Egypt between Authenticity and Westernization: A Reading of Intellectual and Political Features (1798-1923 AD)

Abstract

The Levant was not only affected by the winds of Westernization resulting from the French campaign (1798-1801), but also by policies adopted by the region's rulers during the transformations of the nineteenth century, under the pretext of implementing radical modernization within the military establishment. This was in addition to the role played by the churches of the Levant, European missionaries, and foreign consuls, who sent Arab students to study in Paris, London, and elsewhere. Foreign schools and institutes were opened in Beirut and elsewhere, whose curricula were based on reason and the critique of all phenomena, no matter how sacred.

These transformations led to the emergence of Arab intellectual and cultural elites who dominated the administrative, social, and political landscape in their countries. They were undoubtedly influenced by the methods and philosophies of Western countries, and upon their return to their Arab countries, they were considered vanguards of Western civilization. They wrote on topics such as the Arabic language, ancient history, customs and traditions, economics, sects, groups, races, nationalism, and Islam. They focused on religious topics according to a method based on debate and the presentation of ideas that conflicted with religious discourse, under the pretext that religious heritage was one of the most important reasons for Arab backwardness. These elites claimed that religious heritage was a challenge that stood in the way of Arab renaissance. Therefore, we find that the Arab Westernizing elites adopted the entire curriculum of Western Orientalist schools.