Isma'il Sidqi, 1875-1950


Book Description

Traces the life of Isma'il Sidqi - twice Egyptian Prime Minister, in 1930 and in 1946, and opponent of Egypt's disastrous 1948 decision to intervene in Palestine - and seeks to interpret his motives and actions in the light of his own statements.




Isma'il Sidqi, 1875-1950


Book Description

Traces the life of Isma'il Sidqi - twice Egyptian Prime Minister, in 1930 and in 1946, and opponent of Egypt's disastrous 1948 decision to intervene in Palestine - and seeks to interpret his motives and actions in the light of his own statements.




Dividing the Nile


Book Description

Most scholarship has attributed Sudanese independence in 1956 to British dominance of the Condominium, historical animosity toward Egypt, or the emergence of Sudanese nationalism. Dividing the Nile counters that Egyptian entrepreneurs failed to develop a united economy or shared economic interests, guaranteeing Egypt's 'loss' of the Sudan. It argues that British dominance of the Condominium may have stymied initial Egyptian efforts, but that after the First World War Egypt became increasingly interested in and capable of economic ventures in the Sudan. However, early Egyptian financial assistance and the seemingly successful resolution of Nile waters disputes actually divided the regions, while later concerted efforts to promote commerce and acquire Sudanese lands failed dismally. Egyptian nationalists simply missed opportunities of aligning their economic future with that of their Sudanese brethren, resulting in a divided Nile valley. Dividing the Nile will appeal to historians, social scientists, and international relations theorists, among those interested in Nile valley developments, but its focused economic analysis will also contribute to broader scholarship on nationalism and nationalist theory.




Modern Egypt


Book Description

This second edition of scholar Arthur Goldschmidt presents a concise survey of Egyptian history since the mid-eighteenth century. It focuses on Egypt's evolution as a nation-state, dispelling common misconceptions about Egypt's modern history. Professor Goldschmidt calls upon recent Egyptian and Western scholarship to document pivotal points, such as the 1952 revolution, and to illuminate controversies, such as those surrounding Sadat's role in the 1973 war with Israel. Modern Egypt is anecdotal as well as authoritative, covering social history, religion, politics, economics, military history, geography, and even the psychology of selected leaders. Faruq's impotence, Nasir's paranoia, and Sadat's glamour are all presented as they relate to policy motivations and outcomes. Modern Egypt paves the way to a clear understanding of events leading up to the Camp David accords of 1978 and then points beyond them to the emergent Muslim opposition, Sadat's assassination, and Mubarak's regime. This book is directed to students, journalists, diplomats, foreign visitors and long-term residents, and businesspeople who need to be familiar with Egypt, its role in Middle East affairs, and its involvement with the nations of the world.




Jewish and Greek Communities in Egypt


Book Description

In the years following Nasser's rise to power, the demographic landscape and the economy of Egypt underwent a profound change. Related to the migration of diverse communities, that had a distinguished role in Egyptian economy, from Egypt, these shifts have mostly been discussed in the light of postcolonial studies and the nationalisation policies in the wider region. Najat Abdulhaq focuses instead on the role that these minorities had in the economy of pre-Nasser Egypt and, by giving special attention to the Jewish and Greek communities residing in Egypt, investigates the dynamics of minorities involved in entrepreneurship and business. With rigorous analysis of the types of companies that were set up, Abdulhaq draws out the changes which were occurring in the political and social sphere at the time. This book, whilst primarily focused on the economic activities of these two minority communities, has implications for an understanding analysis of the political, the juridical, the intellectual and the cultural trends at the time. It thus offers vital analysis for those examining the economic history of Egypt, as well as the political and cultural transformations of the twentieth century in the region.




The Transit of Venus Enterprise in Victorian Britain


Book Description

In the nineteenth century, the British Government spent money measuring the distance between the earth and the sun using observations of the transit of Venus. This book presents a narrative of the two Victorian transit programmes. It draws out their cultural significance and explores the nature of "big science" in late-Victorian Britain.




The Orphan Scandal


Book Description

On a sweltering June morning in 1933 a fifteen-year-old Muslim orphan girl refused to rise in a show of respect for her elders at her Christian missionary school in Port Said. Her intransigence led to a beating—and to the end of most foreign missions in Egypt—and contributed to the rise of Islamist organizations. Turkiyya Hasan left the Swedish Salaam Mission with scratches on her legs and a suitcase of evidence of missionary misdeeds. Her story hit a nerve among Egyptians, and news of the beating quickly spread through the country. Suspicion of missionary schools, hospitals, and homes increased, and a vehement anti-missionary movement swept the country. That missionaries had won few converts was immaterial to Egyptian observers: stories such as Turkiyya's showed that the threat to Muslims and Islam was real. This is a great story of unintended consequences: Christian missionaries came to Egypt to convert and provide social services for children. Their actions ultimately inspired the development of the Muslim Brotherhood and similar Islamist groups. In The Orphan Scandal, Beth Baron provides a new lens through which to view the rise of Islamic groups in Egypt. This fresh perspective offers a starting point to uncover hidden links between Islamic activists and a broad cadre of Protestant evangelicals. Exploring the historical aims of the Christian missions and the early efforts of the Muslim Brotherhood, Baron shows how the Muslim Brotherhood and like-minded Islamist associations developed alongside and in reaction to the influx of missionaries. Patterning their organization and social welfare projects on the early success of the Christian missions, the Brotherhood launched their own efforts to "save" children and provide for the orphaned, abandoned, and poor. In battling for Egypt's children, Islamic activists created a network of social welfare institutions and a template for social action across the country—the effects of which, we now know, would only gain power and influence across the country in the decades to come.




Islam, Liberalism and Human Rights


Book Description

This timely book, newly revised for this edition, addresses the question of human rights in the international context, focusing in particular on the interaction between human rights as a value and norm in international relations and Islam as a constituent of political culture in particular societies. Katerina Dalacoura's argument proceeds at two levels. Firstly, it reaches a consistent normative position on the question of human rights. Secondly, the theoretical argument is reinforced through a detailed study both of the precepts of Islam and the role of Islam in the political process of 20th century Egypt and Tunisia. Dalacoura demonstrates that the interpretation of Islam in relation to human rights principles is not static, but is subject to reformulation.




Re-envisioning Egypt 1919-1952


Book Description

Re-Envisioning Egypt, 1919-1952 presents new and often dismissed aspects of the constitutional monarchy era in Egyptian history. It demonstrates that many of the domestic and regional sociopolitical and cultural changes credited to the 1952 revolutionaries actually began in the decades before the July coup. Arguing against the predominant view of the pre-revolutionary era in Egypt as one of creeping decay, the volume restores understandings of the 1919-1952 years as integral to modern nation-state formation and social transformation. The book's contributors show that Egypt's real revolutions were long-term processes emerging over several decades prior to 1952. The leaders of the 1952 coup capitalized on these developments, yet earlier changes in Egyptian society fundamentally facilitated their actions and policies. This volume includes revisionist discussion of domestic political issues and foreign policy; the military, education, social reform, and class; as well as popular media, art, and literature. By introducing new approaches to these under-appreciated categories of analysis through exploration of untapped sources and by re-examining the political context of the time, Re-Envisioning Egypt, 1919-1952 proposes innovative methodologies for understanding this crucial period in Egyptian history, casting these years as fundamental to the country's twentieth-century trajectory. Contributors: Tewfik Aclimandos, Malak Badrawi, Andrew Flibbert, Nancy Gallagher, Arthur Goldschmidt, Mervat Hatem, Misako Ikeda, Amy J. Johnson, Anne-Claire Kerboeuf, Samia Kholoussi, Hanan Kholoussy, Fred Lawson, Shaun T. Lopez, Scott David McIntosh, Roger Owen, Lucie Ryzova, Barak A. Salmoni, James Whidden, Caroline Williams.




The Quest for Modernity


Book Description

This book analyses the political ideologies of the several highly influential liberal, socialist and communist thinkers, groups and movements which sought to modernize Egypt after World War II. Most of the representatives of these currents intended to transform Egyptian society completely through rapid industrialization, land reforms and economic planning, which would eliminate the peasantry, rationalize the economy and create a new Egyptian citizen who would live 'in accordance with the spirit of the age'. This study explains why and how most liberal and left-wing intellectuals eventually supported the authoritarian modernization programme of the July Revolution of 1952. It gives new insights into intellectual life during one of the most optimistic periods in Egyptian history, a time when Egypt was at the height of its power and believed a whole new future lay before it, uniting the Arab world and joining Asia and Africa in the common struggle for independence and dignity.