Munir al-Ajlani
Encyclopedia
Munir al-Ajlani (August 1912 or 1914 - June 2004) (nationality: Syrian/Saudi) was a politician, writer, lawyer, and scholar. He made history as the youngest Syrian minister. He received his doctorate at a very young age from La Sorbonne University in Paris.
, in 1943.
Children: Manar al-Ajlani, Fawaz al-Ajlani, Amir al-Ajlani, Nawara al-Ajlani, and Munira al-Ajlani.
of Saudi Arabia. Their descendants travelled and settled in Damascus at the time when Damascus was a center for knowledge. Dr Munir Al-Ajlani was born into this family of academic and material wealth. The Ajlani family became one of the most well-know and wealthiest families in Syria.
, the leading anti-French movement in Syria, and in 1936 ran for Parliament on a Bloc ticket. He nominated himself for Parliament again in 1943, 1947, 1949, and 1954, winning in every round with a majority vote in Damascus. Once in Parliament, Ajlani joined with Sayf al-Din al-Ma’mun, another prominent young lawyer, and co-founded the Steel Shirts, a military youth force modeled after the Black Shirts in Italy and the Brown Shirts in Germany. The Steel Shirts aimed at protecting locals from French aggression and mobilizing support for the National Bloc
. Its leaders were a group of young men who wanted to introduce the concept of disciplined and armed resistance to occupation. The Steel Shirts wore an armband showing a torch bearing hand. Among the party’s co-founders were the university professor Ahmad al-Samman, and the National Bloc
leader Fakhri al-Barudi. The Steel Shirts remained in charge of Syrian mass politics during the years 1936-1946 and was disbanded by its own leaders when Syrian independence was achieved in 1946. The Steel Shirts transformed Ajlani into a youth leader in Damascus.
. Ajlani resigned from party office to protest the National Bloc’s inability of preventing the annexation. He became a member of the opposition, headed by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar
, and engaged in anti-Bloc activity for the remainder of the 1930s. When agents of the French killed Shahbandar in 1940, Ajlani allied himself with Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hasani
, a hard-line opponent of the National Bloc and an ally of Paris. Ajlani married his daughter Inaam, and when Hasani was appointed President of the Republic by General Charles de Gaulle
in 1941, he appointed him Secretary-General of the Presidential Palace. The following year, Hasani appointed him Minister of Youth Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Husni al-Barazi. Hasani created the portfolio exclusively for his son-in-law, and it was terminated when he left office in 1943 to become Minister of Social Affairs. In January 1943, President Hasani died. In October 1947, Prime Minister Jamil Mardam Bey
, a National Bloc leader, appointed Ajlani Minister of Education. That same year, he was also voted into the Arab Language Assemblage; the highest international scientific authority in the field of Arab language and literature. During these years, Ajlani endorsed the career of the 21-year old poet Nizar Qabbani
, marketing his name in literary circles and writing the prelude to his first set of poems in 1944 entitled, "The Brunette Said to Me," establishing a friendship that was to last until Qabbani's death in 1998. Meanwhile, he was professor of law at Damascus University and authored many legal works, some of which are still taught in Syria until the present.
and called for union between Syria and the Hashemite regimes in Baghdad and Amman. He advocated the Hashemite cause and in 1949, Syria’s new president, General Husni al-Za'im
, accused him of being an agent for Abdullah, trying to overthrow the republic. Ajlani was arrested and al-Nidal newspaper, which he frequently wrote in, was closed. When Za’im was toppled in August 1949, Ajlani was released by Syria’s new leader Hashim al-Atasi and voted into the Constitutional Assembly that formulated a new constitution for Syria. In 1950, General Adib al-Shishakli, the de facto ruler who was a staunch enemy of Hashemite Iraq, brought him to trial on the charge of trying to topple Syria’s republican regime and replace it with a Hashemite monarchy. Ajlani went to court on the charge of conspiracy, but was declared innocent of the charges. When Shishakli came to power in 1951, Ajlani joined the opposition to his regime and was once again, arrested for his views and deported to the Mezzeh prison. He was released from jail by Hashim al-Atassi
, when Shishakli was overthrown in February 1954. In November 1954, he became Acting President of Damascus University and in September 1955, became Minister of Justice in the independent cabinet of Prime Minister Said al-Ghazzi
.
In the second half of the 1950s, Ajlani became increasingly alienated from the rising movement of socialism, headed by President Gamal Abd al-Nasser of Egypt. He joined a group of politicians and sought to bring down the pro-Nasser and pro-USSR regime of President Shukri al-Quwatli. It was planned that a group of armed men, trained in Lebanon (by the anti-Nasser regime of Kamil Sham’un or Camille Chamoun
) and funded by Hashemite Iraq, would occupy Damascus, dismiss all pro-Nasser officials and force Quwatli to change his pro-Egypt and pro-USSR policies. Once all Nasserist elements were dismissed, Syria would unite with Hashemite Iraq. The conspirators would assassinate the socialist leader Akram al-Hawrani, who was Master Speaker of Parliament, along with Afifi al-Bizreh, the Chief of Staff, and Abd al-Hamid Sarraj, the Director of Syrian Intelligence. Prime Minister Sabri al-Asali would be dismissed, and Munir al-Ajlani would create a pro-Hashemite cabinet in which Subhi al-Omari, an ex-officer in the Hashemite Army of the Arabian Desert, would become Minister of Defense. The plan was funded from Baghdad by Crown Prince Abd al-Illah and Prime Minister Nuri al-Sa’id. Involved in the conspiracy were the Druze leader Hasan al-Atrash, a long-time ally of the Hashemites, Sami Kabbara, publisher of the al-Nidal newspaper, and Adnan al-Atasi, a founding member of the pro-Hashemite People’s Party. It was engineered by Ajlani, Atasi, and Mikhail Ilyan, a businessman and politician from Aleppo.
, King Khalid, and King Fahd. He also taught law at Riyadh University and became Editor-in-Chief of al-Majala al-Arabiyya.
When asked, "Had members of your generation, who created the modern Middle East, lived to see how lacking democracy was to become in the Arab World in the second half of the 20th century, what would they have said?" Chuckling, Ajlani replied, "It's good that they didn't! They died at the right time!"
Munir al-Ajlani established himself in Syrian history as a leader who was not afraid of expressing views that challenge the existing norm. He had the willingness and courage to say "no" to Arab nationalism when it was politically incorrect to be anything but a Nasserist. He was very public with his rebellious views during the 1950s, arguing that his ideas are unafraid to be debated, tried by history, then established or discarded.
Biography
Marriage: Munir al-Ajlani married Inam al-Hasani, daughter of president Taj al-Din al-HasaniTaj al-Din al-Hasani
President Taj al-Din al-Hasani was a French-appointed Syrian leader and politician. He was born and raised into a family of Muslim scholars in Damascus...
, in 1943.
Children: Manar al-Ajlani, Fawaz al-Ajlani, Amir al-Ajlani, Nawara al-Ajlani, and Munira al-Ajlani.
Debatable Date of Birth
Some sources say that Ajlani was born in 1904. It is believed that al-Ajlani changed his date of birth on official records to be considered for parliament at an early age.Family History and controversy
The Ajlani family's origin goes back to the AshrafAshraf
Ashraf refers to someone claiming descent from Muhammad by way of his daughter Fatimah. The word is the plural of sharīf "noble", from sharafa "to be highborn"...
of Saudi Arabia. Their descendants travelled and settled in Damascus at the time when Damascus was a center for knowledge. Dr Munir Al-Ajlani was born into this family of academic and material wealth. The Ajlani family became one of the most well-know and wealthiest families in Syria.
Education
Ajlani, born into an upper-class family that owned much land, followed in his family's footsteps. He studied at the University of Damascus then continued his studies in Paris where he earned his Phd from La Sorbonne University. Ajlani studied law and obtained a minor degree in literature and linguistics.Youngest Deputy Fights for Independence
Munir al-Ajlani returned to Damascus in 1936, changed his age in official records, and nominated himself for Parliament, winning a seat at the age of 22. He became the youngest deputy in Syrian history. He wrote frequently for the Damascus daily al-Qabas and founded his own newspaper with the attorney Sami Kabbara called al-Nidal. In 1934, he joined the National BlocNational Bloc (Syria)
The National Bloc was a Syrian political party that emerged to fight for Syrian independence during the French Mandate of Syria period.The party was created after a national conference in 1928, by Ibrahim Hananu....
, the leading anti-French movement in Syria, and in 1936 ran for Parliament on a Bloc ticket. He nominated himself for Parliament again in 1943, 1947, 1949, and 1954, winning in every round with a majority vote in Damascus. Once in Parliament, Ajlani joined with Sayf al-Din al-Ma’mun, another prominent young lawyer, and co-founded the Steel Shirts, a military youth force modeled after the Black Shirts in Italy and the Brown Shirts in Germany. The Steel Shirts aimed at protecting locals from French aggression and mobilizing support for the National Bloc
National Bloc (Syria)
The National Bloc was a Syrian political party that emerged to fight for Syrian independence during the French Mandate of Syria period.The party was created after a national conference in 1928, by Ibrahim Hananu....
. Its leaders were a group of young men who wanted to introduce the concept of disciplined and armed resistance to occupation. The Steel Shirts wore an armband showing a torch bearing hand. Among the party’s co-founders were the university professor Ahmad al-Samman, and the National Bloc
National Bloc (Syria)
The National Bloc was a Syrian political party that emerged to fight for Syrian independence during the French Mandate of Syria period.The party was created after a national conference in 1928, by Ibrahim Hananu....
leader Fakhri al-Barudi. The Steel Shirts remained in charge of Syrian mass politics during the years 1936-1946 and was disbanded by its own leaders when Syrian independence was achieved in 1946. The Steel Shirts transformed Ajlani into a youth leader in Damascus.
Becoming the Minister of Education
In 1939, Turkey annexed the Sanjak of Alexanderetta, territory in northern Syria that had once belonged to the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Ajlani resigned from party office to protest the National Bloc’s inability of preventing the annexation. He became a member of the opposition, headed by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar
Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar
Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar was a prominent Syrian nationalist during the French Mandate of Syria and a leading opponent of compromise with French authority. His devotion to Arab nationalism dated to the days of the Committee of Union and Progress and its "Turkification" policies...
, and engaged in anti-Bloc activity for the remainder of the 1930s. When agents of the French killed Shahbandar in 1940, Ajlani allied himself with Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hasani
Taj al-Din al-Hasani
President Taj al-Din al-Hasani was a French-appointed Syrian leader and politician. He was born and raised into a family of Muslim scholars in Damascus...
, a hard-line opponent of the National Bloc and an ally of Paris. Ajlani married his daughter Inaam, and when Hasani was appointed President of the Republic by General Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
in 1941, he appointed him Secretary-General of the Presidential Palace. The following year, Hasani appointed him Minister of Youth Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Husni al-Barazi. Hasani created the portfolio exclusively for his son-in-law, and it was terminated when he left office in 1943 to become Minister of Social Affairs. In January 1943, President Hasani died. In October 1947, Prime Minister Jamil Mardam Bey
Jamil Mardam Bey
Jamil Mardam Bey ,, was a Syrian politician, Born in Damascus to a prominent aristocratic Sunni Muslim family. He is descended from Ottoman's general, statesman, and Grand Vizier Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha...
, a National Bloc leader, appointed Ajlani Minister of Education. That same year, he was also voted into the Arab Language Assemblage; the highest international scientific authority in the field of Arab language and literature. During these years, Ajlani endorsed the career of the 21-year old poet Nizar Qabbani
Nizar Qabbani
Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani was a Syrian diplomat, poet and publisher. His poetic style combines simplicity and elegance in exploring themes of love, eroticism, feminism, religion, and Arab nationalism...
, marketing his name in literary circles and writing the prelude to his first set of poems in 1944 entitled, "The Brunette Said to Me," establishing a friendship that was to last until Qabbani's death in 1998. Meanwhile, he was professor of law at Damascus University and authored many legal works, some of which are still taught in Syria until the present.
Political Ties & More Ranks
In the 1940s, Ajlani befriended King Abdullah of JordanAbdullah I of Jordan
Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan [‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Husayn] عبد الله الأول بن الحسين born in Mecca, Second Saudi State, was the second of three sons of Sherif Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah...
and called for union between Syria and the Hashemite regimes in Baghdad and Amman. He advocated the Hashemite cause and in 1949, Syria’s new president, General Husni al-Za'im
Husni al-Za'im
Husni al-Za'im was a Syrian military man and politician. Husni al-Za'im, whose family is of Kurdish ancestry, had been an officer in the Ottoman Army. After France instituted its colonial mandate over Syria after the First World War, he became an officer in the French Army...
, accused him of being an agent for Abdullah, trying to overthrow the republic. Ajlani was arrested and al-Nidal newspaper, which he frequently wrote in, was closed. When Za’im was toppled in August 1949, Ajlani was released by Syria’s new leader Hashim al-Atasi and voted into the Constitutional Assembly that formulated a new constitution for Syria. In 1950, General Adib al-Shishakli, the de facto ruler who was a staunch enemy of Hashemite Iraq, brought him to trial on the charge of trying to topple Syria’s republican regime and replace it with a Hashemite monarchy. Ajlani went to court on the charge of conspiracy, but was declared innocent of the charges. When Shishakli came to power in 1951, Ajlani joined the opposition to his regime and was once again, arrested for his views and deported to the Mezzeh prison. He was released from jail by Hashim al-Atassi
Hashim al-Atassi
Hashim Bay Khalid al-Atassi was a Syrian nationalist, statesman and its President from 1936 to 1939, 1949 to 1951, and 1954 to 1955.- Background and early career :...
, when Shishakli was overthrown in February 1954. In November 1954, he became Acting President of Damascus University and in September 1955, became Minister of Justice in the independent cabinet of Prime Minister Said al-Ghazzi
Said al-Ghazzi
Said al-Ghazzi is a Syrian lawyer, politician and two time prime minister of Syria. Al-Ghazzi was well known in Syrian politics as an independent liberal which made him a favorite to all in times of crisis.-Career:...
.
In the second half of the 1950s, Ajlani became increasingly alienated from the rising movement of socialism, headed by President Gamal Abd al-Nasser of Egypt. He joined a group of politicians and sought to bring down the pro-Nasser and pro-USSR regime of President Shukri al-Quwatli. It was planned that a group of armed men, trained in Lebanon (by the anti-Nasser regime of Kamil Sham’un or Camille Chamoun
Camille Chamoun
Camille Nimr Chamoun was President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958, and one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War ....
) and funded by Hashemite Iraq, would occupy Damascus, dismiss all pro-Nasser officials and force Quwatli to change his pro-Egypt and pro-USSR policies. Once all Nasserist elements were dismissed, Syria would unite with Hashemite Iraq. The conspirators would assassinate the socialist leader Akram al-Hawrani, who was Master Speaker of Parliament, along with Afifi al-Bizreh, the Chief of Staff, and Abd al-Hamid Sarraj, the Director of Syrian Intelligence. Prime Minister Sabri al-Asali would be dismissed, and Munir al-Ajlani would create a pro-Hashemite cabinet in which Subhi al-Omari, an ex-officer in the Hashemite Army of the Arabian Desert, would become Minister of Defense. The plan was funded from Baghdad by Crown Prince Abd al-Illah and Prime Minister Nuri al-Sa’id. Involved in the conspiracy were the Druze leader Hasan al-Atrash, a long-time ally of the Hashemites, Sami Kabbara, publisher of the al-Nidal newspaper, and Adnan al-Atasi, a founding member of the pro-Hashemite People’s Party. It was engineered by Ajlani, Atasi, and Mikhail Ilyan, a businessman and politician from Aleppo.
Imprisonment, Coup d'état & Exile
Abd al-Hamid Sarraj had all of the leaders of this party, including al-Ajlani, imprisoned and charged with high treason. Munir al-Ajlani was fired from his post at Damascus University and expelled from the Arab Language Assemblage. He refused to hire an attorney and defended himself before court, receiving a standing ovation from an audience of Damascus University students who came to support their former professor. He was tried by Chief of Staff Bizreh. Bizreh's military tribunal sentenced him to death on the charge of treason. Three Arab leaders, King Faysal II of Iraq, King Husayn of Jordan, and President Kamil Sham’un of Lebanon, intervened on his behalf, and as a result, Ajlani’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment but was then reduced to 20 years. He served at the Mezzeh Prison from 1956 to 1961. During his imprisonment, Syria and Egypt merged to form the United Arab Republic (UAR) and the Hashemite monarchy in Baghdad, which had supported his career, was overthrown by a military coup d’etat in July 1958. He was released from jail in 1961, following the dissolution of the UAR, but refrained from any political activity. Ajlani was exiled from Syria to Egypt. Then he went to Lebanon then to Turkey where he resided for over a year. He was then invited by King Saud to Saudi Arabia. There, he served as a private advisor to King Saud and his brothers, King FaisalFaisal of Saudi Arabia
Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was King of Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 1975. As king, he is credited with rescuing the country's finances and implementing a policy of modernization and reform, while his main foreign policy themes were pan-Islamic Nationalism, anti-Communism, and pro-Palestinian...
, King Khalid, and King Fahd. He also taught law at Riyadh University and became Editor-in-Chief of al-Majala al-Arabiyya.
Final Years
Ajlani received numerous invitations asking him to return to Syria, guaranteeing that no harm will be done if he had done so. He lived and died as a firm believer in democracy. He remained a hard-core democrat.When asked, "Had members of your generation, who created the modern Middle East, lived to see how lacking democracy was to become in the Arab World in the second half of the 20th century, what would they have said?" Chuckling, Ajlani replied, "It's good that they didn't! They died at the right time!"
Munir al-Ajlani established himself in Syrian history as a leader who was not afraid of expressing views that challenge the existing norm. He had the willingness and courage to say "no" to Arab nationalism when it was politically incorrect to be anything but a Nasserist. He was very public with his rebellious views during the 1950s, arguing that his ideas are unafraid to be debated, tried by history, then established or discarded.
See also
- Politics of SyriaPolitics of SyriaPolitics in the Syrian Arab Republic takes place in the framework of what is officially a parliamentary republic, but what is considered an authoritarian government where the power is in the hands of the President of Syria, his family, the ruling Ba'ath Party, and the Alawi sect.The two presidents...
- National Bloc (Syria)National Bloc (Syria)The National Bloc was a Syrian political party that emerged to fight for Syrian independence during the French Mandate of Syria period.The party was created after a national conference in 1928, by Ibrahim Hananu....
- Taj al-Din al-HasaniTaj al-Din al-HasaniPresident Taj al-Din al-Hasani was a French-appointed Syrian leader and politician. He was born and raised into a family of Muslim scholars in Damascus...
- Nizar QabbaniNizar QabbaniNizar Tawfiq Qabbani was a Syrian diplomat, poet and publisher. His poetic style combines simplicity and elegance in exploring themes of love, eroticism, feminism, religion, and Arab nationalism...
- King Abdullah of JordanAbdullah I of JordanAbdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan [‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Husayn] عبد الله الأول بن الحسين born in Mecca, Second Saudi State, was the second of three sons of Sherif Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah...
- King Saud