Nationalism, as a form of group consciousness, refers to the awareness of being a member of a nation or belonging to that nation, commonly termed national consciousness. This national awareness encompasses people’s loyalty, enthusiasm, and interest in various elements of the nation, such as race, language, traditions, customs, social and moral values, and culture in general. Sometimes, it also involves an extraordinary glorification of these elements and a belief in their superiority over the expressions of other nations. Given that every nation has a specific territory, loyalty to the land and a willingness to sacrifice for it, along with honoring its significance, are considered the pillars of nationalism.
The term “nationalism” carries various meanings. It often denotes a state of mind and an awareness among members of a group that they belong to a specific nation, sharing a common culture or identity, and feeling sympathy toward those recognized as belonging to the same nationality. This sense of nationalism can manifest publicly through group solidarity against outsiders, the display of certain signs and symbols, singing patriotic songs, and prioritizing national interests over other values.
Nationalism involves a belief in the superiority of one’s nation or tribe over all others, emphasizing the necessity of absolute and unconditional loyalty to one’s own nation. It often includes boasting about one’s culture, language, and race. Consequently, nationalism positions itself as superior, deeming other nations and tribes as inferior.
As a social and political movement, nationalism seeks to realize the beliefs, ideals, and national interests of a country. By prioritizing the interests of the nation, this movement influences both foreign and domestic policies. In essence, nationalism is an ideology that aims to achieve the ideals and aspirations of a nation by impacting the country’s political institutions.
The author of the book “Ideological War”, Yahya Muhammad Elias, writes about nationalism or racism: “Nationalism or racism means being proud of one’s race and nation with the belief that my race or nation is the best race and nation and the only race and nation My people deserve to be ruled. Among the clear examples of racism, we can mention the German Nazis who carried the slogan of “Superior Germany” with them. One of the greatest leaders of this idea, who worked hard to realize it, is Hitler, who wanted to destroy the world for Germany’s interests.
The goal of nationalism is that every country pays attention to its people, race and nation and strives to realize its national interests, although this performance sometimes causes damage to others.
In nationalist thinking, the value and dignity of one’s tribe, race and nation are dominant and preferable to others. In this view, man as a universal being has no value and only national identity and interests are important. In nationalism, the enemy deserves to be destroyed, and its destruction is welcomed as an appointment for the nation. This logic makes, for example, the killers of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi women, children and old people in the Gulf War, as heroes of the nation and guardians of national interests, to be glorified with great glory. Even today, this logic still exists and soldiers returning from the slaughterhouses of Iraq, Afghanistan and other regions are sent away with the same rituals and ceremonies as martyrs and guardians of national interests.
Conclusion: Nationalism is presented as a positive and good phenomenon; But in reality, by creating this phenomenon, the Westerners were pursuing two major and important goals. In summary, these goals are:
1. Nationalism in the West was designed with the aim of dividing and separating Muslims from each other and destroying their Islamic ties. In order to achieve this goal, this phenomenon intended to pit each Muslim against the other and consider one superior and better than the other.
2. The goal of creating nationalism in the West was a way to colonize Islamic countries and it was designed to attack and occupy Muslims. By justifying this phenomenon as the superiority of their nation over other nations, the Westerners intended to loot the property of Muslims.
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