Dr Rebwar Fatah 
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The region is transitioning from ethnic nationalism—Persian, Turkish, and Arab—to Islamic nationalism. The initial ideology failed, and now failing states hope that an Islamic cover can sustain their nationalism, continuing to dissolve and deprive non-Arab, non-Persian, and non-Turkish ethno-religious groups of their cultural heritage.
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During the early 1960s, the dream of a united Arab state was championed by leaders such as Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Hafiz al-Assad of Syria, and Abdul-Karim Qasim of Iraq. These leaders, all with military backgrounds, were part of the Free Officers Movement, which sought to promote Arab unity and nationalism [1].
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However, this dream quickly faded. In Iraq and Syria, the Kurds became the primary victims of Arab nationalism. They were accused of establishing a "second Israel," implying that they were a threat to Arab land and identity, which gave pretext to oppressing Kurds. As a result, the Kurds faced severe hardships, including displacement, genocide, Arabization, and the destruction of their villages and towns. Their cultural identity was deeply shaken [2][3].
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The first wave of Arab nationalism aimed to build Arab unity by dissolving the rich cultures of non-Arab ethno-religious identities. The ideology of Arab unification died at the sunrise, but even at the sunset, the ideology of oppressing the Kurds stayed alive and kicking. After the failure of this ideology, states turned to Islamic nationalism, which sought to achieve the same goal but through religious means. This approach, similar to the previous one, only created failed states like Iraq. The last nail in the coffin of Arab nationalism was seen in Syria, where it transformed into an Arab Islamic identity. Islamic groups backed by Erdogan are now controlling Damascus, with the only exception being the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) controlling the north and east of the country, representing the only hope to rescue Syria from falling into an Islamic nationalist state [4][5].
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This approach was not unique to the Arab world. In 1979, Iran became a Shia Islamic state, but at its core, it remained a Persian nationalist state, similar to that of the Shah regime. Turkey, under President Erdogan, also adopted an Islamic hijab, but its core remained an ultra-Turkish nationalist state, aiming to dissolve all non-Turkish identities, particularly the Kurds [6].
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Sources:

Ismael, Tareq Y. "The Arab Left." Syracuse University Press, 1976.

Human Rights Watch. "Iraq: Claims in Conflict – Reversing Ethnic Cleansing in Northern Iraq." 2004.

International Crisis Group. "Flight of Icarus? The PYD’s Precarious Rise in Syria." Middle East Report N°151, May 2014.

Izady, Mehrdad R. "The Kurds: A Concise History and Fact Book." Mazda Publishers, 1992.

Abrahamian, Ervand. "A History of Modern Iran." Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Özkırımlı, Umut. "Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Introduction." Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
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The flag of the United Arab Republic (UAR), a political union between Egypt and Syria from 1958 to 1971, featured three horizontal bands of red, white, and black with two green stars in the white band