Many ask why the name “Natural Syria”, coined by Antun Saadeh—the founder of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party—was later replaced with “Suraqia.” The reasons are multiple:

First, when Saadeh defined the geographical boundaries of historical Syria in the 1930s, he had not yet included Iraq within his conception of this unity. But in 1947, he revisited his understanding of the nation’s borders, ultimately recognizing Iraq as part of this civilizational continuum. Some comrades then asked him whether the name should be changed to reflect this new reality. He replied that he might call it “Suraqia.” However, time overtook him—he was assassinated two years later—so he was not able to formally revise the name. (Antun Saadeh, Complete Works, Beirut: Saadeh Foundation, 2001, vol. 3, p. 455; vol. 6, p. 444.)

Second, because Iraq is now part of "Natural Syria,” it becomes necessary to change the name to “Suraqia,” which signifies the union of the Levant and Iraq. The size of Iraq and the scale of its population compel us to reconsider the name, since the original term did not include Iraq within its national framework. “Suraqia” is the national unity we seek—one we have not yet achieved.

Third, when the nationalist movement appears under the name “Syrian Social Nationalist Party,” many scholars and thinkers—especially foreign ones—mistakenly assume the party is merely a “Syrian” movement limited to present-day Syria as reduced by the Sykes–Picot division. This misunderstanding leads many to misinterpret the cause, and discourages people in other regions from joining the party—this happened particularly among Iraqis.

Fourth, if the region were to unite in the form of a federation or confederation, its citizens would need national IDs and passports. It would be impossible to put the name “Natural Syria” on these documents, just as it would have been impossible to use the term “Greater Lebanon” once the French invented it at the end of World War I. Dropping “Natural” while keeping only “Syria” would still confuse, as noted above, and would be unfair to Iraq and to other entities that are today outside what is referred to as “Natural Syria” or “Greater Syria.”

In the end, the goal is not the name itself, but the construction of a cooperative, solidaristic framework—economic, social, and political—among the existing entities.