378 Resisting Publics
Notes
1.outros Ghali (1846–1910) was the first native-born Egyptian to serve as B
prime minister. Shortly before his assassination, Ghali had argued for the
extension of the Suez Canal Company’s concession, a highly unpopular
proposal among ordinary Egyptians. These and other “treasonous” acts by
Ghali were cited as reasons for his murder.
2.e term “imagined community” is taken from Benedict Anderson Th ,
Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
(London: Verso, 1991).
3.ürgen Habermas, J Autonomy and Solidarity: Interviews, edited by Peter
Dews (London: Verso, 1986), 187.
- The Literary Encyclopedia, s.v. “Jürgen Habermas” (by Edgar Andrew, 30 March
2001), http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&uid=1925. - Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism (New York: Vintage, 1994), 278.
6.ndeed, the author would argue that it is precisely this sort of situation I
which demonstrates the inherent paradox of the European Enlightenment,
whose epistemological relationship to imperialism and modern colonialism
has been discussed extensively by Said. The basic weakness of a theorized
set of shared assumptions has been elucidated by Jean-François Lyotard,
who has claimed that a “metanarrative” will impose coercive limitations
in any discourse that seeks to create a large consensus. See Jean-François
Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report of Knowledge (Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press, 1984), particularly sections IV, IX and X.
7.e ‘Urabi Revolution had been the trigger for the British Occupation of Th
Egypt in 1882. I deliberately use “revolution” rather than “rebellion” or
“mutiny” as there was an effort to change the structure of the government
and society and not merely replace certain parties in positions of power.
8.shaway was a village in the Delta where a group of British officers had Din
gotten into a confrontation with the local peasants while pigeon-shooting.
Although the only shots fired were by the officers, there was a fatality when
one soldier died of heat stroke after running away. The Occupation authori-
ties, however, reacted to the incident with a hastily organized special tribu-
nal in which 52 villagers were tried for murder and a number of draconian
punishments were handed down, including hard labor, flogging, and four
hangings. Dinshaway soon became a rallying cry, and even a number of
English observers protested.