My thesis examines the process by which the Syrian intelligentsia in Cairo catalyzed Cairo\u27s transformation into an epicenter of the Arabist movement between 1900 and 1918. I will explore a combination of British diplomatic sources and Arabic-language publications in order to determine the role of the Syrian intelligentsia in Cairo in the burgeoning Arabist movement of the early twentieth century. In addition to contributing to our existing historical understanding of the development of Arabist ideology, this study will demonstrate the utility of analyzing centers of Arabism (in this case Cairo) that have often been neglected in contemporary nationalist historiography. Cairo provides a particularly interesting case study in terms of Arabist cooperation in the years leading up to, and including World War I. In contrast to the societies in the more frequently analyzed Arabist hotbed of Damascus, Arabist societies in Cairo were extremely ideologically diverse and contained a significant percentage of Christians. In addition, these comparatively diverse Arabist societies in Cairo were among the most significant in existence in the years following 1908. Although a homogenous version of Arabism never emerged, my thesis argues that the Syrian intelligentsia was able to develop Cairo into an epicenter of the Arabist movement in the early twentieth century that, by 1912, began to usurp Damascus for political significance
