpractice.Wheredo theyturntoday? Whatis
themostprofound thingtheyfindin themselves? Religion.In thecaseof
Muslims,it is Islam.We are currently witnessingthe forceof Islamic
fundamentalism in powerin Iran.It has appeared in all Arabcountries,
from theGulftoMorocco, although ithasnottakenpower.Is thisIslamic
fundamentalism capableof solvingthe problems? In myopinion,no,
becauseitsanalysis ispoor:itattemptstoutilizehistoricalarguments andto
reintroduce intotheworldofhistory
itself without subscribingtohistorical
method. Thisis an irresolvable
contradiction.Forexample, whatisshari'a
(Islamiclaw)?The wordis citedoncein theQur'anandwitha different
meaning. Thosewhocall fortheshari'aaredominated bytheWestern
modeloflegislation andcodificationandwishtoestablish a Muslim model
without a genuine understanding ofthehistoricprinciples andtruedogmas
of Islam.Why?Becausethe 'ulama'19 havenotkeptabreastof general
changesandhavenotresponded to theneedsofIslamicsociety. Theyare
incapable ofsolving theirownproblems. Butthisimportant subject
requires
a morelengthy discussion.

Yourecently
Sabbagh: that
stated countries
European accept
argumentslegitimiz-
ingIsraeliclaimsin theArab-Israeli becausethesearguments
conflict enable
Europeansto clear
theirconscience
regarding
Naziatrocities
committedagainstthe
Jews.In suchcircumstances, howcan Palestinians
presenttheir
case to the
Europeancommunity?

Berque:Therearetwopartstothisquestion. Firstofall,thereisa question

offacts.WhydoesZionist activityproceedunchecked? One explanation is
thatZionismrepresentsa bridgehead forcertainWestern interestsand,as
someWesterners stillbelieve,whether rightlyor wrongly, withinthe
contextofSovietrivalry, in a wayinwhichtheArabs
Israelis dependable
arenot.Butthisisa superficial
explanation,anditisnotsufficient because
eventhedullest
ofWesterners mustrealize thehighcostsinvolved forboth
theirforeign
policyandtheirstrategic positions.Forexample, lookat the
disasters
suffered
by American policy in Lebanon and Palestineduringthe

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 BERQUE 115

lasttwoyears.U.S. presencehasbecomenonexistent. Westernretreat from

thispartoftheworldis due to thesupportgivenIsrael.It seemsthatsuch
supportforIsraelwill eventuallyembroilthe West in conflictwiththe
activemassesin theentireThirdWorld,notonlytheArabs.In thisregard
thereshouldbe no illusions.
Therefore, theremustbe anotherexplanation.The explanationwhich
I ampleasedto present withinyour Journal,sinceI assumeresponsibility for
it, is whatone can imagineafterreadingthereactionsin The Washington
Postto Reagan'stripto Germany.20The guiltexperienced bytheWestover
Nazi massacresis suchthatZionistsare able to act as theyplease.No one
dares to oppose them. And, if you oppose a Zionist annexation,a
settlement, or a massacre,it is becauseyouareanti-Semitic and on Hitler's
sideoryouhave forgotten theatrocities oftheSecondWorldWar. This is
an unbearablepredicament fora Westerner. It is uponthisthattheIsraelis
base theirpolicies,thisWesternguiltcomplex.
This is trueespeciallyin Americawherethe Zionistsbelievetheyare
freeto do whattheylike.At everyturntheysay,"We, thesurvivors ofthe
Holocaust,arebeingprevented fromfinding a land;we,whono longerhave
a land,whohave beenforcedoutofRussiaorGermany have a moralright
to settlein the land ofourancestors, the land ofAbraham,"and so on. I
don't know if the Arabs are awareof the powerof thisEuropeanguilt
complex.Europeansare Christians,and Christianshave a sense of sin.
Islamdoes not have the conceptoforiginalsin, at leastnot by the same
name.FortheWesterner, Hitler'smassacres havebecometheneworiginal
sin. It is in the nameofthisnew originalsin thatZionistsoperate.

WhatcantheArabsdo?
Sabbagh:

Berque:First,theycan plead rationality and showEuropeansthe fallacies

uponwhichtheZionistpositionis constructed. It is notbecausetheNazis
massacredsix millionJewsthat the Arabs should be expelled from
Palestine.Shouldone takevengeanceon the Arabsforthe crimesof the
Nazis?
Second, Arabsneed to enlightenpublicopinionthroughrationality.
They mustavoid strengthening theiradversaries'
arguments throughirra-
tionalactions.I am thinking hereofstatesand governments in the Arab
regionthatoftendo notprojecta positiveimage.Forexample,theIsraelis
withdrew fromSidon and thefollowing weekthereweremassacresamong
the Lebanese.I knowtheyare beingprovokedbuttheremustbe internal
causesas well. It is too easyto saythattheforeigner for
is solelyresponsible

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116 JOURNALOF PALESTINE STUDIES

thesethings. Theforeigner cannotdo allthisonhisown.He canprovoke

butnoteffect. Thosewhoeffect aretheindigenouspeople.In thepast,the
mottoofLebanonwas"Novictor, no vanquished."Nowthemottois "All
against all."As longas thesituation
remains
as is,itprovides
arguments to
thePalestinians' enemies,whosay,"Lookwhattheydo whentheyareleft
alone."

Do youagree
Sabbagh: that
theEuropean hasa responsibility
community towards
thePalestinians?

Berque:Yes,ithasmanyresponsibilities. We havejustseenwhy.Ifitdid
not support Zionismfinancially, militarily,or through toleranceof its
actions,theproblem wouldnotexist.Nor without American financing
wouldtheproblem exist.TheEuropean community alsohasa responsibility
toinform itsoverwhelmingly uninformed population.Whatdo theFrench
knowaboutthe Palestinians? Nothing.They knowaboutthe Arab
immigrants fromNorthAfrica,who are completely Unfortu-
different.
nately,
thememories oftheAlgerian Warstilllingerwitha certainrancor,
although thisisslowly andrelations
dissipating between FranceandAlgeria
arenowamicable.
The Frenchintellectual, therefore, mustkeep his fellowcitizens
informed inorderto explainthatthePalestinians arenotNorthAfricans;
thatthereare as manyproblems in theArabworldas thereare Arab
nations;and thattheyareinterested in therolethattheircountry, and
Europeingeneral, shouldplayin theMiddleEast.Sucha roleneedstobe
developed notonlyinproportion tomaterial butalsoinproportion
interests
tothefriendships a country hasandtothegreat culturalaffinities
thatexist.
Europeis wellsuitedto playa rolebecauseit can no longerentertain
imperialistambitions as it didwhenFrance,Europe,andGermany were
hegemonic powers. Today,thereareonlytwomajorstates,andtheyare
fearedbyall. Therefore, Europecan playtheroleofan intermediary or
mediator.
I willventure evenfurther andpresent oneoftheideastowhichI have
dedicatedmyactivities inthelastyears ofmylife.I believeintheexistence
of a Mediterranean region-onecan evencall it Islamic-Mediterranean
sincewhatis not Mediterranean is Islamic-whichincludesthe Latin
peoplestothenorth, theArabpeoplesto thesouth,andtheTurksto the
east.Thisgrouping ofpeoplerepresents a formidablepower.Ifthiszone
wereunited,it wouldassumeworldimportance almostequalto thatof
WestemEurope.Franceis well-placed to take the initiativein this

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 BERQUE 117

unificationsinceit is Western European on theonehandandMediterra-

nean on theother.Moreover, thereare presently2.5 millionMuslims
livingpermanently inFrance.I amcurrently involvedwiththeMinistry of
NationalEducationin a projectto developan appropriate educational
policyfortheone millionimmigrant childrenin ourschools.Approxi-
mately halfofthemareSpanishandPortuguese, andhalfAlgerians and
Moroccans. Sucha policyis viableonlyifit servesas thespearhead ofa
largerIslamic-Mediterranean policythatwouldplaceuswithin theframe-
workof social,cultural, and economicconsolidation, whilewaiting for
politicalconsolidationat a laterdate.
Examinethe advantages of thisidea. Therewouldno longerbe a
situation whereby Franceand Algeriadiscussthepast-goodor bad. It
wouldmeanthatSpain,France,Italy,Yugoslavia, and Greecewould
transcend thepettyquarrels ofyesterday.No longerwouldtherebe such
episodesas existtodayamongorbetween thecountriesofNorthAfrica.In
short,what is is
necessaryunity the
among people who at an earlier
point
inhistory wereunified.Whatisnecessary istherebuildingofwhatI call"les
nouvellesAndalousies"-new Andalusias.

1. In theOld Testament, Shemwasone ofthe resistanceto the Frenchcolonialconquest

threesonsofNoah and isrepresented as the
ancestorof the Semites(Gen. 10:21).
2. Louis Massignonwas a FrenchOrientalist
who was mostfamousforhis massivework
La Passionde Hallaj about the Sufisaint
Hasan b. Mansural-Hallaj.
3. In the Bible and the Qur'an, Isaac and
Ishmael(Ishaq and Isma'ilin Arabic)were
the sons of Abraham.Accordingto tradi-
tion,Isaac is the ancestorof theJewsand
Ishmaelof theArabs.
4. The RomanticAge was a sweepingrevolt
againstscience,authorityandtraditionthat
convulsedWesterncivilizationover a pe-
riodthatcan be roughly datedfromthelate
eighteenth to the mid-nineteenthcentury.
5. 'Abd al-Qadiral-Jaza'iriled the Algerian
in 1830. French"pacification" efforts
lasted
forseventeenyearsuntilthe surrender of
'Abd al-Qadirin 1847.
6. AntonioGramsciwas a foundingmember
of the ItalianCommunistParty,of which
he becamehead in 1924. His Marxistpo-
liticalphilosophyis containedin hisfamous
PrisonLetters.
7. 'Allal al-Fasiwasa leadingpoliticalforcein
the Moroccanindependencemovementas
a member oftheIstiqlalParty.He preached
a vision of a "GreaterMorocco," which
included the Western Sahara and
Mauritania.
8. Farhat'Abbaswas a leaderof theAlgerian
independencemovementand presidentof
the provisional Algerian governments

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118 JOURNAL
OF PALESTINESTUDIES
formedin 1958 and 1960 in Tunisia.
9. Algerianreligiousand nationalistleader
'Abd al-HamidBen Badiswaseditorofthe
nationalistjournalal-Muntaqid from1922
to 1924. In 1931 he foundedthe Algerian
Associationof 'Ulama'.
10. Shaykh Bashir Ibrahimiwas a leader of
Algerianreformist 'ulama'.
11. Sami al-Barudiwas an Egyptianstatesman
and poet. His reading,personalresearch,
and his contactwithmenand poetsofthe
periodmade him, despitehis military du-
ties-he servedas Egyptian ministerofwar
from1881 to 1882-one of the leadersof
the literaryrenaissancein Egypt.
12. 'Urabirevoltwas an Egyptian social-politi-
cal movement whichexpressed thediscon-
tentof the educatedclasses,armyofficers,
and peasantrywithforeign(British)con-
trol. It takes its name fromits leader,
Ahmad'UrabiPasha al-Misri.
13. Iraqi poet al-Zahawi(1863-1936) was an
outspokensocialcritic.He has been called
the"FatherofmodemIraqipoetry" andwas
a memberofthe House ofSenatorsin Iraq
from1925 to 1929.
14. The Tunisianpoet al-Shabbi(1909-1934)
was a greatnationalistand visionary.His
poetry,written in a romantic vein,embod-
ies a deep senseofspiritualism and life.
15. The Apollo group,or society,was formed
in 1932 to promoteArabic poetryand
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poets. Apollo was the firstmagazinein
Arabicdevotedto poetryand itscriticism.
16. Louis Aragon (1897-1982) was a poet,
novelist,activist,and spokesmanforcom-
munism.From1953 to 1972 he was editor
oftheCommunist weeklyofartsand liter-
atureLes LettresFrancaises.
17. AndreMalraux(1901-1976) fought against
fascismin the Spanish Civil War and
againsttheNazisin WorldWar II. In 1945
he became an active supporterof de
Gaulle, and afterde Gaulle's election as
presidentin 1958, Malrauxservedforten
yearsas France'sminister ofculturalaffairs.
18. FrantzFanonwasa psychoanalyst andsocial
philosopherbest known for his writings
about national liberation movements
amongcolonizedpeoples. He joined the
Algeriannationalliberationmovementin
1954. His most famous work is The
Wretched oftheEarth.
19. The word'ulama'refers to men learnedin
Islamiclaw, tradition,and scripturewho
serveas the religiousauthorities
in Islam.
20. In May 1985, PresidentReagan visiteda
militarycemeteryin Bitburg,West Ger-
many.The movewasintendedto engender
reconciliationbetweentheGermanpeople
andtheirformer Alliedenemies,butJewish
groupsin the United States vehemently
protestedthe visitbecauseof the presence
in the cemeteryof thirty-nine gravesof
former SS members.