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Exploring the Intellectual Foundations of Egyptian National EXPLORING THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF EGYPTIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION by MOHAMMED SABRIN (Under the Direction of Ajay Sharma) ABSTRACT In this dissertation, I will explore the intellectual foundations of Egyptian national education to understand the paradoxical existence of a Secular Humanist rooted national education system in a Muslim-majority country (MMC). Such an inquiry is critical at a conjuncture that Egyptians are beginning to unshackle themselves from a thirty-year puppet regime. Given the return to an Islamic identity since the 1970s ‘Islamic Awakening’, it is expected that such newfound freedom could give national education a more Islamic hue. This investigation will start with a discussion of the complex relationship between Secular Humanist philosophy (SH) and Western colonization. Given the colonizing effect that I have found in utilizing SH worldviews in discussing indigenous peoples, I will suggest Critical Indigenous Methodology (CIM) as the least restrictive approach in breaching the gulf between SH and indigenous worldviews such as Islam. I will argue the latter to be the most relevant indigenous worldview for better understanding Egyptian conceptions of identity, knowledge, and education. It is through this worldview that I will investigate the repercussions of SH discourse on the intellectual foundations of national education in Egypt. Specifically, this part of analysis will involve the ideological influences of French colonization and the events thereafter on Rifaa’a Raafi’At Tahtaawee, the Egyptian responsible for laying the intellectual foundations of the current Egyptian national educational system. Lastly, I will present an analysis of At Tahtaawee’s two most important educational texts, Takhlees Al Ibreez fee Talkhees Baarees (A Golden Nugget on the Essence of Paris) and Al Murshid Al Ameen lil Banaat wal Baneen (The Honest Guide for the Boys and Girls).This last analysis will explore his reconstruction of the concepts of knowledge and education to align with the objectives of the new identity of Egypt as a nation-state. Despite the traditional narrative thus far in academia, I will argue that French colonization and the events thereafter had a significant impact on the eventual intellectual foundations of Egyptian national education. INDEX WORDS: Egypt, Islam, Education, Colonization, Enlightenment, Secular Humanism EXPLORING THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF EGYPTIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION by MOHAMMED SABRIN B.A., The University of Delaware, 2008 M.S., The Florida State University, 2010 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2013 © 2013 Mohammed Sabrin All Rights Reserved EXPLORING THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF EGYPTIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION by MOHAMMED SABRIN Major Professor: Ajay Sharma Committee: Kyunghwa Lee Ronald Butchart Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2013 iv I have noticed that no author writes a book and finishes it, except that the next day he says, ‘If I had only changed this part, it would have been better; and if only I had added this fact, it would have been appreciated more; and if I had only made this section earlier, it would have been easier to comprehend; and if I had only left this section out, it would have been more beautiful.’ And this, in fact is one of the greatest lessons and points to ponder over, for it is a clear indication of the inferiority of the nature of man [sic]. Al ‘Imaad Al Asfahaanee (d. 597) (Qadhi, 1999, p. 15) v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF EGYPTIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION ........... 1 CHAPTER 2: WESTERN ENLIGHTENMENT PHILOSOPHY AND DECOLONIAL METHODOLOGIES .................................................................................................................... 19 Western Enlightenment Philosophy .......................................................................................... 19 Decolonial Methodologies ........................................................................................................ 37 Critical Indigenous Methodology .......................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 3: AN ISLAMIC WORLDVIEW VIS A VIS MUSLIM PRACTICE ...................... 41 Essentialism and Representation ............................................................................................... 43 The ‘Personal’ Aspects of Islam ............................................................................................... 47 The Sociopolitical and Economic Aspects of Islam.................................................................. 57 Knowledge in Islam .................................................................................................................. 63 Education in Islam ..................................................................................................................... 70 Education in the Muslim World during the Middle Ages ......................................................... 71 Education in the Muslim World compared to Europe ........................................................... 76 CHAPTER 4: FRENCH COLONIZATION OF EGYPT AND THE FIRST SEEDS OF SECULAR HUMANISM. ............................................................................................................ 80 vi Indigenous Intellectuals............................................................................................................. 81 First contact: Re-defining The Masses ...................................................................................... 84 Re-educating the Intelligentsia ................................................................................................ 100 The Material Culture of The Proposed New Egyptian Identity .............................................. 104 CHAPTER 5: RIFAA’A RAAFI’ AT TAHTAAWEE ............................................................. 109 The Socipolitical, Economic, and Historical Context of At Tahtaawee’s Study Abroad ....... 109 Like Teacher like Student: At Tahtaawee’s teacher, Hasan Al Attaar .................................... 115 At Tahtaawee before France ................................................................................................... 120 At Tahtaawee’s first work of educational criticism: Takhlees Al Ibreez fee Talkhees Baarees (A Golden Nugget on the Essence of Paris) ............................................................................ 124 Knowledge and Education in Paris ...................................................................................... 124 Nationalism as Egyptian Identity ........................................................................................ 135 Ancient Egyptian civilization as Egyptian Identity and the Missing Pharaoh in the Educational Curriculum ....................................................................................................... 144 Teaching Multiple Audiences .............................................................................................. 151 CHAPTER 6: A LOOK AT RIFAA’A RAAFI’ AT TAHTAAWEE’S INTELLECTUAL BLUEPRINT FOR EGYPTIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION IN AL MURSHID AL AMEEN LIL BANAAT WAL BANEEN (THE HONEST GUIDE FOR THE BOYS AND GIRLS). ... 169 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION: .................................................................................................. 208 vii STRUGGLES AND ASPIRATIONS FOR EGYPTIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION IN THE NEAR FUTURE ......................................................................................................................... 208 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 222 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF EGYPTIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION Egypt (90% Muslim) has gotten a lot of attention recently (Khorshid, 2012; Pickett, 2012) due to the fact that many are now calling for actual implementation (of what was mostly ignored except for family laws under Hosni Mubarak) of the constitution’s second article. This article states that “Islam is the official state Deen1, and Shari'a2 is the primary source of legislation” (Arabic Republic of Egypt). Is Egypt a theocracy, a democracy, or something different altogether? Such a change in implementation of an entire country’s legal and political system would undoubtedly have tremendous influence on its educational system. For example would such changes make ‘Egyptian’ identity a ‘Muslim or Islamic’ identity; what about non- Muslim Egyptians? More importantly, how does one define all the terms of such a discussion outside the parameters of the English speaking Western world? What is meant by such concepts; are there ‘universally’ recognized conceptions of these English words in other languages, cultures, or world-views? Anyone familiar with Egypt’s recent history will realize that the root of these questions could be traced to one integral question: what is Egyptian identity in light of Egypt’s colonial past and present? Through exploration of this question it can be surmised what is the indigenous 1 ‘Way of Life’ in Arabic. As a side note, there will be times when my transliteration will differ from Western academic norm. Since the meaning of a word in the Arabic
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