Early Arab political groups sought autonomy within the Ottoman state, not independence

Evidence

Even at this stage there seems to have been little desire for actual separation from the Ottoman state, and these groups often seem more concerned with the politics of the capital than with the affairs of their provinces. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 854

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: when and how did Arab aims shift from decentralization to outright independence, and what produced the tipping point?
• XREF: connects to: Pre-Islamic Arab women held substantial autonomy contested by later historians.