11. Hussein Espoused Ba'athism... A Mixture Of Arab Nationalism And Middle-Eastern Socialism
Hussein's exact position on the political spectrum has been a topic of hot debate and will undoubtedly continue to be so for years to come - but he himself claimed to be a "Ba'athist". "Ba'athism" literally means "renaissance" or "resurrection" in Arabic - and it is an Arab nationalist ideology that calls from the creation of a unified Arab state run by a single party implementing a progressive revolutionary government. Michel Aflaq (pictured above left, talking with Hussein) was a Syrian Arab nationalist who played a significant role in the development of the religion and also officially accepted Hussein into the Iraq-based "Ba'ath Party". This was the ideology behind which Hussein would embark upon his brutal policies while in office.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.