Arab Islamic Republic

The Arab Islamic Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية الإسلامية, romanized: al-Jumhūriyya al-ʿArabiyyah al-Islāmiyya) was a proposed unification of Tunisia and Libya in 1974, agreed upon by Libyan head of state Muammar Gaddafi and Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba. Additional countries—Morocco and Algeria—were later included in the proposal, which was never implemented.

With the death of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in September 1970, Muammar Gaddafi sought to establish himself as the figurehead of Pan-Arabism. After a failed attempt at rapprochement between his country and Egypt, he turned to Tunisia. In December 1972, President Bourguiba expressed his disagreement with a proposed union. But on January 12, 1974, the two presidents, meeting on the Mediterranean island of Djerba, agreed on an agreement providing for a union of their countries within an Arab Islamic Republic (AIR), which would have only one constitution, one army, and one flag.