Colonialism and Revolution in the Middle East

Looking beyond the Tribe: Abandoning Paradigms to Write Social History in Yemen During World War I

“…Social scientists and historians of warfare and colonialism should move beyond the banal descriptions of the revolutionary impact of war and European colonialism, which connote structures that are fixed, by reflecting on the local changes that take place in such conditions (Skocpol 1979;Cole 1993). The case of Imam Yahya is evidence that suggests that the war did not, in itself, provoke social breakdown.…”

“…As I hinted earlier, the impact of imperialism-with all its potentially disruptive influences in the form of military repression, economic dislocation, and accelerated cultural hybridity--deserves deeper, more nuanced research. Social scientists and historians of warfare and colonialism should move beyond the banal descriptions of the revolutionary impact of war and European colonialism, which connote structures that are fixed, by reflecting on the local changes that take place in such conditions (Skocpol 1979;Cole 1993). The case of Imam Yahya is evidence that suggests that the war did not, in itself, provoke social breakdown.…”

Cleansing the Nation of the “Dogs of Hell”: ʿali Jumʿa's Nationalist Legal Reasoning in Support of the 2013 Egyptian Coup and Its Bloody Aftermath

“…Tahtawi's authoritarian sympathies to his "late Ottoman mindset" or his "basic Islamic outlook" as two historians have put it. 24 Instead, I suggest it is the proto-nationalist twist that Tahtawi added to the Islamic political vision that provides a historical context for Jumʿa's support of the coup. In short, this nationalist addition was that the citizen serves the nation, the nation legitimizes the state, and the progress of the nation is a moral good in itself.…”

“…As such, rather than attribute al-Tahtawi's authoritarian leanings to his "basic Islamic outlook," 33 I consider al-Tahtawi's authoritarian sympathies to be a result of his place in the emerging discourse of the Egyptian nation-state. 34 In al-Tahtawi's theoretical writings on obedience to the ruler, he emerges as a nationalist and a monarchist with absolutist leanings. There would be chaos without kings, al-Tahtawi writes.…”

REASSESSING EGYPTʾS DUAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION UNDER ISMA ʿIL: GROWING ʿILMAND SHIFTING GROUND IN EGYPTʾS FIRST EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL,RAWDAT AL-MADARIS1870–77

“…Under Isma -il's rule, Egypt saw an explosion of activity in the political press. 96 Particularly in the turbulent times that led to Isma -il's deposition in 1879 and the -Urabi Revolt of 1882, 97 the press, as an oppositional force, evokes Jürgen Habermas's concept of a "public sphere"-a space of contestation, opinion, and critical reasoning. 98 In this model, the press serves as the instrument by which a burgeoning middle class makes its ideas "public" to a wider audience that can then engage in debate, deliberation, and, ultimately, change.…”