1

Introduction• Northern Africa and the Middle East were natural objects of desire for Italian fascist leaders, who became heavily involved in

propagandizing Mussolini as “the Sword of Islam” from 1922-1939.

• Certain Arab/Maghrebian elites did praise fascist ideology for its extreme nationalism and emphasis upon modernization, while also

praising the regime for its aid in Arab independence movements.

• Many, however, were highly skeptical of Mussolini’s intentions in the Arab world but especially in Northern Africa, as the Italian military

was committing atrocities in Libya.

• Current academics tend to claim that the suspicion against Italy was due to Pan-Arabism: a spiritually-motivated movement which placed

solidarity towards Islamic brethren at its core. Here, however, I demonstrate that Maghrebian elites’ true motivations were much more

based on nationalism and politics than on religion.

Pictured (right to left): Mussolini in Tripoli, Libya 1937 (http://www.ildiscrimine.com/mysterious-object-image-islam-italy-two-world-wars/), Map of Northern

Africa http://maps.unomaha.edu/Peterson/geog1000/Notes/Notes_Exam2/NA.html

La Spada dell’Islam: Maghrebian Reaction to Fascist Subversion of the Interwar Period

Kaitlyn Rabe, International Studies and Italian

Faculty Advisors: Dana Renga, Department of French and Italian

Richard Gunther, Department of Political Science

Alice Conklin, Department of History

Research Questions• Why was fascist ideology/the Italian regime interference

accepted in certain Arab countries but not in others?

• How much of a tangible influence did Italian

propaganda/subversion have on political events in Tunisia,

Egypt, and Libya?

• What do the diplomatic relations between the Italian fascist

regime and Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya tell us about the

political motives of Arab elites?

Methodology• Extensive qualitative analysis of primary sources written from the

perspective of interwar (1922-1939) Maghrebian leaders to

evaluate their true political motives in the face of the Italian fascist

regime

• Consolidation of isolated political events into one larger diplomatic

network in order to re-interpret Italo-Arab relations from a holistic

standpoint

• Critical comparison of secondary, Western source on the subject

of Italo-Arab relations to scrutinize the former’s subtle Pan-Arab

biases

Interwar Writings

• Mussolini succeeding in Maghreb as “La Spada dell’Islam”

Modern Academia

• Mussolini unsuccessful due to Pan-Arab sentiment in Maghreb

My Research

• Mussolini unsuccessful due to nationalism/anti-colonialism in Maghreb

http://www.ronterpening.com/extras/league_ex-2.htm

http://www.ronterpening.com/extras/league_ex-2.htm

The Historical Context

The Main ActorsTunisia

Egypt

Libya

Italy

Tunisia

Background

• Tunisia was in a nationalist struggle against their

French colonizers

• Italians had been settling Tunisia since mid-1800s,

and fascist Italy desired control over those areas

• This lead to a rivalry between Italy and France over

Tunisia during the interwar period

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy%E2%80

%93Tunisia_relations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_French-era_Tunisia

Tunisian Nationalist Groups

• Neo-Destour was the main anticolonial

group

• Led by Habib Bourghiba, who would later

become President of Tunisia

http://i-cias.com/e.o/bourgiba.htm

Italo-Destourian Relations

• Often benefitted from secret fascist

financial aid

• Publically thanked the regime for its

aid, despite fascist atrocities in

Libya

http://www.scanningwwii.com/cgi-bin/wwii.cgi?page=wwii-day-by-

day&day=0411

EgyptDiplomatic Issues

The Annexation of Albania, 1939

• Was one of the centers of conflict between Great Britain

and Italy

• Annexation of Albania led to worry on part of Egyptians:

was actually political, not religious worry

http://www.albanianhistory.net/texts20_3/AH1947.html

• The Jarabub Oasis, on the Egypto-Libyan border,

posed largest issue in Italo-Egyptian relations

• Egypt was unwilling to give Oasis to Italy to keep

territory for Egypt, not to protect Libyans

• Great Britain, Egypt, and Italy clashed over

possession of Jarabub Oasis

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/25853421

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59711674

Egyptian Student Groups

• Heavily involved in Egyptian politics throughout interwar period

• Praised European fascism for its aggressive nationalism (despite

atrocities in Libya), but also abandoned the regime when it

benefited Egypt

• Group pictured here: “The Green Shirts” (modeled on Mussolini’s

“Black Shirts”)

http://www.theegyptianchronicles.com/History/PRIMEMINISTERS33.html

Libya

http://www.janzour.com/1911%20Italian%20occupation%20to%20Libya.htm

• Site of atrocities committed by General

Rodolfo Graziani

• Despite these atrocities, politicians from

Tunisia and Egypt cooperated with and

praised the Italian fascist regime in order to

achieve their nationalist goals

• Omar al-Mukhtar (pictured left)

fought against Italian military for

religious purposes

• Was “hated” by Libyans because

his religious fervor brought them

“misfortune”http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/131638239

http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/151220

01/1512200105.htm

• Italian military established

concentration camps in Libya (c. 1928-

1931)

• Tunisian and Egyptian elites, however,

were not concerned with confronting

Italy over these brutalities

• c. 1939, Libyans were hesitant to accept a

theocratic government

• Libyan elites subversively supported the

Allies out of nationalism and the desire for

independencehttp://www.ww2incolor.com/britain/PhotoBirtFlagLibya

.html

Conclusions

• Western media generally views the Arab world through a single,

religious-based lens, but here I have used Italo-Arab diplomatic relations

during the interwar period to show how even academia is guilty of

misrepresenting the motives of Arab elites.

• Despite Pan-Arab/religious rhetoric, the main goals of Tunisian,

Egyptian, and Libyan elites during the interwar period were political.

• Nationalism and anti-colonialism were the strongest forces within

Maghrebian politics at the time, not religion. https://irvine-

cct.wikispaces.com/ecoleman?responseToken=ae49c2523456387d87f7ac618f008238

Future Research

Application of Multi-Causal Theory

Cu

rre

nt

Issu

es

Comparative studies on political

strategies that have been applied in the Arab world

Historical Theory

Critique of Western-oriented

diplomatic histories to place equal importance

on Arab perspectives

Cu

rrent

Issu

es

Evaluation, prediction, and improvement of effectiveness of

Western interference in Arab countries

Historical Theory

Re-interpretation of paradigm in

which the “East” works against the West, with religion at the core of the

conflict

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34485865

http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/15122001/15

12200105.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8838894/Colonel-Muammar-

Gaddafi-obituary.html

http://desorient.com/2012/05/18/edward-saids-

orientalism-2/

References

Baldinetti, Anna (2011). Fascist Propaganda in the Maghrib. Geschichte und Gesellschaft, 37(3),

408-436.

Bessis, J. (1980). La Méditerranée Fasciste: L’Italie Mussolinienne et la Tunisie. Paris:

Publications de la Sorbonne.

Bourguiba, H. (1954). La Tunisie et la France: Vingt-Cinq Ans de Lutte pour une Coopération

Libre. Tunis: Maison Tunisienne de l’Edition.

Fortunato Crider, E. (1978). Italo-Egyptian Relations in the Interwar Period, 1922-1942

(Doctoral Dissertation). The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Jankowski, J. (1975). Egypt’s Young Rebels: “Young Egypt,” 1933-1952. Stanford, CA: Hoover

Institution Press.

Kraiem, M. (1987). Le Fascisme et les Italien de Tunisie (1918-1939). Tunis : Centre d’Etudes et

de Recherches Economiques et Sociales.

Metz, Helen Chapin (1988). Libya: A Country Study. Washington, DC: The United States

Government.

Santarelli et al (1986). Omar al-Mukhtar—The Italian Reconquest of Libya. London: Darf

Publishers Ltd.

Walston, James. (1997). History and Memory of the Italian Concentration Camps. The Historical

Journal 40(1), 169-183.

Williams, Manuel A. Mussolini’s Propaganda Abroad: Subversion in the Mediterranean and the

Middle East, 1935-1940. Routledge, 2006.

The Jarabub Oasis, 1922