Egypt

Colonialism, Defensive Modernization, and Religion

Egypt entered the global age as a territorial possession of a declining Ottoman Empire and an important regional player in an emerging world system dominated by Western powers. This new world system was the result of historical forces that had transformed Europe into the center of modern science, technology, commerce, and politics. Other regions were integrated into this new system as “the periphery” and compelled—either through force, self-interest, or both—to accommodate to Western-style modernity. This asymmetric power arrangement gave rise to European colonialism, which deeply affected much of the Muslim world. In Egypt, Ottoman authorities, starting in the early 19th century, welcomed British advisors and investors to help invigorate the economy and revamp social institutions. By the end of the century, Egypt had witnessed dramatic social and economic changes, but it had also accumulated a significant debt. The British, following a pattern of colonial insertion first begun in India, took control of Egypt to ensure their financial interests and to further exploit the country's resources. Their colonial presence would not end until the mid-20th century, after a tide of nationalism swept through the country.

While religion was not at the forefront of the new world system, it did infuse the cultural undercurrents of modernity, modernization, and colonialism. At the historic center of this system, the British viewed their culture, including Christianity, as essential to their modern success and as superior to the native cultures and religions over which they ruled as a colonial power. In fact, Christian missionary activity was part of the colonial enterprise—an attempt on the part of the British to transmit not just the material blessings of modernity but its cultural sources as well. For Egyptians, the interpretive link between modernity and religion, and Islam in particular, proved more ambiguous because the social transformations within their country had a foreign origin and were not directly tied to their cultural past.

Keenly aware of their weakness vis-à-vis the West, Egyptians recognized the need to adopt new industries, technologies, and practices and to reform their traditional systems of law, education, and politics. They also questioned religious traditions and institutions that were thought to have allowed a once-great Islamic civilization to decline. At the same time, Egyptians were rightly worried about the seeming Western orientation of modernity and modernization and about the cultural threat entailed in equating modernization with Westernization. Thus, while the global reach of the new world system and the colonialism that accompanied it set in motion an unprecedented exchange of goods, ideas, and ways of life, it also created a crisis of identity and authenticity in Egypt and other peripheral countries. The response to this crisis, which has been called defensive modernization, embraced development and change to empower native populations and thus limit further Western incursions. It emphasized laying the infrastructure for a modern society that could compete economically, politically, and militarily in a new global age. And religion proved to be an important factor in this competitive environment.

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