The Roots of Arab Bitterness 181

Conclusion
The Arabs had been roused from centuries of political lethargy, first by
American missionaries, then by the Young Turks, and finally by the blandish-
ments of Britain and France during World War I. They recalled their ancient
greatness and longed to recover it. From the West they learned about rights
and freedoms, democratic governments, and national self-determination. Led
by descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, a few Arabs had dared to rebel
against the greatest Muslim state left in the world, the Ottoman Empire. In its
place they hoped to form a state that would have the same sovereign rights as
all other independent countries. They helped the British and French defeat the
Ottomans in World War I, but later the Allies failed to keep their pledges to
the Arabs. In the Fertile Crescent, where Arabs were clearly the majority,
where they hoped to form independent states, where someday the Arab nation
might revive its former glory, the Allies set up disguised colonies called
mandates. Instead of being united, the Arabs felt themselves being pulled
farther apart. One mandate, Palestine, was declared the Jewish national home,
leaving in doubt the future of its Arab inhabitants. These were the roots of
Arab bitterness, put down almost a century ago. In later chapters, we shall see
how this Arab anger bore bitter fruit.