of both independence and kingship by retaining
responsibility for communications and for defense
of Egypt as well as foreign affairs within Egypt.
Although a parliament and constitUtion were
also established, the effectiveness of both was lim-
ited as the monarchy, the parliament, and the Brit-
ish were in a continuous tug-of-war for control of
Egyptian affairs. The king looked to the British to
support him against the reforming efforts of the
parliament, ultimately undermining his authority
and hindering the development of the country.
Moreover, the king and the parliament, made
up of Western-trained elites, were cut off from
the majority of the people. Caught in their own
power struggles, they failed to address the real
and growing needs of the Egyptian people. Egypt
was crippled by social injustices and huge eco-
nomic disparities. The personal excesses of King
Faruq only confirmed the people’s perception
that the government was corrupt and irreligious.
The final blow to the old regime came with the
military catastrophe of 1948 when the Egyptian
army (along with those of Syria and Jordan) was
soundly defeated by the new state of israel.
Political disorder and social disarray contin-
ued until popular riots broke out in January 1952.
A few months later the government fell in a mili-
tary coup d’état led by Jamal abd al nasir. Three
days later King Faruq was forced to abdicate and
compelled to go into exile. There was no violence;
he set sail from Alexandria on the royal yacht
and spent the remainder of his life on the French
Riviera. In 1953 the monarchy was officially abol-
ished and Egypt was declared a republic.
The Muhammad Ali dynasty transformed
Egypt, laying the foundations for the govern-
mental infrastructure and administration that
are still the basis for Egyptian government today.
However, the dynasty also encouraged some of
the ideological and economic rifts that continue
to plague Egyptian society.
See also abdUh, mUhammad; colonialism;
reneWal and reForm movements.
Heather N. KeaneyFurther reading: Joel Beinin and Zachary Lockman,
Workers on the Nile: Nationalism, Communism, Islam
and the Egyptian Working Class, 1882–1954 (Princeton,
N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1987); Arthur Gold-
schmidt, Jr., Modern Egypt: The Formation of a Nation-
State (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1991); Afaf Lutfi
al-Sayyid Marsot, Egypt’s Liberal Experiment: 1922–1936
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977); Robert
L. Tignor, Modernization and British Colonial Rule in
Egypt, 1882–1914 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 1966); P. J. Vatikiotis, The History of Modern
Egypt: From Muhammad Ali to Mubarak, 4th ed. (Balti-
more: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).Muhammad al-Mahdi (868; disappeared
874 c.e.) the 12th and last Imam in Twelver Shiism,
considered by the majority of Shiis to be the Mahdi
Immediately upon becoming the 12th imam at
the age of six, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (as he
was originally known) was taken away and hid-
den by the Shia in an attempt to save him from
imprisonment at the hands of the abassid caliph-
at e. Thus, for the first few years of his imamate,
Muhammad was represented in the community
by his agents who claimed to be in contact with
the young Imam and who spoke for him on mat-
ters of law and religion. This period from 874 to
941 became known as the Lesser Occultation, so
called to differentiate it from the Greater Occulta-
tion that occurred when, according to his agents,
Muhammad ibn al-Hasan left the earth, ceased
communication with his followers, and became
Muhammad al-Mahdi: the Hidden Imam who will
return at the end of time to restore justice on earth
and usher in the JUdgment day.
See also ghayba; mahdi; shiism; tWelve-imam
shiism.
Reza AslanFurther reading: Jassim M. Hussain, Occultation of the
Twelfth Imam (London: The Muhammadi Trust, 1982);
Abdulaziz A. Sachedina, Islamic Messianism (New York:
State University of New York Press, 1981).Muhammad al-Mahdi 497 J