Before It All Turns To Chaos… A brief history of Modern Egypt

Why We’re Here  Remember, this course is being taught thematically— that means we don’t always necessarily go in time order  We spent quite a bit of time at the beginning of our middle eastern studies on the fight to the right of Palestine because the issue of Israel hovers over everything in Middle Eastern politics  Now we’re going to take a look at Egypt, and see how their country blended self-rule and the overarching goals of the Palestinians  Remember, many people living in Egypt consider themselves to be a Muslim (religious), an Arab (cultural), a Palestinian (cultural/religious) and an Egyptian (nationalist)

The British are Coming!  Egypt was under the control of the Ottoman Empire through World War I  However, what have we said in previous classes about the Ottoman Empire’s state of being around the time of World War I?  Answer: They’re in huge debt and crumbling  Because of this large debt and a poor governmental structure, the British had controlled Egypt since 1882  When the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers for WWI, the British declared Egypt their protectorate (remember—that means Egypt is a colony of Britain)  Following the Central Powers’ loss in WWI, Egypt was firmly in Britain’s hands…at least for now…

What Do I Smell “Wafd”-ing In Here?  The Wafd Party was a political group calling for Egyptian nationalism and freedom from Britain  In 1919, the Wafd Party’s followers led a popular revolt against the British  The revolt was put down, but by 1922 the British didn’t feel the time and energy being put into Egypt was worthwhile (not to mention their people’s safety) so…  Egypt was granted independence in 1922  There were strings attached though:  Britain left military forces to defend Egypt and the Suez Canal  Britain also looked to oversee Egypt’s foreign policy  Is Egypt really independent then?

What Do I Smell “Wafd”-ing In Here?  Throughout the 1920s and 1930s calls for Egyptian independence grew stronger  Goal: complete independence for Egypt from Britain  After Italy invaded Ethiopia, Egypt was quite scared and forged the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936—granting Egypt more independence  The two countries promised to support each other if war broke out in the Middle East  Britain also sponsored Egypt’s membership in the League of Nations  However, troops were STILL in Egypt—so do they really have full independence?  King Fuad was installed by the British during WWI, who eventually gave way to King Farouk throughout the 1940s and early ‘50s  There were three factions struggling for control of Egypt—the Muslim Brotherhood (they wanted all Muslims united under Islam in 1 country), King Fuad/Farouk, and the British themselves  Britain continued to have a foothold in Egypt until 1952…

It’s not Naser (point at Him), it’s Nasser (he’s not here—can’t point)  In 1952, Lt. Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk  The king was blamed for Egypt’s poor performance in their war against Israel in 1948  By 1953 Nasser was declared a republic  Initially Nasser worked well with the Muslim Brotherhood, but ultimately things turned sour, as Nasser cared more about Egypt than he did one Muslim state for all Muslims to live in  This included multiple failed assassination attempts made by the Muslim Brotherhood on Nasser  As Nasser ruled, Egypt grew and became a leader in the Middle East  However, relations with the Muslim Brotherhood became increasingly strained as the Brotherhood became more militant and political  Originally, the Brotherhood turned on Nasser because of Nasser’s socialist leanings, including a nationalized school system without Islam  Nasser also angered them by separating the country from religion  However, Nasser was not above force himself, with assassinations and prison camps embedded within his regime

Nasser Dies  In 1970 Nasser dies.

And Sadat Reigns  Following Nasser’s rule, Anwar Sadat emerges as Egypt’s leader in 1970  Sadat was not well-liked by many Egyptians…often called a “pharaoh”  People in Egypt thought Sadat was trying to make Egypt too “Western”  He reversed many policies of the Nasser era  He opened the Egyptian economy to private industry and non- Egyptian investments in the economy  His government was corrupt: the rich got wealthier but the economy didn’t grow  This means that the average person was worse off in the short term because inflation rose prices without any increases in the average person’s wages  Western cultural influences also continue to grow

Let’s Go Campin’…No Guns Please  However, Sadat was well-liked by many outside of his country because of the Camp David Accords  In 1979, Sadat met with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Camp David in New York  After much discussion, Israel agreed to pull out of the Sinai Peninsula  The big problem many Palestinians (and many Egyptians) had with the agreement is that Egypt had now officially recognized Israel as a country  It’s a problem for many Palestinians looking to reclaim Palestine also because Egypt is the Islamic World’s strongest military and Egypt is now at peace with Israel  There were some long range economic benefits that occurred because of Sadat as well  Imports were increased  Investment was encouraged  Trade relations with other countries were improved  Privatization was increased  However, Sadat’s policies stop in 1981—because he’s shot dead…  This opens the door for Hosni Mubarak to step into power…and we’ll talk about his reign tomorrow (yes, he’s the guy the Egyptian people overthrew last year)