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Egypt's place in modern Africa is sometimes questioned due to
its era of Pan-Arabism. The reason why many modern Egyptians consider
themselves more Arab than African has much to do with the late Gamal Abdel
Nasser. Nasser was the one who founded the notion of a United Arab
nation that ultimately blew up in his face and was a large embarrassment to
the Arab nation at large. This begins the misadventure of Egyptians
identifying with Arabs instead of Africans.
Most people who ask these questions about modern Egyptians don't study
history that well. You must study Egypt from the inception [pre-dynastic
period] down to the modern era. The whole process of Arabization
started when the Arabs invaded in 640 AD and continued throughout the entire
Islamic period until occupation by Kurdish Ayyubids, Mamelukes, and finally
the Ottoman Turks that co-reigned with Europeans.
The only true Egyptians in
modern Egypt are the Fellahin, Sai'idi people, Baladi, and the Nubians.
Everybody else are foreigners. But please note even these sub-culture within
Egypt are not necessarily pure, for they have mixture with many other groups
that do include Arabs. The sub-culture tends to be more African than the
mainstream Egyptian society, and these people are often marginalized.
For those who are unaware, the Arabian caliph that occurred in Egypt after
Amr Ibn Alas'--such as the Umayyad and Abbasid sent Arabian tribes from
Yemen and Syria into parts of the Delta and in parts of Middle Egypt.
These Arabian tribes treated the indigenous Egyptian Fellahin like slaves,
and the caste system in modern Middle and Upper Egypt exists with the Arab
Bedouin Tribe on top, Ashraf second and finally the Fellahin on the bottom.
Most prominent political leaders are chosen from the Bedouin Arab Tribes and
the Ashraf but rarely from the Fellahin groups.
Nasser himself had a Pan-African outlook but was blinded by his Arabism.
Nasser in fact came from an Arab tribe that migrated from Hejaz into the
Middle Egypt city of Asyut. This deeply influenced his pan-Arabist
outlook and was was further strengthened by his ties to Arabi Tribes.
Most foreigners don't completely understand this.
Modern Egyptian's phobia for all things Africa has a lot to do with the
media they get on Africa. Europeans broadcast nothing but negative
images of Africa, and modern Egyptians think like most Americans that
Africans live tribal lifestyles within jungles. This leads many to distance
themselves away from the continent. Reports from Africans living in Cairo
have been rather bleak with some Egyptians screaming 'ooga booga'' at them.
This is clearly the American influence, and the Egyptians who do this are
usually elite types that associate closely with Europeans.
Egypt's modern policy with Palestine might also give Egypt more priority
within the so-called Middle East than in parts of Africa--not to mention the
strained relations with Sudan, or the Nile river crisis with modern
Ethiopia. These too are factors to consider. Egypt also has its share
of colonial practices during the Turk-Anglo-Egyptian occupation of the Sudan
during the 1870's.
Saidis Aswan Egy
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