Muslims in Global Politics: Identities, Interests, and Human Rights

4. Searching for a Modern Islamic Identity in Egypt

Chapter  Searching for a Modern Islamic Identity in Egypt Egypt is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. The vast majority of its people are Muslim, and Islam is the state religion. Although Egyptians’ identity has been shaped by their own distinct geography, history , and cultural traditions, the content of their identity is surely ArabIslamic . Egypt also has the largest Christian population in the Middle Eastern and North African region. The Coptic Christians are the largest nonMuslim religious group there. The country has undergone a profound social transformation in the twentieth century. The rise of commercialized agriculture unleashed a transformation of rural society that resulted in the land reform measures of the 1950s and 1960s.1 By the early 1980s, however, surging population growth and rising production costs had eradicated many of the land reform’s earlier gains. The 1952 revolution greatly expanded educational opportunities. University enrollment grew rapidly through the 1970s, swelled by the ranks of middle- and lower-class youngsters in search of more sustainable employment .2 Although Islam remains a critical element of social life, within it have emerged multiple identities, with variations and sometimes conflicting subdivisions. Egypt’s demographic features make it an extremely interesting Middle Eastern country. Half of the Egyptian people are under twenty years of age and two thirds are under thirty.3 This means that many children depend on adults for their livelihood, a situation that severely strains the economy. The Egyptian government and economy have proven illequipped to meet the demands for food, shelter, education, and jobs for this young population.4 This chapter contextualizes the struggles between secularist and Islamist movements in Egypt, which vie over constructing identity and gaining power in the country. Although cultural Islam has become a symbol of resistance to Western-style modernity and secular globalization, political  Chapter  Islam is searching for a middle ground in national politics. At the same time, mainstream Islamic forces have increasingly transformed themselves into a more accommodating force at the national level. Social and National Integration Unlike many countries in the Middle East, Egypt has a high degree of social and national integration. While this has helped create a strong sense of national identity, it has also made ruling the country and stifling dissent much easier for the ruling elites. Egypt’s military defeat in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war coincided with social and political instability that had started in the early 1940s as a result of increasing class disparities, unbridled and sprawling urbanization, and labor unrest. During the 1923–52 period, no popularly elected Egyptian parliament ever completed its term, and the average life of a cabinet was less than eighteen months.5 The corrupt royal family, the lack of reform, and Britain’s stubborn refusal to withdraw from the Suez Canal Zone led to the 1952 revolution of young army officers. On July 23, 1952, the army engineered a coup, seizing state control. King Farouk abdicated in favor of his infant son. In June 1953, the monarchy was terminated and a republic was declared. All political parties, including the Wafd and the Muslim Brotherhood, were abolished. In the ensuing years, the state dominated society and the economy—a period also known as Arab Socialism. Egypt, spearheaded by Gamal Abdel Nasser, was a veritable police state from 1953 to 1970, when Nasser died. The post-Nasser era witnessed gradual economic liberalization and a partial opening of the political climate by President Anwar al-Sadat. President Sadat launched a program of economic liberalization, known as the infitah (opening up), which was based on free-market economics, while leaving the Egyptian state in firm control of the political process.6 By 1977, however, political unrest had broken out throughout Egypt, largely after the government attempted to withdraw subsidies from the basic commodities under pressure from the International Monetary Fund. Following these riots, President Sadat shifted his ruling style from one of patrimonial and paternalistic piety to that of a pseudo-monarch. He came to govern Egypt according to his own personal whims and interpretation.7 In 1977, Sadat began rapprochement with the United States and Israel. He was assassinated by Islamist militants in 1981. His successor, Husni Mubarak, has pursued a zig-zag pattern of de- Egypt  mocratization, cautiously allowing multiparty parliamentary elections at regular intervals. Egypt under Mubarak has failed to successfully integrate Islamist groups into the political process. By 1992, Islamist groups controlled most university...