New Directions

Volume 4 | Issue 4 Article 9

10-1-1977

Egypt: Crossroads of Three CulturesPaula L. Jewell

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Recommended CitationJewell, Paula L. (1977) "Egypt: Crossroads of Three Cultures," New Directions: Vol. 4: Iss. 4, Article 9.Available at: http://dh.howard.edu/newdirections/vol4/iss4/9

INTfRNATIONAl

The Sphinx, with the pyramid of Cheups in thebackground - probably one of the strongest symbolsof Egypt's ancient civi Iization.

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EGYPTCrossroads ofThree CulturesBy Paula L. Jewell

EDITOR'SNOTE:

The following article on Egypt was in-spired by a recent visit to that country bythe writer, who is a special assistant tothe president of Howard University. Shespent three weeks in the Arab Republic ofEgypt during the summer as a member ofa tour group from the United States.

Egypt is frequently called the "Cradleof Civilization." It should also be referredo as the "Crossroads of Three Cultures."Oneof the oldest nation-states in recordedcivilization, it is a country which para-doxically is at times Mediterranean, Araband African. The archeolog ical records ofancient Egyptian empires date back to000 B.C.In terms of history, intemational rela-

ions, politics, law and the role of women,=gypt has been influenced by its geo-;Jraphical position at the gateway to threeareasof the world. As early as the AmayadJynasty in 750 A. D., scholars from alloverthe world came to Egypt to teach andJ) leam. Works from many different coun-

ies were translated and people weresncouraqed to become bilingual. TheJniversity of AI-Azhar, founded in 968.D., as a center for Muslim scholarship,

snjoys an excellent international reputa-'5oneven today.

Egyptian history is replete with stories- invasion and domination by foreignoowers.The Persians conquered Egypt in~5 B. C. and the Greeks in 333 B. C,fier Alexander's conquest, a policy of

::ssimilation was begun which encour-- ed crossbreeding between Greeks and:gyptians. A period of Turkish domina-

n ended the Greek rule.A new European influence appeared in

-e country in 1798 with Napoleon's in-sion. Even today Egypt reflects its

::;"enchcolonial past. For example, thetetter restaurants in Cairo offer menus in

th French and Arabic; French beauty

and fashion magazines are found in largenumber, as well as other imports fromFrance, including the latest Parisianfashions.

The Greeks and the British have alsoleft their imprint. In the area of religion,90% of the Egyptians are Muslims; 10%Copts. Many of the Copts originally set-tled inAlexandria, which was a major cen-ter of learning. The Muslims were able toaccept new ideas from the Copts andmerge them with their own. The Britishinfluence started after 1882 when Britainsupervised the administration of Egypt.Later, from 1914 unti I its independence in1922, Egypt became a protectorate. Dur-ing the British administration, the Coptsbecame a favored group and controlled agreater proportion of the wealth and en-joyed a greater percentage of educationalopportunities than their numerical repre-sentation would normally dictate. In theearly days of Christian ity,Egypt also actedas a conduit for religion-sending Chris-tianity down the Nile to Sudan andEthiopia.

Colonialism and imperialism, however,brought a growing hostility on the part ofthe Muslims toward the Copts During the19th and 20th centuries, occasional riotsbecame a physical manifestation of re-sentment toward a minority group whichhad been given a favored position insociety .

UntiI the 1950s, the Egyptians thoughtof themselves in terms of their Egyptian-ism and not as a part of the Arab world.Also, although geographically part of theAfrican continent, they did not see them-selves as Africans.

A New EraThe Egyptian Revolution of the 1950s

saw the rise of Gamal Abdel Nasser topower and a change in the Egyptian'sself-perception. Nasser as a military of-ficer helped form the FreeOfficer's Move-ment that engineered the overthrow ofKing Farouk on July 23, 1952. After therevolution, a Revolution Command Coun-cil of 12 officers took control of the gov-ernment. At the outset, General Muham-

mad Naguib was named Premier on 23

September 7, 1952. The next year, onJune 18, Egypt became a republ ic andNaguib became the country's first Presi-dent and Prime Minister, staying in officeunti I Apri I 18, 1954 when he was removedand Nasser-then a Lieutenant Coloneland a principal mover in the revolt-tookfuII control of the government. Nasser waselected President on June 23, 1956. Hebecame a hero of the Arab world when henationalized the Suez Canal in the sum-mer of 1956.

Nasser's primary goals were to con-solidate and maintain political power, tointroduce political and economic changein Egypt and to develop a new foreignpolicy which emphasized Egypt as a partof the Third World.

In his first few years of leadership,Nasser moved to reduce the political in-fluence of both the right and the left. Forexample, in 1955 he took steps to curbthe activities of a group called the Musl imBrotherhood, a religious and politicalmovement that was formed to promotethe doctri nes of Islam. But he was not fuIlysuccessful as the movement went under-ground. Eventoday, one finds college stu-dents who want their nation to return tothe strict tenets of the Muslim faith. Be-tween 1955 and 1965 Nasser moved tooutlaw Communist influences in Egypt.He was also able, by the end of 1965, todiminish the influence of the Wafd Party,which was controlled by wealthy Egyptianlandowners. In the process of achievingpolitical control, Nasser may have sacri-ficed many of the democratic institutionsadapted from the Western tradition. Onthe other hand, he solidified his powerbase.

Nasser also solidified his political posi-tion by his efforts to redistribute the coun-try's wealth. He was responsible forEgypt's agrarian reform proqram and aleveling of the class structure throughoutEgypt.

In the area of foreign pol icy, Nasserwas deeply involved in making Egypt aleader among the underdeveloped coun- 2

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AI-Azhar University in Cairo, built more than1000 years ago.

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Sailboats at the old port of Alexandria.

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ies. He also worked hard to make Egyptoart of the Arab World. Nasser empha-sized the Egyptian heritage and poten-- lities and made the Egyptians proud of:JeingArabs. A brief union between Egypt=nd Syria was formed between 1958 and-961 at which time the name United Arab:epublic was adopted. (The country's

::fficial name today is the Arab Republic, Egypt).Egypt also became interested in assist-

11Q African liberation movements, with::.:.ention shifting in this period from the

ile Valley to all of Africa. And it became=-member of the Organization of African_nity (OAU) in 1963.

In 1955 Nasser attended the Bandung1lnference, which condemned neo-

lonialism and supported non-align--;ent. While he officially proclaimed a:olicy of non-alignment, in reality he

seemed to shift alignments from one ofthe great powers to the other. During theinitial stages of his rule, Nasser tried todevelop close ties with the United Statesbut a rift between the United States andEgypt developed in 1955, after the UnitedStates refused to sell arms to Egypt. A fewmonths later, Nasser accepted a Sovietarms offer and refused to al ign Egypt withthe Anglo-American sponsored BaghdadPact. (The Baghdad Pact was a Westemdefense alliance. Of the Arab states, Iraqalone became a signatory. It was de-nounced by Radio Cairo as an example ofWestem imperialism). In 1956, Nasserextended diplomatic recognition to main-land China. The split between the.United States and Egypt became com-plete when the United States refused tohelp Nasser finance the Aswan High Dam.Again, Egypt tumed to the Soviet Union

and the billion-dollar dam project wascompleted in 1971 with financial andtechnical assistance from the SovietUnion.

Egypt TodayToday, under the ruleof PresidentAnwar

el-Sadat, Egypt is strengthening its tieswith African nations and opening its armsto the West.Forexample, Egypt has estab-lished a branch of Cairo University inSudan and has plans for another branchin Somalia.

The Soviet influence in Egypt appearsto be on the wane. While Egypt dependsupon Russia economically for machineparts, it is concerned with winning Ameri-can support. President Sadat is concernedabout projecting to the Western world theimage of a stable and liberal democraticnation. While most industrial enterprises

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The lotus-shaped columns of Luxor, ancient cityof Thebes.

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sti II are governrnent owned, through itsopen door policy Egypt has been attempt-ing to attract foreign investors in order tostrengthen its weak econorny. Egypt hasalso started to rernove restrictions onoreigners and foreign publications corn-ing into the country. By American stand-ards, however, the country has yet to enjoy;'ull freedom of the press. Almost all of thenewspapers are owned by the govern-ment, as are broadcasting facilities. In this'espect, Egypt. is no different from manyhird World countries.

Egypt's African and Arab ties seem tooverlap in the sense that the Arabs haveshared a common history of fighting3ritish and French imperialism with the

fricans. A substantial portion of Araband and inhabitants are in Africa. Besidesmembership in the Organization of Afri-can Unity, Egypt is also a member of theArab League, which has its headquartersIn Cairo.

The Mediterranean influence as well ase Arab influence may be seen in the

area of law. Although Egypt's traditionalegal system is based on Islam, the Egyp-ian code is based upon the French Civil

Code. Yet, particularly in the area of do-mestic relations, there are still strong

lamic influences. A Muslim husbanday divorce his wife by saying "I divorce

au" three tirnes before a witness. On thether hand, if the wife wishes to secure aivorce she must go to court and proveat her husband is not supporting her.ut in some areas of the law, women in

::gypt seem to be far ahead of their West-srn counterparts. For example, Egyptian

ornen keep their last names after rnar-iage and continue to maintain individual

Ie to all property which they bring into aarriage.

In 1956, under a temporary constitu-. n, women were guaranteed the right to

te, the right to receive education and;;}€ right to work outside the home. An::gyptian woman is entitled to paid mater--;ity leave. But there are no laws which'" arantee equal employment opportuni-

ties for women who have suffered jobdiscrimination.

According to Dr. Sumaya Fahmy, aleader in the Egyptian feminist movement,social reality lags far behind the rulesstipulated in the nation's constitution.Even today, more boys attend elementaryschool than girls and more girls leaveschool without graduating. In spite of this,Egyptian women are slowly becomingmore liberated and some, including Presi-dent Sadat's wife, are becoming inter-ested and active in the women's libera-tion movement.

In the past, however, men were leadersin the fight for equal rights for women. In1860, Refou Tahlawi wrote "An HonestGuide to Education of Boys and Girls."Kassern Amin, another leader in theliberation movement for women, pub-lished two books in 1900, "Women'sLiberation" and "The New Woman."

At first, girls were only allowed to studythe Koran with their male counterparts atreligious schools called kottabs. Later, in1889, after the Minister of Education tookcharge of the kottabs, foundations ofIslam, Arabic, calligraphy and arithmeticwere added to the curriculum. The firstprirnary school for girls was started in1895 and the first secondary school in1900.

Opportunities for women in higher edu-cation materilized in 1925, after CairoUniversity became a governrnent institu-tion and started to admit students of bothsexes. Alexandria University acceptedwomen as soon as it opened in 1942. In1950, Anciens University-a separatecollege for girls-was created. HigherInstitutes for Nursing were opened duringthis period in Cairo and in Alexandria,with admission limited to female students.

Today, more than 28% of the universitystudents in Egypt are women. On theother hand, the rate of illiteracy for womenis still higher than for men. While lawschools are attracting women, the coun-try does not have its first woman judge.Egyptian women have tended to enter the

more traditional areas of work, particu- 27larly teachinq.

Crossroads

From a geographical standpoint, Egyptstands at the crossroads of three civili-zations. Alexandria, with its location onthe Mediterranean Sea, its historic monu-ments such as the Pompey Pillar and itsarchitecture is very reminiscent of Greeceor Rome. Luxor and the other parts ofEgypt near the Sudan, remind one ofWest African terrain. There are also thekind of desert expanses that one wouldexpect to find in Kuwait.

Culturally, Egypt is a fascinating nationthat combines, in a most unique way, thefeatures of many cultures. In its museumsand mosques the visitor can see the multi-cultural influences. Vases very sirnilar tothe ones which are found in Greece sit inrooms next to Persian rugs and busts of adecidedly African cast. In Upper Egypt,one can find Pharonic and Christian de-sign elements, while in Alexandria mostofthedesign elements are Mediterranean.Architectural design elements in Cairo arevaried and reflect both the Mediterraneanand the Islamic influence.

Whether one is interested in religion,international relations, politics and law,women's rights, geography or art andarchitecture, Egypt offers an opportunityto see the "Crossroads of Three Cultures."

One of the most revealing questionsthat must be asked-given Egypt's multi-faceted civilization- is: How do theEgyptians perceive themselves? When avisitor asked an Egyptian professorwhether the Egyptians perceive them-selves as being Black, White, or Oriental,the gentleman answered, "We areEgyptian." 0

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