NORTHEAST AFRICA SERIES
Vol.IX
No.3
(United A r a b Republic)
THE CENTRAL SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PROBLEM O F THE UAR
P a r t 11: The Urban Mosaic
.
by Alan W Horton
Cairo
May 1962
In i t s psychological a s p e c t s the c e n t r a l s o c i a l and political probl e m of the United A r a b Republic h a s to do with the making of a m a s s of
m o d e r n minds capable of national loyalty and national s a c r i f i c e ; in i t s
sociological a s p e c t s the problem h a s to do with the development of pol i t i c a l institutions t h a t c a n d r a w together the v a r i o u s components of
Egyptian society and o r g a n i z e the g r e a t l e a p into industrializationand other outward manifestations of national s u c c e s s . A s outlined p r e viously (in P a r t I of this R e p o r t ) , the problem i s enormous and i t s i m plications f o r the Egyptian r u r a l m a s s a r e staggering.
Despite c l e a r indications of g r e a t change to c o m e , t h e r e does
not y e t e x i s t among the p e a s a n t r y a psychological o r sociological subs t r u c t u r e f i r m enough to s u s t a i n the idea of loyalty to a nation. Loyalt i e s r e m a i n fundamentally l o c a l and a r e held by kin group o r village;
contacts with the world outside a r e used chiefly a s weapons in the n e v e r ending and s u p r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t s t r u g g l e with l o c a l r i v a l s . But the
foundations of a r u r a l revolution a r e being laid by a government t h a t
h a s shown i n c r e a s i n g i n t e r e s t i n i n t e r f e r i n g with the i n t e r n a l workings
of village life.
The b a s i c d i r e c t i o n s of that r u r a l revolution a r e worth notingf o r t h e i r u r b a n a s well a s t h e i r r u r a l implications. Of the two m a j o r
c u l t u r a l s e g m e n t s of Egyptian society i t i s the urban s e g m e n t that i s
culturally dominant and that i n a s m a l l way h a s been able, by way of
newcommunications channels, to diffuse to r u r a l a r e a s i t s concepts of
what i s right and p r o p e r . And i t i s the government, the principal i n s t r u m e n t of u r b a n l e a d e r s h i p , that i s c r e a t i n g those new channels. P r i o r to
the Revolution the governments of Egypt w e r e not basically i n t e r e s t e d
in communicating with the p e a s a n t r y ; the landlord c l a s s , to which the
governments w e r e socially r e s p o n s i b l e , maintained a s y s t e m of l a r g e l y
Copyright
C
1962, Arner~canUnnersities F ~ e l dStaff, Inc.
[AWH- 3 - '621
economic contact that guaranteed continuance of the c u l t u r a l gap. The
p r e s e n t r e g i m e , on the other hand, h a s no identifiable c l a s s affiliations1
and i s understandably concerned about "social solidarity."
This conc e r n h a s led to a t t e m p t s to m a k e the p e a s a n t nation-conscious and to
c o n v e r t the townsman to positive nationalism.
The Urban C o m ~ o n e n t s
Though m o s t townsmen a r e nation-conscious, t h e r e a r e many
who have not taken the f u r t h e r s t e p that l e a d s to national loyalty. By
this I do not m e a n that t h e r e i s significant disloyalty to the nation o r
even to the p r e s e n t r e g i m e ; what I do m e a n i s that a n apathetic l a c k of
c o n c e r n about what the nation ought to do prevents the development of
a n effective and generalized s p i r i t of national s a c r i f i c e . Many of the
educated Egyptians whom the W e s t e r n e r o r d i n a r i l y m e e t s in C a i r o a r e
indeed patriots-they have s t r o n g feelings e i t h e r for o r a g a i n s t p r e s e n t
policies-but the g r e a t bulk of city-dwelling Egyptians i s s e l d o m able
to focus on m o r e than the i m m e d i a t e problems of money and living and
the p r e s s i n g demands of kin and s m a l l community. Despite the apathy,
i t i s a r e a s o n a b l e prognosis that a b a s i s for national loyalty will soon
e x i s t i n u r b a n c e n t e r s . What i s o c c u r r i n g that such a prognosis i s possible ?
Though u r b a n society i s divided into a multitude of s o c i a l c l a s s e s ,
ethnic g r o u p s , and religious s e c t s , each town o r city i s integrated into
a smoothly functioning urban unit by what C a r l e t o n Coon h a s d e s c r i b e d
a s a "mosaic s y s t e m . " Traditionally e a c h group o r c l a s s has i t s p a r t i c u l a r s o c i a l and economic function. The landed gentry and big busin e s s m e n , the Copts, the A r m e n i a n s , the b a z a a r m e r c h a n t s , t h e Italians,
the a r t i s a n s organized into v a r i o u s guilds, the petty b u r e a u c r a t s , the
J e w s , the p o r t e r s , the G r e e k s , the Nubians-all t h e s e and m a n y o t h e r s ,
forming a m y r i a d of overlapping and interlinked s o c i a l c a t e g o r i e s , have
t h e i r places i n the p a t t e r n of the m o s a i c . The f a c t that the b u s i n e s s of
government, the function of p a t e r n a l i s t i c d i r e c t i o n of r u r a l and u r b a n
poor, was in the hands of a landed upper c l a s s was p e r h a p s b a s i c to the
T h e r e w o u l d b e s o m e dispute on this point. T h e r e does e x i s t ,
mostly among W e s t e r n e r s , a myth concerning the "peasant" ( o r s o m e t i m e s "lower m i d d l e - c l a s s ") o r i g i n s of the ruling a r m y e l i t e . It i s
t r u e that many of t h e m a r e of varying humble origins-but i t i s a l s o
t r u e that m a n y of them a r e not. By f a r the b e s t and m o s t balanced a c count about the origins of the F r e e Officers m a y b e found i n Vatikiotis,
P . J., The Egyptian A r m y in P o l i t i c s (Bloomington, 196 l ) , pp. 44-68.
AWH- 3 - ' 6 2
m o s a i c ' s grand d e s i g n ; a f t e r ten revolutionary y e a r s , during which the
power of that c l a s s has been broken, the m o s a i c s y s t e m itself i s showing signs of disintegration.
This does not m e a n , however, t h a t the m o s a i c s y s t e m i s s t a t i c
by n a t u r e and that i t does not make provision f o r s o c i a l change. Urban
society was evolving b e f o r e the Revolution a l m o s t a s rapidly a s i t i s
now. Throughout t h e h i s t o r y of m o d e r n Egypt t h e r e has been steady
change a s new i d e a s , new techniques, and new philosophies have c r e a t e d
the demand. One h a s only to s k i m through L a n e ' s M a n n e r s and C u s t o m s
of the Modern Egyptians, that incomparable work of urban ethnography
w r i t t e n i n the 183O1s, to b e a w a r e of the headlong pace of change i n C a i r o
over the l a s t 100 y e a r s o r s o . But i t was a l l within the f r a m e w o r k of a
s y s t e m that encouraged not only rapid adaptation to the needs of the
t i m e s but a l s o a nonnationalis t c u l t u r a l d i v e r s i t y .
In the e a r l y 19th c e n t u r y , f o r example, Muhammad Aly encouraged v a r i o u s E u r o p e a n groups to c o m e to Egypt and fill positions in the
expanding r e a l m of c o m m e r c e and i n d u s t r y . L a t e r i n the century, und e r I s m a i l , S y r i a n w r i t e r s and e d i t o r s c a m e to m e e t the needs of a s o ciety undergoing a l i t e r a r y r e v i v a l . With the a r r i v a l of the m a c h i n e
a g e a group of Italian m e c h a n i c s found their way to Egypt and joined
the colony of t h e i r countrymen who had f o r s o m e y e a r s dominated the
building i n d u s t r y . The r e s p o n s e to the need f o r b e t t e r education was
to encourage F r e n c h c u l t u r a l i m p e r i a l i s m and A m e r i c a n m i s sion schools.
Though the B r i t i s h occupation of 1882 was a m a t t e r of f o r c e , the ensuing
c u l t u r a l and economic activity of the B r i t i s h community was not only
welcomed but a l s o given i t s place i n the s a m e m o s a i c that had provided
f o r previous a r r i v a l s o v e r many c e n t u r i e s .
The e s s e n c e of the m o s a i c s y s t e m of Egypt i s that i t h a s f o s t e r e d culturally d i s p a r a t e communities within each town o r city. Some
communities, like t h o s e mentioned in the preceding p a r a g r a p h , a r e of
t r a c e a b l e foreign o r i g i n s and maintain t h e i r f o r e i g n n e s s by supporting
t h e i r own community institutions; p r i o r to the Revolution e a c h religious
community ( s o m e t i m e s a combination, s o m e t i m e s a division, of ethnic
communities) additionally reinforced cultur a1 s e p a r a t i s m by adminis t e r i n g i t s own laws of p e r s o n a l status-including a concept of m a r r i a g e
that was l a r g e l y endogamous. Other communities that a r e A r a b i c speaking m a i n t a i n a l e s s distinct c u l t u r a l s e p a r a t i s m b a s e d on c o m m u nity preoccupation with p a r t i c u l a r t r a d e s , s k i l l s , o r p r o f e s s i o n s ; h e r e
the distinctions a r e of m a n n e r of s p e e c h r a t h e r than language, of d r e s s
r a t h e r than religion, of occupation r a t h e r than t r a c e a b l e c u l t u r a l origin.
Though they do not support such f o r m a l community institutions a s schools,
AWH- 3-'62
h o s p i t a l s , and religious organizations, they maintain t h e m s e l v e s a s coh e s i v e groups by institutionalized consultation and co-operation, by c o m munity endogamy, and by community r e s i d e n c e a r e a . 2 In addition to
t h e s e two g e n e r a l i z e d types of community, t h e r e a r e many o t h e r s that
of a l l s h a d e s and gradations,
cannot b e s o neatly categorized-groups
f o r m e d by economic c i r c u m s t a n c e and the movements of i d e a s and peop l e s , and d i s c e r n i b l e a s functioning e l e m e n t s of the m o s a i c .
The community s t r u c t u r e within e a c h city and town i s partially
c r o s s c u t by and partially interwoven with a c l a s s s t r u c t u r e that r a n g e s
f r o m v a r i o u s s u b c l a s s e s of landed gentry to i m m i g r a n t l a b o r e r s f r o m
r u r a l a r e a s . Some communities, s u c h a s the Coptic Orthodox, r a n g e
over the e n t i r e c l a s s s t r u c t u r e and have the support of both a r i s t o c r a t s
and unskilled m a n u a l w o r k e r s . Other communities, like S y r i a n C h r i s tians and Nubians, a r e confined l a r g e l y to one c l a s s . The communities
that fit m o s t neatly into the c l a s s s t r u c t u r e a r e of c o u r s e those of the
efSunni M u s l i m m a j o r i t y ; landed gentry, m e r c h a n t s , shopkeepers, fendiya ( c l e r k s and petty b u r e a u c r a t s ) , a r t i s a n s , and l a b o r e r s a r e a l l
recognized categories-and s o m e c l a i m to recognize other c a t e g o r i e s ,
s u c h a s "professional middle c l a s s , " that a r e in f a c t unstable and l e s s
s a t i s f a c t o r i l y defined. Within each c l a s s , and p a r t i c u l a r l y within the
upper c l a s s e s , t h e r e i s , despite the maintenance and g e n e r a l approval
of community endogamy, considerable s o c i a l i n t e r c o u r s e between the
v a r i o u s communities r e p r e s e n t e d ; a t the b e t t e r s o c i a l clubs, for e x a m ple, u p p e r - c l a s s M u s l i m s m i x e a s i l y with t h e i r c o u n t e r p a r t s of the Copt i c , S y r i a n , Jewish, A r m e n i a n , and G r e e k communities.
In those communities that r a n g e in composition o v e r s e v e r a l
c l a s s e s t h e r e h a s always been c o n s i d e r a b l e s o c i a l mobility. Traditionally the principal methods of s o c i a l advancement w e r e educational and
c o m m e r c i a l ; the end in view was a d m i s s i o n to the upper c l a s s The pos sibility of advancement was open even to s o m e of the p e a s a n t r y ; m o r e
than a few famous p e r s o n a l i t i e s in m o d e r n pre-Revolutionary h i s t o r y ,
s u c h a s Saad Zaghlul and Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayyid, w e r e of village o r i gins. W h e r e a s the c o m m e r c i a l road to s o c i a l s u c c e s s s e e m s generally
to have taken m o r e than a generation, the educational r o a d , a s in the
c a s e of Zaghlul and Lutfi el-Sayyid, held out the hope of m o r e i m m e d i a t e a r r i v a l . A good education ( p r e f e r a b l y but not n e c e s s a r i l y a b r o a d ) ,
a knowledge of foreign languages, and a m a r r i a g e that did not preclude
.
Almost no r e s e a r c h h a s been done in Egypt on this type of c o m m u nity. The w r i t e r knows little m o r e than i s s t a t e d h e r e . Working hypothe s e s a r e , however, available in the work done by the F r e n c h in F e z s u m m a r i z e d in C a r l e t o n Coon's C a r a v a n (New York, 195 l ) , pp. 232-259.
s o c i a l a c c e p t a n c e w e r e apparently good g u a r a n t e e s that an able young
m a n might ultimately b e admitted to a higher c l a s s a s a m e m b e r in
good and loyal standing.
"Ar abne s s "
T h e r e was e a r l i e r mentioned3 Egyptian humor d i r e c t e d a t the
n a m e of the UAR, implying that i t was neither united nor A r a b nor a
republic. Any allusion to disunity can be e a s i l y d e m o n s t r a t e d f o r the
continuing Republic ( l e t alone by a c o m p a r i s o n with i t s f o r m e r Northe r n Region!) by s i m p l e r e f e r e n c e to the c u l t u r a l dichotomy of village
and u r b a n c e n t e r . Within each urban c e n t e r another kind of c u l t u r a l
disunity c a n b e d e m o n s t r a t e d , a disunity based not on distinct ways of
life within the A r a b ethos but on non-Arab influences and intrusions a p a r t i a l explanation f o r that ridicule in j e s t of the supposed A r a b c h a r
a c t e r of the U A R . ~
Egyptian "Arabnes s " c a n b e viewed a s the d o m e s t i c c o u n t e r p a r t
of 'Uruba ( A r a b i s m ) , the political concept and catchword that regulates
and explains s o m a n y of the relations between A r a b s t a t e s ; i t might, in
a s e n s e , b e viewed a s the pan-Arab c o u n t e r p a r t of watania ( l o c a l n a t i o n a l i s m ) . It s e e k s to d e s c r i b e a n ethnic unity that the older u r b a n o r d e r did not p o s s e s s . Though the o l d e r o r d e r had i t s p a t r i o t s , i t did not
have ethnic s o l i d a r i t y ; though i t had many who could be moved to t e a r s
o r action by the words A r a b and Egyptian, i t could not mobilize the pol i t i c a l e n e r g i e s of e n t i r e c i t i e s . T h e r e w e r e always c l a s s e s and groups
whose s p e c i a l s o c i a l o r economic i n t e r e s t s c o m p r o m i s e d a united politi c a l effort. In i t s s e a r c h for m a s s support the new r e g- i m e has q u i t e n a t u r a l l y sought to weaken the community loyalties of the urban m o s a i c
and to encourage the Arabization of u r b a n s o c i e t y .
The a t t a c k on the m o s a i c s y s t e m h a s been on many f r o n t s . The
weapons of attack r a n g e f r o m subtle, possibly unintended a t m o s p h e r e s ,
which suggest a p p r o v a l o r disapproval of relations with c e r t a i n categor i e s of p e r sons (often f o r e i g n e r s ) , to f o r t h r i g h t laws that r e v e a l c l e a r l y
the p r e m i u m placed on A r a b attitudes. The m a j o r point of attack i s of
c o u r s e the "foreignness" to which the m o s a i c s y s t e m gives r i s e .
In The C e n t r a l Social and P o l i t i c a l P r o b l e m of the UAR, P a r t I: The
R u r a l E l e m e n t (AWH-2-'62), an AUFS publication.
Another p a r t i a l explanation i s the not uncommon feeling that m o s t
Egyptians a r e of Nile Valley stock and hence a r e not A r a b s -despite a c quisition of the A r a b i c language.
T h e r e i s , f o r example, the f o r e i g n n e s s of the n o n - ~ r a bcommu~
nities that have b e e n settled and established in Egypt for g e n e r a t i o n s .
B e c a u s e they have t h e i r own schools, h o s p i t a l s , religious organizations,
and clubs, they have p e r s i s t e d i n t a c t and immune to a s s i m i l a t i o n . It
i s f a i r to s a y t h a t they consider t h e i r own c u l t u r a l affiliations s u p e r i o r
to those of the A r a b . Many of the communities a r e , like the G r e e k s and
I t a l i a n s , attached f o r both legal and c u l t u r a l purposes to e m b a s s i e s of
t h e i r l l h o m e " c o u n t r i e s ; s o m e o t h e r s , like the European J e w s , while
maintaining community cohesion, have t h e i r foreign pas s p o r t s r e v a l i dated a t whatever e m b a s s y each p a r t i c u l a r family h a s established a r e lationship; s t i l l o t h e r s , like the A r m e n i a n s , a r e f o r the m o s t p a r t Egypt i a n nationals whose Arabic, though i t i s b e t t e r than that of other nonA r a b c o m m u n i t i e s , r e m a i n s n e v e r t h e l e s s a second language. Over the
l a s t few y e a r s i t h a s become understood by a l l that the choice i s one of
a s s i m i l a t i o n 6 o r departure-and the l a t t e r a l t e r n a t i v e i s generally f a v o r e d even though i t m a y m e a n abandoning property that h a s r e s u l t e d
f r o m generations of e n t e r p r i s e . The communities that have foreign
p a s s p o r t s dwindle daily; those without foreign pas s p o r t s a r e leaving
m o r e slowly a s e m i g r a n t s to B r a z i l , Canada, and A u s t r a l i a . In a v e r y
s h o r t t i m e t h e r e will not be enough p e r s o n s to support the schools, hos p i t a l s , c l u b s , and religious organizations t h a t have held t h e m t o g e t h e r .
The r e a s o n s for d e p a r t u r e a r e reasonably c l e a r . S e v e r a l categor i e s of laws a r e eating away a t the foundations of non-Arab communities
and threatening the privileged livelihood on which community s t a t u s and
well-being a r e b a s e d . One c a t e g o r y h a s to do with the many who do not
have Egyptian nationality. It i s , f o r example, r e q u i r e d by law that 85%
of the employees of m o s t e n t e r p r i s e s involving t e n p e r s o n s o r m o r e be
UAR citizens and that 75% of total s a l a r i e s b e paid to UAR c i t i z e n s . It
i s r e q u i r e d that a l l agents r e p r e s e n t i n g foreign m a n u f a c t u r e r s b e UAR
c i t i z e n s . I t was r e q u i r e d in e a r l y 1957 that a l l d i r e c t o r s and s h a r e h o l d e r s of banks and i n s u r a n c e companies b e UAR citizens-and this r e q u i r e m e n t h a s s i n c e been extended to other v a r i e t i e s of e n t e r p r i s e . The unwillingness to take Egyptian nationality i n the f a c e of t h e s e legal p r e s s u r e s i s symptomatic of the weakness of the m o s a i c s y s t e m and demons t r a t e s c l e a r l y t h a t many loyalties l i e outside Egyptian t e r r i t o r y .
-
It i s not always e a s y to d e t e r m i n e whichcommunities a r e n o n - A r a b .
What of the Arabic-speaking J e w s ( K a r a j i t e s ) ? What of t h e W e s t Aswan
Nubian colony ( s e t t l e d t h e r e since the e a r l y 19001s),whose young m e n
and women now speak only A r a b i c ?
It should be noted that s o m e a r e ineligible f o r a s s i m i l a t i o n in that
they, o r t h e i r p a r e n t s , did not apply f o r Egyptian nationality before v a rious cutoff d a t e s that w e r e established e x post facto.
Another c a t e g o r y of laws i s e s s e n t i a l l y economic and applies to
both Egyptian and non-Egyptian enterprise-but i n the c a s e of many nonEgyptians i t affects d i r e c t l y their r e a s o n s f o r continued r e s i d e n c e in the
UAR by whittling away a t e a s y p r o f i t s . In the l a s t few y e a r s p e r s o n a l
and c o r p o r a t e t a x e s have r i s e n s h a r p l y . An individual with a n income
roughly equivalent to $6,000 will now pay s o m e 1870 to 2070 in income,
p r o g r e s s i v e , and defense t a x e s , w h e r e a s in 1955 he would probably have
paid l e s s than 970. C o r p o r a t e t a x e s a r e not only substantially higher but
a l s o m o r e efficiently and honestly collected. A closely allied category
of laws i s that having to do with the nationalization of m o s t l a r g e - and
m e d i u m - s c a l e e n t e r p r i s e , a haphazardly practiced government d o c t r i n e
until July 196 1, when P r e s i d e n t N a s s e r announced a n a l m o s t total takeover.
P e r h a p s the m o s t significant c a t e g o r y of laws i s that which
t h r e a t e n s the c u l t u r a l continuity of the non-Arab communities. T h e s e
laws a r e p r i m a r i l y educational and i m p o s e on the p r i m a r y and seconda r y schools of each community a c u r r i c u l a r s c h e m e fashioned in the
M i n i s t r y of Education. To the outside o b s e r v e r who i s not struggling
to maintain h i s c u l t u r a l identity the r e q u i r e d c u r r i c u l u m s e e m s r e a s o n able, but to the m e m b e r of the settled foreign community i t a p p e a r s a s
a h a r b i n g e r of death by ethnic a t t r i t i o n . Of the child who i s presumably
to live his life in an i n c r e a s i n g l y Arabic-speaking society i t a s k s a good
knowledge of written A r a b i c ; i t a s k s a l s o a knowledge of A r a b h i s t o r y ,
geography, and "civics." Whether o r not the c u r r i c u l u m c a n develop
loyalties to the Egyptian nation i s for the m o m e n t a side i s s u e a s f a r
a s the non-Arab communities a r e concerned-what i s important to them
i s that t h e r e i s no longer sufficient school t i m e to inculcate t h e i r own
cultural values .
T h e r e a r e many o t h e r l e s s obvious kinds of foreignness f o s t e r e d
by the m o s a i c s y s t e m . An i n t e r e s t i n g and revealing instance i s the f o r eignnes s that has been, wittingly o r unwittingly, encouraged among the
well-to-do by foreign schools culturally affiliated to Western E u r o p e
and the United S t a t e s . T h e r e a r e , for example, p e r s o n s of n u m e r o u s
ethnic origins drawn together by the bonds of a common F r e n c h educaThis c o n c e r n can be i l l u s t r a t e d by a n addendum to a t e r m paper
written f o r the w r i t e r before the Revolutionby a n A r m e n i a n u n d e r g r a d uate a t the A m e r i c a n University a t C a i r o . After completing a good,
p r o p e r l y objective d i s c u s s i o n of his own community in C a i r o he f e l t
obliged to add that A r m e n i a n s in the United States w e r e in g r e a t p e r i l
b e c a u s e , according to information he had r e c e i v e d , t h e r e w e r e s o m e
who did not even speak the Armenian language.
AWH- 3 - ' 6 2
tion. Many of t h e s e a r e Egyptians, both Muslim and Copt, who, though
they m a y b e s t a l w a r t p a t r i o t s , a r e bound to view things differently f r o m
those for whom F r e n c h i s a poorly taught t h i r d language in a governm e n t school-or, f o r that m a t t e r , f r o m those whose education h a s been
i n A m e r i c a n institutions. Though they m a y be t h e f i r s t to r e v i l e F r a n c e
f o r i t s politics, t h e i r conscious o r unconscious a d m i r a t i o n of F r e n c h
c u l t u r e i s reflected in t h e i r conscious o r unconscious d e s i r e to b e adm i r e d by F r e n c h f r i e n d s . Admittedly the c a s e of the F r e n c h - s p e a k i n g
schools and of the ambivalent half-loyalties they have c r e a t e d i s the
m o s t pronounced, but only in d e g r e e i s i t d i s s i m i l a r to o t h e r s .
Though the government recognizes the i m p o r t a n c e of foreign languages and encourages b e t t e r language p r o g r a m s whenever a properly
s u p e r v i s e d opportunity p r e s e n t s i t s e l f , i t c l e a r l y does not encourage
the c u l t u r a l linkages that can be instilled by a foreign p r i m a r y and s e c ondary education. Government c o n t r o l of such education h a s , since
1958, become m o s t s t r i c t and will soon b e c o m e even m o r e s o . F o r e i g n
t e a c h e r s will s h o r t l y b e limited to the teaching of t h e i r own languages;
foreign-owned schools m u s t shortly b e Egyptian-owned; foreign princi pals and h e a d m a s t e r s m u s t shortly be replaced by UAR nationals. Within
a y e a r o r two many schools will be taken over and a d m i n i s t e r e d d i r e c t l y
by the M i n i s t r y of Education.
As to t h e cultur a1 communities alr eady c r e a t e d by foreign schools,
the r e g i m e i s up against a t r i c k i e r but m o r e t r a n s i e n t problem. It i s
t r i c k y b e c a u s e a g r e a t d e a l of the c o u n t r y ' s talent c o m e s f r o m t h e s e
backgrounds; i t i s t r a n s i e n t b e c a u s e the problem will b e c o m e l e s s p r e s s ing a s a new generation m a t u r e s under g r e a t e r educational supervision
-or s o the theory g o e s . The p r e s e n t situation i s , however, under effective c o n t r o l . It i s not difficult, for example, to c r e a t e a n u r b a n a t m o s p h e r e that m i l i t a t e s effectively a g a i n s t the advisability of friendships
with f o r e i g n e r s ; a hint in a newspaper a r t i c l e , an instruction to c e r t a i n
c a t e g o r i e s of government employees to avoid diplomats, a spy t r i a l any of t h e s e can, when n e c e s s a r y , do the job. Nor i s i t difficult, should
a situation c a l l for i t , to m a k e a p a r t i c u l a r group of f o r e i g n e r s f e e l unwelcome.' Though t h e s e a t m o s p h e r e s and ploys c a n b e explained in other
ways, the f a c t r e m a i n s that they a l s o fit an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n that s e e s a
'
C l e a r i l l u s t r a t i o n s of this and o t h e r methods of l l c o n t r o l l l w e r ep r o vided by the F r e n c h spy t r i a l , which was widely r e p o r t e d in the world
p r e s s this w i n t e r . The t r i a l was called off "in the public i n t e r e s t , I 1 a n d
a l l p r i s o n e r s r e l e a s e d , a f t e r the Evian a g r e e m e n t s and the v i s i t to
C a i r o of Muhammad Ben Bella-but long a f t e r the r e c a l l f r o m Egypt
of m o s t l y c & e t e a c h e r s of F r e n c h nationality!
government a t t e m p t t o keep a d m i r e r s of foreign civilizations away f r o m
s o u r c e s of c u l t u r a l renewal.
The campaign a g a i n s t v a r i o u s kinds and d e g r e e s of foreignness
can only be understood, and justified, in t e r m s of the c e n t r a l s o c i a l and
political problem. The making of a m o d e r n nation demands a homogeneity of effort that the o l d e r urban o r d e r i s not p r e p a r e d to m a k e . But
h e r e , a s opposed to the dichotomous situation of distinct r u r a l and urban
c u l t u r e s , one c a n s e e through the obstructions that l i e ahead to a t i m e
when the urban-educated will constitute, a s one nationalist put i t , "a
solid c o r e of patriots dedicated to national development." Those who
cannot a s s i m i l a t e and a d j u s t to a new national a t m o s p h e r e will d e p a r t
o r will be encouraged to d r i f t into uninfluential eddies out of the m a i n
c u r r e n t s of national endeavor -and, hopefully, f r o m t h e s e eddies t h e r e
will come a younger generation that will fail to respond to the subtle
semiloyalties of the u r b a n m o s a i c and will be p r e p a r e d to s a c r i f i c e f o r
Egypt.