Jordanian nationalism
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Jordanian nationalism is a nationalistic ideology that considers the Jordanian people a separate nation and strives to maintain Jordan as an independent nation-state. It emerged as one of three nationalist currents in the 1920s, and was opposed to both Palestinian nationalism present in the region, as well as the Hashemite Arab nationalism promoted by Abdullah I, the first ruler of the Emirate of Transjordan.[1]
Jordan was established in 1921 as a British protectorate to satisfy the wartime promise made to its Hashemite allies against the Ottomans. The Hashemite royal family faced challenge to their rule from local tribes, as they pursued "Hashemite Arab nationalism" as the guiding principle of their emirate. Hashemite Arabism was dedicated to establishing Greater Syria under Hashemite rule, with Transjordan being considered the first step towards greater unification rather than a separate nation on its own.[1]
Before 1921, people of Transjordan defined themselves not through a national identity but regional ones, based on their religion, village or regionalism - therefore localism prevailed. Jordanian nationalism emerged in opposition to the "foreign other", which were defined as both the British and the Hashemite dynasty. While the Jordanian identity was still nascent at that time, it was explicitly based on anti-Hashemitism.[1] Irene Maffi identified the Jordanian national movement as a major obstacle to Hashemite Pan-Arabism, together with the strong Palestinian identity that already started forming during the colonial period. Jordanian nationalism started developing further in the 1920s and fought for the interests of the indigenous population, opposing Hashemite policies and rejecting their rule as foreign.[2]
The main distinguishing trait of Jordanian nationalism was that it did not seek the unification of Transjordan into other Arab states; it also regarded Transjordan and Palestine as two separate peoples and nations, as opposed to the Hashemite attempts to integrate Palestine. The first expression of the Transjordanian national identity was the Adwan Rebellion of 1923, where the Adwan tribe rebelled against the Hashemite dynasty with the slogan “Transjordan for Transjordanians”. Because of its opposition to both a pan-Arab state and a Jordanian–Palestinian union, Jordanian national movement is also known as "East Bank exclusivism".[3]