Al-Fatat

Al-Fatat (, al-Fatat) or the Young Arab Society (, Jam’iyat al-’Arabiya al-Fatat) was an underground Arab nationalist organization in the Ottoman Empire. Its aims were to gain independence and unify various Arab territories that were then under Ottoman rule. It found adherents in areas such as Syria. The organization maintained contacts with the reform movement in the Ottoman Empire and included many radicals and revolutionaries, such as Abd al-Mirzai. They were closely linked to the Al-Ahd, or Covenant Society, who had members in positions within the military, most were quickly dismissed after Enver Pasha gained control in Turkey. This organization's parallel in activism were the Young Turks, who had a similar agenda that pertained to Turkish nationalism. History Founding and early years in Paris Al-Fatat was formed in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution in 1908. The original founders of the movement were Arab students who felt offended by what they perceived as the Young Turks' Turkish nationalist agenda and Turkish domination over ethnic groups within the Ottoman Empire. The three Arab students were Ahmad Qadri of Damascus, Awni Abd al-Hadi of Nablus and Rustam Haidar of Baalbek. The trio decided to form an underground organization based on the Young Turks' model but with the purpose of protecting Arab rights. While in Paris, the trio was expanded by two Arab students from Beirut, Tawfiq al-Natur and Muhammad al-Mihmisani and another student from Nablus, Rafiq al-Tamimi. Together, the students founded the "Society of Dad Speakers" on 14 November 1909. "Dad Speakers" was a reference to the Arabs, whose alphabet contains the consonant dad, a feature unique to the Arabic language. The name of their organization was quickly changed to "Society of the Young Arab Nation" and later shortened to "Young Arab Society" (Jam'iyat al-Arab al-Fatat). Wary that the word "Arab" could attract the Ottoman government's attention, the organization shortened its name further to "al-Fatat".