AH AbdulWahab Homad Digital Legacy
Political

Rushdi al-Kikhya: The Ascetic Leader and the People's Party

Read in Arabic

Rushdi al-Kikhya: The Ascetic Leader and the People's Party is Dr. AbdulWahab Homad's study of the Aleppo statesman who founded the People's Party, presided over the Constituent Assembly of 1949 and then the Chamber of Deputies, and refused the presidency of the republic more than once. Subtitled "A Contribution to the Study of Contemporary Syrian Political History", it follows Syrian politics from the last Ottoman decades through the French Mandate, independence and the military coups to the union with Egypt in 1958, and closes with the party's own documents and the tributes written when al-Kikhya died in exile in 1988.

Published by Arab Scientific Publishers, first edition, September 2025, ISBN 978-614-01-3827-8. The full text appears here chapter by chapter, in the original Arabic and in English translation.

Table of Contents

  1. 01 Before This Study: Why Homad Wrote About Rushdi al-Kikhya and the People's Party
  2. 02 Chapter 1, Part 1: Syria Under the Ottomans, the Caliphate Debate and the 1908 Revolution
  3. 03 Chapter 1, Part 2: Aleppo Through History, Its Poets, Its Schools and al-Kawakibi
  4. 04 Chapter 2: The Upbringing of Rushdi al-Kikhya: Family, Schooling and Character
  5. 05 Chapter 3, Part 1: How News Spread in Aleppo and Italy's Seizure of Libya in 1911
  6. 06 Chapter 3, Part 2: The Arab Congress of Paris, 1913, Turkification and Arab Reform
  7. 07 Chapter 3, Part 3: The First World War, Sykes-Picot and the Balfour Declaration
  8. 08 Chapter 3, Part 4: The Arab Revolt, the McMahon Letters and the Martyrs of 6 May 1916
  9. 09 Chapter 3, Part 5: Faisal's Arab Kingdom in Syria, the Battle of Maysalun and the Mandate
  10. 10 Chapter 4, Part 1: The French Mandate, the Partition of Syria and the Great Syrian Revolt
  11. 11 Chapter 4, Part 2: The First Syrian Constitution, the National Bloc and the 1933 Treaty
  12. 12 Chapter 5: Rushdi al-Kikhya Joins the National Bloc: Hananu, the Iron Guard and the Sudda
  13. 13 Chapter 6, Part 1: The Franco-Syrian Treaty of 1936 and France's Refusal to Ratify It
  14. 14 Chapter 6, Part 2: The Loss of the Sanjak of Alexandretta to Turkey, 1937-1939
  15. 15 Chapter 7, Part 1: Kikhya's First Term: Arab Unity, Alexandretta and Aleppo's Water
  16. 16 Chapter 7, Part 2: Clean Government, Shahbandar's Murder and Kikhya's Break with the Bloc
  17. 17 Chapter 8, Part 1: The Second World War, de Gaulle and the 1941 Invasion of Syria
  18. 18 Chapter 8, Part 2: Sheikh Taj, the 1943 Elections and al-Kikhya's Return to Parliament
  19. 19 Chapter 8, Part 3: Al-Nadhir, the Arab League and the Road to Evacuation, 1943-1946
  20. 20 Chapter 8, Part 4: The Question of Arab Unity
  21. 21 Chapter 8, Part 5: Social Issues
  22. 22 Chapter 8, Part 6: Clean Government
  23. 23 Chapter 8, Part 7: The Question of Public Freedoms
  24. 24 Chapter 8, Part 8: Euphrates Water for Aleppo
  25. 25 Chapter 9, Part 1: The 1947 Elections in Aleppo and the People's List
  26. 26 Chapter 9, Part 2: Amending the Constitution for al-Quwatli's Second Term
  27. 27 Chapter 9, Part 3: The Catastrophe of Palestine, 1947-1949
  28. 28 Chapter 9, Part 4: The Founding of the People's Party, 1948
  29. 29 Chapter 9, Part 5: The Reaction against the People's Party
  30. 30 Chapter 9, Part 6: Union with Iraq, the Army and the Road to the Coups
  31. 31 Chapter 10, Part 1: Husni al-Za'im's Coup of 30 March 1949
  32. 32 Chapter 10, Part 2: Life under al-Za'im: Laws, a Constitution and a Fall
  33. 33 Chapter 10, Part 3: Sami al-Hinnawi's Coup and the 1949 Constituent Assembly
  34. 34 Chapter 10, Part 4: Al-Shishakli's First Coup and the 1950 Constitution
  35. 35 Chapter 10, Part 5: Nationalization, Shifting Cabinets and the 1951 Coup
  36. 36 Chapter 10, Part 6: A Hundred Days in al-Shishakli's Detention
  37. 37 Chapter 10, Part 7: Al-Shishakli's Rule and Its Fall in February 1954
  38. 38 Chapter 11, Part 1: Restoring Legitimacy After al-Shishakli
  39. 39 Chapter 11, Part 2: The 1954 Elections and the Fourth Parliament
  40. 40 Chapter 11, Part 3: The Election of Shukri al-Quwatli as President
  41. 41 Chapter 11, Part 4: The Annulment of Two Deputies' Seats
  42. 42 Chapter 11, Part 5: The Assassination of Colonel Adnan al-Malki
  43. 43 Chapter 11, Part 6: The Story of the Homs Refinery
  44. 44 Chapter 11, Part 7: The Burning of the French Schools in Aleppo
  45. 45 Chapter 11, Part 8: The Negotiations with the Iraq Petroleum Company
  46. 46 Chapter 11, Part 9: The Suez War
  47. 47 Chapter 11, Part 10: Talk of Conspiracies
  48. 48 Chapter 11, Part 11: Item One: The Iraqi Conspiracy
  49. 49 Chapter 11, Part 12: Item Two: The American Conspiracy
  50. 50 Chapter 12, Part 1: The Years of Anxiety: The Army Blocs
  51. 51 Chapter 12, Part 2: The Years of Anxiety: The Chamber Under Strain
  52. 52 Chapter 12, Part 3: The Years of Anxiety: The Martial Law Debate
  53. 53 Chapter 12, Part 4: The Years of Anxiety: Al-Kikhya Resigns
  54. 54 Chapter 13, Part 1: The Labor Pains of Union: Dreams and Choices
  55. 55 Chapter 13, Part 2: The Labor Pains of Union: Steps Toward Egypt
  56. 56 Chapter 13, Part 3: The Labor Pains of Union: The Joint Session
  57. 57 Chapter 13, Part 4: The Labor Pains of Union: The Rush to Union
  58. 58 Chapter 13, Part 5: The Labor Pains of Union: Egypt's Identity
  59. 59 Chapter 13, Part 6: The Labor Pains of Union: Exile and Farewell
  60. 60 Appendix 1: The Program of the People's Party
  61. 61 Appendix 2: The Internal Rules of the People's Party
  62. 62 Appendix 3: The Founders of the People's Party
  63. 63 Appendix 4: The People's Party Memorandum to the President, 23 November 1948
  64. 64 Appendix 5: A Letter from Michel Aflaq to His Excellency the Za'im
  65. 65 Appendix 6: The Proposal of Dr. Nazim al-Qudsi on Arab Unity
  66. 66 Appendix 7: Statement of the People's Party to the Honorable Syrian People (1954)
  67. 67 Appendix 8: Statement of the People's Party Issued on 26/1/1957
  68. 68 Appendix 9: The Declaration of Union
  69. 69 Appendix 10, Part 1: Mourning Rushdi al-Kikhya: The Death Notices of March 1988
  70. 70 Appendix 10, Part 2: Mourning Rushdi al-Kikhya: Zuhair al-Mardini in An-Nahar
  71. 71 Appendix 10, Part 3: Mourning Rushdi al-Kikhya: Maan Bashour in As-Safir
  72. 72 Appendix 10, Part 4: Mourning Rushdi al-Kikhya: Issam al-Attar's Letter of Condolence
  73. 73 Appendix 10, Part 5: Mourning Rushdi al-Kikhya: Akram Zuaiter's Tribute
  74. 74 Appendix 10, Part 6: Mourning Rushdi al-Kikhya: Ghassan al-Imam on Leaders in Hotels
  75. 75 Appendix 10, Part 7: Mourning Rushdi al-Kikhya: Muti al-Nounou on the Man Buried in Cyprus
  76. 76 Appendix 10, Part 8: Mourning Rushdi al-Kikhya: Muti al-Nounou on His Political Life
  77. 77 Photo Appendix: Rushdi al-Kikhya in Pictures