The following societies were established in the nineteenth century and played an important role in the Arab Awakening between the mid-nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. There main focus was to increase the Arab's knowledge of the their own history and culture.
Syrian Society of Arts and Sciences = (1847-1852) الجمعية السورية للعلوم و الفنون was established under the aegis of the American mission in Beirut in 1847. Besides missionary figures such as Cornelius van Dyck and William Thomson, the society included Nasif al-Yaziji and Butros al-Bustani.
Oriental Society of Beirut (1850-1852) = الجمعية الشرقية في بيروت was established in 1850 under the aegis of the Jesuit Fathers. Its educational activities were subservent to the to the interest of the Jesuit missionaries. memberships included Marun al-Naqqash, Ibrahim al-Najjar, and Habib al-Yaziji. To learn more about this society refer to the article published in al-Mashrek (1909, vol. 12, pp. 32-38)
Syrian Scientific Society = الجمعية العلمية السورية = الجمعية السورية was established in Beirut in 1857 according to George Antonius in his book The Arab awakening : the story of the Arab national movement. The society included Arab personalities such as Amir Muhammad Arslan, Hussein Baihum, and Ibrahim Yaziji.
In 1868 the society started publishing a periodical which was compiled By Youssef Q. Khoury into d A‘māl al-Jam‘īyah al-‘ilmīyah al-Sūrīyah fī Bayrūt اعمال الجمعية العلمية السورية في بيروت
Beirut Secret Society (1875-1882) = الجمعية السرية في بيروت was established in 1875 by graduates of the Syrian Protestant College (American University of Beirut). The main purpose of the society was to promote national consciousness among Arabs. Founders and members included Fares Nimr, Ibrahim al-Hurani, Ibrahim al-Yaziji, and Ya'qoub Sarruf. Around 1882 the society was dissolved.
For more details on these societies refer to the book: The Arab Nahdah: The making of the intellectual and humanist movement. by Abdulrazzak Patel (pp. 216-220).
أحزاب اللبنانيين وجمعياتهم: في الربع الأول من القرن العشرين (1908-1920)
أعمال الجمعية السورية
الجمعية السورية للعلوم و الفنون، 1847-1852
الحركات السياسية لتحرير لبنان في أواخر العهد العثماني
