was to change Egypt’s history. Muhammad Ali (r.
1805–49), determined to build a European-style
military to defend his rule, began the process of
centralization, institutionalization, and discipline
that would eventuate in an independent Egyptian
nation later in the century, although this was not
his intent. His grandson Ismail (r. 1863–79) did
much to modernize Egypt (“civilize” was the
term he used), changing the architectural face of
its cities, expanding education, and allowing the
development of journalism.
Great Britain, looking after its financial inter-
ests in Egypt and eager to control this strategic
location, invaded in 1882, remaining in the coun-
try, under one guise or another, until 1954. British
rule set back reform and development in most
respects, although freedoms of the press and reli-
gion were probably greater during this period than
most others in recent memory. The revolution of
1952, which was to usher in complete indepen-
dence, changed Egypt tremendously, ending the
monarchy imposed by the British, breaking up
the enormous landholdings that came to charac-
terize Egypt in the 19th century, and reorienting
Egypt away from British influence to leadership
in the nonaligned movement. Jamal abd al-nasir,
Egypt’s president from 1954 to 1970, was the
charismatic former army officer who spearheaded
these efforts while also attempting to realize the
unification of all the Arab peoples. With the
support of the United States, Nasir successfully
defended the country against an invasion by the
armies of Israel, Britain, and France in the 1956
Suez War, which was sparked when he placed
the canal under Egyptian sovereignty. Modern
Egyptian history has played out in the shadow of
the Arab-Israeli struggle, which has proved much
more devastating to the Arabs, including the
Egyptians, than to Israel. Egypt fought unsuccess-
ful wars against Israel in 1948, 1967, and 1973.
Economic development, educational reform, and
democratization all were put off in the name of
the greater struggle. The camp david accords
that Abd al-Nasir’s successor, mUhammad anWar
al-sadat (r. 1970–81) signed with Israel in 1978
inaugurated a welcome era of relative peace and
stability that allowed some attention to be paid
to these crucial issues. Al-Sadat shared the Nobel
Peace Prize with Israeli prime minister Menachem
Begin for his role in negotiating and implement-
ing the accords. Another result of the agreement
was that Egypt became a close ally of the United
States.
Religious ferment in Egypt has been important
to the entire region. The mUslim brotherhood,
founded in 1928 by hasan al-banna, has helped
in a variety of ways to consolidate the Islam-
ization of society in Egypt and elsewhere. The
radical ideologue sayyid qUtb (d. 1966) has been
crucial in providing an intellectual underpinning
to the Islamist movements that arose after the
1967 Arab-Israeli War. But Egyptian intellectuals
such as Taha Hussein (d. 1973) and nasr hamid
abU zay d (b. 1943) have sought innovative ways
of integrating textual criticism into the study
of Islam, and in this respect Egyptian thinkers
are often ahead of their times. In other cultural
spheres, too, such as literary production, the
cinema, mUsic, and the broadcast media, Egypt is
the most important nation in the Arabic-speaking
world. Its most famous novelist and short story
writer, Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006), won the
Nobel Prize in literature in 1988 for his moving
portrayals of life in Egypt and his enlightened
treatment of contemporary political and religious
subjects.
See also arab-israeli conFlicts; copts and the
coptic chUrch; ottoman dynasty.
John IskanderFurther reading: Geneive Abdo, No God but God: Egypt
and the Triumph of Islam (Oxford and New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000); Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha’s
Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army, and the Making of Modern
Egypt (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1997); Timothy Mitchell, Rule of Experts:
Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 2002).K 212 Egypt