The Priesthood of Nationalism in Egypt: Duty, Authority, Autonomy
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Geer, Benjamin (2011) The Priesthood of Nationalism in Egypt: Duty, Authority, Autonomy. PhD thesis, SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/13185/ Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. The Priesthood of Nationalism in Egypt: Duty, Authority, Autonomy Benjamin Geer Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in 2011 Department of the Languages and Cultures of the Near and Middle East School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 1 I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the School of Oriental and African Studies concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: Date: 17 December 2011 2 Abstract This thesis considers the effects of nationalism on the autonomy of intellectuals in Egypt. I argue that nationalism limits intellectuals’ ability to challenge social hierarchies, political authority and economic inequality, and that it has been more readily used to legitimise new forms of domination in competition with old ones. I analyse similarities between religion and nationalism, using the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu together with cognitive linguistics. Focusing mainly on the similarities between priests and nationalist intellectuals, and secondarily between prophets and charismatic nationalist political leaders, I show that nationalism and religion are based on relatively similar concepts, which lend themselves to similar strategies for gaining credibility, recognition and moral authority. I present case studies of a few nationalist intellectuals, focusing on ones who advocated views that later became dominant. The translator and teacher Rifāʿa Rāfiʿ al-Ṭahṭāwī, who was trained as a religious scholar before studying secular subjects in France, brought nationalism to Egypt by blending European nationalist concepts with centuries-old concepts from Islamic religious and literary traditions. In the early 20th century, the nationalism of intellectuals such as Muḥammad Ḥusayn Haykal enabled them to compete with men of religion for prestige and political influence, and also served particular class and professional interests. Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm’s concept of the charismatic national leader influenced the young Gamal Abdel Nasser, who became a successful nationalist prophet and military autocrat. Iḥsān ʿAbd al-Quddūs articulated the concept of the nationalist martyr, who 3 dies for his country; this concept also contributed to Nasser’s charisma. Both al-Ḥakīm and al-Quddūs arguably lost autonomy under Nasser’s regime. Al-Ḥakīm was unable to criticise the regime until after Nasser’s death. Al-Quddūs was imprisoned and tortured for advocating democracy, then became one of the most fervent supporters of Nasser’s autocracy. 4 Table of Contents Abstract......................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements..................................................................................................8 A Note on Transliteration......................................................................................9 Introduction.............................................................................................................11 Nationalist Conceptualisation..................................................................19 Religious and Nationalist Fields...............................................................23 Nationalism in Egypt..................................................................................32 Primary Sources...........................................................................................35 Chapter 1: Before al-Ṭahṭāwī...............................................................................39 Al-Ḥanīn ilā al-Awṭān: Missing One’s First Home...................................40 A 13th-Century Definition of Waṭan...........................................................45 Egypt’s Good Qualities....................................................................................48 Al-Ǧabartī and the French Occupation of Egypt.......................................57 Conclusion..........................................................................................................87 Chapter 2: The First Priest of Nationalism in Egypt.......................................90 The Origins and Development of French Nationalism to the Early 19th Century...............................................................................................................90 Education and Knowledge Production in Egypt at the Beginning of the 19th Century......................................................................................................97 Mehmed Ali.....................................................................................................100 Al-Ṭahṭāwī Before and During His Stay in France.................................106 Al-Ṭahṭāwī’s Exposure to Nationalism in France....................................109 Nationalist Concepts in the Taḫlīṣ..............................................................114 Al-Ṭahṭāwī’s Nationalist Poetry..................................................................118 Manāhiǧ al-Albāb al-Miṣriyya....................................................................119 The National Duty of Economic Activity............................................119 Militarism, Conquest and Education....................................................126 Political Philosophy..................................................................................132 Similarities between Nationalism and Religion..................................135 Al-Muršid al-Amīn li-l-Banāt wa-l-Banīn................................................135 Education in the Service of the Waṭan.................................................136 Nation and National Territory...............................................................138 Freedom.......................................................................................................143 Nationalism, Civilisation and Religion.................................................146 Al-Ṭahṭāwī’s Nationalist Vocabulary and Concepts...............................147 The Influence of al-Ṭahṭāwī’s Work in Egypt..........................................149 Al-Ṭahṭāwī’s Strategy of Symbolic Power and the Ethos of the State- School Graduates............................................................................................159 Chapter 3: Muḥammad Ḥusayn Haykal and the Emergence of a Priesthood of Nationalism..................................................................................166 The Afandiyya.................................................................................................169 Nationalism and Educational Policy.....................................................170 Nationalist Shaykhs and Street Protests...............................................178 Aḥmad Luṭfī al-Sayyid..................................................................................183 Muḥammad Ḥusayn Haykal........................................................................189 Qāsim Amīn...............................................................................................190 National Literature....................................................................................203 5 From ‘Great Men’ to the Priesthood of National Writers.................211 Zaynab.........................................................................................................213 The Film Adaptations of Zaynab...........................................................218 Competition Between Two Priesthoods...............................................221 Conclusion........................................................................................................243 Chapter 4: Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm, the Priest Who Called for a Prophet...........245 An Interrupted Trajectory.............................................................................246 Les Mystères de l’Orient................................................................................249 ʿAwdat al-Rūḥ.................................................................................................253 Critical Enthusiasm and Nationalist Sufism........................................269 Al-Ḥakīm’s Heteronomy...............................................................................275 Nationalist Habitus as a Blend with a Religious Input...........................283 Conclusion........................................................................................................285