1. Nasib al-Bakri was a Syrian politician and nationalist leader in the first half of the 20th century.
20 Facts About Nasib al-Bakri
1. 2.
Nasib al-Bakri played a major role in establishing al-Fatat, an underground organization which sought the independence and unity of the Ottoman Empire's Arab territories.
3.
Nasib al-Bakri escaped a death warrant in Syria in 1927, but returned the following year after being amnestied.
4.
Nasib al-Bakri was one of the main coordinators of the 1936 general strike and became Vice President of the National Bloc.
5.
Nasib al-Bakri defected to join Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar's party in 1938.
6.
The Nasib al-Bakri family were Sunni Muslims and claimed descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
7.
Consequently, the Nasib al-Bakri family realigned itself with Arab nationalists in Syria who opposed the increased Turkish nationalist efforts in the Arabic-speaking territories of the empire.
8.
Nasib al-Bakri attended Maktab Anbar, a preparatory school in Damascus that attracted the children of the elite and produced several future Arab nationalists.
9.
In 1912, Nasib al-Bakri graduated from the al-Sultaniya School of Beirut.
10.
In 1915, Nasib al-Bakri hosted Faisal at his Ghouta country house and invited him join al-Fatat, which he reportedly agreed to.
11.
The meeting was the first of its kind between the Hashemites and the Druze, and afterward Faisal appointed Nasib al-Bakri to be his personal secretary and his envoy to the Druze, a post he would serve until 1920.
12.
The next year Nasib al-Bakri co-founded the first legal political party in Faisal's Syria, the pan-Arabist al-Istiqlal which sought to unify all the former Ottoman-held Arab territories under the leadership of the Hashemites.
13.
Nasib al-Bakri participated in attacks alongside Druze warriors against French positions and offices in the Hauran, and of all the rebel commanders from Damascus, al-Bakri was the most respected among the Druze.
14.
Nasib al-Bakri became the target of criticism among other rebel leaders, namely Said al-'As.
15.
Al-'As stated that Nasib al-Bakri sought personal glory when he decided to prematurely launch a mostly uncoordinated attack with small numbers of armed volunteers, instead of waiting for the arrival of al-Atrash's reinforcements, who numbered around 1,000.
16.
Nasib al-Bakri was a part of the 1928 Constitutional Assembly, helping draft a constitution for the Syrian Republic.
17.
One protester was killed and the following day, Nasib al-Bakri led the funeral procession, which was attended by thousands of mourners.
18.
Nasib al-Bakri went on to win the election for his seat in 1936,1943 and 1947.
19.
President al-Atassi assigned him ambassador to Jordan, ruled by the Hashemites, after Nasib al-Bakri refused the ambassadorial post to Saudi Arabia, a government that he opposed ideologically.
20.
Nasib al-Bakri was unsuccessful in establishing a significant support base in Damascus and resigned from political life in April 1957.