The
Al-Muthanna Club was an influential
pan-Arab fascist society established in
Baghdad ca. 1935 to 1937 which remained active until May 1941, when the coup d'état of pro-
Nazi Rashid Ali al-Gaylani failed. It was named after
Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, an
Iraqi Muslim Arab general who led forces that helped to defeat the
Persian Sassanids at the
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah. Later known as the
National Democratic Party, Nadi al-Muthanna was influenced by European fascism and controlled by radical Arab nationalists who, according to 2005's
Memories of State, "formed the core of new radicals" for a combined Pan-Arab civilian and military coalition.