Arab socialism necessity which emanates from the depths of Arab nationalism ... Socialism constitutes the ideal social order [for] the Arab people." It should also be noted that the Ba'ath Party was founded in 1947 as the Arab Ba'ath Party, it became the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in 1952 when it merged with the Arab Socialist Party. Later, in 1950, Aflaq defined socialism as "not an aim in itself, but rather a necessary means to guarantee society the highest standard of production with the farthest limit of cooperation and solidarity among the citizens ... Arab society ... needs a social order with
Iraqi nationalism a common Mesopotamian heritage; this view was promoted by Abd al-Karim Qasim, who was of mixed Arab-Kurdish descent. The second variant is a dual nationalism combining Iraqi nationalism alongside Arab nationalism, that supports Iraqi nationalism for matters involving Iraq and Arab nationalism for issues involving Arabs as a whole. Saddam Hussein believed that the recognition of the ancient Mesopotamian origins and heritage of Iraqi Arabs was complementary to supporting Arab nationalism. The Ba'athist regime officially included the historic Kurdish Iraqi Muslim leader Saladin as a patriotic symbol in Iraq, Saladin led Muslim and Arab forces during the Crusades. Iraqi nationalism