With this said, here is the framing of a theory. A theory on "The Egyptian Mind." Like all theories, it cannot be perfectly encompassing. And it usually provokes lots of pros and of cons. The grist that may in future produce better flour.
I begin with an apology to the great Greek historian Herodote (or Herodotus). Born in 485 B.C., and died in 425 B.C. That is nearly five centuries before Christ. Visiting Egypt, he coined a memorable phrase. "Egypt Is the Gift of the Nile." True. But, from my perspective, and on my way to a possible theory on "The Egyptian Mind," this is only one side of the coin.
The other side is: "The Nile Is the Gift of Egypt." Through worship of natural resources; great engineering throughout its 6500 kilometers length from Lake Victoria to Damietta and Rosetta; unity of its people, especially from the Sudanese borders to the Mediterranean; and ready acceptance of what tomorrow will bring, either a high flood or a low flood. The most important predictors of 10,000 years of Egyptian recorded history is not "weather forecasting," but Nile forecasting.
Noting the above, I was galvanized to embark on this theory, because of one recent historic event. I heard that Egypt is concerned about the beard of King Tut.
In August 2014, someone touched King Tut's beard. At the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the mausoleum of Egypt's DNA. The King's gold mask suffered. The beard detached. Panic struck. The soul of Egypt was bruised. Egyptian museum officials, incompetently tried to glue it back on. A botched repair. Eight Egyptian museum officials were carted off to appear before Egypt's Administrative Prosecutor.
A trial is expected. With direct testimony from Egypt's Heritage Task Force -an initiative to protect the nation's cultural heritage. A heritage for which a mammoth Grand Egyptian Museum, under construction near the Giza pyramids, shall in 2018 replace the Museum at Tahrir. To the cost of nearly $1 Billion.
This is an aspect of "The Egyptian Mind" at work. Egypt is not Syria, where Palmyra is destroyed. Not Iraq, where the mobs in 2003 carted off the treasures of great Mesopotamia. Is not Afghanistan, where the Taliban destroyed the Bamian Buddhist temples.
When the January 25 Revolution ignited from Tahrir in 2011, calling on Mubarak to leave, the Egyptian Museum was about to be attacked by the mobs.
Egged on by the Muslim Brotherhood after the Camel Battle of January 28. For the Brotherhood, Egyptian antiquities are mere idols, non-Islamic. Then we saw the Egyptian mind in full drive: The army which stood silently to protect the Revolution swung into action at the Museum. So did the Museum's employees. For that was the House of Egypt -a gift to the whole world.
So what makes Egypt tick? What is the make-up of "The Egyptian Mind?" What goes into it, and what comes out of it? What are the tentative elements of this attempt at a theory? Let us here try the notion of a rectangle -with all four sides equal.
First: Belief in a Super Being, without exclusions;
Second: A spontaneous commitment to the State and its security;
Third: An ingrained belief that adversity can only be temporary; and
Fourth: An ethos of "Egyptianness," not to be commingled with Arabism. -a sense of exceptionalism reflected in national folklore.
First: Belief in the Almighty is the first fabric in Egypt's historical tapestry. As a tapestry, it is woven from multi-color threads. Reflecting the unique geography of Egypt as a connector between 3 continents. When that fabric is disturbed, Egypt goes back to smooth it all over again.
The hand that smooths that fabric is guided by the principle of the oneness of God. In Islamic terminology, it is "Tawheed." Didn't begin with Islam, but with Akhenaton -Father of King Tut. The multiplicity of deities was replaced by one. How did this faith reflect itself? In the monuments. The obelisk, that monolithic pillar that terminates in a pyramid, tells us something about The Egyptian Mind. Though the pyramid building age was gone, the pyramid could not be abandoned. The soul of Egypt lives on, though in a different manifestation.
For Egypt, eternity is not a hope. It is a creed. Moses was an Egyptian; the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph sought refuge for four years in Egypt. From the Delta to Cairo to Wadi el-Natroun. Then up the Nile, south to Mallawi and Asyut. With the arrival of the Muslims in the middle of the 7th century, the first Executive Order was issued from Medina by the Caliph Omar, to his general, Amr. "Don't touch their churches. Don't seek conversion."
Those instructions held fast. The Amr capital in the Cairo area was called Fustat, founded in 641 AD. Fragments from Fustat give glimpses of a cosmopolitan old Cairo. Polyglot, multi-confessional, and prosperous.
Centuries later, the Muslim Brotherhood (2012-2013) toyed with that fabric. Under the guise of Islamism, they caused the Copts great anxiety. They lost, and El-Sisi, as President, was seen, on January 7, at the St. Mark Cathedral celebrating the Orthodox Christmas. In 2015 and again in 2016. How assuring!!
Contrast this to the Islamists injunction: "Don't even say Merry Christmas!!" This is while the Quran refers to Jesus as born of immaculate conception. And the only woman glorified in the Quran is the Virgin Mary. Her apparitions continue to attract thousands of Egyptians, of whatever faith, to inspirational moments of adoration.
Except for Lebanon, Egypt is the only country in the Middle East which has the Coptic Christmas a national holiday. The only country in the world which has a mass political party, Al-Wafd, hoisting its symbol of a Crescent hugging the Cross.
Even the name of the country has its origins in faith. Tradition holds that its origins are Greek. With due respect and love for Graeco Egypt, it is not the case. The term "Copt" originated from the soil of ancient Egypt before passing into Greek.
It refers to the temple for the ancient Egyptian god, Petah. The most revered among all other deities. Petah had a location. The city of Manf, the first capital of ancient Egypt. Th term "Copt" was later given to the whole country. The Europeans read it as "Agyptus." Guided by the Greeks, the Arabs chose the shortened, but authentic, term "Copt."
Second: The second side of the rectangle of "The Egyptian Mind" is a spontaneous commitment to the State and its security. With the multiplicity of religious roots comes a secular faith called "The State." The slogan "Tahya Misr" (Long Live Egypt) was not born as of January 25, 2011. It goes back 10,000 years ago, though at that dawn of Egyptian history, not voiced in Arabic.
The pyramids stand today for the concept of State stability. Not an epitaph for the Pharaohs. But as eternalizing the State as a builder, an innovator. Hard stone structures, the first of their kind in the world, stood and continue to stand for durability. The sun always sets on them. But rises again. Also symbolizing the first social welfare in the world (the peasants engaged in construction received daily rations); the technologists (the engineer was the royal consultant); and the temples stand below -separating between the State and religion.
With Egypt located between three continents, security became paramount. The country's armed forces are revered: standing for cohesion, safety, security, and individual sacrifice for the nation. Especially when engaged on national soil, such as in the October war of 1973, and in combating today's terrorism. Can't forget the last words of a dying soldier in Sinai: "This is for you Egypt!!" (Alashaaik Ya Misr).
These very words are a decisive rebuttal to those who have made a name for themselves attacking the armed forces. The social media did not make the two revolutions of January 25 and June 30 a success. The armed forces did. Under the leadership of SCAF, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, headed by Field Marshal Tantawi and General Anan, the military guns in Tahrir stayed silent. A silence that roared higher than the chants of a million civilians.
And in June 2014, El-Sisi came to power, not on top of a tank. But through the ballot box. That is after failing to convince Morsi in June 2013 to abide by the national will and face new elections. Reason why The Egyptian Mind discards attacks on the authenticity of Egypt's choice of leaders. As it rejects the falsehood that the armed forces have their parallel economy -imputing unaccountability.
My words here are borrowed from the World Bank as corroborated by other sources of fact-checked statistics:
- The military's economic share is less than 4% of the gross national product. In Egypt, the farm land is mostly private ownership. But most desert land is owned by the State. In food production, the military have a limited role, mainly confined to subsidized handouts to the poor. An Egyptian version of America's food stamps for the needy. In construction, publicly-owned firms hold 11.5% market share. The private sector holds 88.84%.
- Of course, there are, as should be, strategic exceptions. Connected to security and national stability considerations. The prime example is the construction of the second Suez Canal. Inaugurated in August 2015, but funded entirely by subscriptions for shares spreading the ownership throughout the populace.
- And under the stewardship of former Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawi, certain infrastructure projects were allocated to the military. For reasons of quick execution at a low cost. Total value reached 5.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($1=LEG 7.83) A figure constituting only 10% of public investment in fiscal 2014-2015.
Third: The Third side of the rectangle of The Egyptian Mind is an ingrained belief that adversity can only be temporary. Resilience, not advocated, but deeply felt. National catastrophes, like the war of 1967 when Egypt's air force was totally destroyed by the Israeli attack, was recorded as "a setback." Six years later, the score were made even. And when the food riots erupted in February 1977, as a result of withdrawal of government subsidies for basics, the International Monetary Fund was debunked. And nearly 20 years earlier, when the U.S. and the World Bank reneged on premises to fund the Aswan Dam project, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal company.
On the matter of the Aswan Dam funding, Egypt did not nationalize the Canal as uninformed world press asserted. The Canal is sovereign territory, meaning that you do not nationalize what you own. The company was a different matter. Yet nationalization of the company cost the share holders, mostly foreign, nothing. Those shares were fully compensated by Egypt at their fair market value.
And here emerges another facet of resilience as an impulse of "The Egyptian Mind." Respect of treaties. In March 1979, a peace treaty was concluded in Washington, D.C. between Egypt (one third of all Arabs) and Israel. Nearly all Arab States retaliated by isolating Egypt. The League of Arab States, moved its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis. But Egyptian resilience had a voice. In Sadat's voice, the response was "Egypt is a country which isolates; it is not subject to isolation." A few years later, the Egyptian peace theory prevailed. And the League was back to its birthplace.
It is challenging to attempt a listing of factors for that belief that adversity can only be a passing cloud. But a few of these factors may be highlighted as a framework for resilience:
- An ancient cradle of civilization
- Many Egypts from the Mediterranean to the aquatic Red Sea; to the sacred heart of Egypt at Luxor; to Egypt's front garden at the Fayoum oasis
- Moderate climate
- Vast desserts east and west ready for reclamation
- Readiness to do with fewer amenities. Lunch could be a loaf of bread, a piece of cheese, an onion, and a glass of sweet tea
- And the Nile shall always flow regardless of hydropolitics in eastern Africa. If not the Blue Nile, then the White Nile in cooperation with the Sudan. What can go wrong?!
Four Egyptian languages: Arabic, Coptic, Nubian and Berber (in Siwa). An early children teaching that "you are part ancient Egyptian, part Arab." An educational system, though ineffectual, but still clings to teaching English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and as of late, Russian. Farsi and Hebrew are also taught. Diverse cuisines, from Molokhiyyah (green soup), eaten by Ancient Egypt, to grilled meat kebabs and kofta, and of course, falafel.
And a bewildering array of dress, from that of a mayor (Omdah) to a western-looking young woman pilot of Egyptair. Together with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable borders -the coastline, of 1555 miles on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Exceptionalism is also prominent in song, dance, films, the theater and the arts. All protected by constitutional provisions of the secular document of 2014. Including the popular song for the Armed Forces on July 3, 2013: "May God Bless the Hands of Our Armed Forces." A failing attempt to negate it by the Muslim Brotherhood "May the Hands of Our Armed Forces Be Paralyzed." Antagonism and non-belonging to "The Egyptian Mind."
And the head of the Coptic Church, Pope Theododros II of Alexandria was a pharmacist. While the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, is a graduate of the Sorbonne in France.
We cannot exit this text without reference to the sense of Egyptian humor. Especially when quoted from a President and an Egyptian Coptic Pope:
- Sadat was once told that Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was hurling accusations at Egypt. His laughing response: "What do you expect from an ugly looking woman?" Later was a topic of laughter in 1977 between the two leaders.
- The great scholar, the late Pope Shenouda III, and hailing from southern Egypt (Al-Ssaaeed) put this question to a group of his listeners (including me): "Do you know why God created the Egyptians of southern Egypt?" No answer from the audience. The Pope provided the humorous answer: "For comic relief!!"
"Upon Jesus birth, so was mercy born;
good deeds, heavenly guidance and eternal life.
No threats, no temporal might, no revenge;
no sword, no invasion, no blood.
In his love and adoration;
great disciples bowed their heads."
"The Egyptian Mind" retains the adage "Misr Umm El-Donia" (Egypt Is the World's Mother.) It also retains the Coptic prayer inherited from the Saints "Blessed Be My People - Egypt." And how would it forget that the Quran mentions Egypt by name 5 times in no less than 4 Chapters. Including a verse which greets all of arrivals at the Cairo International Airports: "If God pleases, enter Egypt in safety." (Chapter 12, from verse 99.)
From faith, we conclude with high diplomacy. Indicative of "The Egyptian Mind." An exchange between two giants, not yet reported before anywhere.
Concerned about Egypt's professional representation at the UN Secretariat, the great Foreign Minister, Dr. Mahmoud Fawzi went in the early 1950s to see the best-ever UN Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold. The S.G. asked: "Mahmoud: How do you qualify an Egyptian fit to serve here." Without hesitation, Fawzi responded: "Regardless of faith or affiliation, or gender, that individual should intimately reflect Egypt as a unique civilization."
An example of "The Egyptian Mind" in full view on the world stage. As defined by Mahmoud Fawzi, the Godfather of the Egyptian School of Diplomacy. A school that suffered no interruption since 1922, come "Hell or High Water!!"
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