Pleasure, Leisure, or Vice? Public Morality in Imperial Cairo, 1882-1949 The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Fonder, Nathan Lambert. 2013. Pleasure, Leisure, or Vice? Public Morality in Imperial Cairo, 1882-1949. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11151531 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Pleasure, Leisure, or Vice? Public Morality in Imperial Cairo, 1882-1949 A dissertation presented by Nathan Lambert Fonder to The Center for Middle Eastern Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of History and Middle Eastern Studies Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts May 2013 ©2013. Nathan Lambert Fonder. All rights reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Professor. E. Roger Owen Nathan Lambert Fonder Pleasure, Leisure, or Vice? Public Morality in Imperial Cairo, 1882-1949 Abstract I investigate the social history of Egypt under British imperial occupation through the lens of morality in order to understand the contestation of cultural change and authority under empire. Points of cultural cleavage between European and local inhabitants in British-occupied Cairo included two customs, gambling and the consumption of intoxicants, which elicited sustained and dynamic reactions from observers of Egyptian society on the local and international level. I show that the presence of alcohol and gambling in public spaces in Cairo contributed directly to the politicization and selective criminalization of public morality. However, the meanings attributed to social practices relating to leisure were continually under negotiation and challenge as state authorities, British liberals, Egyptian reformers and religious leaders, foreign missionaries, and representatives of international temperance movements vied to impose their visions of morality upon Egyptian society. My work speaks to the questions of how public morality and popular culture are socially defined, and how these contested definitions have shaped, and been shaped by, the colonial encounter in the Middle East. I demonstrate that the struggle over who could claim ultimate cultural or religious authority on a given moral issue was not limited to the realm of ideas and ethics, but had practical and profound ramifications for state politics. In moving my analysis from the market of ideas to the physical iii market for intoxicating goods and wagering services, I argue that power and authority in Egypt, as in other states under imperial occupation, retained a fluidity that transcended the expression of force or threats of violence. The resiliency of these social issues testifies to the weaknesses of both the British imperial and the Egyptian monarchial states, which were never able to enforce their claims to moral and political authority and effectively exert power over the urban population. I detail the local Egyptian articulation of global social reform efforts and anti-vice projects during the colonial period. iv Table of Contents Front Matter p. vi Introduction p. 1 Chapter I: Drink in Egypt and Challenges to Imperial Prestige, 1882-1914 p. 30 Chapter II: Alcohol, Contested Authority, and the Limits of Independence, 1914-1949 p. 107 Chapter III: The Imperial State as Games Master: Gambling in Egypt, 1882-1914 p. 186 Chapter IV: The Regulation of Gambling and Elite Privilege, 1914-1949 p. 253 Conclusion p. 336 Selected Bibliography p. 344 v Front Matter Acknowledgements Over the course of my graduate student career, I was very fortunate to have the enduring support of professional guides, friends, and family. I would like to thank my advisor Professor E. Roger Owen for his patience, intellectual honesty, and for setting a high standard to aspire to as a historian of the Middle East. Professor William Granara has been a stalwart supporter, superb host, and great teacher worthy of emulation. Professor Emmanuel Akyeampong generously took interest in my project at a crucial stage, introduced me to a wealth of scholarship in his field, and has inspired me to seek new connections across the Sahara. I would also like to thank Dr. Susan Kahn and the staff of Center for Middle Eastern Studies for their assistance along this journey. The writing of this dissertation was completed while in residence in Princeton, and the community has been most welcoming. Robert Tignor and the members of the Africanist Working Group at Princeton thoughtfully read and commented on the first gambling chapter. The members of my writing group, Michelle Bourbonniere, Zack Kagan-Guthrie, and Alden Young, provided much needed moral support and helpful feedback. Aaron Rock-Singer, Simon Fuchs, and Megan Brankley Abbas at the Princeton Islamic Studies Colloquium and the attendees at the conference on “Failure in Islamic Reform” challenged me to reconsider what constituted success for moral reformers. Nancy Coffin was kind enough to invite me to give an Arabic language lecture at the Department of Near Eastern Studies early in the writing phase. The vi personnel at Princeton’s Interlibrary Loan and the Scan-and-Deliver office at Harvard performed remarkable deeds in securing material for this work. My archival research in Egypt and Great Britain was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Foreign Language and Area Studies program, as well as summer grants from the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard. I would like to extend my thanks to the kind staff at the Egyptian archives in Dar al-Withā’iq and Dar al-Kutub for all their help providing access to documents. Jennifer Derr and Dina Ramadan made life and research in Cairo all the better. The staff at the National Archives in Kew Gardens and the Wellcome Institute also deserve praise for their efficiency and speed. Elizabeth Gray at the American national archives at College Park was very helpful in finding resources. I am grateful to the panel members of the 2009 Middle East Studies Association conference in Boston who commented upon an early iteration of my work. Had I chosen to study Russian rather than Arabic during my first semester as an undergraduate at Emory University, my life would have been very different. Kristen Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal were my first mentors, and they opened so many intellectual and professional doors for me. It is because of their example that I decided to enter academia and become a teacher. Sinan Antoon and the other teachers at the School of Arabic at Middlebury’s summer language program helped me tremendously. The faculty of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad at the American University in Cairo, vii Nadia Harb and Nabila al-Asyuti in particular, was outstanding, and my CASA cohort was wonderful. I was extremely lucky to have an outstanding group of friends in Boston. Since our days in CASA, Ben Smith has been a trusted and reliable friend. His family hosted me and an ever increasing number of Clarks at numerous memorable holidays. Chris Wagner has been one of my closest friends since my first year at Emory, and having Chris and his family nearby made Boston quickly feel like home. Richard Johnson was a serendipitous housemate with whom I passed many happy moments. Dolores Johnson graciously welcomed us into her home. I could not have completed this project without the enduring support of my family. My mother Kathy and sister Sarah provided great encouragement throughout the duration of my graduate student career, and their love and support cannot be adequately acknowledged in this space. The example of my father, who passed away while I was writing this dissertation, continues to guide me. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my in-laws, Martin, Suzanne, and Sam, for their consistent support: I am truly privileged to have you as my family. My greatest debt of thanks is to my wife, Hannah, whose forbearance and love have kept me going. She has always been my most reliable reader and available to edit yet another version of a chapter. To my son Magnus, you are a joy, and I dedicate this dissertation to you and all our family. viii List of Tables and Figures Table 1: Alcohol Import Figures according to Temperance Activists p. 34 Table 2: Licenses given to public establishments 1927-1933 p. 158 Table 3: Operating public establishment without a license 1927-1933 p. 159 Table 4: Opening public establishment without informing police 1927-1933 p. 160 Table 5: Selling alcohol without a license in unlicensed public establishment 1927-1933 p. 160 Table 6: Selling alcohol without a license in licensed public establishment 1927-1933 p. 161 Table 7: Operating public establishment outside hours 1927-1933 p. 161 Table 8: Licenses given to public establishments like 1934-1946 p. 180 Table 9: Operating public establishment without a license 1934-1946 p. 180 Table 10: Opening public establishment without informing police 1934-1946 p. 181 Table 11: Selling alcohol without a license in unlicensed public establishment 1934-1946 p. 181 Table 12: Selling alcohol without a license in licensed public establishment 1934-1946 p. 182 Table 13: Operating public establishment outside hours 1934-1946 p. 182 Table 14: Judgments against Public Establishments in Cairo for Gambling Offenses p. 319 Table 15: Number of Charitable Lotteries Registered with Cairo Police p. 323 Figure 1: Betting Ledger of Ardern Hulme-Beaman from August 1885 p. 219 Figure 2: Mug Shot of Albert Matthews p. 295 Figure 3: Image of Egyptian boys selling lottery tickets p. 331 ix Introduction During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the people of the Middle East became increasingly linked to imperial metropoles through diplomacy, commerce, law, conquest, and occupation.