The Construction of a Modern National Consciousness, as the title suggests, is based on the question of Palestinian identity, which has long been misunderstood and misrepresented. One of the first striking points Khalidi makes is that Palestinian identity has been misunderstood because it is rooted in multiple different characteristics including Islamic/Christian, Ottoman/Arab, local/universal, and familial/tribal. It is not that there has not been a Palestinian identity, rather it is not “linear” or “uniform” as, for example, a Zionist identity might be. Those who do not understand the depth and fusion of civilizational histories will therefore not be able to understand the Palestinian identity. The main question that Khalidi tries to answer throughout the book is: what are the roots of Palestinian national identity? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Argues that, contrary to popular belief that Palestinian national identity emerged as a response to Zionism after World War I, Palestinian national identity is rooted in histories of religion, the attachment to living in one place for much time and regional and local loyalties. First, Palestinian national identity is deeply rooted in the Christian and Muslim religions and intensified after the Crusades of 1095-1291, almost a century before any sign of Zionism. This argument is strong enough because there is actual archaeological evidence. The al-Aqsa Mosque and al-Buraq Square, both south of the Haram al-Sharif site, are the most important in this discussion. Second, Khalidi argues that Palestinian identity is rooted in living in one place and one administrative border for a long time and is deeply intertwined with the history of Ottoman rule. The land issues of the second aliya prove to be the clearest evidence of this. The Fellahin, or farmers, lived on and cultivated the land of Palestine for hundreds of years, becoming prosperous through, for example, the cultivation of oranges. At the end of the 19th century, during the second migration of Jews, most of whom came from Russia, many of these farmers were displaced by the Zionists' "land conquest". This sparked great indignation and strong unification among the peasants, who rebelled against such land sales, as in the al-Fula case. The farmers and the governor argued that simply being exiled by new migrants through sale by an absentee landowner was a betrayal of the Palestinian people who had historical roots with the land. Finally, Palestinian identity was deeply rooted in regional and local realities. loyalty. Ruhi al-Khalidi and Yusuf Diya both received a traditional Muslim education early in their lives and then a contemporary Western education later on. They traveled in Europe and learned about various societies, but eventually returned to rule Jerusalem and held high diplomatic posts in their country. For them there was no contradiction between cultural nationalism (Arab tradition) and the Ottoman framework (contemporary Western thought). Family ties were strong and although Yusuf Diya did not follow in his father's footsteps, he had a great connection to his identity and his land and tried to serve her in his final days. Khalidi's argument is very strong because it is rooted in historical, rather than theoretical, exploration. He is able to support the points he makes with real examples of events. Even more important, however, is the fact that he is able to explain how theknowledge of those events circulated throughout Palestine and consolidated a Palestinian identity. He argues that education (and the modernization of education during the Tanzimat era), as well as journalism and the mass media, were the main dissemination tools that helped consolidate Palestinian national identity. The education system changed dramatically during the Tanzimat reforms during Ottoman rule. While previously it was known that only the elite were educated, many of them. By attending traditional Muslim schools, the Ottomans opened education to all. Modernized schools sprang up throughout the region and included private schools, mission schools, and public schools. While this contributed to an overall weaker and more fragmented Palestinian national identity, as there was no cohesive means of identity dissemination, a greater total number of students were taught about the histories of previous cultures and the beginnings of Zionism. Many Arab schools were opened and continued to teach the language, history and culture that had seemingly gone out of fashion. It was these types of schools that provided the foundation for a very strong Palestinian national identity, capable of combating Zionist influence. Journalism was the main form of information dissemination throughout the country. More people were able to empathize with the national identity because more people were educated and literate. Khalidi points out that it may have taken time for the news to travel from the cultural centers to the peripheries, but it was still important. Many publications educated the public and had strong opinions on Zionism, including Filastin and al-Quds. They helped bring unity and better organization among Arabs, who lacked cohesion due to educational reforms, and created a stronger sense of Palestinian identity in relation to “the other.” An overall strength of the book is the sources it uses. Khalidi criticizes the fact that very often history is written by the winners on the stronger side rather than the weaker one. Therefore, much of Palestinian history has been written based on Zionist and Western sources. His book tries to solve this problem by providing a history of Palestine from the Arab perspective. Indeed, as he explains, this is quite difficult because much of the Palestinian population was rural and illiterate and because Palestinian archives in Israel are difficult to access. , but uses a wide variety and combination of secondary and primary sources. The impressive primary sources he draws from include speeches, pamphlets, autobiographies, and newspapers. Furthermore, some of the Arab secondary sources include 'Abd al-Qadir's source on the disaster of the Arab nation and Amin Maalouf's book The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. At the same time, Khalidi is aware that finding a balance is important. He uses a variety of Jewish and Western scholars to support his arguments, including David Kushner, Kenneth Stein, and Alexander Scholch. Particularly interesting is the rigor of the journalistic sources that Khalidi uses in his monograph. For his study in Chapter 6, he examined 10,000 issues of 10 of the most prominent newspapers in Palestine (and the Middle East region). He found that around 500 articles were about Zionism, of which the al-Karmil newspaper was the most explicit. From the study of the newspapers a couple of extremely useful themes emerged for understanding modern Palestinian identity. The first is that newspapers provided an understanding of the Zionist movement, although a weakness of the culture at large may have been resistance to the call to action. The second theme was that there was strong discontent with the Ottoman government, which.