Here is the Part I of the Introduction to Conflicting Interests in Egypt. It’s not in the actual book (don’t know a polite way to comment on this, so I won’t) … but it should be!
Conflicting Interests in Egypt: Political, Business, Religious, Gender, Popular Culture. By Sherifa Zuhur and Marlyn Tadros.
Lewiston, N.Y. and Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales, 2017.
This book explores aspects of politics, protest, security and culture in post-revolutionary Egypt. These resulted in conflict among various interest groups in Egyptian society an the breaking down of the social foundation of politics. Two long-time observers and scholars of Egypt’s politics and culture collaborate in this book.
INTRODUCTION
Sherifa Zuhur and Marlyn Tadros
Egypt was one of the earliest centralized political entities of the ancient world. To all who study politics, it is held up as an example of a society, which unified around the need to manage its resources. Small communities coalesced under two distinct Kingdoms of Lower Egypt in the Delta and the red desert land of Upper Egypt. When these two united and were symbolized in the Pharaoh’s double crown, the nation reached an important point in its survival and development.
Spiritual and temporal life were subordinated to a system of authority whose monuments still inspire awe and wonder. Thereafter, an incredible mosaic of Pharaonic, Islamic, Mediterranean, African and western cultures continue to be expressed in Egypt and felt and seen in every lifestyle from the poorest to the most exclusive. For reasons explored in this book, the revolution of January 25th 2011 seems to have eroded the ability of different interest groups in this society to ally, if not unify with each other.
In Amam al-‘arsh, (Before the Throne) Nobel prize winning novelist Naguib Mahfouz tries the leaders of Egypt before the court of Osiris, the sun god. One by one from the Pharaohs to Anwar al-Sadat, their contributions and their shortcomings or damages to Egypt are presented and judged.1. Part of the extraordinary breakthrough of the revolution of January 25, 2011 was due to a desire for justice and to lessen the power of a single autocratic ruler to govern his country and oppress his populace. A body of scholarship shows that feudalism, authoritarianism, political violence create their own culture, so one way of explaining the current dilemma is to blame the patterns and pre-existing structures of the ‘deep state.’ Another avenue is to explore the conflicts among and disappointments of the general public.
Rather than directly judging Egypt’s current government on its policies and strategies, we aim in this book to expose the fissures that divide Egyptians today – that emanate from them, as well as from the failures of leadership. Indeed it seems at this moment in history, that peoples’ consciousness and interests are irrevocably dividing them – immigrants and host nations, nationalists and globalists, the religious and the secular, poor and wealthy, formerly colonized and former colonizers. Despite these divisions, there remains a creative current of satire and madcap humor, which Egyptians wield to more clearly define the failure, or the as-yet unrealized promises of Egypt’s revolution. The woes of the security state, the manipulation of the media, the plague of violence against women, and the fundamental distrust of various factions for each other are apparent.
We explore the rise of Occidentalism, or Egypt’s obsession with the west and its influence, which corresponds to the west’s utilization of Orientalism. In so doing, we uncover various conspiracy theories which Egyptians believe about the revolution of January 25, 2011, the coup of July 3, 2013 and each other. We delve into the problematic use of conspiracist thinking in explanations of Egypt’s political shifts, and how these relate to Occidentalism, and the long-standing tensions between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Coptic minority. Some of the conflicts we uncover are masked by Egyptian’s resort to songs and tropes of national unity, which are actually very fragile or even illusory – “we are one hand.” An example is the friction between the Islamists and the Coptic Christians in Egypt that worsened over the years due to the failure of the state to protect its minority citizens.
Dr. Marlyn Tadros, human rights defender and one of the earliest promoters of social media in Egypt, describes the use of Egyptian humor on social media as the revolution evolved and she explores broadcast media’s impact on political dissent. . Humor and satire in the Egyptian context have been used as a form of dissent, and as a weapon against oppression. If the ‘street’ is ill equipped to accept democracy, perhaps humor will bridge that gap because humor challenges people’s previously held notions. Satire therefore reflects the evolving psychology of the masses as well as indirectly affecting and enhancing people’s cognitive consciousness. As such, it may challenge authority as in the case of the Egyptian revolution where it has revealed a pattern of eroding distrust towards the authorities.
Together, the authors, who are both longtime advocates of women’s rights as well as democracy, expose the horrendous new use of violence in public against women during and following the January 25, 2011 revolution. Tadros sees the use of rape and harassment as a shocking denouement for a society in which women have struggled so hard to move into the public sphere and attained professional respect despite many constraints in social attitudes and unfair legislation. Whether under the armed forces’ [SCAF’s] brief but decidedly momentous rule following the ouster of President Mubarak, under the religious regime of the Muslim Brotherhood, or under the subsequent current military regime, violence against women persisted with varied manifestations. Zuhur explores how Syrian refugee women who arrived in Egypt were also subjected to similar violence. The authors explored the justifications given for public violence against women and the perceived political gain from women’s victimization, as well as questioning the cultural and social implications of this violence.
Dr. Sherifa Zuhur, who has written widely about Islamist movements in and outside of Egypt, provides the background and analyzes the state’s response to the insurgency in the northern Sinai peninsula, which worsened in August of 2013. She provides a cameo of an ultra-supporter of the Sisi movement, Sama al-Masri and the sarcastic popular tropes, including anti-Americanism, that al-Masri utilized on private video channels. Al-Masri interestingly draws on Egypt’s dance and music traditions.
Zuhur writes about the role of Egypt’s big businessmen, and the question of whether or not a counterrevolution has occurred. Zuhur relates the outcome of trials of ex-President Mubarak and his allies, associates, and relatives. She also questions the role of the military in response to those who ask “who really rules Egypt today?” Tadros shows the manipulation of the public by prominent media personalities who thus further the goals of the security state-within-the-state.
The volume provides coverage of a tumultuous and contested time in Egypt’s history, a crucial period when its revolutionary dreams could be manifested, lost, or salvaged only in part, as the country attempts to stay afloat economically. The quest for less authoritarianism, more justice and freedom appear as complicated as ever.
1. Naguib Mahfouz, Amam al-‘Arsh (Cairo: Maktabat Misr, 1983).
