Colonising Egypt Timothy Mitchell UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles Oxford !!

!! The Regents o" the Uni#e$sity o" C%li"o$ni%

Preferred Citation: Mitchell, Timothy. Colonising Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1988 1988. http: ark.cdli!.or" ark: 1#$#$ ft%8&$$'k(

Colonising Egypt
Timothy Mitchell
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles Oxford !! The Regents o" the Uni#e$sity o" C%li"o$ni%

Preferred Citation: Mitchell, Timothy. Colonising Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1988 1988. http: ark.cdli!.or" ark: 1#$#$ ft%8&$$'k(

P$e"%ce to the P%pe$&%c' E(ition

This !ook is not a history of the British colonisation of )"ypt !*t a st*dy of the po+er to colonise. ,hile foc*ssin" on events in )"ypt in the latter part of the nineteenth cent*ry, its ar"*ment is addressed to the place of colonialism in the criti-*e of modernity. Colonisin" refers not simply to the esta!lishin" of a )*ropean presence !*t also to the spread of a political order that inscri!es in the social +orld a ne+ conception of space, ne+ forms of personhood, and a ne+ means of man*fact*rin" the e.perience of the real. Colonising Egypt analyses in the everyday details of the colonial pro/ect the metaphysics of its po+er. Chapters (, #, and 0 of the !ook e.amine the development in )"ypt of the po+er to colonise. Chapter ( !e"ins !y descri!in" a novel attempt in the early nineteenth cent*ry to re"*late the daily life of r*ral )"yptians. 1n the 18($s and 18#$s orders +ere iss*ed from Cairo prohi!itin" the movement of villa"ers o*tside their native districts, prescri!in" the crops they +ere to "ro+ and the means of c*ltivation, distri!*tion, and payment, and stip*latin" the hierarchy of s*rveillance, inspection, and p*nishment !y +hich these r*les +ere to !e enforced. 2ttemptin" to control from Cairo the a"ric*lt*ral reven*e of the 3ile valley +as nothin" ne+. B*t earlier forms of control +ere al+ays poro*s and *ncertain. Typically, a po+erf*l central ho*sehold imposed levies on less po+erf*l re"ional ho*seholds, +hich in t*rn imposed o!li"ations on those aro*nd them. 4even*es flo+in" to+ards the center +ere lia!le to leak at each /*nct*re and co*ld !e increased only !y f*rther e.pansion o*t+ard, +hich +eakened the net+ork !y addin" f*rther points of leaka"e. The ne+ controls of the nineteenth cent*ry attempted not /*st to appropriate a share of the a"ric*lt*ral s*rpl*s !*t to penetrate the processes of r*ral prod*ction,

manip*late its elements, and m*ltiply +hat 5ohn Bo+rin" 6an )n"lish advisor to the )"yptian "overnment7 called 8the prod*ctive po+ers8 of the co*ntry. The effectiveness of disciplinary methods, as Michel 9o*ca*lt has termed these modern forms of po+er, lay not in their +ei"ht or e.tent, !*t in the localised a!ility to infiltrate, rearran"e, and colonise. Bo+rin", the advisor in Cairo, +as the friend and assistant of the )n: ;.; "lish reformer 5eremy Bentham, +ho in t*rn +as the inventor of the Panopticon, the instit*tion in +hich the *se of coercion and commands to control a pop*lation +as replaced !y the partitionin" of space, the isolation of individ*als, and their systematic yet *nseen s*rveillance. 9o*ca*lt has s*""ested that the "eometry and discipline of the Panopticon can serve as an em!lem of the micro:physical forms of po+er that have proliferated in the last t+o cent*ries and formed the e.perience of capitalist modernity. 9o*ca*lt8s analyses are foc*sed on 9rance and northern )*rope, yet forms of po+er !ased on the re:orderin" of space and the s*rveillance and control of its occ*pants +ere !y nat*re colonisin" in method. Moreover, e.amples of the Panopticon and similar disciplinary instit*tions +ere developed and introd*ced in many cases not in 9rance or )n"land !*t on the colonial frontiers of )*rope, in places like 4*ssia, 1ndia, 3orth and <o*th 2merica, and )"ypt. 5eremy Bentham corresponded +ith local r*lers in all these places, incl*din" the "overnor in Cairo, M*hammad 2li Pasha, advocatin" the introd*ction of the panoptic principle and other ne+ techni-*es. 9or many )*ropeans=military officers, <aint:<imonist en"ineers, ed*cationalists, physicians, and others=a place like nineteenth:cent*ry Cairo provided the opport*nity to help esta!lish a modern state !ased on the ne+ methods of disciplinary po+er. The model for the ne+ forms of po+er in )"ypt, as chapter ( e.plains, +as the 3e+ >rder, the )"yptian military reform of the 18($s +hose innovative methods of manoe*verin" and mana"in" armed men created a military force more than fo*r times the si?e and stren"th of previo*s armies. The creation of this force had !oth re"ional and domestic conse-*ences. 4e"ionally, it ena!led Cairo to colonise an empire that stretched from 2ra!ia and the <*dan in the so*th to @reece and Crete and later Palestine and <yria in the north. Aocal revolt and )*ropean intervention forced the empire8s dismantlin", and military po+er +as s*!se-*ently redeployed to set *p and police the "eo"raphical !o*ndaries that created )"ypt as a politico:spatial entity. )*ropean commercial and political penetration f*rther +eakened the re"ime in Cairo and !ro*"ht on its economic collapse, follo+ed in 188( !y the British invasion and occ*pation. Bomestically, the creation of the ne+ army, as Bo+rin" remarked, 8+as in itself the esta!lishment of a principle of order +hich spread over the entire s*rface of society.8 The spread of this principle is e.amined in chapters # and 0. 1n a"ric*lt*re the ne+ controls over movement, prod*ction, and cons*mption +ere decentrali?ed and intensified !y convertin" the co*ntry8s 8prod*ctive po+ers8=meanin" villa"ers and their lands=into commodities. The same principle of order +as manifested in the re!*ildin" of Cairo and other )"yptian to+ns and villa"es to create a system of re"*lar, open streets, in the s*pervision of hy"iene and p*!lic health, and a!ove all in the introd*ction of comp*lsory schoolin". <chool instr*ction ; .i ; seemed to offer a means of transformin" every yo*th in the co*ntry into an ind*strio*s and o!edient political s*!/ect. 1n the second half of the nineteenth cent*ry the discipline of schoolin" came to !e considered the definin" element in the politics of the modern state. Political order +as to !e achieved not thro*"h the intermittent *se of coercion !*t thro*"h contin*o*s instr*ction, inspection, and control. Bisciplinary methods have t+o important conse-*ences for an *nderstandin" of the colonial and modern state=only the first of +hich is analysed !y 9o*ca*lt. 1n the first place, one can move !eyond the ima"e of po+er as a system of a*thoritative commands or policies !acked !y force that direct and constrain social action. Po+er is *s*ally ima"ined as an e.terior restriction: its so*rce is a soverei"n a*thority a!ove and o*tside

society, and it operates !y settin" limits to !ehavio*r, esta!lishin" ne"ative prohi!itions, and layin" do+n channels of proper cond*ct. Bisciplinary po+er, !y contrast, +orks not from the o*tside !*t from +ithin, not at the level of an entire society !*t at the level of detail, and not !y restrictin" individ*als and their actions !*t !y prod*cin" them. 2 restrictive, e.terior po+er "ives +ay to an internal, prod*ctive po+er. Bisciplines +ork +ithin local domains and instit*tions, enterin" into partic*lar social processes, !reakin" them do+n into separate f*nctions, rearran"in" the parts, increasin" their efficiency and precision, and reassem!lin" them into more prod*ctive and po+erf*l com!inations. These methods prod*ce the or"anised po+er of armies, schools, and factories, and other distinctive instit*tions of modern nation:states. They also prod*ce, +ithin s*ch instit*tions, the modern individ*al, constr*cted as an isolated, disciplined, receptive, and ind*strio*s political s*!/ect. Po+er relations do not simply confront this individ*al as a set of e.ternal orders and prohi!itions. Cis or her very individ*ality, formed +ithin s*ch instit*tions, is already the prod*ct of those relations. >ne sho*ld not overstate the coherence of these technolo"ies, as 9o*ca*lt sometimes does. Bisciplines can !reak do+n, co*nteract one another, or overreach. They offer spaces for manoe*ver and resistance, and can !e t*rned to co*nter:he"emonic p*rposes. 2nti:colonial movements have often derived their or"anisational forms from the military and their methods of discipline and indoctrination from schoolin". They have fre-*ently !een formed +ithin the !arracks, the camp*s, or other instit*tions of the colonial state. 2t the same time, in a!andonin" the ima"e of colonial po+er as simply a coercive central a*thority, one sho*ld also -*estion the traditional fi"*re of resistance as a s*!/ect +ho stands o*tside this po+er and ref*ses its demands. Colonial s*!/ects and their modes of resistance a.e formed within the or"anisational terrain of the colonial state, rather than some +holly e.terior social space. The second conse-*ence of disciplinary po+er, the one that Michel 9o*: ; .ii ; ca*lt does not disc*ss, yet the more important for *nderstandin" the pec*liarity of capitalist modernity, is that at the same time as po+er relations !ecome internal in this +ay, and !y the same methods, they no+ appear to take the form of e.ternal str*ct*res. 9or e.ample, the )"yptian military reforms of the early nineteenth cent*ry transformed "ro*ps of armed men into +hat seemed an 8artificial machine.8 This military apparat*s appeared someho+ "reater than the s*m of its parts, as tho*"h it +ere a str*ct*re +ith an e.istence independent of the men +ho composed it. >lder armies s*ddenly looked formless, composed of 8idle and inactive men,8 +hile the ne+ army seemed t+o: dimensional. 1t appeared to consist on the one hand of individ*al soldiers and on the other of the machine they inha!ited. >f co*rse this apparat*s has no independent e.istence. 1t is an effect prod*ced !y the or"anised distri!*tion of men, the coordination of their movement, the partitionin" of space, and the hierarchical orderin" of *nits, all of +hich are partic*lar practices. There +as nothin" in the ne+ po+er of the army e.cept this distri!*tin", arran"in", and movin". B*t the order and precision of s*ch processes created the effect of an apparat*s apart from the men themselves, +hose str*ct*re orders, contains, and controls them. 2 similar t+o:dimensional effect can !e seen at +ork in other forms of colonisin" po+er. 1n the nineteenth:cent*ry re!*ildin" of Cairo, for e.ample, the layo*t of the ne+ streets +as desi"ned to "ive the appearance of a plan. <*ch a plan +as not merely a device to aid the +ork of *r!an reconstr*ction !*t a principle of order to !e represented in the layo*t of the city8s streets and inscri!ed in the life of its inha!itants. The ne+ city remained, like the old city, simply a certain distri!*tin" of s*rfaces and spaces. B*t the re"*larity of the distri!*tion +as to create the e.perience of somethin" e.istin" apart from the physical streets as their non:physical str*ct*re. The order of the city +as no+ to !e "rasped in terms of this relation !et+een the material realisation of thin"s themselves 6as one co*ld no+ say7 and their invisi!le, meta:physical str*ct*re.

The precise specification of space and f*nction that characterise modern instit*tions, the coordination of these f*nctions into hierarchical arran"ements, the or"anisation of s*pervision and s*rveillance, the markin" o*t of time into sched*les and pro"rammes= all contri!*te to constr*ctin" a +orld that appears to consist not of a comple. of social practices !*t of a !inary order: on the one hand individ*als and their activities, on the other an inert str*ct*re that someho+ stands apart from individ*als, pree.ists them, and contains and "ives a frame+ork to their lives. <*ch techni-*es have "iven rise to the pec*liar metaphysic of modernity, +here the +orld seems resolved into the t+o: dimensional form of individ*al vers*s apparat*s, practice vers*s instit*tion, social life and its str*ct*re=or material reality and its meanin". ; .iii ; The -*estion of meanin" or representation is an essential aspect of this str*ct*ral effect, and is the central theme of the !ook. The methods of or"anisation and arran"ement that prod*ce the ne+ effects of str*ct*re, it is ar"*ed, also "enerate the modern e.perience of meanin" as a process of representation. 1n the metaphysics of capitalist modernity, the +orld is e.perienced in terms of an ontolo"ical distinction !et+een physical reality and its representation=in lan"*a"e, c*lt*re, or other forms of meanin". 4eality is material, inert, and +itho*t inherent meanin", and representation is the non:material, non:physical dimension of intelli"i!ility. Colonising Egypt e.plores the po+er and limits of this ontolo"y !y sho+in" the forms of colonisin" practice that "enerate it. 2s a motif e.emplifyin" the nat*re of representation, the !ook takes the "reat nineteenth:cent*ry +orld e.hi!itions that formed part of )*rope8s colonisin" pro/ect. Bra+in" on the +ork of Martin Ceide""er and 5ac-*es Berrida, it refers to this modernist metaphysics as the +orld:as:e.hi!ition. Chapter 1 of the !ook, +hich precedes the analysis of disciplinary po+er o*tlined a!ove, introd*ces the pro!lem !y readin" from the acco*nts of )"yptian and other 2ra! travellers +ho visited nineteenth:cent*ry )*rope. The most common topic of their acco*nts +as the description of the +orld e.hi!itions, +here they enco*ntered imitation !a?aars, >riental palaces, e.otic commodities, colonial natives in their nat*ral ha!itats, and all the tr*th of imperial po+er and c*lt*ral difference. Bra+in" from the 2ra!ic acco*nts, the chapter locates the distinctiveness of representation in the a!ility to set apart a realm of ima"es and si"ns from the real +orld they represent. 1t then sho+s ho+ this separation, +hich is analo"o*s to the str*ct*ral effects /*st mentioned, lacks the ontolo"ical certainty it claims and is no more than an *ncertain and *nsta!le effect. ,hat most s*rprised the non:)*ropean visitors to the e.hi!itions +as the realism of the artificial. The famo*s 4*e d* Caire at the 1889 Paris e.hi!ition reprod*ced an entire street of the )"yptian capital, and imported real )"yptian donkeys and their drivers. By its realism, the artificial proclaims itself to !e not the real. The very scale and acc*racy of the model ass*re the visitor that there m*st e.ist some ori"inal of +hich this is a mere copy. <*ch techni-*es pers*ade one not that the representation is necessarily e.act, !*t that there is a p*re reality o*t there, *nto*ched !y the forms of displacement, intermediation, and repetition that render the ima"e merely an ima"e. Chapter 1 disc*sses several feat*res of the e.hi!itions that reinforce this modernist e.perience of the real, !y "eneratin" +hat seems an *npro!lematic distinction !et+een reality and its representation. Physical !arriers separate the e.hi!ition from the real +orld o*tside. The displays inside are ; .iv ; arran"ed to e.press the )*ropean historicoeo"raphic order of c*lt*re and evol*tion, an order reflected and reprod*ced in the m*ltit*de of plans, si"nposts, and "*ide!ooks to the e.hi!ition. 2s a res*lt, the e.hi!ition appears not /*st to mimic the real +orld o*tside !*t to s*perimpose a frame+ork of meanin" over its inn*mera!le races, territories, and commodities. Made to appear an a!stract order apart from physical reality, this frame+ork is an effect of str*ct*re analo"o*s to those of military order, *r!an plannin",

and other colonisin" practices mentioned a!ove, prod*ced !y similar methods of coordination and arran"ement. The techni-*e of representation +as not limited to the +orld e.hi!itions. >*tside the e.hi!itions visitors to )*rope enco*ntered f*rther mechanisms of representation. 1n m*se*ms and >rientalist con"resses, the theatre and the ?oo, schools and department stores, the very streets of the modern city +ith their meanin"f*l facades, they fo*nd the method of meanin" to !e the same. )verythin" seemed to !e set *p !efore the o!server as a pict*re or e.hi!ition of somethin", representin" some reality !eyond. The visitor to )*rope enco*ntered not /*st e.hi!itions of the +orld, !*t the +orld itself ordered *p as tho*"h it +ere an endless e.hi!ition. The e.tent of the processes of representation !e"ins to reveal the el*siveness of their apparently simple str*ct*ral effect. The str*ct*re of meanin" in a system of representation arises, it is s*""ested, from the distinction maintained !et+een the realm of representation and the e.ternal reality to +hich it refers. Det this real +orld, o*tside the e.hi!ition, seems act*ally to have consisted only of f*rther representations of the real. 5*st as the imitations in the e.hi!ition +ere marked +ith traces of the real 6+ere the natives on display not real peopleE7, so the reality o*tside +as never -*ite *nmediated. Colonising Egypt is not concerned so m*ch +ith this necessary el*siveness, !*t +ith the -*estion of ho+ it comes to !e overlooked. Co+ does the colonisin" process e.tend the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, s*pplantin" +ith its po+erf*l metaphysic other less effective theolo"iesE 2s a co*nterpart to the 2ra! descriptions of )*rope +ith +hich the !ook !e"ins, the second half of chapter 1 considers the +ritin"s of nineteenth:cent*ry )*ropeans +ho left the +orld:as:e.hi!ition and travelled to the 2ra! +orld. Their p*rpose in travellin" to the >rient +as to e.perience the reality they had seen so often on e.hi!it, !*t +hat they fo*nd there conf*sed them. 2ltho*"h they tho*"ht of themselves as movin" from e.hi!its of the >rient to the real thin", they +ent on tryin" to "rasp the real thin" as an e.hi!it. This +as inevita!le. To the )*ropean, reality meant that +hich presents itself in terms of a distinction !et+een representation and ori"inalF somethin" to !e "rasped as tho*"h it +ere an e.hi!it. Unlike Aondon or Paris, ho+ever, a place s*ch as Cairo had not yet !een rearran"ed in terms of this a!sol*te distinction and set *p as an e.hi!ition !efore the visitor8s "a?e. ; .v ; The >rient ref*sed to present itself like an e.hi!it, and so appeared simply orderless and +itho*t meanin". The colonisin" process +as to introd*ce the kind of order no+ fo*nd lackin"=the effect of str*ct*re that +as to provide not only a ne+ disciplinary po+er !*t also the novel ontolo"y of representation. 1n chapters (, #, and 0, the disc*ssion of military methods, model villa"es, *r!an plannin", schoolin", and other colonisin" pro/ects e.plores the +ays in +hich these methods of order sim*ltaneo*sly inscri!ed in the social +orld a ne+ le"i!ility. The disciplined and *niformed soldier +o*ld no+ !e clearly distin"*isha!le from civilians, makin" it possi!le to identify stra""lers and overcome the last ma/or !arrier to the development of lar"e armies=the pro!lem of desertion. Model villa"es +ere intended to or"anise and make le"i!le the life of ordinary )"yptians, introd*cin" an architect*re that +o*ld make even +omen and their families visi!le to the 8o!servation of the police8. The ne+, open streets of modern Cairo and other )"yptian to+ns em!odied a similar principle of visi!ility and o!servation, the principle of the e.hi!ition. The hierarchy of the ne+ primary, secondary, and hi"her schools constr*cted over the entire co*ntry +as desi"ned to "ive a descri!a!le str*ct*re to the ne+ nation:state. 2t the same time, the schools made availa!le a "eneral code of instr*ction and information, to !e mastered prior to em!arkin" on life itself. ,itho*t this code, the e.istence of a nation:state +as no+ considered impossi!le. 1n each of these cases the principle at +ork +as the same. The methods of order and arran"ement created the effect of str*ct*re. Aike the caref*l layo*t of an e.hi!ition, this str*ct*re appeared as a frame+ork +ithin +hich activities co*ld !e or"anised,

controlled, and o!servedF and it also appeared as a plan or pro"ramme, s*pplementin" the activity +ith its meanin". The same technolo"ies of order created !oth a disciplinary po+er and a seemin"ly separate realm of meanin" or tr*th. Chapter % of the !ook e.plores the relationship !et+een tr*th and po+er a step f*rther, !y t*rnin" to the -*estion of lan"*a"e and dra+in" a parallel !et+een the creation of lin"*istic intention or a*thority and the creation of political a*thority in the colonial state. Aan"*a"e provides the most far:reachin" e.ample of ho+ the distinctive technolo"ies of the colonial a"e, incl*din" ne+ methods of comm*nication, printin", and schoolin", create the effect of a str*ct*re apart from reality, s*pplementin" it +ith +hat is e.perienced as its order and meanin". Bra+in" a"ain on the +ork of 5ac-*es Berrida, the chapter s*""ests ho+ the modern *nderstandin" of lan"*a"e is intert+ined +ith these ne+ technolo"ies. 1t rests *pon the mechanical theory of representation "enerated !y the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, +hose metaphysic +as not shared !y pre:modern 2ra! scholarship. 2ra!ic +ritin" +as transformed !y the ne+ technolo"ies. Te.t*al practices desi"ned to protect the meanin" or intention of +ritin" +ere made ; .vi ; o!solete !y the metaphysics of representation. Te.t*al intention +as analo"o*s in nat*re and method to the intention or a*thority of political po+er, and in fact had al+ays formed an important part of s*ch po+er. The ne+ effect of meanin"=as an a!stract frame constit*ted in opposition to the real=offered at the same time a ne+ effect of political a*thority. Aike meanin" in the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, a*thority +as no+ to appear as a "eneralised a!straction, +ith names like la+ or the state. Aike meanin", it +o*ld no+ appear as a frame+ork standin" o*tside the real +orld. The colonial transformations that introd*ced the effects of representation tended at the same time to create this ne+ effect of a*thority. To make its ar"*ment a!o*t the metaphysics of ,estern +ritin", chapter % sketches an acco*nt of some of the practices s*rro*ndin" the art of +ritin" in the pre:colonial 2ra! +orld. This acco*nt resem!les parts of other chapters that disc*ss pre:colonial methods of !*ildin", of or"anisin" space, of learnin", and of prod*cin" meanin" and social order. These passa"es are deli!erately fra"mentary and incomplete. They do not pretend to represent a pre:colonial past. 9or reasons that lie at the core of the ar"*ment of this !ook, s*ch a representation +o*ld not !e possi!le. 4ather, they are intended as commentaries on the !ook8s acco*nt of the colonisin" pro/ect, to s*""est the possi!ility of thinkin" a!o*t lan"*a"e, meanin", and political order in +ays that are not "overned !y the metaphysic of representation. The passa"es sho*ld also !e read as ar"*ments +ith the +ork of the contemporary theorists to +hom they refer, s*ch as Pierre Bo*rdie* and 5ac-*es Berrida. The aim is to advance a more radical criti-*e of modernity than their theories are *s*ally allo+ed to s*pport.

T.P.M. 3), D>4G 5U3) 1991 ; .vii ;

Ac'no)le(gements
Most of this !ook +as +ritten in the sprin" and s*mmer of 198' at <t. 2ntony8s Colle"e, >.ford. Berek Cop+ood, 2l!ert Co*rani, and 4o"er >+en facilitated my stay there, and to"ether +ith the staff and other mem!ers of the Middle )ast Centre at <t. 2ntony8s, made it e.tremely en/oya!le. 1 +as s*pported financially d*rin" those months !y a

Presidential 9ello+ship from 3e+ Dork University, for +hich 1 o+e partic*lar thanks to 9arhad Ga?emi. Chapter # of the !ook, half each of chapters ( and 0, and certain other sections are !ased on my doctoral dissertation, s*pervised !y Manfred Calpern and Charles 1ssa+i of Princeton University. To !oth of them 1 am "ratef*l for their interest in my +ork and their s*pport. Part of the research for the dissertation and !ook +as done in )"ypt, in the reference room and the periodicals room at Bar al:G*t*!, the )"yptian national li!rary, +here the staff +ere al+ays friendly and efficient. My trips to )"ypt +ere f*nded first !y a "rant from the Pro"ram in 3ear )astern <t*dies at Princeton and on t+o s*!se-*ent occasions !y fello+ships from the 2merican 4esearch Center in )"ypt. 1 +ant to thank the many individ*als at !oth instit*tions +ho "ave me help, incl*din" 5ames and <*san 2llen, Carl Bro+n, May Trad, and Pa*l ,alker. Many of the ar"*ments made in this !ook +ere first !orn, developed, or stolen from conversations +ith friends. 9or its ma/or themes 1 have learned and taken most from <tefania Pandolfo. Cer disc*ssions of my +ork first decided its direction, and her readin" of s*!se-*ent versions improved it at every point. 2mon" many other friends and collea"*es +ho have helped, 1 o+e special thanks to Michael @ilsenan, Uday Mehta, Brinkley Messick, 4oy Mottahedeh, and Celen Prin"le. 1 am also "ratef*l to )li?a!eth ,etton of Cam!rid"e University Press for her patient +ork overseein" the editin" and prod*ction of the !ook, and to Charlene ,oodcock of the University of California Press for the paper!ack edition. 1 o+e my "reatest de!t, for her intellect*al s*pport, her criticism, her enco*ra"ement, and her care, to Aila 2!*:A*"hod. 1 mi"ht possi!ly have ; .viii ; finished this !ook +itho*t her presence. B*t neither the !ook nor the rest of life +o*ld have !een the same. 9inally 1 +ant to thank my family, for +hom these pa"es are no do*!t ins*fficient e.c*se for my ten:year a!sence from )n"land. The !ook is dedicated to my mother, and to the memory of my father.

;1;

Ch%pte$ Egypt %t the E*hi&ition

The )"yptian dele"ation to the )i"hth 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, held in <tockholm in the s*mmer of 1889, travelled to <+eden via Paris and pa*sed there to visit the ,orld ).hi!ition. The fo*r )"yptians spent several days in the 9rench capital, clim!in" t+ice the hei"ht 6as they reported7 of the @reat Pyramid in 2le.andre )iffel8s ne+ to+er, and e.plorin" the city laid o*t !eneath. They visited the caref*lly planned parks and pavilions of the e.hi!ition, and e.amined the merchandise and machinery on display. 2mid this order and splendo*r there +as only one thin" that dist*r!ed them. The )"yptian e.hi!it had !een !*ilt !y the 9rench to represent a +indin" street of Cairo, made of ho*ses +ith overhan"in" *pper stories and a mos-*e like that of Hait!ay. 81t +as intended8, one of the )"yptians +rote, 8to resem!le the old aspect of Cairo.8 <o caref*lly +as this done, he noted, that 8even the paint on the !*ildin"s +as made dirty8. + , The )"yptian e.hi!it had also !een made caref*lly chaotic. 1n contrast to the "eometric lines of the rest of the e.hi!ition, the imitation street +as laid o*t in the hapha?ard manner of the !a?aar. The +ay +as cro+ded +ith shops and stalls, +here 9renchmen dressed as >rientals sold perf*mes, pastries, and tar!*shes. To complete the effect of the !a?aar, the 9rench or"anisers had imported from Cairo fifty )"yptian donkeys, to"ether +ith their drivers and the re-*isite n*m!er of "rooms, farriers, and

saddle:makers. The donkeys "ave rides for the price of one franc *p and do+n the street, res*ltin" in a clamo*r and conf*sion so life:like, the director of the e.hi!ition +as o!li"ed to iss*e an order restrictin" the donkeys to a certain n*m!er at each ho*r of the day. The )"yptian visitors +ere dis"*sted !y all this and stayed a+ay. Their final em!arrassment had !een to enter the door of the mos-*e and discover that, like the rest of the street, it had !een erected as +hat the )*ropeans called a fa"ade. 81ts e.ternal form as a mos-*e +as all that there +as. 2s for the interior, it had !een set *p as a coffee ho*se, +here )"yptian "irls per:formed dances +ith yo*n" males, and dervishes +hirled.8+-, 2fter ei"hteen days in Paris, the )"yptian dele"ation travelled on to <tockholm to attend the Con"ress of >rientalists. To"ether +ith other non:)*ropean dele"ates, the )"yptians +ere received +ith hospitality = and a ;(; "reat c*riosity. 2s tho*"h they +ere still in Paris, they fo*nd themselves somethin" of an e.hi!it. 8Bona fide >rientalists8, +rote a )*ropean participant in the con"ress, 8+ere stared at as in a Barn*m8s all:+orld sho+: the "ood <candinavian people seemed to think that it +as a collection of Orientals , not of Orientalists .8 <ome of the >rientalists themselves seemed to deli"ht in the role of sho+men. 2t an earlier con"ress, in Berlin, +e are told that 8the "rotes-*e idea +as started of prod*cin" natives of >riental co*ntries as ill*strations of a paper: th*s the Boden Professor of <anskrit at >.ford prod*ced a real live 1ndian Pandit, and made him "o thro*"h the rit*al of Brahmanical prayer and +orship !efore a hilario*s assem!ly ... Professor Ma. MIller of >.ford prod*ced t+o rival 5apanese priests, +ho e.hi!ited their "iftsF it had the appearance of t+o sho+men e.hi!itin" their monkeys.8+., 2t the <tockholm con"ress the )"yptians +ere invited to participate as scholars, !*t +hen they *sed their o+n lan"*a"e to do so they a"ain fo*nd themselves treated as e.hi!its. 81 have heard nothin" so *n+orthy of a sensi!le man8, complained an >.ford scholar, 8as ... the +histlin" ho+ls emitted !y an 2ra!ic st*dent of )l:2?har of Cairo. <*ch e.hi!itions at Con"resses are mischievo*s and de"radin".8 +/, The e.hi!ition and the con"ress +ere not the only e.amples of this )*ropean mischief. Thro*"ho*t the nineteenth cent*ry non:)*ropean visitors fo*nd themselves !ein" placed on e.hi!it or made the caref*l o!/ect of )*ropean c*riosity. The de"radation they often s*ffered, +hether intended or not, seemed nevertheless inevita!le, as necessary to these spectacles as the scaffolded faJades or the c*rio*s cro+ds of onlookers. The faJades, the onlookers and the de"radation seemed all to !elon" to the or"anisin" of an e.hi!it, to a partic*larly )*ropean concern +ith renderin" thin"s *p to !e vie+ed. 1 +ill !e takin" *p this -*estion of the e.hi!ition, e.aminin" it thro*"h non: )*ropean eyes as a practice that e.emplifies the nat*re of the modern )*ropean state. B*t 1 +ant to reach it via a deto*r, +hich e.plores a little f*rther the mischief to +hich the >.ford scholar referred. This mischief is a cl*e, for it r*ns ri"ht thro*"h the Middle )astern e.perience of nineteenth:cent*ry )*rope. To !e"in +ith, Middle )astern visitors fo*nd )*ropeans a c*rio*s people, +ith an *ncontaina!le ea"erness to stand and stare. 8>ne of the characteristics of the 9rench is to stare and "et e.cited at everythin" ne+8, +rote an )"yptian scholar +ho spent five years in Paris in the 18($s.+0, 1t +as perhaps this starin" he had in mind +hen he e.plained in another !ook, disc*ssin" the manners and c*stoms of vario*s nations, that 8one of the !eliefs of the )*ropeans is that the "a?e has no effect8.+1, 2n >ttoman envoy +ho stopped at GKpenick on his +ay to Berlin in 1&9$ reported that 8the people of Berlin +ere *na!le to contain their impatience *ntil o*r arrival in the city. 4e"ardless of the +inter and the sno+, !oth men and +omen came in ;#;

1 ).position Universelle, Paris, 1889: the )"yptian e.hi!it. ;0; carria"es, on horse!ack, and on foot, to look at *s and contemplate *s.8 +2, ,here s*ch spectacles +ere prevented, it seemed necessary to recreate them artificially. The mem!ers of an )"yptian st*dent mission sent to Paris in the 18($s +ere confined to the colle"e +here they lived and allo+ed o*t onto the streets only every second <*nday. B*t d*rin" their stay in Paris they fo*nd themselves parodied in va*deville on the Paris sta"e, for the entertainment of the 9rench p*!lic. 8They constr*ct the sta"e as the play demands8, e.plained one of the st*dents. 89or e.ample, if they +ant to imitate a s*ltan and the thin"s that happen to him, they set *p the sta"e in the form of a palace and portray him in person. 1f for instance they +ant to play the <hah of Persia, they dress someone in the clothes of the Persian monarch and then p*t him there and sit him on a throne.8+3, )ven Middle )astern monarchs +ho came in person to )*rope +ere lia!le to !e incorporated themselves into its theatrical events. ,hen the Ghedive of )"ypt visited Paris to attend an earlier ).position Universelle in 18'&, he fo*nd that the )"yptian e.hi!it had !een !*ilt to sim*late medieval Cairo in the form of a royal palace. The Ghedive stayed in the imitation palace d*rin" his visit and !ecame a part of the e.hi!ition, receivin" visitors +ith medieval hospitality. +!, Cis father, Cro+n Prince 1!rahim of )"ypt, had !een less fort*nate. Lisitin" the man*factories and sho+rooms of

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Birmin"ham in 5*ne 180', he insisted +earily to the press after his e.periences else+here +ith the British p*!lic that 8he sho*ld !e re"arded merely as a private "entleman8. B*t he +as *na!le to escape !ecomin" somethin" of an e.hi!it. Ce +ent o*t for a stroll inco"nito one evenin" and slipped into a sho+tent to see on display the carcass of an enormo*s +hale. Ce +as reco"nised immediately !y the sho+man, +ho !e"an anno*ncin" to the cro+d o*tside that 8for the one price they co*ld see on display the carcass of the +hale, and the @reat ,arrior 1!rahim, Con-*eror of the T*rks, into the !ar"ain8. The cro+d r*shed in, and the Cro+n Prince had to !e resc*ed !y the Birmin"ham police.+ 4, This sort of c*riosity is enco*ntered in almost every Middle )astern description of nineteenth:cent*ry )*rope. To+ards the end of the cent*ry, +hen one or t+o )"yptian +riters !e"an to compose +orks of fiction in the realistic style of the novel, they made the /o*rney to )*rope their first topic. The stories +o*ld often evoke the pec*liar e.perience of the ,est !y descri!in" an individ*al s*rro*nded and stared at, like an o!/ect on e.hi!it. 8,henever he pa*sed o*tside a shop or sho+room,8 the prota"onist in one s*ch story fo*nd on his first day in Paris, 8a lar"e n*m!er of people +o*ld s*rro*nd him, !oth men and +omen, starin" at his dress and appearance.8 + , <*ch stories co*ld !e m*ltiplied, !*t for the time !ein" 1 +ant to indicate only this, that for the visitor from the Middle )ast, )*rope +as a place +here ;%; one +as lia!le to !ecome an o!/ect on e.hi!it, at +hich people "athered and stared. 1 sho*ld make clear my o+n interest in this mischief, !eca*se the tendency of )*ropeans to stand and stare has sometimes !een noted !efore. 1n fact +ords s*ch as those -*oted from the >ttoman envoy on his +ay to Berlin have !een offered as part of the evidence for an essential historical difference !et+een )*ropeans and other people, the difference !et+een the c*riosity of the )*ropean concernin" stran"e places and people, and the 8"eneral lack of c*riosity8 of others. The difference is said to "o !ack to, and to ill*strate, the "reat !lossomin" of )*ropean intellect*al c*riosity at the !e"innin" of the modern a"e. ,e are told that it is to !e *nderstood, essentially, as a 8difference of attit*de8.+ -, Many people, myself incl*ded, +o*ld find it impla*si!le that s*ch starin" co*ld help to serve as evidence +ithin a "ro*p for the presence or a!sence of intellect*al c*riosity. B*t there is also the implication that this 8attit*de8 : if that is ho+ it sho*ld !e *nderstood : +as in some sense nat*ral. <*ch c*riosity, it seems to !e s*""ested, is simply the *nfettered relation of a person to the +orld, emer"in" in )*rope once the 8loosenin" of theolo"ical !onds8 had !ro*"ht a!o*t 8the freein" of h*man minds8. 9e+er people +o*ld -*estion this ass*mption. 1n fact 1 +o*ld ar"*e that the notion of 8theolo"ical !onds8 that loosen or !ecome !roken, leavin" the individ*al confronted !y the +orld, contin*es to "overn o*r *nderstandin" of the historical enco*nter of the Middle )ast +ith the modern ,est, and even of political str*""les in the Middle )ast today. The reason for my deto*r thro*"h this mischief is !eca*se 1 +ant to e.amine the +ay of addressin" the +orld that Middle )astern +riters fo*nd in )*rope as somethin" not nat*ral !*t mischievo*s : dependent, so to speak, on a certain theolo"y of its o+n.

O&5ectness
2cceptin" for the moment this c*rio*s attit*de of the )*ropean s*!/ect, +e can note first of all that the non:)*ropean visitor also enco*ntered in )*rope +hat mi"ht have seemed a correspondin" 8o!/ectness8. The c*riosity of the s*!/ect +as called forth !y a diversity of mechanisms for renderin" thin"s *p as its o!/ect. 1!rahim Pasha8s enco*nter +ith the +hale and the st*dents8 e.perience of !ein" parodied on the Paris sta"e +ere only minor !e"innin"s. The st*dent from that "ro*p +ho p*!lished an acco*nt of their stay in Paris devoted several pa"es to the Parisian phenomenon of le spectacle , a +ord for +hich he kne+ of no 2ra!ic e-*ivalent. Besides the >pMra and the >pMra:Comi-*e, amon" the

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different kinds of spectacle he descri!ed +ere 8places in +hich they represent for the person the vie+ of a to+n or a co*ntry or the ;'; like8, s*ch as 8the Panorama, the Cosmorana, the Biorama, the )*roporama and the Uranorama8. 1n a panorama of Cairo, he e.plained in ill*stration, 8it is as tho*"h yo* +ere lookin" from on top of the minaret of <*ltan Casan, for e.ample, +ith al:4*malia and the rest of the city !eneath yo*8.+ ., The panoramas +ere the forer*nners of the +orld e.hi!itions, +hich +ere or"anised on an ever increasin" scale as )*rope entered its imperial a"e. 2lon" +ith other p*!lic and political spectacles, incl*din" the increasin"ly lavish international con"resses of >rientalists, the first of +hich +as held in Paris in 18&#, these events !ecame the ma/or s*!/ect of 2ra!ic acco*nts of the modern ,est. By the last decade of the nineteenth cent*ry, more than half the descriptions of /o*rneys to )*rope !ein" p*!lished in Cairo +ere +ritten to descri!e visits to a +orld e.hi!ition or an international con"ress of >rientalists.+ /, These acco*nts devote h*ndreds of pa"es to descri!in" the pec*liar order and techni-*e of s*ch spectacles : the c*rio*s cro+ds of spectators, the device of the e.hi!it and the model, the or"anisation of panoramas and perspectives, the display of ne+ discoveries and merchandise, the architect*re of iron and "lass, the systems of classification, the calc*lation of statistics, the lect*res, the plans and the "*ide !ooks : in short the entire machinery of +hat 1 am "oin" to refer to as 8representation8: everythin" collected and arran"ed to stand for somethin", to represent pro"ress and history, h*man ind*stry and empireF everythin" set *p, and the +hole set:*p al+ays evokin" someho+ some lar"er tr*th. <pectacles like the +orld e.hi!ition and the >rientalist con"ress set *p the +orld as a pict*re. They ordered it *p !efore an a*dience as an o!/ect on display, to !e vie+ed, e.perienced and investi"ated. The @reat ).hi!ition of 18%1 in Aondon claimed to present to its si. million visitors 8a livin" pict*re8 of the development of mankind. + 0, >rientalism, it +as claimed in the same +ay at the ina*"*ration of the 3inth 1nternational Con"ress in Aondon in 189(, had 8displayed !efore *s the historical development of the h*man race8. + 1, 2n earlier >rientalist, the "reat 9rench scholar <ylvestre de <acy, had envisioned this process of display in a manner very similar to the f*t*re +orld e.hi!itions. Ce had planned to esta!lish a m*se*m, +hich +as to !e 8a vast depot of o!/ects of all kinds, of dra+in"s, of ori"inal !ooks, maps, acco*nts of voya"es, all offered to those +ho +ish to "ive themselves to the st*dy of Nthe >rientOF in s*ch a +ay that each of these st*dents +o*ld !e a!le to feel himself transported as if !y enchantment into the midst of, say, a Mon"olian tri!e or of the Chinese race, +hichever he mi"ht have made the o!/ect of his st*dies8.+ 2, By the later decades of the cent*ry, almost every+here that Middle )astern visitors +ent they seemed to enco*nter this renderin" *p the +orld as a pict*re. They visited the m*se*ms, and sa+ the c*lt*res of the +orld portrayed in o!/ects arran"ed *nder "lass, in the order of their evol*tion. ;&; They +ere taken to the theatre, a place +here )*ropeans portrayed to themselves their history, as several )"yptian +riters e.plained. They spent afternoons in the p*!lic "ardens, caref*lly or"anised 8to !rin" to"ether the trees and plants of every part of the +orld8, as another 2ra! +riter p*t it. 2nd inevita!ly they took trips to the ?oo, a prod*ct of nineteenth:cent*ry colonial penetration of the >rient, as the critic Theodor 2dorno +rote, 8+hich paid sym!olic tri!*te in the form of animals8. + 3, These sym!olic representations of the +orld8s c*lt*ral and colonial order, contin*ally enco*ntered and descri!ed !y visitors to )*rope, +ere the mark of a "reat historical confidence. The spectacles set *p in s*ch places of modern entertainment reflected the political certainty of a ne+ a"e. 8)n"land is at present the "reatest >riental )mpire +hich the +orld has ever kno+n8, proclaimed the president of the 189( >rientalist Con"ress. 8<he kno+s not only ho+ to con-*er, !*t ho+ to r*le.8+ !, ).hi!itions, m*se*ms and other spectacles +ere not /*st reflections of this certainty, ho+ever, !*t the means of its

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prod*ction, !y their techni-*e of renderin" history, pro"ress, c*lt*re and empire in 8o!/ective8 form. They +ere occasions for makin" s*re of s*ch o!/ective tr*ths, in a +orld +here tr*th had !ecome a -*estion of +hat Ceide""er calls 8the certainty of representation8.+-4, <*ch certainty of representation has a parado.ical -*ality, +hich 1 +ant to try and !rin" to li"ht. By readin" from some of the 2ra!ic acco*nts of the +orld e.hi!ition, it may !e possi!le to *nderstand a little f*rther the stran"e o!/ectness, and the stran"ely o!/ective tr*ths, that visitors from o*tside )*rope enco*ntered. The stran"eness, 1 am "oin" to s*""est, did not arise as one mi"ht s*ppose from the 8artificial8 -*ality of the endless e.hi!itions, displays and representations. 1t arose from the effect of an 8e.ternal reality8 to +hich s*ch seemin" artificiality lays claim. The so*rce of o!/ective tr*ths +as the pec*liar distinction maintained !et+een the sim*lated and 8the real8, !et+een the e.hi!ition and the +orld. This +as a pec*liarity +hich non:)*ropean visitors, findin" themselves so often not /*st visitors !*t o!/ects on e.hi!it, mi"ht have fo*nd a little more noticea!le.

Rep$esent%tion
2t first si"ht, the distinction !et+een representation and 8e.ternal reality8 seemed very clearly determined. There are three feat*res of the +orld e.hi!itions 1 +ill mention in order to ill*strate ho+ this distinction +as set *p: the apparent realism of the e.hi!its, their or"anisation aro*nd a common centre, and the position of the visitor as the occ*pant of this central point. 9irst, it +as remarka!le ho+ perfectly the e.hi!itions seemed to model an e.ternal +orld. 2s the )"yptian visitor noticed, on the !*ildin"s representin" a Cairo street even the paint +as made dirty. 1t +as precisely ;8; this kind of acc*racy of detail that created the certainty, the effect of a determined correspondence !et+een model and reality. Lery often some of the most realistic e.hi!its +ere models of the city in +hich the e.hi!ition +as held, or of the +orld of +hich it claimed to !e the centre. The realism +ith +hich these models +ere calc*lated and constr*cted al+ays astonished the visitor. The 1889 e.hi!ition, for e.ample, incl*ded an enormo*s "lo!e ho*sed in a special !*ildin". 2n 2ra! +riter descri!ed its e.traordinary resem!lance to reality:

>rdinary maps do not resem!le the +orld perfectly, no matter ho+ perfectly they are made, !eca*se they are flat +hile the earth is spherical. Conventional "lo!es are very small, and the co*ntries are not dra+n on them clearly. This "lo!e, ho+ever, is 1(.&( metres in diameter and 0$ metres in circ*mference. >ne millimetre on its s*rface corresponds to one kilometre on the s*rface of the earth. 2 city s*ch as Cairo or 2le.andria appears on it clearly. 1t is made of iron !ars covered in thick paper shaped accordin" to the form of the earth. 1t is mo*nted on a pivot on +hich it rotates +ith ease. 2!ove it there is a lar"e dome. Mo*ntains, valleys and oceans are mo*lded on it, +ith the mo*ntains raised pro*d of the s*rface. 2 mo*ntain of ($,$$$ feet protr*des more than ' millimetres, +hich makes it clearly visi!le. The "lo!e t*rns on its a.is one complete revol*tion every (0 ho*rs, and rotates half a millimetre every second.+- ,

)-*ally acc*rate representations +ere made of the city +here the e.hi!ition +as held. 2t the centre of the 18&8 Paris e.hi!ition visitors had fo*nd the Pavillon de la Lille de Paris, +hich incl*ded e.hi!its and models of 8everythin" connected +ith the city8s f*nctions: schools, se+ers, p*mpin" stations, *r!an re!*ildin"8 as +ell as plans of the city in three:dimensional relief.+--, This +as s*rpassed at the ne.t Paris e.hi!ition, in 1889, +here one of the most impressive e.hi!its +as a panorama of the city. 2s descri!ed !y the same 2ra! +riter, this consisted of a vie+in" platform on +hich one stood, encircled !y ima"es of the city. The ima"es +ere mo*nted and ill*minated in s*ch a +ay that the o!server felt himself standin" at the centre of the city itself, +hich seemed to materialise aro*nd him as a sin"le, solid o!/ect 8not differin" from reality in any +ay8.+-., <econdly, the clearly determined relationship !et+een model and reality +as stren"thened !y their sharin" of a common centre. 2 model or panorama of the city stood at the centre of the e.hi!ition "ro*nds, +hich +ere themselves laid o*t in the

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centre of the real city. The city in t*rn presented itself as the imperial capital of the +orld, and the e.hi!ition at its centre laid o*t the e.hi!its of the +orld8s empires and nations accordin"ly. 9rance, for e.ample, +o*ld occ*py the central place on the Champs de Mars s*rro*nded !y the e.hi!its of the other ind*strialised states, +ith their colonies and other nations s*rro*ndin" them in the proper order. 681t is not on the Champs de Mars that one sho*ld look for the )"yptian e.hi!it8, +e ;9; are told in a didactic "*ide entitled L'Egypte, la Tunisie, le Maroc et l'exposition de 1 ! . 8This is easily e.plained, for the co*ntry has no ind*stry at all, properly speakin" ...87+-/, The common centre shared !y the e.hi!ition, the city and the +orld reinforced the relationship !et+een representation and reality, /*st as the relationship ena!led one to determine s*ch a centre in the first place. 9inally, +hat distin"*ished the realism of the model from the reality it claimed to represent +as that this central point had an occ*pant, the fi"*re on the vie+in" platform. The representation of reality +as al+ays an e.hi!it set *p for an o!server in its midst, an o!servin" "a?e s*rro*nded and set apart !y the e.hi!ition8s caref*l order. 1f the da??lin" displays of the e.hi!ition co*ld evoke some lar"er historical and political reality, it +as !eca*se they +ere arran"ed to demand this isolated "a?e. The more the e.hi!it dre+ in and encircled the visitor, the more the "a?e +as set apart from it, as the mind is set apart from the material +orld it o!serves. The separation is s*""ested in a description of the )"yptian e.hi!it at the Paris ).hi!ition of 18'&:
2 m*se*m inside a pharaonic temple represented 2nti-*ity, a palace richly decorated in the 2ra! style represented the Middle 2"es, a caravanserai of merchants and performers portrayed in real life the c*stoms of today. ,eapons from the <*dan, the skins of +ild monsters, perf*mes, poisons and medicinal plants transport *s directly to the tropics. Pottery from 2ssi*t and 2s+an, fili"ree and cloth of silk and "old invite *s to to*ch +ith o*r fin"ers a stran"e civilisation. 2ll the races s*!/ect to the Liceroy +ere personified !y individ*als selected +ith care. ,e r*!!ed sho*lders +ith the fellah, +e made +ay !efore the Bedo*in of the Ai!yan desert on their !ea*tif*l +hite dromedaries. This s*mpt*o*s display spoke to the mind as to the eyesF it e.pressed a political idea.+-0,

The remarka!le realism of s*ch displays made a stran"e civilisation into an o!/ect the visitor co*ld almost to*ch. Det to the o!servin" eye, s*rro*nded !y the display !*t distin"*ished from it !y the stat*s of visitor, it remained a mere representation, the pict*re of some stran"e reality. Th*s there +ere, in fact, t+o parallel pairs of distinctions, !et+een the visitor and the e.hi!it, and !et+een the e.hi!it and +hat it e.pressed. The representation +as set apart from the real political reality it claimed to portray as the o!servin" mind +as set apart from +hat it o!served. Bespite these methods of creatin" the determined distinction !et+een representation and reality, ho+ever, it +as not al+ays easy in Paris to tell +here the e.hi!ition ended and the +orld itself !e"an. 1t is tr*e that the !o*ndaries of the e.hi!ition +ere clearly marked, +ith hi"h perimeter +alls and mon*mental "ates. B*t, as the )"yptian dele"ation had !e"*n to discover, there +as m*ch a!o*t the real +orld o*tside, in the streets of Paris ; 1$ ; and !eyond, that resem!led the +orld e.hi!itionF /*st as there +as more a!o*t the e.hi!ition that resem!led the +orld o*tside. 1t +as as tho*"h, as +e +ill see, despite the determined efforts +ithin the e.hi!ition to constr*ct perfect representations of the real +orld o*tside, the real +orld !eyond the "ates t*rned o*t to !e rather like an e.tension of the e.hi!ition. This e.tended e.hi!ition +o*ld contin*e to present itself as a series of mere representations, representin" a reality o*tside. Th*s +e sho*ld think of it as not so m*ch an e.hi!ition as a kind of la!yrinth, the la!yrinth +hich incl*des in itself its o+n e.its.+-1, B*t then, perhaps the se-*ence of e.hi!itions !ecame so acc*rate and so e.tensive, no one ever realised that the 8real +orld8 they promised +as not there. ).cept perhaps the )"yptians.

The 6o$l( %s %n E*hi&ition

14

To e.amine this parado., 1 +ill !e"in a"ain inside the e.hi!ition, !ack at the )"yptian !a?aar. Part of the shock of the )"yptians came from /*st ho+ 8real8 the street claimed to !e. 3ot simply that the paint +as made dirty, that the donkeys +ere from Cairo, and that the )"yptian pastries on sale claimed to taste like the real thin". B*t that one paid for them, as +e say, +ith real money. The commercialism of the donkey rides, the !a?aar stalls and the dancin" "irls +as no different from the commercialism of the +orld o*tside. This +as the real thin", in the sense that +hat commercialism offers is al+ays the real thin". The commercialism of +orld e.hi!itions +as no accident, !*t a conse-*ence of the scale of representation they attempted and of the modern, cons*mer economy that re-*ired s*ch entertainment. Be"innin" +ith the 18'& ).position Universelle in Paris, +hich +as fo*r times the si?e of any previo*s e.hi!ition, the e.pense of the event +as offset !y char"in" each e.hi!itor for the costs of f*rnishin" the e.hi!it, and !y incl*din" thro*"ho*t the e.hi!ition:"ro*nd shops and places of entertainment.+-2, 2s a res*lt, the e.hi!itions came to resem!le more and more the commercial machinery of the rest of the city. This machinery, in t*rn, +as rapidly chan"in" in places like Aondon and Paris, as small, individ*ally o+ned shops, often !ased on local crafts, "ave +ay to the lar"er apparat*s of shoppin" arcades and department stores. The Bon MarchM opened in 18%( 6and had a t*rnover of seven million francs !y the end of the ne.t decade7, the Ao*vre in 18%%, and Printemps in 18'%. +-3, The si?e of the ne+ stores and arcades, as +ell as their architect*re, made each one almost an e.hi!ition in itself. The "llustrated #uide to $aris offered a typical description:
These arcades, a recent invention of ind*strial l*.*ry, are "lass:roofed, mar!le:+alled passa"es, c*t thro*"h +hole !locks of ho*ses, +hose o+ners have com!ined in this spec*lation. >n either side of the passa"es, +hich dra+ their li"ht from a!ove, r*n the most ele"ant shops, so that an arcade of this kind is a city, indeed a +orld in miniat*re.+-!,

; 11 ;

The )"yptian acco*nts of )*rope contain several descriptions of these mechanical +orlds:in:miniat*re, +here the real +orld, as at the e.hi!ition, +as somethin" created in the representation of its commodities. The department stores +ere descri!ed as 8lar"e and +ell or"anised8, +ith their merchandise 8arran"ed in perfect order, set in ro+s on shelves +ith everythin" symmetrical and precisely positioned8. +.4, 3on:)*ropean visitors +o*ld remark especially on the panes of "lass, inside the stores and alon" the "as:lit arcades, +hich separated the o!server from the "oods on display. 8The merchandise is all arran"ed !ehind sheets of clear "lass, in the most remarka!le order . . . 1ts da??lin" appearance dra+s tho*sands of onlookers.8+. , The "lass panes inserted themselves !et+een the visitors and the "oods on display, makin" the former into mere onlookers and endo+in" the "oods +ith the distance that is the so*rce of their o!/ectness. 5*st as e.hi!itions +ere !ecomin" more commercialised, the machinery of commerce +as !ecomin" a means of creatin" an effect of reality, indistin"*isha!le from that of the e.hi!ition. <omethin" of the e.perience of the stran"ely or"anised +orld of modern commerce and cons*mers is indicated in the first fictional acco*nt of )*rope to !e p*!lished in 2ra!ic. 2ppearin" in 188(, it tells the story of t+o )"yptians +ho travelled to 9rance and )n"land in the company of an )n"lish >rientalist. >n their first day in Paris, the t+o )"yptian prota"onists +ander accidentally into the vast, "as:lit premises of a +holesale s*pplier. 1nside the !*ildin" they find lon" corridors, each leadin" into another. They +alk from one corridor to the ne.t, and after a +hile !e"in to search for the +ay o*t. T*rnin" a corner they see +hat looks like an e.it, +ith people approachin" from the other side. B*t it t*rns o*t to !e a mirror, +hich covers the entire +idth and hei"ht of the +all, and the people approachin" are merely their o+n reflections. They t*rn another passa"e and then another, !*t each one ends only in a mirror. 2s they make their +ay thro*"h the corridors of the !*ildin", they pass "ro*ps of people at +ork. 8The people +ere !*sy settin" o*t merchandise, sortin" it and p*ttin" it into !o.es and cases. They stared at the t+o of them in silence as they passed, standin" -*ite still, not leavin" their places or interr*ptin" their +ork.8 2fter +anderin" silently for some time thro*"h the !*ildin", the t+o )"yptians realise they have lost their +ay completely and !e"in "oin" from room to

15

room lookin" for an e.it. 8B*t no one interfered +ith them8, +e are told, 8or came *p to them to ask if they +ere lost.8 )vent*ally they are resc*ed !y the mana"er of the store, +ho proceeds to e.plain to them ho+ ; 1( ; it is or"anised, pointin" o*t that the merchandise !ein" sorted and packed represents the prod*ce of every co*ntry in the +orld.+.-, >n the one hand this story evokes a festival of representation, a cele!ration of the ordered +orld of o!/ects and the discipline of the )*ropean "a?e. 2t the same time, the disconcertin" e.perience +ith the mirrors *ndermines this system of representational order. 2n earlier )"yptian +riter recalled a similar e.perience +ith mirrors, on his very first day in a )*ropean city. 2rrivin" at Marseilles, he had entered a cafM, +hich he mistook at first for some sort of 8vast, endless thoro*"hfare8. 8There +ere a lot of people in there,8 he e.plained, 8and +henever a "ro*p of them came into vie+ their ima"es appeared in the "lass mirrors, +hich +ere on every side. 2nyone +ho +alked in, sat do+n, or stood *p seemed to !e m*ltiplied. Th*s the cafM looked like an open street. 1 realised it +as enclosed only +hen 1 sa+ several ima"es of myself in the mirrors, and *nderstood that it +as all d*e to the pec*liar effect of the "lass.8 +.., 1n s*ch stories, it is as tho*"h the +orld of representation is !ein" admired for its da??lin" order, and yet the s*spicion remains that all this reality is only an effect. Perhaps the +orld remains inevita!ly a la!yrinth, rather than an interior distin"*ished from : and defined !y : its e.terior. 2t any rate the *n*s*al and sometimes discomfortin" e.periences of the +orld e.hi!ition seem to !e repeated, in s*ch stories, in the +orld o*tside, a +orld of passa"es endin" in one8s o+n reflection, of corridors leadin" into a la!yrinth of f*rther corridors, of o!/ects ordered *p to represent every co*ntry in the +orld, and of disciplined, starin" )*ropeans. 1t +as not /*st in its commercialism, in other +ords, that all this resem!led the +orld e.hi!ition. Characteristic of the +ay )*ropeans seemed to live +as their preocc*pation +ith +hat the same )"yptian a*thor descri!ed as inti%a& al'&an%ar , the or"anisation of the vie+. The )*rope one reads a!o*t in 2ra!ic acco*nts +as a place of discipline and vis*al arran"ement, of silent "a?es and stran"e sim*lations, of the or"anisation of everythin" and everythin" or"anised to represent, to recall like the e.hi!ition some lar"er meanin". >*tside the +orld e.hi!ition, it follo+s parado.ically, one enco*ntered not the real +orld !*t only f*rther models and representations of the real. Beyond the e.hi!ition and the department store, every+here that non:)*ropean visitors +ent : the m*se*m and the >rientalist conkress, the theatre and the ?oo, the co*ntryside enco*ntered typically in the form of a model farm e.hi!itin" ne+ machinery and c*ltivation methods, the very streets of the modern city +ith their deli!erate faJades, even the 2lps once the f*nic*lar +as !*ilt : they fo*nd the techni-*e and sensation to !e the same.+./, )verythin" seemed to !e set *p !efore one as tho*"h it +ere the model or the pict*re of somethin". )verythin" +as arran"ed !efore an o!servin" s*!/ect into a system of ; 1# ; si"nification 6to *se the )*ropean /ar"on7, declarin" itself to !e the si"nifier of a si"nified. The e.hi!ition, perhaps, co*ld !e read in s*ch acco*nts as epitomisin" the stran"e character of the ,est, a place +here one +as contin*ally pressed into service as a spectator !y a +orld ordered so as to represent. 1n e.hi!itions the traveller from the Middle )ast co*ld descri!e the c*rio*s +ay of settin" *p the +orld enco*ntered more and more in modern )*rope, a partic*lar arran"ement !et+een the individ*al and an o!/ect: +orld +hich )*ropeans seemed to take as the e.perience of the real. This reality:effect, let me provisionally s*""est, +as a +orld more and more rendered *p to the individ*al accordin" to the +ay in +hich, and to the e.tent to +hich, it co*ld !e set *p !efore him or her as an e.hi!it. 3on:)*ropeans enco*ntered in )*rope +hat one mi"ht call, echoin" a phrase from Ceide""er, the a"e of the +orld e.hi!ition, or rather, the a"e of the +orld:

16

as:e.hi!ition.+.0, ,orld e.hi!ition here refers not to an e.hi!ition of the +orld !*t to the +orld conceived and "rasped as tho*"h it +ere an e.hi!ition. There are three feat*res of this +orld, each of them already introd*ced, that are "oin" to provide themes 1 +ant to e.plore in this !ook. 9irst, its remarka!le claim to certainty or tr*th: the apparent certainty +ith +hich everythin" seems ordered and or"anised, calc*lated and rendered *nam!i"*o*s : *ltimately, +hat seems its political decidedness. <econd, the parado.ical nat*re of this decidedness: its certainty e.ists as the seemin"ly determined relation !et+een representations and 8reality8F yet the real +orld, like the +orld o*tside the e.hi!ition, despite everythin" the e.hi!ition promises, t*rns o*t to consist only of f*rther representations of this reality. Third, +hat 1 +ill refer to as its colonial nat*re: the a"e of the e.hi!ition +as necessarily the colonial a"e, the a"e of +orld economy and "lo!al po+er in +hich +e live, since +hat +as to !e rendered as e.hi!it +as reality, the +orld itself.

The Colonial Order

To e.plore these themes, in the final pa"es of this chapter 1 am "oin" to ret*rn +ith the )"yptian travellers to Cairo, and e.amine Middle )astern life thro*"h the eyes of nineteenth:cent*ry )*ropean scholars, +riters and to*rists. 1f )*rope +as !ecomin" the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, 1 am "oin" to ask, +hat happened to )*ropeans +ho left and +ent a!roadE Co+ did they e.perience a life not yet lived, so to speak, as tho*"h the +orld +ere a pict*re of somethin" set *p !efore an o!server8s "a?eE Part of the ans+er, 1 +ill s*""est, is that they did not realise they had left the e.hi!ition. Co+ co*ld they, if they took the +orld itself to !e an e.hi!itionE 4eality +as that +hich ; 10 ; presents itself as e.hi!it, so nothin" else +o*ld have !een thinka!le. Aivin" +ithin a +orld of si"ns, they took semiosis to !e a *niversal condition, and set a!o*t descri!in" the >rient as tho*"h it +ere an e.hi!ition. ,e +ill remain in the Middle )ast for the rest of the !ook, mostly in )"ypt of the later nineteenth cent*ry. My aim is to e.amine this com!ination of order and certainty that 1 have referred to as the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, in the attempts to constr*ct )"ypt as a modern or colonial state. 6Britain8s colonial occ*pation of )"ypt occ*rred late in the nineteenth cent*ry, in 188(. 1 +ill !e *sin" the +ord colonial, ho+ever, to refer !eyond this event to the 8colonisin"8 nat*re of the kind of po+er that the occ*pation so*"ht to consolidate, a po+er +hich !e"an to develop aro*nd the !e"innin" of the cent*ry if not earlier.7 The !ook is not intended as a history of this process, +hich remains even today somethin" *naccomplished and incomplete. 1nstead 1 +ill e.amine certain e.emplary pro/ects, +ritin"s, and events +hich can s*""est ho+ s*ch order and certainty +ere to !e achieved, and ill*minate somethin", 1 hope, of their stran"e nat*re. +.1, 1n chapters ( and # 1 am "oin" to !e"in !y e.aminin" parallels !et+een three characteristic practices in +hich a modern political method came into !ein": the formation of a ne+ army, the introd*ction of or"anised schoolin" and the re!*ildin" of )"yptian villa"es and to+ns. The ne+ processes that 1 e.amine : takin" peasants for the first time to !e drilled and disciplined into an army, p*llin" do+n ho*ses to constr*ct model villa"es or to open *p the streets of a modern city, p*ttin" children into ro+s of desks contained +ithin schools laid o*t like !arracks : all replicated one another as acts of +hat +as no+ called ni%a& , order and discipline. <*ch acts of order, +hich 1 contrast +ith other, older notions of order, all +orked to create the appearance of a str*ct*re, a frame+ork that seemed to e.ist apart from, and prior to, the partic*lar individ*als or actions it enframed. <*ch a frame+ork +o*ld appear, in other +ords, as order itself, conceived in no other terms than the order of +hat +as orderless, the coordination of +hat +as discontin*o*s, somethin" s*ddenly f*ndamental to h*man practice, to h*man tho*"ht. This effect +as somethin" ne+. 1t +as the effect, 1 +ill ar"*e, of a +orld that

17

+o*ld no+ seem divided in t+o, into the material realm of thin"s in themselves, as co*ld no+ !e said, and an a!stract realm of their order or str*ct*re. 1n chapters 0 and % 1 +ill try to connect this appearance of order +ith the 8order of appearance8 1 am callin" the +orld:as:e.hi!ition. To the +orld divided in t+o, 1 ar"*e first of all, there corresponded a ne+ conception of the person, similarly divided into a physical !ody and a non:physical entity to !e called the mind or mentality. 1 e.amine ho+ the ne+ political practices of the colonial period +ere or"anised aro*nd this distinction, +ith the aim of makin" the individ*al !ody disciplined and ind*strio*s, and ho+ the ; 1% ; same distinction !ecame the s*!/ect of a lar"e literat*re, concerned in partic*lar +ith the )"yptian mind or 8character8, +hose pro!lematic trait +as its lack of the same ha!it of ind*stry. The political process +as conceived, in other +ords, accordin" to this novel dichotomy !et+een a material and a mental +orld, an o!/ect and a s*!/ect +orld. 1ts p*rpose, in t*rn, +as to create !oth a material order and a concept*al or moral order. The ne+ name for this moral order +as 8society8. 1n chapter %, in the conte.t of the military occ*pation of )"ypt !y the British, 1 +ill deal +ith the pro!lem of political certainty or meanin". 1 +ant to consider ho+ the ne+ methods and ne+ conception of order, e.amined in the precedin" chapters, !ro*"ht a!o*t the effect of a realm of meanin" and a*thority. 1 propose to e.plore this !y dra+in" a parallel from the same period +ith the -*estion of meanin" and a*thority in +ritten te.ts, ar"*in" that a ne+ kind of distinction !et+een the material and the mental also came to "overn the nat*re of +ritin". 1 +ill *se this parallel to ar"*e that it +as in terms of this stran"e distinction that the nat*re and a*thority of the modern state +ere to !e conceived and achieved. 9inally in chapter ' 1 +ill try to connect to"ether these parallel themes, ret*rnin" to the -*estion of the +orld as e.hi!ition.

The 7lo&e
Before movin" on to the Middle )ast, 1 +ant to o*tline !riefly some of the more "eneral aspects of )"ypt8s relation to the )*rope of department stores and +orld e.hi!itions. This o*tline +ill provide !oth a historical itinerary and a f*rther indication of the direction in +hich my o+n path leads off. The +orld e.hi!itions and the ne+ lar"e:scale commercial life of )*ropean cities +ere aspects of a political and economic transformation that e-*ally affected )"ypt. The ne+ department stores +ere the first esta!lishments to keep lar"e -*antities of merchandise in stock, in the form of standardised te.tiles and clothin". The stockpilin", to"ether +ith the introd*ction of advertisin" 6the +ord +as coined at the time of the "reat e.hi!itions, ,alter Ben/amin tells *s7 and the ne+ ind*stry of 8fashion8, on +hich several )"yptian +riters commented, +ere all connected +ith the !oom in te.tile prod*ction.+.2, The te.tile !oom +as an aspect of other chan"es, s*ch as ne+ +ays of harvestin" and treatin" cotton, ne+ machinery for the man*fact*re of te.tiles, the res*ltin" increase in profits, and the reinvestment of profit a!road in f*rther cotton prod*ction. 2t the other end from the department store, these +ider chan"es e.tended to incl*de places like the so*thern United <tates, 1ndia, and the 3ile valley. <ince the latter part of the ei"hteenth cent*ry the 3ile valley too had !een *nder"oin" a transformation, associated principally +ith the )*ropean ; 1' ; te.tile ind*stry.+.3, 9rom a co*ntry +hich formed one of the h*!s in the commerce of the >ttoman +orld and !eyond, and +hich prod*ced and e.ported its o+n food and its o+n te.tiles, )"ypt +as t*rnin" into a co*ntry +hose economy +as dominated !y the prod*ction of a sin"le commodity, ra+ cotton, for the "lo!al te.tile ind*stry of )*rope. By the eve of the 9irst ,orld ,ar, cotton +as to acco*nt for more than ninety:t+o per cent of the total val*e of )"ypt8s e.ports.+.!, The chan"es associated +ith this "ro+th and concentration in e.ports incl*ded an enormo*s "ro+th in imports, principally of te.tile

18

prod*cts and food, the e.tension thro*"ho*t the co*ntry of a net+ork of roads, tele"raphs, police stations, rail+ays, ports and permanent irri"ation canals, a ne+ relationship to the land, +hich !ecame a privately o+ned commodity concentrated in the hands of a small, po+erf*l and increasin"ly +ealthy social class, the infl*. of )*ropeans, seekin" to make fort*nes, find employment, transform a"ric*lt*ral prod*ction or impose colonial control, the !*ildin" and re!*ildin" of to+ns and cities as centres of the ne+ )*ropean:dominated commercial life, and the mi"ration to these *r!an centres of tens of tho*sands of the increasin"ly impoverished r*ral poor. 3o other place in the +orld in the nineteenth cent*ry +as transformed on a "reater scale to serve the prod*ction of a sin"le ind*stry. 1t +as e.actly this kind of "lo!al transformation that +orld e.hi!itions +ere !*ilt to promote. The <aint:<imonists, !elievers in the ne+ reli"ion of 8social science8 +ho had travelled to Cairo in the 18#$s to !e"in from +ithin )"ypt their pro/ect for the ind*strialisation of the earth, and had misera!ly failed, +ere s*!se-*ently amon" the first to t*rn to the idea of +orld e.hi!itions. Michel Chevalier, editor of the <aint:<imonist /o*rnal #lo(e , advocated e.hi!itions for the same reason he advocated constr*ctin" canals at Panama and <*e?: to open *p the +orld to the free movement of commodities. +/4, 8The @reat ).hi!ition of the ,orks of 1nd*stry of 2ll 3ations8 +as the f*ll title of the first of them, the Crystal Palace ).hi!ition of 18%1. 1n place of the ind*strial e.hi!itions e.cl*sive to one nation that had !ecome pop*lar d*rin" the first half of the cent*ry, all forei"n nations and man*fact*rers +ere invited to e.hi!it at the Crystal Palace, reflectin" the desire to promote *nrestricted international trade on the part of British ind*strialists. ,hat +as on e.hi!it +as the conversion of the +orld to modern capitalist prod*ction and e.chan"e, and to the movements of comm*nication and the processes of inspection on +hich these +ere tho*"ht to depend. The p*rpose of the e.hi!ition +as to
!rin" the leadin" men in man*fact*res, commerce and science into close and intimate comm*nication +ith each other : esta!lish an intelli"ent s*pervision of every !ranch of prod*ction !y those most interested and most likely to !e informed : have ann*al reports made in each department, and let the +hole +orld !e invited to assist in carryin" for+ard the vast scheme of h*man la!o*r +hich has hitherto !een prosec*ted at random and +itho*t any kno+led"e or appreciation of the system +hich pervaded it.+/ ,

; 1& ;

The 8+hole +orld8 +as to !e invited in to see a fantastic and yet systematic prof*sion of material "oods, all the ne+ necessities and desires that modern capitalism co*ld order *p and display. 8)*rope is on the move to look at merchandise8, +rote the 9rench historian Taine, +hen 9rance responded to the Crystal Palace ).hi!ition +ith its first ).position Universelle in 18%%.+/-, The first 2ra!ic acco*nt of a +orld e.hi!ition, descri!in" the ne.t Paris e.position in 18'&, +as entitled simply and acc*rately eno*"h, The )ni*ersal Exhi(ition of Co&&odities .+/., 1t +as the representatives of these commercial and man*fact*rin" interests +ho or"anised the participation of non:)*ropean nations at the e.hi!itions, to dra+ them into modern capitalism8s 8vast scheme of h*man la!o*r8. The "overnment of >ttoman T*rkey, for e.ample, received the enco*ra"ement and assistance of local )*ropean cons*ls and !*sinessmen, and of or"anisations s*ch as the Manchester Cotton 2ssociation, in "atherin" to"ether samples of all the marketa!le commodities that mi"ht !e prod*ced in the )mpire and shippin" them to )*rope for the e.hi!itions. The Manchester Cotton 2ssociation even promoted local e.hi!itions in 1stan!*l and 1?mir, to enco*ra"e T*rkish lando+ners to convert their fields to cotton "ro+in". 2fter the s*ccess of the Paris e.hi!ition of 18%%, an international e.hi!ition +as or"anised in 1stan!*l itself, to promote capitalist prod*ction and marketin".+//, )"ypt follo+ed a decade later, after the Paris e.hi!ition of 18'&. The occasion of the )"yptian e.hi!ition +as an international cele!ration to mark the openin" of the <*e? Canal, !*ilt *nder the <aint:<imonist en"ineer de Aesseps, +hich confirmed )"ypt8s ne+ importance to )*ropean +orld trade. The e.hi!ition took the form of a ne+ )*ropeanised city, its faJades hastily constr*cted alon"side the e.istin" -*arters of Cairo, and in some cases c*ttin" ri"ht thro*"h them, complete +ith p*!lic "ardens, a va*deville theatre, and an opera ho*se for the performance of Lerdi8s +,da . The Ghedive ret*rned the favo*r of the imitation medieval palace that had !een constr*cted for his *se at the Paris e.hi!ition t+o years earlier, !y

19

havin" a palace specially !*ilt on the 3ile for the )mpress )*"Mnie, in +hich the rooms +ere made e.act replicas of her private apartments in the T*illeries.+/0, The re!*ildin" of Cairo and other Middle )astern cities accordin" to the principle of the e.hi!ition +as intended, therefore, like the constr*ction of e.hi!itions and e.hi!ition: like cities in )*rope, to promote the "lo!al economic and political transformation 1 have /*st o*tlined, and to sym!olise its accomplishment. 1n other +ords the ne+ faJades of the city, like the ; 18 ; display of commodities at the e.hi!ition, co*ld !e taken as a series of si"ns or representations, as +e say, of the lar"er economic chan"es 8*nderneath8. The pro!lem, ho+ever, is that the sort of thin" 1 +ant to *nderstand is this very distinction !et+een +hat +e see as a realm of si"ns or representations, and an o*tside or an *nderneath. The economic and political transformations, 1 shall ar"*e, +ere themselves somethin" dependent on the +orkin" of this pec*liar distinction.

O&5ecti#e People
The ne+ +orld of faJades and e.hi!its, models and sim*lations, is certainly to !e *nderstood in relation to the +ider capitalist transformation 1 have !een descri!in". 8,orld e.hi!itions are sites of pil"rima"es to the commodity fetish8, +rote Ben/amin, associatin" them +ith that 8theolo"ical8 effect thro*"h +hich Mar. *nderstood po+er to operate in capitalist societies.+/1, The effect occ*rs +hen prod*ction for the market ca*ses the ordinary thin"s people prod*ce to !e treated as commodities : o!/ects, that is, +hose diverse meanin"s or val*es are made compara!le and e.chan"ea!le, !y s*pposin" them each to represent the res*lt of a certain -*antity of an identical and a!stract process that +e call 8prod*ction8. 2s a commodity, Mar. e.plained, an o!/ect is treated as a mysterio*s 8social hiero"lyphic8 representin" this ima"inary prod*ctive process. 1t no lon"er represents to people the real la!o*r and the real social lives of those +ho act*ally made it.+/2, Mar.8s analysis of commodity fetishism already s*""ested the central role that events like +orld e.hi!itions : and the +hole ind*stry of entertainment, the media, advertisin", packa"in" and pop*lar ed*cation +hich follo+ed : +ere to play in modern, cons*mer capitalism. ).hi!itions 8open *p a phantasma"oria that people enter to !e am*sed8, +rote Ben/amin. 8They s*!mit to !ein" manip*lated +hile en/oyin" their alienation from themselves and others.8+/3, The theory of commodity fetishism rests, ho+ever, on revealin" s*ch representations to !e misrepresentations. Mar. opposed to the ima"inary prod*ctive processes represented !y these mis*nderstood hiero"lyphics the 8transparent and rational form8 in +hich the practical relations of everyday life sho*ld present themselves.+/!, To the mechanism of misrepresentation !y +hich po+er operates, Mar. opposed a representation of the +ay thin"s intrinsically are, in their transparent and rational reality. The pro!lem +ith s*ch an e.planation +as that, in revealin" po+er to +ork thro*"h &is representation, it left representation itself *n-*estioned. 1t accepted a!sol*tely the distinction !et+een a realm of representations and the 8e.ternal reality8 +hich s*ch representations promise, rather than e.aminin" the novelty of contin*o*sly creatin" the effect of an 8e.ternal ; 19 ; reality8 as itself a mechanism of po+er. The +orkin" of this mechanism is +hat 1 +ill !e e.aminin" in later pa"es of this !ook, !*t the +eakness of acceptin" the distinction already !e"ins to appear as soon as one asks +hat the 8transparent and rational8 reality, +hich capitalist representation misrepresents, really is. The ans+er in Mar.8s case, once one lifts the veil of the commodity, or the earlier veils of reli"ion or 8the ancient +orship of nat*re8, +as of co*rse 8material prod*ction8. Material prod*ction, +rote Mar., is 8a process in +hich !oth man and 3at*re participate, and in +hich man of his o+n accord

20

starts, re"*lates and controls the material reactions !et+een himself and 3at*re ... th*s actin" *pon the e.ternal +orld and chan"in" it8.+04, <*ch an acco*nt, ho+ever *sef*l, is only a partic*lar description. 2s 5ean Ba*drillard points o*t, it remains itself a lan"*a"e, a social hiero"lyphic, no less a representation, and th*s no more a transparency, than the commodity fetish or the ancient +orship of nat*re.+0 , The lan"*a"e is pro!lematic not /*st !eca*se it can !e sho+n to !e a partic*lar description, rather than reality itself. 1t also happens to !e the very lan"*a"e +hich +orld e.hi!itions +ere constr*cted to promote, and +hich +as to !e introd*ced into nineteenth:cent*ry )"ypt. 2s 1 +ill try to sho+, the political and economic transformation that +as to !e attempted in places s*ch as )"ypt re-*ired, not a Mar.ist conception of the h*man person, !*t a conception +hich shared +ith Mar. certain common ass*mptions. To prepare for the trip +e +ill !e takin" to )"ypt for the rest of this !ook, it may help to end this section !y considerin" !riefly +hat modern )*ropeans had come to think a person +as. The person +as no+ tho*"ht of as somethin" set apart from a physical +orld, like the visitor to an e.hi!ition or the +orker attendin" a machine, as the one +ho o!serves and controls it. Cis o+n nat*re 61 +ill say 8his8 +hen dealin", here as else+here, +ith male:centred notions7 +as realised in !ein" 8ind*strio*s8 : in maintainin" the same steady o!servation and control over his o+n physical !ody and +ill. 1n the la!o*r process, +rote Mar., the +orker 8opposes himself to 3at*re as one of her o+n forces, settin" in motion arms and le"s, head and hands, the nat*ral forces of his !ody ... and compels them to act in o!edience to his s+ay ... This s*!ordination is no mere momentary act. Besides the e.ertion of the !odily or"ans, the process demands that, d*rin" the +hole operation, the +orkman8s +ill !e steadily in consonance +ith his p*rpose. This means close attention.8+0-, <eparated in this +ay from a physical +orld and from his o+n physical !ody, the tr*e nat*re of the h*man person, like that of the o!server at the e.hi!ition, +as to learn to !e ind*strio*s, self:disciplined, and closely attentive. 1n the middle of the nineteenth cent*ry, a ne+ term came into vo"*e for characterisin" this com!ination of detachment and close attentiveness : the +ord 8o!/ective8. 85*st no+ +e are an o!/ective people8, The Ti&es +rote in ; ($ ; the s*mmer of 18%1, on the occasion of the @reat ).hi!ition. 8,e +ant to place everythin" +e can lay o*r hands on *nder "lass cases, and to stare o*r fill.8+0., The +ord denoted the modern sense of detachment, !oth physical and concept*al, of the self from an o!/ect:+orld : the detachment epitomised, as 1 have !een s*""estin", in the visitor to an e.hi!ition. 2t the same time, the +ord s*""ested a passive c*riosity, of the kind the or"anisers of e.hi!itions hoped to evoke in those +ho visited them. Bespite their apprehension a!o*t allo+in" enormo*s n*m!ers of the lo+er classes to con"re"ate in )*ropean capitals so soon after the events of 1808, the a*thorities enco*ra"ed them to visit e.hi!itions. ,orkers +ere "iven permission to leave their shops and factories to attend, and man*fact*rers and !enevolent societies s*!sidised the cost of their travel and accommodation. The res*lt +as an e.ample of mass !ehavio*r +itho*t precedent. 8Pop*lar movements that only a fe+ years a"o +o*ld have !een prono*nced dan"ero*s to the safety of the <tate8, it +as reported after the 18%1 e.hi!ition, 8 ... have taken place not only +itho*t disorder, !*t also almost +itho*t crime.8+0/, The article on 8o!/ective people8 in The Ti&es +as commentin" on the reass*rin" a!sence of 8political passions8 in the co*ntry d*rin" the e.hi!ition. The o!/ective attit*de of the e.hi!ition visitor, in other +ords, seemed to s*""est not only the tr*e nat*re of the modern individ*al, !*t the model of !ehavio*r for the modern political s*!/ect. 1 +ant to recall, finally, from my earlier disc*ssion of the e.hi!ition that this 8o!/ective8 isolation of the o!server from an o!/ect:+orld, in terms of +hich personhood +as *nderstood, corresponded to a distinction that +as no+ made !et+een the material +orld of e.hi!its or representations and the meanin" or plan that they represented. This too the a*thorities and or"anisers seemed to *nderstand. 1n order to enco*ra"e the

21

proper o!/ective attit*de amon" visitors, they made a concerted effort to provide the necessary catalo"*es, plans, si"n:posts, "*ide!ooks, instr*ctions, ed*cational talks and compilations of statistics. 6Th*s the )"yptian e.hi!it at the 18'& e.hi!ition +as accompanied !y a "*ide!ook containin" an o*tline of the co*ntry8s history : divided clearly, as +as the e.hi!it to +hich it referred, into the ancient, the medieval and the modern : to"ether +ith a 8notice statisti-*e s*r le territoire, la pop*lation, les forces prod*ctives, le commerce, l8effective militaire et naval, l8or"anisation financiPre, l8instr*ction p*!li-*e, etc. de l8)"ypte8 compiled, appropriately eno*"h, !y the Commission 1mpMriale in Paris.7+00, <*ch o*tlines, "*ides, ta!les and plans mediated !et+een the visitor and the e.hi!it, !y s*pplementin" +hat +as displayed +ith a str*ct*re and meanin". The seemin"ly separate te.t or plan, one mi"ht say, +as +hat confirmed the separation of the person from the thin"s themselves on e.hi!it, and of the thin"s on e.hi!it from the meanin" or e.ternal reality they represented. ; (1 ; Mar. himself, altho*"h he +anted none of the accompanyin" political passivity, conceived of an essential separation !et+een the person and an o!/ect:+orld in the same +ay, in terms of a str*ct*re or plan e.istin" apart from thin"s themselves. ,hat distin"*ished man from 8e.ternal8 nat*re +as his a!ility to make an interior mental map. Aike the architect, as Mar. e.plained in a +ell:kno+n phrase, man 8raises his str*ct*re in ima"ination !efore he erects it in reality8.+01, Aike the visitor to the e.hi!ition, that is, his separation from an e.ternal o!/ect:+orld +as somethin" mediated !y a non:material plan or str*ct*re. This notion of an 8ima"inary str*ct*re8 that e.ists !efore and apart from somethin" called 8e.ternal reality8, in the same +ay as an e.hi!it or a plan stands apart from the real +orld it represents, is +hat "ives shape to the e.perience and *nderstandin" of o!/ective people. 1t "overns, in other +ords, the stran"e anthropolo"y in +hich +e inha!itants of the +orld:as:e.hi!ition !elieve. 1n order to anthropolo"ise a little f*rther o*r thinkin" a!o*t the person and the +orld, 1 am no+ "oin" to move on to consider +hat happened to the nineteenth:cent*ry )*ropean +ho travelled to the Middle )ast. The >rient, after all, +as the "reat 8e.ternal reality8 of modern )*rope : the most common o!/ect of its e.hi!itions, the "reat si"nified. By the late 18'$s Thomas Cook, +ho had la*nched the modern to*rist ind*stry !y or"anisin" e.c*rsion trains +ith the Midland 4ail+ay Company to visit the Crystal Palace e.hi!ition, +as offerin" e.c*rsions to visit not e.hi!its of the >rient !*t the real thin".+02, Det as +e +ill see, )*ropean visitors +o*ld arrive in the >rient lookin" for the same kind of str*ct*re 8raised in the ima"ination8. They +o*ld come e.pectin" to find a +orld +here a str*ct*re or meanin" e.ists someho+ apart, as in an e.hi!ition, from the 8reality8 of thin"s:in:themselves.

The East Itself

8<o here +e are in )"ypt8, +rote @*stave 9la*!ert, in a letter from Cairo in 5an*ary 18%$. 8,hat can 1 say a!o*t it allE ,hat can 1 +rite yo*E 2s yet 1 am scarcely over the initial !eda??lement ... each detail reaches o*t to "rip yo*F it pinches yo*F and the more yo* concentrate on it the less yo* "rasp the +hole. Then "rad*ally all this !ecomes harmonio*s and the pieces fall into place of themselves, in accordance +ith the la+s of perspective. B*t the first days, !y @od, it is s*ch a !e+ilderin" chaos of colo*rs ... 8 +03, 9la*!ert e.periences Cairo as a vis*al t*rmoil. 2t first it is indescri!a!le, e.cept as disorder. ,hat can he +rite a!o*t the placeE That it is a chaos of colo*r and detail, +hich ref*ses to compose itself as a pict*re. The disorientin" e.perience of a Cairo street, in other +ords, +ith its ar"*ments in *nkno+n lan"*a"es, stran"ers +ho !r*sh past in stran"e clothes, *n*s*al colo*rs, ; (( ; and *nfamiliar so*nds and smells, is e.pressed as an a!sence of pictorial order. There is no distance, this means, !et+een oneself and the vie+, and the eyes are

22

red*ced to or"ans of to*ch: 8each detail reaches o*t to "rip yo*8. ,itho*t a separation of the self from a pict*re, moreover, it !ecomes impossi!le to "rasp 8the +hole8. The e.perience of the +orld as a pict*re set *p !efore the s*!/ect is linked, as +e +ill see, to the *n*s*al conception of the +orld as a limited totality, somethin" that forms a !o*nded str*ct*re or system. <*!se-*ently, comin" to terms +ith this disorientation and recoverin" one8s self:possession is e.pressed a"ain in pictorial terms. The +orld arran"es itself into a pict*re and achieves a vis*al order, 8in accordance +ith the la+s of perspective8. 1f )*rope, as 1 have !een s*""estin", +as the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, +hat happened to )*ropeans +ho +ent a!road :to visit places +hose ima"es invaria!ly they had already seen in pict*res and e.hi!itionsE Co+ did they e.perience the real +orld s*ch ima"es had depicted, +hen the reality +as a place +hose life +as not yet lived as if the +orld +ere an e.hi!itionE They +ere conf*sed of co*rse, !*t perhaps the key to their conf*sion +as this: altho*"h they tho*"ht of themselves as movin" from the pict*res to the real thin", they +ent on tryin" : like 9la*!ert :to "rasp the real thin" as a pict*re. Co+ co*ld they do other+ise, since they took reality itself to !e a pict*reE The real is "rasped in terms of a distinction !et+een a pict*re and +hat it represents, so nothin" else +o*ld have !een, -*ite literally, thinka!le. Bro*"ht *p +ithin +hat they tho*"ht of as a representational +orld, they took representation to !e a *niversal condition. Th*s they set a!o*t tryin" to descri!e the >rient as tho*"h it +ere an e.hi!ition : a delapidated and mismana"ed one of co*rse, indeed an e.hi!ition of its o+n delapidation and mismana"ement. ,hat else co*ld it !e taken to representE 2mon" )*ropean +riters +ho travelled to the Middle )ast in the middle and latter part of the nineteenth cent*ry, one very fre-*ently finds the e.perience of its stran"eness e.pressed in terms of the pro!lem of formin" a pict*re. 1t +as as tho*"h to make sense of it meant to stand !ack and make a dra+in" or take a photo"raph of itF +hich for many of them act*ally it did. 8)very year that passes8, an )"yptian +rote, 8yo* see tho*sands of )*ropeans travellin" all over the +orld, and everythin" they come across they make a pict*re of.8+0!, ,riters from )*rope +anted to make pict*res in the same +ay. They +anted to portray +hat they sa+ in +ords +ith the same chemically: etched acc*racy, and the same optical detachment, as the da"*erreotype or the photo"raphic apparat*s, that 8instr*ment of patience8 as @Mrard de 3erval descri!ed it,8... +hich, destroyin" ill*sions, opposes to each fi"*re the mirror of tr*th8. +14, 9la*!ert travelled in )"ypt on a photo"raphic mission +ith Ma.ime d* Camp, the res*lts of +hich +ere e.pected to !e 8-*ite special in character8, it +as remarked at the 1nstit*t de 9rance, ; (# ; 8thanks to the aid of this modern travellin" companion, efficient, rapid, and al+ays scr*p*lo*sly e.act8.+1 , The e.act correspondence of the ima"e to reality +o*ld provide a ne+, almost mechanical kind of certainty. The p*!lication in 18%8 of the first "eneral collection of photo"raphs of the Middle )ast, 9rancis 9rith8s Egypt and $alestine, $hotographed and -escri(ed , +o*ld !e 8an e.periment in Photo"raphy ... of s*rpassin" val*e8, it +as anno*nced in the +rt .ournal , 8for +e +ill /now that +e see thin"s e.actly as they are8.+1-, Aike the photo"rapher, the +riter +anted to reprod*ce a pict*re of thin" 8e.actly as they are8, of 8the )ast itself in its vital act*al reality8. +1., 9la*!ert and 3erval +ere preceded in )"ypt !y )d+ard Aane, +hose famo*s +ccount of the Manners and Custo&s of the Modern Egyptians +as p*!lished in 18#%. The !ook8s 8sin"*lar po+er of description and min*te acc*racy8 made it, in the +ords of his nephe+, the >rientalist <tanley Poole, 8the most perfect pict*re of a people8s life that has ever !een +ritten8. 8Lery fe+ men8, added his "reat:nephe+, the >rientalist <tanley Aane:Poole, 8have possessed in e-*al de"ree the po+er of min*tely descri!in" a scene or a mon*ment, so that the pencil mi"ht almost restore it +itho*t a fa*lt after the lapse of years ... The o!/ects stand !efore yo* as yo* read, and this not !y the *se of ima"inative lan"*a"e, !*t !y the plain simple description.8+1/, Aane, in fact, did not !e"in as a +riter !*t as a professional artist and

23

en"raver, and had first travelled to )"ypt in 18(% +ith a ne+ apparat*s called the camera l*cida, a dra+in" device +ith a prism that pro/ected an e.act ima"e of the o!/ect on to paper. Ce had planned to p*!lish the dra+in"s he made +ith this device and the accompanyin" descriptions in an ei"ht:vol*me +ork entitled 82n ).ha*stive Bescription of )"ypt8, !*t had !een *na!le to find a p*!lisher +hose printin" techni-*es co*ld reprod*ce the min*te and mechanical acc*racy of the dra+in"s. <*!se-*ently, he p*!lished the part dealin" +ith contemporary )"ypt, re+ritten as the ethno"raphic description of the modern )"yptians.+10,

The Point o" Vie)

Besides the apparent acc*racy of representation of these mechanical 8mirrors of tr*th8, +riters also so*"ht their optical detachment. Aike the e.hi!ition, the da"*erreotype or photo"raph presented the +orld as a panorama, a pict*re:+orld set apart from its o!server. The predecessor of the photo"rapher +as in many cases the panorama painter, men like Bavid 4o!erts and 4o!ert Ger Porter +ho travelled to the Middle )ast in the first three decades of the nineteenth cent*ry. They ret*rned to prod*ce not /*st prints or easel pict*res !*t enormo*s panoramic paintin"s, often +ith movin" shado+s and mechanical animations, +hich the "eneral p*!lic came ; (0 ; to see in places of entertainment s*ch as the Aeicester <-*are Panorama. +11, Ba"*erre himself, the inventor of the photo"raphic process, +as a panorama painter in Paris 6+here he had pioneered the techni-*e of chan"in" shado+s kno+n as the diorama7. 1n 18#9 his diorama !*rnt do+n, and it +as that year that he anno*nced the invention of the da"*erreotype.+12, The pro!lem, then, for the da"*erreotypist visitin" the Middle )ast, or for the +riter +ho desired the same acc*racy of representation, +as to separate oneself from the +orld and th*s constit*te it as a panorama. This re-*ired +hat +as no+ called a 8point of vie+8, a position set apart and o*tside. )d+ard Aane lived +hile he +as in Cairo near one of the city8s "ates, o*tside +hich there +as a lar"e hill +ith a to+er and military tele"raph on top. This elevated position commanded 8a most ma"nificent vie+ of the city and s*!*r!s and the citadel8, Aane +rote. 8<oon after my arrival 1 made a very ela!orate dra+in" of the scene, +ith the camera l*cida. 9rom no other spot can so "ood a vie+ of the metropolis ... !e o!tained.8+13, <*ch spots, ho+ever, +ere diffic*lt to find. Besides the military o!servation to+er *sed !y Aane, visitors to the Middle )ast +o*ld appropriate +hatever !*ildin"s and mon*ments +ere availa!le in order to o!tain the necessary vie+point. The @reat Pyramid at @i?a had no+ !ecome a vie+in" platform. Teams of Bedo*in +ere or"anised to heave and p*sh the +riter or to*rist to the top, +here t+o more Bedo*in +o*ld carry the )*ropean on their sho*lders to all fo*r comers, to o!serve the vie+.+1!, 2t the end of the cent*ry an )"yptian novel satirised the +esternisin" pretensions amon" mem!ers of the )"yptian *pper middle class, !y havin" one s*ch character spend a day clim!in" the pyramids at @i?a, to see the vie+. +24, The minaret presented itself similarly to even the most respecta!le )*ropean as a vie+in" to+er, from +hich to sneak a panoptic "a?e over a M*slim to+n. 8The mo!!in" 1 "ot at 0hoo&lo 8, complained 5eremy Bentham on his visit to the Middle )ast, 8only for takin" a peep at the to+n from a thin" they call a &inaret ... has cancelled any claims they mi"ht have had *pon me for the dinner they "ave me at the di*an , had it !een !etter than it +as.8+2 , Bentham can remind *s of one more similarity !et+een +riter and camera, and of +hat it meant, therefore, to "rasp the +orld as tho*"h it +ere a pict*re or e.hi!ition. The point of vie+ +as not /*st a place set apart, o*tside the +orld or a!ove it. 1t +as ideally a position from +here, like the a*thorities in the panopticon, one co*ld see and yet not !e seen. The photo"rapher, invisi!le !eneath his !lack cloth as he eyed the +orld thro*"h his camera8s "a?e, in this respect typified the kind of presence desired !y the )*ropean in the Middle )ast, +hether as to*rist, +riter or indeed, as +e +ill see, as colonial po+er. +2-,

24

The ordinary )*ropean to*rist, dressed 6accordin" to the advice in M*rray8s 1and(oo/ for Tra*ellers in Lower and )pper Egypt , already in its seventh edition !y 18887 in either 8a common felt helmet or ; (% ;

( @i?a: clim!in" the @reat Pyramid. ; (' ; +ide:a+ake, +ith a t*r!an of +hite m*slin +o*nd aro*nd it8 or alternatively a pith helmet, to"ether +ith a !l*e or "reen veil and 8colo*red:"lass spectacles +ith "a*?e sides8, possessed the same invisi!le "a?e, the same a!ility to see +itho*t !ein" seen. +2., 1t +as no +onder that an )"yptian +riter had to e.plain, as 1 mentioned, that one of the !eliefs of the )*ropean +as that the "a?e had no effect. To see +itho*t !ein" seen confirmed one8s <eparation from the +orld, and corresponded at the same time to a position of po+er. Certain of the more )*ropeanised mem!ers of the co*ntry8s T*rkish r*lin" elite, s*ch as 2dham Pasha, +hom +e +ill enco*nter in a later chapter as the man +ho introd*ced into )"ypt a modern system of schoolin" !ased on constant s*rveillance, !e"an to +ear "reen: or !l*e:colo*red spectacles +ith "a*?e sides +hen they +ent on to*rs of inspection.+2/, By the 18'$s even the Ghedive himself travelled the co*ntry +earin" colo*red "lasses. ,hen the first satirical political /o*rnal appeared in )"ypt in

25

18&&, attackin" the po+er of the )*ropeans in the co*ntry and ridic*lin" their T*rkish colla!orators, it +as sh*t do+n almost immediately !y the "overnment and its editor deported. 1t had called itself +(u al'na%%ara al'%ar2a 8, the man in !l*e:colo*red spectacles.+20, The +riter shared +ith the a*thorities this desire to see +itho*t !ein" seen. The representation of the >rient, in its attempt to !e detached and o!/ective, +o*ld seek to eliminate from the pict*re the presence of the )*ropean o!server. 1ndeed to represent somethin" as >riental, as )d+ard <aid has ar"*ed, one so*"ht to e.cise the )*ropean presence alto"ether. 8Many thanks for the local details yo* sent me8, +rote @a*tier to 3erval in Cairo, +ho +as s*pplyin" him +ith first:hand material for his >riental scenarios for the Paris >pMra. 8B*t ho+ the devil +as 1 to have incl*ded amon" the +alk:on8s of the >pMra these )n"lishmen dressed in raincoats, +ith their -*ilted cotton hats and their "reen veils to protect themselves a"ainst ophthalmiaE8+21, 4epresentation +as not to represent the voye*r, as the 2l"erian scholar Malek 2llo*la has descri!ed the colonial presence in a st*dy of colonial postcards, the seein" eye that made representation possi!le. To esta!lish the o!/ectness of the >rient, as somethin" set apart from the )*ropean presence, re-*ired that the presence itself, ideally, !ecome invisi!le. >n the other hand, ho+ever, +hile settin" themselves apart in this +ay from a +orld:as:pict*re, )*ropeans also +anted to e.perience it as tho*"h it +ere the real thin". Aike the visitor to an e.hi!ition, travellers +anted to immerse themselves in the >rient and 8to*ch +ith their fin"ers a stran"e civilisation8. )d+ard Aane +rote in his /o*rnal of +antin" 8to thro+ myself entirely amon" stran"ers, ... to adopt their lan"*a"e, their c*stoms, and their dress8.+22, This kind of immersion +as to make possi!le the prof*sion of ethno"raphic detail in +riters s*ch as Aane, and prod*ce in their +ork the ; (& ; effect of a direct and immediate e.perience of the >rient. 1n Aane, and even more so in +riters like 9la*!ert and 3erval, the desire for this immediacy of the real !ecame a desire for direct and physical contact +ith the e.otic, the !i?arre, and the erotic. There +as a contradiction, therefore, !et+een the need to separate oneself from the +orld and render it *p as an o!/ect of representation, and the desire to lose oneself +ithin this o!/ect:+orld and e.perience it directlyF a contradiction +hich +orld e.hi!itions, +ith their prof*sion of e.otic detail and yet their clear distinction !et+een visitor and e.hi!it, +ere !*ilt to accommodate and overcome. The pro!lem in a place like Cairo, +hich had not !een !*ilt as an e.hi!ition, +as to f*lfil this do*!le desire. >n his first day in Cairo, @Mrard de 3erval met a 8painter8 e-*ipped +ith a da"*erreotype, +ho 8s*""ested that 1 come +ith him to choose a point of vie+8. 2"reein" to accompany him, 3erval decided 8to have myself taken to the most la!yrinthine point of the city, a!andon the painter to his tasks, and then +ander off hapha?ardly, +itho*t interpreter or companion8. B*t +ithin the la!yrinth of the city, +here 3erval hoped to immerse himself in the e.otic and finally e.perience 8+itho*t interpreter8 the real >rient, they +ere *na!le to find any point from +hich to take the pict*re. They follo+ed one cro+ded, t+istin" street after another, lookin" +itho*t s*ccess for a s*ita!le vie+point, *ntil event*ally the prof*sion of noises and people s*!sided and the streets !ecame 8more silent, more d*sty, more deserted, the mos-*es fallen in decay and here and there a !*ildin" in collapse8. 1n the end they fo*nd themselves o*tside the city, 8some+here in the s*!*r!s, on the other side of the canal from the main sections of the to+n8. Cere at last, amid the silence and the r*ins, the photo"rapher +as a!le to set *p his device and portray the city. +23, 1t +as )d+ard Aane +ho fo*nd the ideal device for meetin" this do*!le demand, to immerse oneself and yet stand apart. The device +as that of hidin" !eneath a deli!erate dis"*ise, rather like the to*rist in colo*red spectacles or the photo"rapher !eneath his cloth. 1n order 8to escape e.citin", in stran"ers, any s*spicion of ... !ein" a person +ho had no ri"ht to intr*de amon" them8, Aane e.plained, he adopted the dress and fei"ned the reli"io*s !elief of the local M*slim inha!itants of Cairo. The dissim*lation allo+ed him to "ain the confidence of his )"yptian informants, makin" it possi!le to o!serve them in their o+n presence +itho*t himself !ein" o!served. Cis ethno"raphic +ritin" seems to

26

ac-*ire the a*thority of this presence, this direct e.perience of the real. B*t at the same time, as <aid points o*t, in a preface to his ethno"raphy Aane caref*lly e.plains the deception to the )*ropean reader, th*s ass*rin" the reader of his a!sol*te distance from the )"yptians. The distance ass*red !y the deception is +hat "ives his description its 8o!/ectivity8.+2!, ; (8 ; The c*rio*s do*!le position of the )*ropean, as participant:o!server, makes it possi!le to e.perience the >rient as tho*"h one +ere the visitor to an e.hi!ition. Una+are that the >rient has not !een arran"ed as an e.hi!ition, the visitor carries o*t the characteristic co"nitive manoe*vre of the modern s*!/ect, +ho separates himself from an o!/ect:+orld and o!serves it from a position that is invisi!le and set apart. 9rom there, as Pierre Bo*rdie* says of the modern anthropolo"ist or social scientist, one transfers into the o!/ect the principles of one8s relation to the o!/ect and 8conceives of it as a totality intended for co"nition alone8. The +orld is "rasped, inevita!ly, as tho*"h it +ere 8a representation 6in the sense of idealist philosophy, !*t also as *sed in paintin" or the theatre78, and people8s lives appear as no more than 8sta"e parts ... or the implementin" of plans8.+34, 1 +o*ld add to +hat Bo*rdie* says that the anthropolo"ist, like the to*rist and the >rientalist +riter, had come to the Middle )ast from )*rope, a +orld as +e have seen that had !een set *p more and more to demand this kind of co"nitive manoe*vre, a +orld +here o!/ectivism +as increasin"ly !*ilt:in. They came from a place, in other +ords, in +hich ordinary people +ere learnin" to live as to*rists or anthropolo"ists, addressin" an o!/ect:+orld as the representation of somethin", and "raspin" personhood as the playin" of a c*lt*ral sta"e part or the implementation of a plan.

T$%ces o" the E%st

,ith this in mind, 1 +ant to introd*ce +hat +ill seem at first a contradictory ar"*ment. The )*ropeans, 1 have said, arrived in the Middle )ast +itho*t realisin" that they had left the +orld:as:e.hi!ition. >n the other hand, ho+ever, they came lookin" for a reality +hich invaria!ly they had already seen in an e.hi!ition. They tho*"ht of themselves in other +ords as act*ally movin" from the e.hi!it to the real thin". This +as literally the case +ith ThMophile @a*tier, +ho lived in Paris +ritin" his >rientalist scenarios for the >pMra:Comi-*e and championin" the ca*se of >rientalist paintin". Ce finally set off for )"ypt in 18'9 after !ein" inspired to see the real thin" !y a visit to the )"yptian e.hi!it at the 18'& ).position Universelle.+3 , B*t in this respect @a*tier +as no e.ception. )*ropeans in "eneral arrived in the >rient after seein" plans and copies : in pict*res, e.hi!itions and !ooks : of +hich they +ere seekin" the ori"inalF and their p*rpose +as al+ays e.plained in these terms. )d+ard Aane, for e.ample, +as inspired to travel to )"ypt after seein" the replicas and paintin"s on display at the )"yptian Call in Piccadilly. Bavid 4o!erts, +ho had !e"*n his career as a set desi"ner at the Br*ry Aane Theatre, +ent to the >rient as an accomplished panorama painter and aspir: ; (9 ; in" artist in search of the ori"inals of theatre sets and panoramas he had already prod*ced. Both 4o!erts and Aane +ere also inspired to visit )"ypt !y the famo*s -escription de l'Egypte , the t+enty:t+o vol*me +ork of 9rench artists and scholars +ho had set *p camp +ith the 9rench army d*rin" 3apoleon8s occ*pation of )"ypt, p*!lished !y the 9rench "overnment !et+een 18$9 and 18((. 2nd !oth of them set off declarin" that their p*rpose +as to correct the 8inacc*racies8 of the -escription , +hich someho+ they kne+ to e.ist !efore even seein" the 8ori"inal8 it claimed to represent. +3-, <o, 1 am ar"*in" that on the one hand )*ropeans in the Middle )ast +ere *na+are they had left the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, !*t on the other they conceived of themselves as havin" moved from a mere representation to the real thin".

27

The contradiction can !e resolved, 1 think, !y recallin" the parado.ical nat*re of the +orld:as:e.hi!ition. The e.hi!ition pers*ades people that the +orld is divided into t+o f*ndamental realms : the representation and the ori"inal, the e.hi!it and the e.ternal reality, the te.t and the +orld. )verythin" is or"anised as if this +ere the case. B*t 8reality8, it t*rns o*t, means that +hich can !e represented, that +hich presents itself as an e.hi!it !efore an o!server. The so:called real +orld 8o*tside8 is somethin" e.perienced and "rasped only as a series of f*rther representations, an e.tended e.hi!ition. Lisitors to the >rient conceived of themselves as travellin" to 8the )ast itself in its vital act*al reality8. B*t, as +e sa+, the reality they so*"ht there +as simply that +hich co*ld !e photo"raphed or acc*rately represented, that +hich presented itself as a pict*re of somethin" !efore an o!server. 2 pict*re here refers not /*st to a vis*al ill*stration, !*t to +hat stands apart as somethin" distinct from the s*!/ect and is "rasped in terms of a correspondin" distinction !et+een representation and reality. 1n the end the )*ropean tried to "rasp the >rient as tho*"h it +ere an e.hi!ition of itself. There +ere t+o kinds of conse-*ence. 9irst, as 1 have already s*""ested, since the Middle )ast had not yet !een or"anised representationally, )*ropeans fo*nd the task of representin" it almost impossi!le and the res*lts disappointin". 8Think of it no moreQ8 +rote 3erval to ThMophile @a*tier, of the Cair they had dreamed of descri!in". 8That Cairo lies !eneath the ashes and dirt, ... d*st:laden and d*m!.8 3othin" enco*ntered in those >riental streets -*ite matched *p to the reality they had seen represented in Paris. 3ot even the cafMs looked "en*ine. 81 really +anted to set the scene for yo* here8, 3erval e.plained, in an attempt to descri!e the typical Cairene street, 8!*t ... it is only in Paris that one finds cafMs so >riental.8 Cis disappointment res*lted from the fail*re to constr*ct representations of the city that +ere to serve, as so often, very practical p*rposes. 2s 1 mentioned, he +as ; #$ ; s*pplyin" @a*tier +ith descriptions that co*ld !e reprod*ced as sta"e sets and pantomime acts for the Paris >pMra. 3erval finally despaired completely of findin" 8real )"ypt8, the Cairo that co*ld !e represented. 81 +ill find at the >pMra the real Cairo, ... the >rient that escapes me.8 1n the end only the >rient one finds in Paris, the sim*lation of +hat is itself a series of representations to !e"in +ith, can offer a satisfyin" spectacle. 2s he moved on to+ards the to+ns of Palestine, 3erval remem!ered Cairo as somethin" no more solid or real than the painted scenery of a theatre set. 85*st as +ell that the si. months 1 spent there are overF it is already nothin", 1 have seen so many places collapse !ehind my steps, like sta"e setsF +hat do 1 have left from themE 2n ima"e as conf*sed as that of a dream: the !est of +hat one finds there, 1 already kne+ !y heart.8 +3., The second conse-*ence +as that the >rient more and more !ecame a place that one 8already kne+ !y heart8 on arrival. 89amiliar to me from days of early childhood are the forms of the )"yptian pyramids8, +rote 2le.ander Gin"lake in Eothen O. 83o+, as 1 approached them from the !anks of the 3ile, 1 had no print, no pict*re !efore me, and yet the old shapes +ere thereF there +as no chan"e: they +ere as 1 had al+ays kno+n them.8 @a*tier, for his part, +rote that if the visitor to )"ypt 8has lon" inha!ited in his dreams8 a certain to+n, he +ill carry in his head 8an ima"inary map, diffic*lt indeed to erase even +hen he finds himself facin" the reality8. Cis o+n map of Cairo, he e.plained, 8!*ilt +ith the materials of + Thousand and One 3ights , arran"es itself aro*nd Marilhat8s $lace de l'E%(e/ieh , a remarka!le and violent paintin" ...8 The attentive )*ropean, +rote 9la*!ert in Cairo, 8re discovers here m*ch more than he discovers.8+3/, The >rient +as somethin" one only ever rediscovered. To !e "rasped representationally, as the pict*re of somethin", it +as inevita!ly to !e "rasped as the reocc*rrence of a pict*re one had seen !efore, as a map one already carried in one8s head, as the reiteration of an earlier description. The 8traces of travel !ro*"ht home from the )ast8, as Gin"lake called s*ch reiterations, +ere in s*ch prof*sion !y mid:cent*ry that a revie+er in Tait8s Edin(urgh Maga%ine complained in 18%( a!o*t 8these all !*t daily >riental prod*ctions ... There they areF the same 2ra!s, camels, deserts, tom!s and /ackals that +e /o*rneyed +ith, rode on, traversed, dived into, and c*rsed respectively,

28

only a +eek a"o, +ith some other traveller.8+30, 2nd !esides the !ooks there +ere the paintin"s, the photo"raphs, the spectacles, the panoramas and the e.hi!itions. To descri!e the >rient, +hich ref*sed to provide a point of vie+ and to present itself, !ecame more and more a process of redescri!in" these representations. Co+ far this process +ent +as ill*strated !y @a*tier, the champion of >rientalist art, +hen he +as finally inspired !y the +orld e.hi!ition, as 1 mentioned, to leave Paris and visit Cairo to see the real thin". ; #1 ; The acco*nt of )"ypt he then p*!lished !e"an +ith a lon" chapter entitled 8L*e "Mnerale8. This took the form of a description, in "reat detail, not of )"ypt !*t of the )"yptian e.hi!it at the 18'& Paris e.hi!ition.+31, The representation of the >rient o!eyed, inevita!ly, this pro!lematic and *nreco"nised lo"ic, a lo"ic determined not !y any intellect*al fail*re of the )*ropean mind !*t !y its search for the certainty of representation : for an effect called 8reality8. )*ropeans like )d+ard Aane had !e"*n the dra+in" *p of their 8e.ha*stive description of )"ypt8, already determined to correct the earlier +ork of the 9rench scientific mission8s -escription de l'Egypte . Aater +riters +o*ld then take themselves to the li!rary of the 9rench 1nstit*te in Cairo, and dra+ from and add to this !ody of description. @Mrard de 3erval, collectin" the material in )"ypt he later p*!lished as 4oyage en Orient , his life8s ma/or prose +ork, sa+ more of the li!rary than of the rest of the co*ntry. 2fter t+o months in Cairo, more than half +ay thro*"h his stay, he +rote to his father that he had not even visited the pyramids. 8Moreover 1 have no desire to see any place *ntil after 1 have ade-*ately informed myself from the !ooks and memoires8, he e.plained. 82t the <ociMtM )"yptienne 1 have fo*nd a collection of almost all the +orks, ancient and modern, that have !een p*!lished on the co*ntry, and as yet 1 have read only a very small part of them.8 <i. +eeks later he +rote a"ain, sayin" that he +as leavin" the co*ntry even tho*"h he had not yet vent*red o*tside Cairo and its environs.+32, 2s a res*lt the !*lk of 4oyage en Orient , like so m*ch of the literat*re of >rientalism, t*rned o*t to !e a re+orkin" or direct repetition of earlier descriptions, in 3erval8s case mostly from Aane8s Manners and Custo&s of the Modern Egyptians . <*ch repetition and re+orkin" is +hat )d+ard <aid has referred to as the citationary nat*re of >rientalism, its +ritin"s added to one another 8as a restorer of old sketches mi"ht p*t a series of them to"ether for the c*m*lative pict*re they implicitly represent8. The >rient is p*t to"ether as this 8re:presentation8, and +hat is represented is not a real place !*t 8a set of references, a con"eries of characteristics, that seems to have its ori"in in a -*otation, or a fra"ment of a te.t, or a citation from someone8s +ork on the >rient, or some !it of previo*s ima"inin", or an amal"am of all these8. +33, The 8)ast itself is not a place, despite the e.hi!ition8s promise, !*t a f*rther series of representations, each one reanno*ncin" the reality of the >rient !*t doin" no more than referrin" !ack+ards and for+ards to all the others. 1t is the chain of references that prod*ces the effect of the place. 4o!ert @raves remarks +ryly on this effect in #ood(ye to +ll That , +hen he disem!arks at Port <aid in the 19($s to take *p a /o! at the )"yptian University and is met !y an )n"lish friend: 81 still felt seasick8, he +rites, 8!*t kne+ that 1 +as in the )ast !eca*se he !e"an talkin" a!o*t Giplin".8+3!,

; #( ;

No Pl%n8 No Anything
There is an am!i"*ity here, +hich m*st !e cleared *p :or at least ackno+led"ed : !efore +e can move on into the follo+in" chapters and !e"in to consider the politics of nineteenth:cent*ry )"ypt. 1n claimin" that the 8)ast itself8 is not a place, am 1 sayin" simply that ,estern representations created a distorted ima"e of the real >rientF or am 1 savin" that the 8real >rient8 does not e.ist, and that there are no realities !*t only ima"es

29

and representationsE+!4, My ans+er is that the -*estion is a !ad one, and that the -*estion itself is +hat needs e.aminin". ,e need to *nderstand ho+ the ,est had come to live as tho*"h the +orld +ere divided in this +ay into t+o: into a realm of mere representations and a realm of 8the real8F into e.hi!itions and an e.ternal realityF into an order of mere models, descriptions or copies, and an order of the ori"inal. ,e need to *nderstand, in other +ords, ho+ these notions of a realm of 8the real8, 8the o*tside8, 8the ori"inal8, +ere in this sense effects of the +orld8s seemin" division into t+o. ,e need to *nderstand, moreover, ho+ this distinction corresponded to another division of the +orld, into the ,est and the non:,estF and th*s ho+ >rientalism +as not /*st a partic*lar instance of the "eneral historical pro!lem of ho+ one c*lt*re portrays another, !*t somethin" essential to the pec*liar nat*re of the modern +orld. 9inally +e need to *nderstand the political nat*re of these kinds of division, !y *nderstandin" them as techni-*es !oth of order and of tr*th. Cerman Melville, +ho visited the Middle )ast in the +inter of 18%'R%&, felt the *s*al need to find a point of vie+ and e.perienced the *s*al diffic*lties. 4ather than an e.hi!ition of somethin", Cairo seemed like some temporary market or carnival :8one !ooth and Bartholome+ 9air8, he called it. Aike @Mrard de 3erval and others !efore him, Melville +rote of +antin" to +ithdra+ from the 8ma?e8 of streets, in order to see the place as a pict*re or plan. Lisitin" Constantinople, he complained in his /o*rnal that there +as 8no plan to streets. Perfect la!yrinth. 3arro+. Close, sh*t in. 1f one co*ld !*t "et up aloft ... B*t no. 3o names to the streets ... 3o n*m!ers. 3o anythin".8 +! , Aike 3erval, Melville co*ld find no point of vie+ +ithin the city, and therefore no pict*re. ,hat this meant, in t*rn, +as that there seemed to !e no plan. 2s 1 s*""ested earlier +hen disc*ssin" +orld e.hi!itions, the separation of an o!server from an o!/ect:+orld +as somethin" a )*ropean e.perienced in terms of a code or plan. Ce e.pected there to !e somethin" that +as someho+ set apart from 8thin"s themselves8 as a "*ide, a si"n, a map, a te.t, or a set of instr*ctions a!o*t ho+ to proceed. B*t in the Middle )astern city nothin" stood apart and addressed itself in this +ay to the o*tsider, to the o!servin" s*!/ect. There +ere no names to the streets and no ; ## ; street si"ns, no open spaces +ith imposin" faJades, and no maps. +!-, The city ref*sed to offer itself in this +ay as a representation of somethin", !eca*se it had not !een !*ilt as one. 1t had not !een arran"ed, that is, to effect the presence of some separate plan or meanin". 2lready in the 18#$s, ho+ever, )mile:T. A*!!ert, former director of the Paris >pMra and >pMra:Comi-*e, had !een appointed !y the )"yptian "overnment as director of f5tes et di*ertisse&ents .+!., )ntertainments alone, of co*rse, +ere not eno*"h. 8,hat )"ypt like the rest of the Aevant has never possessed is order8, e.plained Charles Aam!ert, a <aint:<imonist social scientist and en"ineer +ho set *p and directed an )cole Polytechni-*e in Cairo modelled on the "reat school in Paris, in a report to M*hammad 2li Pasha, the @overnor of )"ypt.+!/, 8Do* have ac-*ired "reat po+er8, +rote 5eremy Bentham approvin"ly in his o+n letter to the Pasha in 18(8. S... !*t it remains to determine the plan.8+!0, To colonise )"ypt, to constr*ct a modern kind of po+er, it +o*ld !e necessary 8to determine the plan8. 2 plan or frame+ork +o*ld create the appearance of o!/ectness that Melville fo*nd lackin", !y seemin" to separate an o!/ect:+orld from its o!server. This sort of frame+ork is not /*st a plan that colonialism +o*ld !rin" to )"ypt, !*t an effect it +o*ld !*ild in. 2s the follo+in" chapters +ill sho+, the colonial process +o*ld try and re: order )"ypt to appear as a +orld enframed. )"ypt +as to !e ordered *p as somethin" o!/ect:like. 1n other +ords it +as to !e made pict*re:like and le"i!le, rendered availa!le to political and economic calc*lation. Colonial po+er re-*ired the co*ntry to !ecome reada!le, like a !ook, in o*r o+n sense of s*ch a term. 2 frame+ork appears to order thin"s, !*t also to circ*mscri!e and e.cl*de. 2s +e +ill see later on, like the perimeter +alls that seemed to e.cl*de the 8real +orld8 from the +orld e.hi!ition, a frame+ork sets *p the impression of somethin" !eyond the pict*re:

30

+orld it enframes. 1t promises a tr*th that lies o*tside its +orld of material representation. To 8determine the plan8 is to !*ild:in an effect of order and an effect of tr*th.

; #0 ;

Ch%pte$ En"$%ming
1n the second -*arter of the nineteenth cent*ry the people of )"ypt +ere made inmates of their o+n villa"es. 2 "overnment ordinance of 5an*ary 18#$ confined them to their native districts, and re-*ired them to seek a permit and papers of identification if they +ished to travel o*tside. 81t +as scarcely possi!le8, +e are told, 8for a fellah to pass from one villa"e to another +itho*t a +ritten passport.8 The villa"e +as to !e r*n like a !arracks, its inha!itants placed *nder the s*rveillance of "*ards ni"ht and day, and *nder the s*pervision of inspectors as they c*ltivated the land : and s*rrendered to the "overnment +areho*se its prod*ce.+ , 3o one !efore had tho*"ht to or"anise )"ypt as one +o*ld !arrack and discipline an army. The acts of confinement, re"*lation, and s*pervision of the pop*lation da+ned s*ddenly. ,herever people looked, they +ere to !e inspected, s*pervised, or instr*cted. 1f they left the villa"e, it +as "enerally *nder "*ard, forci!ly drafted into the still harsher discipline of the corvMe or the military camp : *nless they +ere 8a!sconders8 +ho a!andoned their homes and fled, as tens of tho*sands !e"an to do. 1f they +ere "*ards rather than those +ho +ere "*arded, they still did not escape s*rveillance. <pies +ere placed at every point, and the hierarchy of s*pervision and inspection +as to ascend from the field and the shop, thro*"h the levels of villa"e, district, re"ional and provincial s*pervision, to the central B*rea*. of 1nspection 6dawawin al'taftish 7 *nder the direct s*pervision of the @overnor.+-, The attempt to control from Cairo the a"ric*lt*ral +ealth of the 3ile valley +as in itself nothin" ne+. 9ifty years !efore, a sin"le po+erf*l ho*sehold had defeated all other centres of po+er in the co*ntry and esta!lished, for a decade, *ncontested control over its a"ric*lt*ral and commercial reven*es : enco*ra"in", as a res*lt, Cairo8s "rad*al incorporation into )*ropean +orld trade.+., ,hat +as ne+ in the nineteenth cent*ry +as the nat*re of control. )arlier kinds of po+er, ho+ever centralised, +ere never contin*o*s. They operated intermittently, typically in the form of levies, o!li"ations and e.tortions imposed *pon certain less po+erf*l ho*seholds, +hich in t*rn imposed levies on those less po+erf*l aro*nd them, and so on. The irre"*lar flo+s of reven*e to+ards the centre +ere al+ays +eakened !y ; #% ; the inevita!le leaka"e at each /*nct*re, the need to e.pand o*t+ards, and the centrif*"al tendency to disinte"rate.+/, 9rom the nineteenth cent*ry for the first time political po+er so*"ht to +ork in a manner that +as contin*o*s, metic*lo*s and *niform. The method +as no lon"er simply to take a share of +hat +as prod*ced and e.chan"ed, !*t to enter into the process of prod*ction. By s*pervisin" each of its aspects separately and +itho*t interr*ption, political po+er attempted to discipline, coordinate and increase +hat +ere no+ tho*"ht of as the 8prod*ctive po+ers8 of the co*ntry. The tendency of disciplinary mechanisms, as Michel 9o*ca*lt has called these modern strate"ies of control, +as not to e.pand and dissipate as !efore, !*t to infiltrate, re:order, and colonise.+0, 9o*ca*lt8s analyses are foc*ssed on 9rance and northern )*rope. Perhaps this foc*s has tended to o!sc*re the colonisin" nat*re of disciplinary po+er. Det the panopticon, the

31

model instit*tion +hose "eometric order and "eneralised s*rveillance serve as a motif for this kind of po+er, +as a colonial invention. The panoptic principle +as devised on )*rope8s colonial frontier +ith the >ttoman )mpire, and e.amples of the panopticon +ere !*ilt for the most part not in northern )*rope, !*t in places like colonial 1ndia. +1, The same can !e said for the monitorial method of schoolin", also disc*ssed !y 9o*ca*lt, +hose mode of improvin" and disciplinin" a pop*lation, as +e +ill see, came to !e considered the model political process to accompany the capitalist transformation of )"ypt. 1n this and the follo+in" chapter 1 +ill e.amine the introd*ction of these disciplinary mechanisms in modern )"ypt, t*rnin" later to consider their connection to the methods of order and meanin" 1 have referred to as the +orld:as:e.hi!ition. Their introd*ction !e"an *nder a sin"le T*rkish r*lin" ho*sehold, that of M*hammad 2li, +hich ac-*ired a*thority over )"ypt 6and increasin" independence from 1stan!*l7 after the 3apoleonic occ*pation of 1&98R18$1. This a*thority s*!se-*ently came to !e shared and e.ercised amon" a ne+ lando+nin" class, +ith the r*lin" family as the lar"est sin"le lando+ners, to"ether +ith )*ropean creditors and commercial interests and, from 188(, a )*ropean colonial re"ime.+2, The ori"inal strate"ies of disciplinary control on +hich s*ch a*thority came to rest +ere fo*nd in the creation of a ne+ )"yptian army. 9rom the year 18((, )"yptians had fo*nd themselves !ein" taken in tens of tho*sands and t*rned, for the first time in memory, into soldiers. +3, The military forces of >ttoman )"ypt had previo*sly !een formed o*t of forei"ners conscripted from a!road, to"ether +ith native )"yptians +ho inherited or p*rchased the ri"ht to military salaries. These small, part:time "arrisons in the ma/or to+ns, mostly of only one or t+o tho*sand men and +ith loyalties to competin" political factions, controlled *r!an affairs only +ith diffic*lty and the co*ntryside even less.+!, <*ch small !odies of ; #' ; forei"ners +ere no+ to !e replaced +ith an enormo*s military force : *p to t+o h*ndred tho*sand men or more accordin" to some so*rces : drafted from the villa"es and to+ns of )"ypt.+ 4, Barracks and trainin" camps +ere ordered to !e !*ilt near ma/or to+ns alon" the len"th of the 3ile, from 2s+an to Cairo and o*t across the Belta, +ith 8each of the !arracks to hold one tho*sand trainees and soldiers, and to !e placed a -*arter of an ho*r8s distance from the to+n8.+ , The men +ere drafted into the army not for sin"le campai"ns !*t for several years and event*ally for life. Their families often accompanied them +here they +ent, !*ildin" their o+n 8m*d !arracks8 *p a"ainst the +alls of the camps.+ -, The co*ntry8s ne+ re"imentation can !e said to !e"in +ith this event, the s*dden spreadin" amon" the villa"es of the 3ile of a ne+ type of settlement, the !arracks, and the draftin" of ordinary )"yptians to pop*late them. The plan to t*rn the peasantry into soldiers !y confinin" them and trainin" them in !arracks introd*ced a ne+ kind of military practice, a ne+ idea of +hat an army +as and ho+ it co*ld !e formed. The ne+ forms of practice +ere referred to as the 8ne+ order8 or ni%a& 6adid . 83e+ order8 +as the >ttoman name for a plan introd*ced a little !efore in the >ttoman )mpire, threatened !y 4*ssia8s contin*ed colonisation of its northern frontier, to reor"anise the imperial soldiery and the system of ta.ation that s*pported it. + ., The name referred more specifically to the o!/ect at the heart of this plan: a ne+ infantry corps, to !e trained and or"anised accordin" to the ne+ techni-*es developed !y the Pr*ssians and the 9rench. 83e+ order8 +as also the name *sed !y >ttoman +riters to refer to the 3apoleonic re"ime in 9rance.+ /, 2fter the fall of the )mpire in 181%, defeated officers and en"ineers of the 9rench armies made their +ay to )"ypt, +here the ne+ order +as to !e esta!lished +ith their help. )"ypt +as the first province of the >ttoman )mpire to introd*ce s*ccessf*lly the ne+ kind of army.+ 0, The !arracks and the trainin" camps +ere !*ilt, and in 2pril 18(( re"*lations +ere iss*ed !rin"in" all the !arracks, military schools, and trainin" camps *nder a common code of discipline and instr*ction.+ 1, The confinement to !arracks, the discipline, and the instr*ction +ere all innovations.

32

An A$ti"ici%l M%chine
The ne+ army, it +as e.plained in an official >ttoman pamphlet, 8sho*ld not, like the rest of o*r forces, !e composed of sellers of pastry, !oatmen, fishermen, coffee:ho*se keepers, !accals, and others +ho are en"a"ed in the thirty:t+o trades, !*t of +ell disciplined men8.+ 2, 2n army +as no lon"er to !e tho*"ht of as an occasional !ody, !ro*"ht to"ether for seasonal campai"ns. 1t +as to !e an or"anised force, created o*t of men compelled to live ; #& ; permanently to"ether as a distinct comm*nity, contin*o*sly *nder trainin" even +hen not at +ar. The troops, in this ne+ practice, 8sho*ld remain ni"ht and day in their -*arters, applyin" themselves daily to military e.ercises, and keepin" their arms, cannon, m*skets, and +arlike implements of every description necessary for immediate serviceF th*s practisin" a discipline s*ita!le to their appellation of soldiers of the ne+ re"*lation8.+ 3, Biscipline of this sort +as a ne+ invention, adopted in most )*ropean co*ntries only a "eneration or so !efore the ni%a& 6adid , follo+in" the dramatic Pr*ssian victories in the <even Dears ,ar 61&%'R'#7.+ !, The Pr*ssians had introd*ced revol*tionary techni-*es of precise timin", rapid si"nallin", and ri"oro*s conformity to discipline, o*t of +hich an army co*ld !e man*fact*red as +hat the Pr*ssian military instr*ctions called an 8artificial machine8. >ther armies in comparison +o*ld no+ seem like collections of 8idle and inactive men8, a perception that +as to chan"e the +ay not /*st an army !*t any h*man "ro*p +as vie+ed : as the ordinary )"yptian +as to discover.+-4, <*ch a 8machine8 co*ld fire +ith a rapidity three times that of other armies, makin" it three times as destr*ctive, and co*ld !e e.panded, +heeled, and +ithdra+n +ith mechanical ease. +- , The Pr*ssian military re"*lations +ere adopted in the decades after the <even Dears ,ar !y all the ma/or armies of )*rope, and improved *pon !y the 9rench in ne+ re"*lations of 1&91. The ne+ techni-*es of drill, discipline and command +ere the first thin" *pon +hich an )"yptian commented +hen descri!in" the 9rench troops that invaded his co*ntry in 1&98. 8They make si"ns and si"nals amon" themselves8, +rote the historian al:5a!arti, 8that they follo+ and never deviate from.8 +--, The >ttoman pamphlet descri!ed more f*lly the caref*l control of so*nd and "est*re that a system of discipline +o*ld achieve. 8The +hole !ody, consistin" of many tho*sand men, o!serve attentively the si"nals "iven them !y the t+o f*"lemen +ho e.plain !y si"ns the commands of the officers, and not one dares so m*ch as to t*rn his head. Th*s the orders of the officers !ein" comm*nicated +itho*t the least noise, they stand firm, and lend an attentive ear, +hilst not a +ord iss*es from their mo*ths.8 )ach movement and each moment, every so*nd, "lance, and +ord, the an"le of the head and the post*re of the !ody, can all !e controlled. 81f, for instance, the officer +hose !*siness it is to "ive the command, makes the si"nal for attention, the +hole !ody are ready in an instant, and not one of them dares to stand idle, or to make any noise, or to look another +ay.8 +-., The e.act discipline and coordination of individ*als makes it possi!le to !*ild +ith them the artificial machine. The pondero*s +arfare of the seventeenth and ei"hteenth cent*ries, in +hich ever "reater n*m!ers of men +ere amassed to face each other head:on, +as no+ to seem like the foolish clashin" of mere cro+ds. +-/, The old ; #8 ; troops, o!served the >ttoman pamphlet, 8+hen in the presence of the enemy, do not remain dra+n *p in a line, !*t stand conf*sedly and promisc*o*sly like a cro+d in a place of diversion. <ome load their m*skets, and fire once, some t+ice, or oftener, /*st as they think proper, +hilst others !ein" at their +its8 end, and not kno+in" +hat they are a!o*t, t*rn from side to side like fa!*lo*s story:tellers.8 The troops of the ne+ discipline in contrast 8remain dra+n *p in a line as if at prayers, the rear ranks !ein" e.actly parallel +ith the front, and consistin" of the same n*m!er of companies, neither more nor less, so that, +hen it is necessary, they t*rn +ith as m*ch precision as a +atch8.+-0, The parallel lines and mechanical precision present themselves as a ne+

33

conception of order. <*ch order +as not a harmony, !alance or correspondence !et+een the forces of the +orld : an older kind of order +hose nat*re 1 +ill try to evoke more caref*lly !elo+ : !*t order itself, a state defined in no other terms than the orderin" of +hat +as orderless, the coordinatin" of +hat +as discontin*o*s. 1n the ne+ order, the disordered +as transformed, the dispersed +as artic*lated, formin" a *nity or +hole +hose parts +ere in mechanical and "eometric coordination. 1n the military, this prod*ced a piece of machinery that co*ld !e 8t*rned +ith the precision of a +atch8. 1t co*ld !e made to perform +hat the 9rench officers in )"ypt no+ called 8manoe*vres8, to rotate, dischar"e +eapons, contract, or e.pand on command. The officers of the ne+ order, it +as e.plained, co*ld 8dispose a lar"e !ody of men in a circ*lar form, and then ca*se them to march ro*nd in s*ch a manner, that as the circle t*rns the soldiers incessantly dischar"e their m*skets on the enemy and "ive no respite to the com!at, and havin" prepared their "*ns for a fresh dischar"e !efore they ret*rn to the same place, they fire the moment they arrive in the face of the enemy. The res*lt of this circ*lar formation is, that the fire and sla*"hter do not cease for an instant.8 1n s*ch a machine, every individ*al occ*pied a position, a space, created 6as +ith the co" of a +heel7 !y the identity of interval !et+een each one. The interval or space +as +hat men no+ controlled, contractin" or enlar"in" it on command. 8<ometimes, +hen it is /*d"ed necessary, several tho*sand men !ein" cro+ded into a narro+ space, form a solid mass for the p*rpose of appearin" to the enemy to !e fe+ in n*m!er, then !y openin" o*t, they can e.ec*te any manoe*vre that they please, and sometimes, ten tho*sand men deployin", appear to consist of fifty or si.ty tho*sand.8+-1, >rder +as a frame+ork of lines and spaces, created o*t of men, in +hich men co*ld !e distri!*ted, manoe*vred and confined. ,ith the ne+ order, finally, efficient means +ere no+ availa!le to control desertion, !reakin" the ma/or technical !arrier to the mana"ement of lar"e h*man "ro*ps. <oldiers +ere confined +hen not at +ar to the camp or !arracks, +here they +ere "*arded, drilled, and 8kept closely to the pitch of discipline8.+-2, They +ere also to !e set apart from the civilian comm*nity, !y ; #9 ; their confinement and !y the +earin" of a *niform dress. 8The soldiers of o*r ancient corps8, it +as e.plained, 8are not at all clothed alikeF from this diversity of "arment, the follo+in" !ad effect res*lts: if, in times of +ar, any of them sho*ld desert from the army, as there are no marks !y +hich +e can distin"*ish +hether the deserters !elon" to the troops, or +hether they are tradesmen, or servants, they have there!y the opport*nity of escapin" +itho*t !ein" kno+n. ,hereas the ne+ troops have a partic*lar *niform of their o+n, so that the stra""lers +o*ld soon !e discovered. Cence it res*lts, that in a lar"e camp of the ne+ troops, every man +ill !e forced to remain fi.ed in his company, and steady in the performance of his d*ty.8+-3,

The 6hole S9$"%ce o" Society

Besides the !arracks and the trainin" camps, the ne+ military order incl*ded more than a do?en schools for trainin" specialised military cadres : incl*din" cavalry, artillery, infantry, and naval officers, si"nalmen, doctors and veterinarians, re"imental !ands, and en"ineers.+-!, The schools +ere to employ the same disciplinary methods, !ased on 8the confinement of the st*dents8 and 8a re"ime of s*rveillance and constraint8. +.4, Most of them +ere administered !y 9rench and )"yptian military en"ineers and scholars, many of +hom had !een trained at the )cole Polytechni-*e in Paris, incl*din" several disciples of <aint:<imon and of his secretary 2*"*ste Comte. 1n the middle of the 18#$s these men +ere responsi!le for dra+in" *p a more comprehensive military trainin" policy. The ne+ plans called for the improved drill and trainin" of the troops 69e!r*ary 18#%7, and a year later for the reor"anisation of the military trainin" schools. The latter plan called for a system of fifty primary schools for

34

military recr*itment, fo*r in Cairo and the rest in the provincial to+ns. 1t laid do+n *niform r*les "overnin" discipline, physical fitness, c*rric*l*m, e.ams, clothin", rations, teachin" staff, administration, and inspection. <t*dents +ere to !e *nder contin*o*s s*pervision, not only in class !*t d*rin" their +alks o*tside the school, d*rin" recreation, and in the dormitories. 8Biscipline +as to !e strictly military and p*nishments +ere to !e "raded accordin" to the misdemeano*rF a st*dent co*ld !e reprimanded in the presence of the +hole school, confined to school, imprisoned and "iven !read and +ater, !eaten +ith the /ur(a6 , or dismissed from school.8+. , The plan f*rther called for t+o preparatory schools, one in Cairo for 1,%$$ st*dents and the other in 2le.andria. These +ere 8essentially military esta!lishmentsF the st*dents +ere to !e !arracked like soldiersF they +ere to form three !attalions in the Cairo school, each !attalion consistin" of fo*r companies +ith one h*ndred and t+enty:five st*dents in each companyF the /*nior officers and corporals +ere to !e chosen from amon" the st*dents, the ; 0$ ; assistant masters +ere to command the companies, and the prefects the !attalions.8 Cond*ct +as to !e monitored contin*o*sly, and re"*lated !y a caref*l hierarchy of disciplinary acts. 8P*nishments +ere of t+elve different de"rees, +hich ran"ed from p*!lic reprimand to dismissal from schoolF a st*dent co*ld lose his rank if he +ere a /*nior officer or a corporal or !e +ithheld from promotion !y +ay of p*nishment.8 +.-, The ne+ order introd*ced a ne+ mode of a*thority, +hich operated !y the physical confinement of "ro*ps, the contin*o*s monitorin" of !ehavio*r, the control of movements and "est*res, and the caref*l constr*ction of hierarchies. 2s the ne+ schoolrooms already !e"an to indicate, this order +as to e.tend far !eyond the !arracks and the !attlefield. 8The introd*ction of +estern or"ani?ation into the armies of the Aevant8, +rote 5ohn Bo+rin", the friend and !io"rapher of 5eremy Bentham +ho served as an advisor to M*hammad 2li and prod*ced a report on )"ypt for the British "overnment,

!ro*"ht +ith it other important res*lts, for the appliances of mechanical art, of ed*cation, of kno+led"e, and a "eneral system of dependence and s*!ordination, +ere the needf*l companions of the ne+ state of thin"s. The transfer of the military po+er from *nr*ly and *ndisciplined hordes to a !ody of troops re"*larly trained thro*"h the vario*s "rades of o!edience and discipline, +as in itself the esta!lishment of a principle of order +hich spread over the +hole s*rface of society.+..,

1n the !arracks, in the trainin" camps and schools, and in !attle, this principle of order made it possi!le to 8fi.8 men in place, to keep them 8steady in the performance of their d*ty8, and to coordinate them as the separate parts of a sin"le military machine. 1n the villa"e and the cotton fields, the application of the same principle 8over the +hole s*rface of society8 made it s*ddenly conceiva!le to confine the pop*lation to their native districts, and 6as the "overnment +as said to claim7 8to initiate people to an ind*stry far s*perior to their o+n8.+./,

6%tche( o#e$ Night %n( :%y

1n order to fi. the r*ral pop*lation in their place and ind*ce them to !e"in prod*cin" cotton and other commodities for )*ropean cons*mption, it +as necessary to have their places caref*lly marked o*t, their d*ty or -*ota e.actly specified, and their performance contin*o*sly monitored and reported. The daily record, or 6urnal 6the +ord +as !orro+ed from )*rope7, +as the administrative practice +ith +hich the re"imentation of r*ral )"ypt !e"an in the mid 18($s, +hen the "overnment esta!lished re"ional and central B*rea*. of 1nspection, to receive the reports of its local inspectors 6 6urnal6i's 7.+.0, The 8"eneral system of dependence and s*!ordination8 +as ; 01 ; more f*lly ela!orated in a si.ty:pa"e !ooklet iss*ed in Becem!er 18(9, La'ihat %ira'at al'fallah wa'tad(ir ah/a& al'siyasa (i'2asd al'na6ah 6Pro"ramme for <*ccessf*l C*ltivation !y the Peasant and the 2pplication of @overnment 4e"*lations7, +hich

35

prescri!ed in detail ho+ peasants +ere to +ork in the fields, the crops they +ere to c*ltivate, their confinement to the villa"e, and the d*ties of those +ho +ere to "*ard and s*pervise them. The !ooklet +as the o*tcome of a meetin" of fo*r h*ndred provincial administrators and military and "overnment officers, called in Cairo in 18(9 to address the pro!lem of declinin" reven*es and increasin" desertion of the land. +.1, 1t incl*ded at the end fifty:five para"raphs stip*latin" in hierarchical detail the p*nishments for over seventy separate fail*res of d*ty !y peasants or their s*pervisors. +.2, The peasants +ere to !e monitored in the performance of their tasks, as laid o*t in the Pro"ramme, +orkin" in the fields *nder the s*pervision of the &ishadd and ghafir . 8These officers checked the fallahin daily, and +atched them ni"ht and day to prevent them from a!andonin" the villa"e.8 2ny peasant failin" to perform his task +as reported to the "overnment:appointed head of the villa"e, shay/h al'(alad . 81f the shay/h discovered that a fallah had failed to c*ltivate his fields as re-*ired, he p*nished him !y +hippin" him t+enty:five times +ith the /ur(a6 . Three days later the shay/h inspected the fallah 8s fields once a"ain and if the peasant had not yet completed the necessary c*ltivation the shay/h +as a*thorised to +hip him fifty times. 2n inspection took place after another three days and this time the ne"li"ent fallah received one h*ndred lashes.8 The head of the villa"e +as *nder the s*pervision of a district official, ha/i& al'/hutt . 1f he +as ne"li"ent in the s*pervision of the peasants, he +as to !e chastised on the first offence, p*nished +ith t+o h*ndred lashes on the second, and +ith three h*ndred on the third. The ha/i& +as himself s*pervised !y a re"ional official, the &a'&ur , and his ne"li"ence +as to !e p*nished +ith a +arnin" on the first offence and fifty strokes of the cane on the second. The &a'&ur +as responsi!le to the provincial official, the &udir , +ho +as to s*!mit his report each +eek to the central B*rea* of 1nspection. 2 similar hierarchy of d*ty, s*pervision, and discipline +as instit*ted for the distri!*tion of crops, the collection of ta.es, the provision of men for the army and corvMe, and the reportin", -*estionin", and sei?*re of any person fo*nd o*tside his villa"e district +itho*t a permit and papers of identity.+.3, 1t is not the severity or fre-*ency of p*nishment that makes this different from anythin" precedin" it. 1ndeed re"*lation +as intended to remove the harsh a!*se of po+er. The chan"e +as in the metic*lo*s ela!oration of task, s*rveillance, and penalty. )ach separate act +as stip*lated and s*pervised, to coordinate every individ*al in a sin"le economy of crops, money, and men. 1t +as an attempt to achieve the ne+ order of the !arracks and the ; 0( ; !attlefield, +ith its hierarchy of si"nal, movement, and s*pervision, inscri!ed and enforced in the life of villa"e and peasant. There is no need to reco*nt in detail the +ay in +hich these practices failed, or the devastation they ca*sed.+.!, Thro*"ho*t the period there had !een political *prisin"s in the provinces, +hich the ne+ "overnment troops systematically p*t do+n, and enormo*s n*m!ers had a!sconded from their villa"es and fled. <*ch *prisin"s +ere nothin" ne+F +hat +as ne+ +as the po+er of the troops to p*t them do+n, for the methods of re"imentation, as Bo+rin" reported, had made the soldiery 8protectors instead of destroyers of propertyF they formed part of a str*ct*re of social improvement ... 8 +/4, Det in the 18#$s even this str*ct*re of improvement seemed to some of the )*ropean e.perts to !e +eakenin" from +ithin. 8>ne of the ca*ses of the e.ha*stion of the pacha8s army is the prevalence of nostal"ia or homeache,8 reported Bo+rin" to the British "overnment, 8a disease alike mysterio*s and inc*ra!le.8

2 medical man in the service of the pacha reported to me that the n*m!er of persons +ho pined to death, sinkin" *nder the infl*ence of this *nmedica!le malady, +as very considera!le ... 81 cannot keep them alive,8 said a physician to me, 8+hen they !e"in to think of home.8 2nd lon" !efore they die they sink into a listless, careless inanity.+/ ,

1n the 180$s, after )"ypt8s "ro+th into a re"ional military po+er had !een halted !y British intervention and its army red*ced to 18,$$$ men, the "overnment +as still *sin" its troops internally to "ather *p peasants not in their place of ori"in and ret*rn them forci!ly to their native villa"es.+/-, 1n 2pril 1800 a "overnment minister iss*ed a notice to

36

district officials, +hich anno*nced 8that Tilla"e and 2"ric*lt*re are the fo*ndation of the comfort, happiness and prosperity of the )"yptian pop*lation, and in order to o!tain the same it is fo*nd a!sol*tely necessary that all those +ho have a!sented themselves from their primitive homes sho*ld ret*rn !ack to their native villa"es8. The notice +as to !e made kno+n to the "eneral p*!lic, and +ent on to order, as had fre-*ently !een ordered !efore, death !y han"in" for anyone har!o*rin" peasants +ho had a!sconded from their villa"es 8in order to drop the +ord a!sconder entirely hereafter8. 1t descri!ed as a +arnin" to others the fate of <*liman Badr*ddin, native of Minyat al:<ari", +ho had !een fo*nd "ivin" ref*"e to a!sconders and 8+as "i!!eted in the P*!lic Market of that place8. +/., Bespite s*ch e.amples, peasants contin*ed to desert their landsF and those sent for military service +o*ld m*tilate themselves to avoid conscription. 8<ome dra+ their teeth, some !lind themselves, and others maim themselves, on their +ay to *s,8 complained the @overnor of )"ypt in a circ*lar to his district officials iss*ed in March 18##, 8and for this reason +e send !ack the "reater part ... 1 +ill take from the family of every s*ch ; 0# ; offender men in his place, and he +ho has maimed himself shall !e sent to the "alleys all his lifeF 1 have already ordered this to the <heiks in +ritin".8 +//, The +eaknesses of the military order are evident from the increasin" severity of its methods of conscription, +hich !e"an to rival those of )*rope in their !r*tality.+/0, The nat*re of the pro!lem emer"es from the very contradiction of these te.ts. There is a conflict !et+een the *nprecedented penetration of the ne+ methods of po+er, and the need to make them more accepta!le, more *nnoticed, more effective a"ainst diseases like 8nostal"ia8, and there!y more efficient. >n the one hand, to escape conscription the "reater part of the peasants +ere prepared to maim or m*tilate themselves. P*!lic han"in"s and other *ses of violence had failed to deter entire pop*lations from a!andonin" their villa"es and fleein". The re"imentation of the 8prod*ctive po+ers8 of the co*ntry had made c*ltivation and forced la!o*r a d*ty almost as oppressive as conscription into the army. The only relief for peasant families +as to a!andon their homes and 8a!scond8. >n the other hand, the state had already !e"*n to search for a ne+ lan"*a"e, 8in order to drop the +ord a!sconder entirely hereafter8. 1t anno*nces, as +idely as possi!le, 8that Tilla"e and 2"ric*lt*re are the fo*ndation of the comfort, happiness, and prosperity of the )"yptian pop*lation8. 1n the same +ay, M*hammad 2li had +ritten in 18#' to the 1nspector @eneral of the military factories, in response to ne+s that +orkers +ere !ein" interned there and deprived of their +a"es, +arnin" that the ordinary )"yptian 68the peasant87 +as to !e properly treated, to ens*re the "overnment its income. 82ttend to his comfort, increase his pay, so that he applies himself to his +ork +ith complete satisfaction.8+/1, The ne+ methods of po+er +ere to seek to +ork thro*"h the very lan"*a"e and process of improvement. 2fter failin" in the 18#$s, +hen the attempt to penetrate and control the processes of prod*ction +as made a"ain in the 180$s a ne+ method +as *sed. The method this time +as to place "ro*ps of villa"es in the c*stody of individ*al officials, !e"innin" +ith mem!ers of the r*lin" family, and of )*ropean merchants. The villa"es +ere to !e or"anised as personal estates, employin" the same re"ime of spatial confinement, discipline and s*pervision.+/2, These estates can !e taken to mark the ori"in of a system of private lando+nership in modern )"ypt, on +hich prod*ction for the )*ropean market +o*ld no+ depend.+/3, >n the private estates po+er as a localised process of order and discipline co*ld no+ emer"e and !ecome entrenched, to the !enefit of a ne+ class of lar"ely *r!an:!ased lando+ners and commercial lando+nin" interests. 2s +ith the ne+ army, this process of order +o*ld appear not as an ar!itrary arran"ement, !*t as order itself. The pec*liar nat*re of s*ch order can !e f*rther ill*strated !y e.aminin" +hat +as to !ecome a common feat*re of the ne+ estates: the 8model villa"e8.

; 00 ;

37

Mo(el ;o9sing
The villa"e of Gafr al:Tayat in the 3ile Belta +as part of an estate placed *nder the control of M*hammad 2li8s son 1!rahim 6the man +hose *nfort*nate enco*nter +ith a Birmin"ham +hale +as mentioned in chapter 17. 1n 180' its inha!itants +ere instr*cted to dra+ *p a list of the families of the villa"e, their animals, and the different 8ind*stries8 in +hich they +ere en"a"ed. 1n accordance +ith this list the villa"e +as then re!*ilt, *nder the s*pervision of 9rench en"ineers char"ed +ith +hat +as called 8the reconstr*ction of the villa"es of )"ypt8. The inha!itants +ere moved into ne+ ho*ses, +ith each family allotted rooms accordin" to its si?e and its social rank 6ordinary, +ell:to: do, rich, or forei"n7. The 8model ho*se8 for an ordinary family consisted, in the description of one of the 9rench en"ineers,
617 of a co*rtyard of +hich the floor is raised $.1$ m a!ove the level of the street, 8 in lon" !y 0.#0 m +ide and th*s a!le to accommodate, at ni"ht, at least three lar"e animals and three small ... 6(7 of a room on "ro*nd level, of +hich the floor is raised $. 1$ m a!ove the floor of the co*rtyard, and th*s $. ($ m a!ove the level of the street, 0.#% m lon" !y #.&$ in +ide, ill*minated !y t+o +indo+s: one hi"h *p, !arred, overlookin" the street, the other plain, overlookin" the co*rtyardF containin" at the rear a di*an , lar"e eno*"h for t+o !eds end:to: end ... 6#7 of a room on the first floor, +ith a small covered !alcony overlookin" the co*rtyard ... +/!,

The same plans +ere *sed to re!*ild several other )"yptian villa"es, incl*din" 3e"hileh, eleven miles to the so*th, and @he?aier in the province of Men*fiyya. 2t 3e"hileh, 8the +retched mass of h*ts formerly piled to"ether +itho*t plan8 +as removed alto"ether, and replaced +ith a ne+ villa"e +hich an )n"lish traveller fo*nd to !e 8very neat, laid o*t in streets crossin" one another at ri"ht an"les8.+04, Pro/ects of improvement of this kind contain less of the harshness of the methods of military order 1 have !een descri!in". B*t the order they seek to achieve is a similar one. <*ch pro/ects, no less than the military innovations, typify the ne+ +ay in +hich the very nat*re of order +as to !e conceived. 1n modern )"ypt, as in every modern state, order of this kind +as to claim to !e order itself, the only real order there has ever !een. The essence of this kind of order is to prod*ce an effect 1 am "oin" to call enframin". )nframin" is a method of dividin" *p and containin", as in the constr*ction of !arracks or the re!*ildin" of villa"es, +hich operates !y con/*rin" *p a ne*tral s*rface or vol*me called 8space8. 61t is no accident that the !e"innin"s of this method in r*ral )"ypt coincide +ith ori"ins of private lando+nership, in +hich space !ecomes a commodity.7 1n reconstr*ctin" the villa"e, the spacin" that forms its rooms, co*rtyards, and !*ildin"s is specified in e.act ma"nit*des, do+n to the nearest centimetre. 4ather than ; 0% ; as an occ*rrence of +alls, floors, and openin"s, this system of ma"nit*des can !e tho*"ht of apart, as space itself. The plans and dimensions introd*ce space as somethin" apparently a!stract and ne*tral, a series of inert frames or containers. +0 , ,ithin these containers, items can then !e isolated, en*merated, and kept: three lar"e animals and three small per co*rtyardF t+o !eds end to end 6and hence t+o persons7 per roomF even the positionin" of pots, +ater /ars and food s*pplies +as specified in the 9rench plans. The dividin" *p of s*ch items is also the !reakin" do+n of life into a series of discrete f*nctions : sleepin", eatin", cookin", and so on : each +ith a specific location. The order of the reconstr*cted villa"e +as to !e achieved !y red*cin" its life to this system of locations and the o!/ects and f*nctions contained there, of a frame+ork and +hat +as enframed. The apparent ne*trality of space, as the dimension of order, is an effect of !*ildin" and distri!*tin" accordin" to the strict distinction !et+een container and contained. The system of containers +as easily represented in plans. Those for the reconstr*ction of )"yptian villa"es as far as 1 kno+ have not s*rvived, !*t in the same period 9rench administrators dre+ *p similar plans for the reconstr*ction of villa"es in 2l"eria. 1n the 2l"erian case the re!*ildin" of villa"es +as more directly connected +ith achievin" military control. )normo*s n*m!ers of 2l"erians had their villa"es destroyed and +ere moved to the ne+ settlements, in order to depop*late areas +here it +as provin" diffic*lt to esta!lish colonial control, and to !rin" the pop*lation *nder closer

38

s*rveillance.+0-, ,ith the dra+in" of s*ch plans, the achievement of order co*ld !e tho*"ht of in a partic*lar +ay: as the relationship !et+een the villa"e and the plans. 1t co*ld !e achieved accordin"ly, +ith the conformity of villa"e to plan reprod*ced in villa"e after villa"e, res*ltin" in an ordered co*ntryside of containers and contained. <*ch a method of order offered the possi!ility of a remarka!le standardisation, !et+een ho*ses, !et+een families and !et+een villa"es. 2s in the army, s*ch *niformity +o*ld !e a hallmark of the ne+ order. B*t as +ith the invention of a system of military rank, the ne+ methods of spatial order also +orked !y prod*cin" and codifyin" a visi!le hierarchy. The distinction +as to !e made, as +as mentioned, !et+een fo*r different ranks of ho*sin". Besides the model ho*se for the ordinary peasant, there +ere d+ellin"s for the +ell:to:do, for the rich, and for forei"ners. The distri!*tion of families accordin" to these fo*r cate"ories +o*ld "enerate, or at least enfi. and make certain, these distinctions amon" them, tendin" !oth to fi. and make le"i!le a determined social hierarchy. 1n any case, re!*ildin" made the villa"e itself somethin" le"i!le, in the sense of the lists of ho*seholds, livelihoods and livestock that +ere dra+n *p. This information co*ld then !e compiled into ; 0' ; statistics revealin" the co*ntry8s 8prod*ctive po+ers8, at the same time as it +as !ein" inscri!ed in the *nam!i"*o*s architect*re of its ne+ villa"es. <*ch le"i!ility, +hich is the mark of the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, had a lar"er importance. The )*ropean e.perts +ere an.io*s to or"anise the prod*ction of statistical kno+led"e of this sort concernin" )"ypt 6/*st as +orld e.hi!itions, as +e sa+ in the last chapter, +ere desi"ned to prod*ce the same statistical le"i!ility for the "lo!e7, "atherin" information on 8her pop*lation, her prod*ctions ... and "enerally speakin" on all the -*estions +hich have a statistical character, and a !earin", directly or indirectly, on the development of her reso*rces8.+0., The prod*ction of statistical information +as already +ell *nder +ay +ith the p*!lication of the -escription de l'Egypte mentioned in the previo*s chapter, the +ork compiled !y the 9rench scholars +ho had accompanied 3apoleon8s military occ*pation of )"ypt. The parts of the -escription dealin" +ith the 7tat &oderne incl*ded the calc*lation, in e.act ma"nit*des, of s*ch statistical -*estions as 8the avera"e po+er of )"yptian men8F it +as s*ch po+ers, after all, that the ne+ methods of order +ere seekin" to penetrate, colonise, police and m*ltiply. +0/, The mechanical prod*ction of this kno+led"e, ho+ever, +as impeded !y the diffic*lties of colonial penetration and policin"F not only, as the en"ineers +o*ld find, +as there 8no machinery in e.istence to collect and classify facts8, !*t the pec*liar architect*re and +ay of life of the )"yptian villa"e made s*ch 8facts8 concernin" the pop*lation and its prod*ctive po+er partic*larly inaccessi!le. 2s Bo+rin" e.plained to the British "overnment,
the diffic*lties of makin" anythin" like a correct estimate of the pop*lation are m*ch hei"htened !y the state of the Mahomedan la+s and *sa"es, +hich e.cl*de half of society from the o!servation of the police. )very ho*se has its harem, and every harem is inaccessi!le.+00,

The le"i!le order of the model villa"e +o*ld overcome this kind of inaccessi!ility, this pro!lem of a pop*lation and a +ay of life invisi!le to 8the o!servation of the police8. 2s 9o*ca*lt has +ritten, in s*ch +ays the architect*re of distri!*tion and the art of policin" can ac-*ire a hold over individ*als not simply !y confinin" them !*t !y openin" *p and inscri!in" +hat is hidden, *nkno+n and inaccessi!le. 2nd yet, as 9o*ca*lt also points o*t, this ne+ kind of order +as not in itself anythin" fi.ed or ri"id. 2s a method of containment, its stren"th lay in its fle.i!ility. 8The system of constr*ction8, the 9rench acco*nt of the model villa"e e.plains, 8is arran"ed so that one can install in the ho*ses a family of any n*m!er of individ*als 6people as +ell as animals7.8 This +as possi!le !eca*se the system of partition made the rooms into individ*al cells, +hich co*ld !e interconnected in any com!ination. Aar"er families +ere to !e con: ; 0& ; tained simply !y 8openin" *p a door+ay in one of the dividin" +alls8, +hich co*ld !e done 8+itho*t dama"e to the harmony !et+een rooms or !*ildin"s8. Th*s the net+ork of

39

cell*lar containers co*ld !e e.panded, contracted, and made to comm*nicate, +itho*t ever losin" the character of composin" a system, a +hole +hose separate parts +ere in 8harmony8. This harmony of parts ena!led a reconstr*cted villa"e to offer not /*st a !etter kno+led"e and control of its inha!itants, !*t the possi!ility of coordinatin" them to"ether in order to increase their prod*ctivity as a *nit. Aike the army, the ne+ villa"e co*ld !e tho*"ht of as a machine, "eneratin" effort o*t of the interaction of its individ*al parts. 8The mode of constr*ction +ill "reatly facilitate ind*stry 6 le tra*ail 7 and +ill !ecome in addition a val*a!le !enefit to the f*t*re transactions of the inha!itants.8 +01, )ffort,

# Plan of a "overnment villa"e, 2l"eria, 1808. Gey: B ho*seF C co*rtyardF B "*est:ho*seF ) residence of villa"e headF @ "*ardho*seF C storerooms, sta!lesF M millF 3 mos-*e. ; 08 ; prod*ctivity and interaction, these methods of re!*ildin" seemed to s*""est, +ere individ*al forces +hich, like the villa"e itself, co*ld no+ !e meas*red, re:assem!led, m*ltiplied, and controlled.

Cultural Beings
The connection !et+een the techni-*es of enframin" and the possi!ility of coordinatin" and increasin" individ*al effort is to !e e.plored f*rther in the follo+in" chapter, +here 1 +ill e.amine parallels !et+een the re!*ildin" of Cairo and the introd*ction of or"anised civilian schoolin". B*t to make it clearer +hat +as ne+ a!o*t the process of enframin", it may help at this point to say somethin" first a!o*t the kinds of ho*sin" and the +ays of livin" that the reconstr*ction of to+ns and villa"es attempted to replaceF and at the same time to !e"in connectin" the -*estion of enframin", as a techni-*e of order, to the -*estion of meanin" or representation. 1 propose to do so !y disc*ssin" in the remainder of this chapter certain feat*res of pre:modern Middle )astern 6or rather, Mediterranean7 to+ns, com!inin" this +ith some more recent e.amples dra+n from Pierre Bo*rdie*8s acco*nt of the

40

0 Plan of a Ga!yle ho*se. ; 09 ; ho*sin" of Ga!yle villa"ers, a Ber!er:speakin" comm*nity in 2l"eria. +02, 1 have t+o reservations a!o*t +hat follo+s. 9irst, !eca*se the p*rpose of s*ch e.amples is to make visi!le o*r o+n ass*mptions a!o*t the nat*re of order !y contrastin" them +ith a kind of order +hose ass*mptions are different, 1 r*n the risk of settin" *p this other as the very opposite of o*rselves. <*ch an opposite, moreover, +o*ld appear inevita!ly as a self: contained totality, and its enco*nter +ith the modern ,est +o*ld appear, a"ain inevita!ly, as its r*pt*rin" and disinte"ration. These sorts of self:contained, pre:capitalist totalities ac-*ire the a+f*l handicap, as Michael Ta*ssi" has remarked, of havin" to satisfy o*r yearnin" for a lost a"e of innocence.+03, <*ch conse-*ences, tho*"h perhaps inevita!le, are *ndesired and *nintended. <econd, my attempt to descri!e the kind of !*ildin" that colonial villa"es and to+ns +ere to replace involves a partic*lar diffic*lty: to descri!e a +ay of d+ellin" that did not red*ce order to a -*estion of the relationship !et+een thin"s and their plan, !et+een the +orld and a map. Det 1 +ill have to !e"in +ith a plan. The Ga!yle ho*se can !e descri!ed as follo+s. 1t is rectan"*lar in shape, and a do*!le door "ives access from the co*rtyard. 1nside there is a lo+ +all, dividin" the interior into t+o parts. >ne part, sli"htly lar"er than the other and raised sli"htly hi"her, is reserved for h*man *se. The fireplace is at its far end, and a +eavin" loom is assem!led !y the side +all opposite the door+ay, the so*rce of dayli"htF the other side +all, in +hich the door is set, is called the +all of darkness. The smaller, lo+er part of the ho*se, occ*pied !y the animals, has a loft a!ove it +here tools sand animal fodder are stored, and +here +omen and children *s*ally sleep, especially in +inter. Th*s descri!ed, the partic*lar layo*t of the ho*se co*ld !e "iven +hat +e and the 9rench en"ineers +o*ld call a f*nctional e.planation. B*t Bo*rdie* s*""ests that distinctions !et+een the different parts of the ho*se and the different places +here thin"s are kept or activities carried o*t correspond to a series of associations and oppositions, +hich are not to !e dismissed as 8merely sym!olic8, as they +o*ld !e in a f*nctional e.planation.

The lo+er, dark, noct*rnal part of the ho*se, the place of damp, "reen or ra+ o!/ects : +ater /ars set on !enches on either side of the sta!le entrance or a"ainst the +all of darkness, +ood, "reen fodder : the place too of nat*ral !ein"s : o.en and co+s, donkeys and m*les : and nat*ral activities : sleep, se., !irth, and also death, is opposed to the li"ht:filled, no!le, *pper part: this is the place of h*mans and especially the "*est, of fire and fire:made o!/ects, s*ch as the lamp, kitchen *tensils, the rifle : the attri!*te of the male point of hono*r 6 nif 7 +hich protects female hono*r 6hur&a 7 : and of the loom, the sym!ol of all protection.+0!,

41

The ho*se is or"anised, Bo*rdie* e.plains, accordin" to a set of homolo"o*s oppositions: !et+een fire and +ater, cooked and ra+, hi"h and lo+, li"ht ; %$ ; and shade, day and ni"ht, male and female, nif and hur&a , fertilisin" and a!le to !e fertilised. B*t to say 8the ho*se is or"anised8 in this +ay is misleadin" for t+o kinds of reason. 9irst, the ho*se is not in that sense a ne*tral space in +hich items or persons are arran"ed. The space itself is polarised, accordin" to the oppositions Bo*rdie* descri!es, and the polar oppositions invest every activity of the ho*se, incl*din" even the +ay in +hich the ho*se is !*ilt. Considered, moreover, in relation to the rest of the villa"e, the ho*se !ecomes /*st one polarity, the 8female8, in a lar"er +orld: 8The same oppositions are esta!lished !et+een the ho*se as a +hole and the rest of the *niverse, that is, the male +orld, the place of assem!ly, the fields, and the market.8 +14, The oppositions are not fi.ed cate"ories into +hich items and spaces can !e or"anisedF they are an effect not of spatial coordinates !*t of polar forces. <econd, as +e +ill see, s*ch polar forces occ*r themselves not as a str*ct*re of oppositions !*t as an *nsta!le play of differences. The male, the li"ht or the dry is each nothin" more than the process of e.cl*din" or deferrin" the female, the dark or the +et. 1n a sense, therefore, the male incl*des the female, the li"ht incl*des the dark, the dry incl*des the +et, and vice versa, for each term occ*rs only as the *ncertain disappearance or postponement of +hat it differs from. Bifference, as Berrida +o*ld tell *s, is not a pattern of distinctions or intervals !et+een thin"s, !*t an al+ays *nsta!le deferrin" or differin" +ithin. The remarka!le order "enerated from the playin" of these forces of difference m*st not mislead *s into e.plainin" it as /*st a 8different order8 from the kind the 9rench en"ineers envisionedF still less into e.plainin" this difference in terms of the mythical !eliefs of its 3orth 2frican inha!itants compared +ith the rational, disenchanted tho*"ht of the )*ropeanF or even in terms of !eliefs or c*lt*ral patterns that, a"ain, are simply different from the c*lt*ral patterns of the modern )*ropean. <*ch e.planations all contin*e to e.plain order in terms of a str*ct*re, pattern or mental plan conceived as e.istin" apart from 8thin"s themselves8. Unlike the order envisioned !y 9rench en"ineers 6and the !*ilders of +orld e.hi!itions7, the orderin" of the 3orth 2frican ho*se is not concerned +ith a relationship !et+een thin"s and a pattern or plan. Usin" the 2l"erian e.ample and introd*cin" some historical evidence alon"side, 1 am "oin" to try to characterise this kind of order in a n*m!er of +ays. 9irst, 1 +ill ar"*e, it is not concerned +ith order as a frame+ork, +hose lines +o*ld !rin" into e.istence a ne*tral space in terms of +hich thin"s +ere to !e or"anised. <econd, s*ch orderin" does not +ork !y determinin" a fi.ed !o*ndary !et+een an inner +orld and its o*tside. Third, it is not concerned +ith an order set *p in terms of an isolated s*!/ect, +ho +o*ld confront the +orld as his or her o!/ect. 3or, finally, is it concerned +ith meanin" as a pro!lem ; %1 ; for this individ*al s*!/ect of fi.in" the relation !et+een the +orld and its plan or representationF or +ith tr*th as the certainty of s*ch representation. >r rather, to p*t the emphasis differently for a moment, +hat +e inha!itants of the +orld:as:e.hi!ition +o*ld ordinarily take for "ranted as the elements of any order : frame+ork, interior, s*!/ect, o!/ect, and an *nam!i"*o*s meanin" or tr*th : remain pro!lematised and at play in the orderin" of the Ga!yle +orld. 1n my re:readin" of Bo*rdie*8s acco*nt of the Ga!yle ho*se, 1 +ant to s*""est ho+ m*ch o*r o+n e.hi!ition:+orld is enchanted +ith certain !eliefs a!o*t str*ct*re, s*!/ectivity and tr*th. 4ather than in terms of a str*ct*re, first of all, it may help to !e"in !y thinkin" of the Ga!yle ho*se in terms of a !alancin" or tendin". 1n the Ga!yle +orld, everythin" that presents itself : darkness and s*nli"ht, fire and +ater, men and +omen, animals and seeds, roof!eams and pillars : presents itself not as a mere o!/ect, as +e +o*ld say, !*t no less reasona!ly, as a certain force or potential. The life of the ho*se is a tendin" to the play of these differential forces, an attendin" to their potential for plenit*de or !arrenness.

42

@rain, to take /*st one e.ample, is not a thin" to !e cons*med, !*t a potential f*llness 6of the fields or of the stomach7 +hose necessary and contradictory relations +ith !oth fire and +ater determine ho+ it is to !e handled. The "rain set aside for cons*mption is kept, +e are told, in lar"e earthen+are /ars a"ainst the end +all of the *pper part of the ho*se, near the fireplace, +hereas "rain intended for so+in" is stored in the dark part of the ho*se, 8in sheepskins or +ooden chests placed at the foot of the +all of darkness, sometimes *nder the con/*"al !edF or else in chests placed *nder the !ench a"ainst the dividin" +all, +here the +oman, +ho normally sleeps at a lo+er level, !y the sta!le entrance, comes to /oin her h*s!and8. Th*s +hereas the "rain +hich m*st feed the ho*sehold and ens*re its +ell!ein" is associated +ith the fire that +ill transform it into !read, the "rain set aside as seed corn, +hich m*st s+ell in the soil to provide ne.t year8s food, is associated +ith the dampness and +ater on +hich s*ch s+ellin" depends, and also +ith the +oman, and !y analo"y +ith the s+ellin" of the pre"nant +oman8s !elly.+1 , The order of the Ga!yle ho*se, or +hat +e +o*ld call the or"anisation of its space 6none of these terms is s*fficient or appropriate7 can !etter !e tho*"ht of as this kind of attentiveness to the +orld8s fertility or potential f*llness. <*ch potential or force plays as the rhythm of life, a life made *p not of inert o!/ects to !e ordered !*t of demands to !e attended to and respected, accordin" to the contradictory +ays in +hich they to*ch and affect each other, or +ork in harmony and opposition, or resem!le and oppose one another. Thinkin" of the life of the ho*se in these terms, +hich ; %( ; have little to do +ith ma"ic or myth in the pe/orative sense of s*ch +ords, ena!les *s to !e"in to see the limits of the 9rench en"ineers8 provocative techni-*e of order, and the political mytholo"y to +hich it "ives rise.

The Filling o" the ;o9se

1n the first place, then, there is nothin", strictly speakin", in the 3orth 2frican ho*se made to stand apart as a frame. 1ts order is not achieved !y effectin" an inert str*ct*re that contains and orders a contents. 3ot even its roof and sides form s*ch a frame+ork. The pillars, +alls and !eams of the ho*se all carry their o+n char"e, so to speak. They all e.ist only in e.ertin" a contin*o*s force or maintainin" a certain !alance, implicatin" them in the same patterns of resem!lance and difference. 82t the centre of the dividin" +all, !et+een the Uho*se of the h*man !ein"sU and the Uho*se of the animalsU stands the main pillar, s*pportin" the Umaster !eamU ... NThis !eamO, +hich connects the "a!les and e.tends the protection of the male part of the ho*se to the female part, is e.plicitly identified +ith the master of the ho*se, +hereas the main pillar, a forked tree tr*nk ... *pon +hich it rests, is identified +ith the +ife.8 The interlockin" of the !eam and the pillar, +e are told, 8sym!olises se.*al *nion8.+1-, The +ord sym!ol here s*""ests merely a concept*al representation, !*t the connection is nothin" concept*al. <ince the !*ildin" of a ho*se al+ays takes place +hen a son is married, the interlockin" of its parts is a direct reenactment and repetition of the *nion that forms the ne+ ho*sehold. The se.*al *nion and the assem!lin" of the ho*se echo and resem!le one another. 3either is a mere sym!ol of the other. 1 +ill come !ack to this -*estion of representation and the sym!olic a little later. 1n this and similar +ays the parts of the ho*se are implicated in the life of the ho*sehold. ,hat e.ists is this life, in its cycles of !irth, "ro+th and death. The ho*se is a process ca*"ht *p in this life:and:death, not an inert frame+ork that pretends to stand apart. 2 simple parallel can ill*strate this from +ithin the ho*se, in the form of the +eavin" loom. ,e +o*ld tend to think of the loom in the +ay +e think of a ho*se, as a frame, +ithin +hose frame+ork an o!/ect, the te.tile, is formed and "iven shape. B*t in 3orth 2frica, +e are told, the loom is not tho*"ht of as a mere frame in this sense. 1ts parts are never assem!led e.cept in the process of +eavin", and have no sin"le name

43

e.cept as an aspect of the +eavin". The parts !ro*"ht to"ether in +eavin" are conceived as male and female, and the te.tile formed o*t of them is a 8life8 that is tended and "ro+n, in a manner that imitates the "ro+th of the ho*se.+1., Movin" !ack to the ho*se, one co*ld say in the same +ay that there is no mere ho*se, !*t rather an active ho*sin", en"endered in the formin" of a ho*sehold and s*stained as an aspect of its vi"o*r, never as a ; %# ; ne*tral frame+ork. Co*sin" is not an o!/ect or container !*t a char"ed process, an insepara!le part of a life that "ro+s, flo*rishes, decays and is re!orn. 1n the Ber!er and 2ra!ic lan"*a"es there are several +ords for this life, in the sense of +hat !*ilds and flo*rishes. To indicate some of the lar"er si"nificance of this disc*ssion of ho*ses, 1 +ill mention !riefly the *se of one s*ch term, taken from a relatively +ell: kno+n historical so*rce, the +ork of 1!n Ghald*n, +ho lived in 3orth 2frica in the fo*rteenth cent*ry. 1!n Ghald*n8s ma/or +ork, the Mu2addi&a , is an e.tended st*dy of 8u&ran , a +ord *s*ally translated in this conte.t as 8civilisation8 or 8c*lt*re8. The !ook e.amines the political and historical conditions *nder +hich 8u&ran appears, flo*rishes, and declines. 1!n Ghald*n disc*sses s*ch political conditions not in terms of some a!stract frame+ork s*ch as 8the state8, !*t in terms of the rise and decline of the !*ilt environment. Political life is e.amined as the !*ildin" and decay of cities. The +ord to !*ild, in this conte.t, is 8a&ar 6the 8 here refers to the 2ra!ic letter 8ayn 7, a +ord +hich for 1!n Ghald*n can mean to live, prosper, flo*rish, !e f*ll, fill +ith life, inha!it, raise, !e in "ood repair, !*ild, and re!*ild. 1t is from this +ord that is prod*ced the term 8u&ran , +ith the same kinds of meanin": activity, !*stlin" life, f*llness 6of a market +ell:stocked +ith "oods, for e.ample, or a har!o*r fre-*ented !y ships and merchants7, prosperity, !*ildin".+1/, 1!n Ghald*n8s st*dy of 8u&ran is a st*dy of the conditions that can !rin" a!o*t this !*ildin", this f*llness, +hich +e a+k+ardly translate as c*lt*re. B*ildin" is an active, *ndetermined process, marked in cycles of a!*ndance and decay, rather than simply the material realisation of a predetermined 8plan8. 3o+here in the Mu2addi&a does !*ildin", or 8u&ran , involve the notion of a plan. Conse-*ently in 1!n Ghald*n the +ord 8u&ran never means c*lt*re in the modern senses of the term, +hich are insepara!le from the idea of a plan. The modern term esta!lishes its meanin" in contradistinction to an inert 8materiality8 of the city, !y desi"natin" an ideality of shared meanin"s or social patterns. The meanin" of 1!n Ghald*n8s term, +hatever its technical senses, remains rooted in a process of "ro+th and f*llness. 1t does not derive its force from any distinction !et+een materiality vers*s meanin", the city vers*s its plan.+10, ,itho*t reference to 1!n Ghald*n, and in the rather different conte.t of the Ber!er villa"e, Bo*rdie* dra+s attention to a very similar notion of f*llness. 1n the ho*sin" he st*died, the practices demanded of the peasant follo+ a pattern of emptyin" and fillin". 2nalo"ies are dra+n, as +e sa+, !et+een the f*llness of the fields, the f*llness of the stomach and the f*llness of the pre"nant +oman. 1n "eneral, the processes of social and a"ric*lt*ral life seek 8the fillin" of the ho*se8 6 la '&&ara u/ha& 7, +here the Ber!er +ord for fillin" corresponds to the 2ra!ic terms 8amar and 8 u&ran .+11, ; %0 ; The notion of cyclical "ro+th and f*llness apprehends the processes of the +orld +itho*t dividin" it into a material realm and a concept*al, and is connected to an entire *nderstandin" of history and politics in the +ritin" of 1!n Ghald*n. 2 proper disc*ssion of his ideas lies !eyond the scope of this +ork, !*t it is in these sorts of terms that one mi"ht approach the -*estion of order in the pre:colonial Middle )astern or Mediterranean to+n. Bisc*ssions of the so:called 1slamic city have tended to ackno+led"e none of the pec*liarity of the methods of order and meanin" that characterise cities since the ind*strial a"e, sometimes makin" do instead +ith a reference to the 8or"anic8 nat*re of pre:modern cities and then e.aminin" the conse-*ent pro!lem of their 8order8. B*t there +as no pro!lem of order, in o*r o+n sense of a frame+ork or plan, in s*ch cities, /*st as there +as no +ord namin" s*ch a thin" in 1!n Ghald*n. There +as instead a cycle of

44

f*llness and emptiness, a contin*o*s life +hich incl*des death 6+hereas order can never incl*de disorder7, a contin*o*s !*ildin" and re!*ildin" amid the forces of decay. ,hat this amo*nted to, then, +as a +ay of !*ildin" and livin" that ref*sed to resolve itself into the appearance of a frame and +hat is enframed. 2 Middle )astern to+n never affected a distinction !et+een the 8materiality8 of !*ildin" and other practices and the 8ideality8 of their str*ct*re and representational meanin". 2 to+n +as not !*ilt as a series of str*ct*res located in space. The spacin" +as the !*ildin", and s*ch spacin", in the city as m*ch as in the villa"e, +as al+ays polarised. 1n the case of pre:modern Cairo, for e.ample, !*ildin" *s*ally involved openin" *p an enclos*re, s*ch as a co*rtyard enclosed !y rooms or col*mns, polarised in many cases accordin" to the direction of Mecca. This +as so not only +ith mos-*es, !*t +ith ordinary ho*sin" as +ell, at least *p *ntil after the >ttoman con-*est. 1n fact it has !een sho+n, for Cairo, that the orientation of !*ildin", of +orshippin", and of receivin" "*ests, the direction of Mecca, the path of the s*n, the forces of the ?odiac and the properties of the prevailin" +inds +ere all precisely correlated.+12, ,ith lar"er ho*ses, the interior space carved o*t as co*rtyard and rooms +as ali"ned precisely +ith s*ch 8polar8 directions and forces, rather than +ith the street or +ith nei"h!o*rin" !*ildin"s. +13, The ho*se, or the shared ho*sin" in the case of poorer d+ellin"s, then e.panded aro*nd this enclos*re, in +hatever shape and si?e the presence of nei"h!o*rin" !*ildin"s allo+ed. 1ts "enerally !lank and irre"*lar e.terior seldom corresponded to the shape, or represented the p*rpose, of its caref*lly oriented interior. 1n this sense there +ere no e.teriors, and the city +as never a frame+ork of streets on +hich str*ct*res +ere placed. 2s +e +ill see, streets too +ere enclos*res. The city +as the spacin" of intervals or enclos*res formin" a contin*o*s materiality. 1ts order +as a -*estion of maintainin", +ithin s*ch enclos*res, the proper ; %% ; relationships !et+een directions, forces and movements, not its a!ility to reveal in material form the determinin" presence of a non:material plan or meanin". 1t +as an order +itho*t frame+orks.

The O9tsi(e
2 second, related +ay of characterisin" the modern kind of order 1 have called enframin" is that it +orks !y determinin" a fi.ed distinction !et+een o*tside and inside. There appears to !e an *nam!i"*o*s line alon" +hich an e.terior frames an interior. The ne+ colonial and )*ropean cities of the nineteenth cent*ry made their clearest principle the fi.ed divide !et+een the !o*r"eois interior and the p*!lic e.terior. There has !een no diffic*lty since then in discoverin" a similar division in the traditional Middle )astern to+nF similar !*t in fact more ri"id, !et+een the interior +orld of +omen and the family and the p*!lic, male +orld of the marketplace and mos-*e. 2t first si"ht the Ga!yle villa"e seems to e.emplify this f*ndamental division. The +alls of each ho*se certainly separate an inside from an o*tside, the one correspondin" to a female +orld and the other the male. B*t if +e look at the ho*se more closely, or rather sit*ate o*rselves +ithin it 6for the method of !*ildin" provides no place for an o*tside o!server to stand7, this fi.ed division !e"ins to invert itself and collapse. 9irst, as +e sa+, the female interior is itself composed o*t of a 8male8 *pper part and a 8female8 lo+er part. B*t this, Bo*rdie* tells *s, is really only at ni"ht, and especially in the +inter +hen the men sleep indoors. 1n the s*mmer, +hen they sleep o*tside in the co*rtyard, the ho*se as a +hole forms a 8female8 interior. B*rin" the daytime, ho+ever, the co*rtyard is made temporarily a +omen8s space !y the e.cl*sion of the men, +ho are confined to the "ate+ay, the place of assem!ly, or the fields. 6,omen can only !e said to !e confined to the interior in the sense that men, for e.ample, are also confined to the fields.7 <o the dividin" of male and female space, o*tside and inside, varies +ith the time, the season, the +ork to !e done, and other forces and demands. 1t is s*ch *nsta!le

45

forces and demands that polarise space, and each polarity occ*rs only as the temporary e.cl*sion or postponement of its o+n opposite. 1f +e t*rn from the villa"e to the to+n, thin"s at first seem rather different. 2ndrM 4aymond8s +ork on the "reat 2ra! cities of the ei"hteenth cent*ry stresses the distinction !et+een the p*!lic +orld of the mos-*es and markets on the main thoro*"hfares, and the private +orld enclosed aro*nd the co*rtyards of the ho*ses, +hich opened not on to the street !*t on to !lind alley+ays +hose "ates to the street +ere al+ays closed at ni"ht. 1n >ttoman Cairo, these impasses leadin" to co*rtyards are said to have formed almost half the total len"th of the city8s streets. +1!, The market streets +ere distin"*ished from s*ch impasses as p*!lic places +here stran"ers to the ; %' ; city co*ld enter and do !*siness. Bisp*tes involvin" stran"ers re-*ired the intervention of p*!lic officials, +ho +o*ld never intervene in the private disp*tes of the co*rtyard or alley. B*t a"ain the distinction !et+een the p*!lic e.terior and the domestic enclos*re +as not some fi.ed !o*ndary. The market streets +ere lines of penetration from o*tside the city, +here e.ternal ro*tes e.tended into the *r!an interior. They too formed only a 8hollo+ enclos*re8 like the co*rtyard, as 4o!erto Berardi has +ritten, stretched o*t in linear form to contain the visitin" stran"er. They too had "ates, separatin" the city into -*arters. 2t ni"ht, the "ates of the city +o*ld close *pon the +orld o*tside, those of the impasses *pon the streets and lanes, of these *pon the main thoro*"hfare, and of the thoro*"hfare *pon the nei"h!o*rin" -*arters. The city, +rites Berardi, is 8a net+ork made *p of enclos*res, of prohi!itions and accorded ri"hts. There is no more than a slidin" !et+een its moment of permission and its moment of prohi!ition. 1t is in fact this slidin" !et+een de"rees of openin" and accessi!ility, of clos*re and e.cl*sion, that in everyday practice is lived.8+24, 4ather than a fi.ed !o*ndary dividin" the city into t+o parts, p*!lic and private, o*tside and inside, there are de"rees of accessi!ility and e.cl*sion determined vario*sly !y the relations !et+een the persons involved, and !y the time and the circ*mstance.

The Vie Intrieure

The dynamic relation !et+een openness and clos*re +as the corollary of an *r!an life that ref*sed to make somethin" stand apart as its frame+ork. ,itho*t the *r!an effect of a frame+ork there co*ld !e no fi.ed division into o*tside and inside. To this division there corresponds, in t*rn, a -*estion of the city8s 8meanin"8. 2 city +ith no fi.ed e.teriors, after all, is a city "enerally +itho*t faJades. The si"nificance of this can !e dra+n from the e.perience of the )*ropean visitor. ,hether to*rist or scholar, the )*ropean e.pected to find an order in the form of an *nam!i"*o*s line +hich, like the "ates of the e.hi!ition or the cover of a !ook, separates +hat is inside from +hat is o*tside. This separation +as ho+ )*ropeans made sense of somethin", ho+ they read it. Take the follo+in" readin" of the city of 2l"iers, seen from the sea, !y 2le.is de Toc-*eville in 1801.
Ae to*t prMsent l8aspect de la vie intMrie*re a* pl*s ha*te de"rM. A8architect*re peinte les !esoins et les moe*rs: celle:ci rMs*lte se*lernent pas de la chale*r d* climat, elle peint V merveille l8Mtat social et politi-*e des pop*lations m*s*lmanes et orientales: la poly"arnie, la sM-*estration des femmes, l8a!sence de to*te vie politi-*e, *n "o*vernement tyranni-*e et om!ra"e*. -*i force de cacher sa vie et re/ette to*tes les affectations d* coe*r d* cWtM de la famille.+2 ,

; %& ; 2l"iers, *nlike Cairo as +e sa+, +as a to+n that happened to !e clearly visi!le to an e.ternal o!server, from a ship at sea. <o clearly, in fact, that in 18#$ entreprene*rs from Marseilles had converted a steamer into a floatin" hotel and taken to*rists to +atch the city8s !om!ardment and occ*pation !y the 9rench. 6Th*s from its openin" act of violence, )*ropean colonisation of the Middle )ast !e"an to involve the ne+ to*rist ind*stry.7 1t +as to e.amine the pro"ress of this occ*pation a decade later that Toc-*eville arrived.

46

Ce +as already +ithin 9rance an 8e.pert8 on 2l"eria, and one of the most artic*late spokesmen in the Cham!er of Bep*ties for the completion of the co*ntry8s con-*est and colonisation.+2-, 9rom o*tside and from a distance Toc-*eville sees the city as a 8+hole8, +hich is to say as a pict*re or representation. Ce interprets this pict*re !y

% ).position Universelle, Paris, 1889: the Ga!yle ho*se. ; %8 ; ass*min" the city is constr*cted o*t of the opposition !et+een an e.terior and an interior, the one visi!le, the other invisi!le. The visi!le e.terior, or 8architect*re8, is taken to !e a representation of the invisi!le *ie int7rieure . The architect*re 8portrays the necessities and c*stoms8 of this interior life, indeed of M*slim and >riental life in "eneral. 1n a characteristic intellect*al "est*re, life is read as an invisi!le internal meanin" made visi!le in an e.ternal material form. The meanin" is somethin" made visi!le only to the o*tside o!server, +ho stands apart and sees the +orld as a representation. The pro!lem +ith this is not that Toc-*eville has misread. 2 misreadin" implies that there +o*ld !e a correct readin" of +hat 2l"iers +as !*ilt to represent. 2l"iers, ho+ever, like Cairo, +as not !*ilt accordin" to the easy mytholo"y of representation, and did not offer an 8architect*re8 or e.ternal frame+ork pretendin" to 8portray8 its interior life. 1ts *nderstandin" +o*ld re-*ire other "est*res than those of the intellect*al to*rist vie+in" the city from the sea. B*t Toc-*eville is *na!le to escape the to*rist8s o!/ectifyin" ha!it. The characteristics of the life he then sees, so convenient to the colonisation he defends, that it is secretive, s*spicio*s, and +itho*t a political or p*!lic life, are no more than the effects of readin" it as tho*"h it +ere a representation. ,estern st*dents of Middle )astern societies since Toc-*eville have "enerally not !ro*"ht *p this pro!lem of representation. 1nstead they have often taken +hat are considered its distinctive *r!an forms, or indeed the lack of s*ch forms, as one of the most characteristic feat*res of Middle )astern c*lt*re. The Ca&(ridge 1istory of "sla& has descri!ed *r!an life as a model or ideal at the centre of 1slam, !*t an ideal +hose

47

stran"e material em!odiment in act*al Middle )astern to+ns !ecomes a 8parado.8 of 1slamic society:
The *r!an ideal of 1slam created no forms, no *r!an str*ct*re ... 1t replaced the solidarity of a collective comm*nity +ith an anomalo*s disor"anised heap of disparate -*arters and elements. By a really very remarka!le parado., this reli"ion endo+ed +ith the ideal of *r!an life prod*ced the very ne"ation of *r!an order.
+2.,

The complaint to !e made a!o*t these kinds of descriptions of the Middle )ast is not that they are distorted, !y the ordinary intellect*al ass*mptions of their a*thors, or that they are misrepresentations. These +ords imply the simple e.istence of an ori"inal o!/ect, of +hich an acc*rate representation mi"ht !e made. They remain o!livio*s to the pec*liar, historical nat*re of this a!sol*te distinction !et+een representation and ori"inal. 1t is this o!livio*sness +hich prod*ces 1slam8s so:called parado.es. The 8*r!an order8 or the 8*r!an str*ct*res8 s*ch acco*nts find missin" are ass*med to !e order or str*ct*re itself, rather than the effects, as +e sa+ in Paris, of a techni-*e of !*ildin" that seems to divide the +orld into ima"inary ; %9 ; str*ct*res and their material realisation, into representations and simple ori"inals. There are no s*ch simple ori"inals, !*t only the process of decidin" to pretend that there are, and of for"ettin" this decision. ,hat this anomalo*s *r!an life lacked in partic*lar, +e are sometimes told, is formal instit*tions : the 8inner str*ct*re8 of the 8material8 city. +2/, ,hen +e speak of an instit*tion, some+here in o*r thinkin" there often l*rks the pict*re of a !*ildin" or a street. The !*ildin" stands for an instit*tion, "ivin" a visi!le e.terior to the invisi!le 8inner str*ct*re8, and it is remarka!ly diffic*lt to think of a p*!lic instit*tion +itho*t thinkin" of the !*ildin" or street that represents it. Middle )astern cities that 8lacked instit*tions8 lacked more especially the imposin" p*!lic !*ildin"s +hich mi"ht contain an instit*tion, and represent it. 1t is perhaps +orth thinkin" of o*r ass*mptions a!o*t *r!an str*ct*re in terms of this simple -*estion. 9*rther help can !e so*"ht in the +ritin"s of 1!n Ghald*n and other 2ra! historians and "eo"raphers. 1n s*ch +orks, and even in the everyday doc*ments and correspondence that have s*rvived from the pre:modern past of a city s*ch as Cairo, official activities are never indicated !y reference to or in terms of an imposin" !*ildin"F in man*script ill*strations, +e are told, 8there does not seem to !e an identifia!le architect*ral vision of the p*!licly accessi!le official !*ildin"8. Ur!an life +as *nderstood and referred to in +ritten so*rces 8!y f*nction, never !y location8. +20, >r rather, since +e sa+ in the model villa"e that the notion of f*nction itself depends on the partitions of a system of frame+orks, the life of the city +as *nderstood in terms of the occ*rrence and reocc*rrence of practices, rather than in terms of an 8architect*re8: material or instit*tional : that stands apart from life itself, containin" and representin" the meanin" of +hat +as done.

A T$%nscen(ent%l P$es9pposition
The e.ample from Toc-*eville has recalled the third aspect of enframin" 1 +ant to mention, namely the +ay it provides a place from +hich the individ*al can o!serve. 2s +e sa+ in chapter 1, the ne+ nineteenth:cent*ry capitals of )*rope, like the +orld e.hi!itions at their centre, +ere deli!erately constr*cted aro*nd the individ*al o!server. Ca*ssmann laid o*t the !o*levards of Paris to create a precise perspective in the eye of the correctly positioned individ*al, +ho +as "iven an e.ternal point of vie+ !y the enframin" architect*re. The o!server 8perceives himself at the centre of the city8, +rote a T*nisian visitor, 8s*rro*nded !y its !*ildin"s, its streets and its "ardens8. +21, B*t it +as not /*st the partic*lar position that +as ne+F it +as the very effect of havin" a position. 1ts stran"e novelty +as the novelty of modern s*!/ectivity, +hich is not a 8nat*ral8 relation of the person to the +orld !*t a caref*l and c*rio*s constr*ction. The s*!/ect +as set *p o*tside ; '$ ;

48

the faJades, like the visitor to an e.hi!ition, and yet +as s*rro*nded and contained !y them. 1t +as a position at once !oth o*tside and inside. 1n contrast, the Ga!yle villa"e or the pre:colonial Middle )astern to+n provided no s*ch position. The architect*ral feint of faJades and vie+points +as not at +ork. The individ*al did not stand o*tside an o!/ect +orld as the one addressed !y it, nor at its centre as the one in terms of +hom, as it seems to *s, there is an order and a meanin". The techni-*es of enframin", of fi.in" an interior and e.terior, and of positionin" the o!servin" s*!/ect, are +hat create an appearance of order, an order that +orks !y appearance. The +orld is set *p !efore an o!servin" s*!/ect as tho*"h it +ere the pict*re of somethin". 1ts order occ*rs as the relationship !et+een o!server and pict*re, appearin" and e.perienced in terms of the relationship !et+een the pict*re and the plan or meanin" it represents. 1t follo+s that the appearance of order is at the same time an order of appearance, a hierarchy. The +orld appears to the o!server as a relationship !et+een pict*re and reality, the one present !*t secondary, a mere representation, the other only represented, !*t prior, more ori"inal, more real. This order of appearance is +hat mi"ht !e called the hierarchy of tr*th.+22, 2s +e sa+ in the first chapter +ith the )*ropean visitors to the >rient, it is in terms of s*ch a hierarchical division, !et+een a pict*re and +hat it stands for, that all reality, all tr*th is to !e "rasped. The methods of orderin", distri!*tin" and enframin" that create the division, therefore, are the ordinary +ay of effectin" +hat the modern individ*al e.periences as the really real. The constr*ction of ordered villa"es and to+ns in the Middle )ast +as one partic*lar manner of introd*cin" this effect into Middle )astern politics, /*st as it had !een introd*ced in the modern a"e into the politics of )*rope. 1n +hat +ays +as the order of appearance somethin" ne+E 1 +ill try to e.plain this, a"ain, *sin" the e.ample of the Ga!yle ho*se. ,hatever happens or presents itself in the +orld Bo*rdie* descri!es, happens, 1 s*""ested, as a potential for fertility or !arrenness, for the f*llness of life or its emptiness. Practical life is lived as an attendin" to this potential. 1t demands an attentiveness to the practical +ays in +hich one thin" co*ld affect or e.cite another, the +ays in +hich thin"s that are /*.taposed co*ld displace or intermin"le +ith one another, ho+ somethin" co*ld prod*ce stren"th in one thin" and +eakness in another, ho+ thin"s penetrate or allo+ penetration. 1n other +ords one needs to *nderstand the relations of sameness or sympathy !et+een thin"s, and of antipathy and disa"reement. >ne needs to *nderstand the homolo"y !et+een the !itterness of "all and the !itterness of +orm+ood, or !et+een the seed that s+ells in the "ro*nd and that +hich s+ells in the +oman8s +om!. <*ch relations are not the relations !et+een an o!/ect and its meanin", as +e +o*ld say, or !et+een a sym!ol and the idea for +hich it stands. ; '1 ; There is nothin" sym!olic in this +orld. @all is not associated +ith +orm+ood !eca*se it sym!olises !itterness. 1t occ*rs itself as the trace of !itterness. The "rain does not represent fertility, and therefore the +oman. 1t is itself fertile, and d*plicates in itself the s+ellin" of a pre"nant +oman8s !elly. 3either the "rain nor the +oman is merely a si"n si"nifyin" the other and neither, it follo+s, has the stat*s of the ori"inal, the 8real8 referent or meanin" of +hich the other +o*ld !e merely the si"n. These associations, in conse-*ence, sho*ld not !e e.plained in terms of any sym!olic or c*lt*ral 8code8, the separate realm to +hich +e ima"ine s*ch si"ns to !elon". They arise entirely from their partic*lar conte.t, in the difference and similarity that prod*ces conte.t, and are as many and as varied as s*ch conte.ts mi"ht !e. This is somethin" the notion of code, +hich !y definition stands apart from conte.t, can never contain. Th*s "all, Bo*rdie* tells *s, is associated +ith !itterness and therefore e-*ivalent to +orm+ood, !*t also to oleander and to tar 6and opposed, +ith these, to honey7F in other conte.ts it is associated +ith "reenness, and th*s e-*ivalent to li?ards and to the colo*r "reenF and in still other conte.ts +ith an"er 6a -*ality inherent in the other t+o7. Ai?ards, in t*rn, are associated +ith toads and th*s +ith f*rther -*alities, and so on. <*ch resem!lances and differences do not form a separate realm of meanin", a code apart from thin"s themselvesF hence

49

this very notion of 8thin"8 does not occ*r. 9or the same reason, there is no 8nat*re8 : in o*r o+n sense of the "reat referent, the si"nified in terms of +hich s*ch a code is distin"*ished. There are, rather, the necessary relations at +ork in a +orld +here nothin" occ*rs e.cept as somethin" that resem!les, differs from, d*plicates or re:enacts somethin" else.+23, This vi!ration of echoes and repetitions al+ays carries the parado. of s*ch repetition : +hat occ*rs is al+ays the same as and yet different from +hat it d*plicates. 1n the face of this parado., moreover, nothin" is decided, no simple hierarchy of tr*th is accepted. ,here everythin" occ*rs as the trace of +hat precedes and follo+s it, nothin" is determined as the ori"inal. 3othin" stands apart from +hat resem!les or differs, as the simple, self:identical ori"inal, the +ay a real +orld is tho*"ht to stand o*tside the e.hi!ition. There is no hierarchical order of the imitator and the imitated, as in an e.hi!ition or any other system of representation. )verythin" !oth imitates and is imitated. There is no simple division into an order of copies and an order of ori"inals, of pict*res and +hat they represent, of e.hi!its and reality, of the te.t and the real +orld, of si"nifiers and si"nifieds : the simple, hierarchical division that for the modern +orld is 8+hat constit*tes order8. The order of this +orld is not an order of appearance. +2!, The )*ropean visitor arrived in this +orld, let *s recall in concl*sion, contained !y an *nshakea!le ha!it of tho*"ht, a ha!it n*rt*red in the +orld of the e.hi!ition. Ce arrived +ith a metaphysical !elief, a theolo"y, or +hat ; '( ; Ma. ,e!er +as to call in his essay on 8>!/ectivity in social science8 a 8transcendental pres*pposition8, namely 8that +e are cultural (eings 8. ,e!er meant !y this that +e are the kind of !ein"s +ho 8take *p a deli!erate post*re to+ards the +orld and lend it significance 8.+34, Thanks to this pec*liar post*re, s*ch 8si"nificance8 can appear as somethin" apart from the 8meanin"less infinity8, as ,e!er co*ld no+ say, of the +orld o*tside. <i"nificance resides in the space opened *p, in the "ro*nds of the +orld e.hi!ition and in the similar orderin" of the +orld !eyond, !et+een a h*man s*!/ectivity and the +orld8s inert facticity. 8There are no mysterio*s incalc*la!le forces that come into play8, ,e!er tells *s. 8... >ne can, in principle, master all thin"s !y calc*lation. This means that the +orld is disenchanted. >ne need no lon"er have reco*rse to ma"ical means in order to master or implore the spirits, as did the sava"e, for +hom s*ch mysterio*s po+ers e.isted.8+3 , Believin" in an 8o*tside +orld8, !eyond the e.hi!ition, !eyond all process of representation, as a realm inert and disenchanted : the "reat si"nified, the referent, the empty, chan"eless >rient : the modern individ*al is *nder a ne+ and more s*!tle enchantment. The inert o!/ectness of this +orld is an effect of its orderin", of its settin" *p as tho*"h it +ere an e.hi!ition, a set*p +hich makes there appear to e.ist apart from s*ch 8e.ternal reality8 a transcendental entity called c*lt*re, a code or te.t or co"nitive map !y +hose mysterio*s e.istence 8the +orld8 is lent its 8si"nificance8. Cence the )*ropean visitors to the Middle )ast, no lon"er sava"e !*t tamed into scholars and soldiers and to*rists, as docile and as c*rio*s as the millions +ho visited the e.hi!ition, take *p their deli!erate post*re to+ards its to+ns and its life, and implore the spirits of si"nificance to speak.

; '# ;

Ch%pte$ . An Appe%$%nce o" O$(e$

50

1n the +inter of 18'&R'8 2li M*!arak, an accomplished )"yptian administrator, teacher and en"ineer, travelled to Paris on financial !*siness for the )"yptian "overnment, and to visit the ).position Universelle. Ce stayed several +eeks, as he later descri!ed in some detail, st*dyin" the ne+ Parisian systems of ed*cation and of se+era"e. Ce e.amined the !*ildin"s, the !ooks, and the c*rric*la of the ne+ schools, and +alked +ith other visitors alon" the enormo*s t*nnels of the se+a"e system !*ilt !eneath the !o*levards of Ca*ssmann8s ne+ city. >n his ret*rn to )"ypt he +as appointed Minister of <chools and Minister of P*!lic ,orks, and over the follo+in" decade he laid o*t and !e"an !*ildin" the modern city of Cairo and the modern system of ed*cation.+ , Aayin" o*t the streets of a city and plannin" instit*tions of learnin" did not come to"ether only !y accident, !y some chance in the career of an e.ceptional individ*al. 2li Pasha M*!arak8s career indicated the concerns of his a"e. <treets and schools +ere !*ilt as the e.pression and achievement of an intellect*al orderliness, a social tidiness, a physical cleanliness, that +as comin" to !e considered the co*ntry8s f*ndamental political re-*irement. The ne+ order of the army and the model villa"e +as to !e e.tended to incl*de the city and the civilian. 1n this process came into !ein" the politics of the modern state. The nat*re of the ne+ politics, as they emer"ed in the five decades !et+een the 18'$s and the 9irst ,orld ,ar, +ill !e the s*!/ect of this and the follo+in" chapter. 1n this chapter, !e"innin" +ith the re!*ildin" of the city and then concentratin" on the introd*ction of schoolin", 1 +ant to e.plore the links !et+een the methods of orderin" that 1 have called enframin" and a ne+ kind of political discipline amon" the pop*lation. 1n a +ork of fiction +ritten d*rin" this period, intended for people8s instr*ction and improvement in *nfilled moments of their day 6s*ch moments +ere no+ visi!le, and in need of !ein" filled7, 2li M*!arak ill*strated the connection !et+een spatial order and personal discipline thro*"h a comparison of the condition of life in )"ypt and 9rance. The prota"onists in his story /o*rneyed !y steamer from )"ypt to 9rance. 2rrivin" in Marseilles, the visitors remarked on the enormo*s -*antity and variety of ; '0 ; ships, merchandise, traffic, and prod*ction, and on ho+ the people of Marseilles +ent a!o*t their !*siness +ith 8ind*stry, initiative, and earnestness a!o*t makin" +ealth8. The distinctive character of life in the 9rench city lay in the order of its streets and the discipline of those +ho moved thro*"h them. ,hat asto*nded the travellers most +as 8seein" an enormo*s cro+d of h*manity and not hearin" them yell and sho*t as is the c*stom +ith )"yptians ... 4ather, each person +as occ*pied +ith his o+n !*siness, proceedin" on his +ay, takin" care not to harm or interfere +ith anyone else. Bespite the "reat variety of activity and occ*pation and the enormo*s n*m!er of people involved, there +as not a sin"le fi"ht or ar"*ment. 1t +as as tho*"h they +ere "atherin" to"ether for prayer, or to listen to some anno*ncement from a r*ler. 3othin" +as heard from them e.cept the +ords necessary to do !*siness.8+-, <imilarly +hen they contin*ed on to Paris, their first reaction to the city +as 8astonishment at ho+ +ell it is or"anised, at the n*m!er of people there, the !readth of its streets and their order, the vi"o*r of its commerce and the ele"ance and tidiness of its commercial esta!lishments8. 1nside the shops, they +ere 8ama?ed at ho+ +ell they +ere or"anised8, and ho+ !*siness +as done +itho*t havin" to talk and ar"*e and raise voices. They also visited the p*!lic "ardens of Paris and Lersailles, +here even the play of children +as clean, orderly, and -*iet. The calm, the dili"ence, and the order of life on the street and in p*!lic places +ere the very characteristics that indicated and made possi!le the material prosperity of the 9rench and the pro"ress of their society. 2ll this !ore no resem!lance to the streets of Cairo and 2le.andria, +here 8hardly an ho*r can pass +itho*t people !ein" interfered +ith and dist*r!ed, +ith the amo*nt of sho*tin" and yellin" and c*rsin" and fo*l lan"*a"e8.+., 9rom the noise and conf*sion in the streets of Cairo, M*!arak8s prota"onist moved directly to the root of the pro!lem: discipline and ed*cation. 8The )"yptian considered the ori"in and ca*se of this "reat difference, and fo*nd that it stemmed from elementary

51

r*les of discipline and methods of ed*catin" the yo*n", to +hich everythin" else "oes !ack.8

:oing 6h%t No) ;%( to &e :one

1f an event sho*ld !e chosen that marks the appearance of the ne+ politics of the modern state, it +o*ld !e in the +inter of 18'&R'8 +hen 2li M*!arak, on his ret*rn from Paris, ac-*ired a palace on Bar! al:@amami? in the heart of Cairo and esta!lished there his office and his schools.+/, 81 rolled *p my sleeves8, he +rote, 8and set a!o*t doin" +hat had to !e done ... 2fter havin" some necessary alterations carried o*t, 1 set *p the B*rea* of <chools in the reception rooms, and placed the schools themselves in each of the palace ; '% ; +in"s. 1 also !ro*"ht to the palace the B*rea* of )ndo+ments and the B*rea* of P*!lic ,orks, +here 1 co*ld easily attend to them.8+0, Ce had !ro*"ht to the palace the ne+ "overnment Preparatory and )n"ineerin" schools, and opened there the same year a <chool of 2dministration and Aan"*a"es and a <chool of <*rveyin" and 2cco*ntin", and the follo+in" year a <chool of 2ncient )"yptian Aan"*a"e and a <chool of Bra+in", addin" later on an infirmary, a 4oyal Ai!rary, an amphitheatre for p*!lic lect*res and e.ams, and a school for the trainin" of teachers. 1n the same location he had p*t the B*rea* of P*!lic ,orks, the office +hich +o*ld !e responsi!le for the re!*ildin" of the city, and the B*rea* of )ndo+ments 6-iwan al'aw2af 7, the office +hich s*pervised m*ch of the property and income that +o*ld !e destroyed to !*ild ne+ streets thro*"h the city, or re-*isitioned to !*ild villa"e and provincial schools. There follo+ed the "reatest period of constr*ction and demolition in the city since the "ro+th of Maml*k Cairo in the 1#$$s.+1, 2 ne+ str*ct*re +as laid o*t !et+een the northern and +estern ed"es of the e.istin" city and its ne+ "ate+ay from 2le.andria and )*rope, the rail+ay station, +ith plots made availa!le to anyone +ho +o*ld constr*ct a !*ildin" +ith a )*ropean faJade. 8The transformation of the city of Cairo from an aesthetic point of vie+8, as it +as descri!ed !y one of those responsi!le, re-*ired 8the fillin" in and levellin" of the +aste land aro*nd the city, the openin" *p of main streets and ne+ arteries, the creation of s-*ares and open places, the plantin" of trees, the s*rfacin" of roads, the constr*ction of drains, and re"*lar cleanin" and +aterin"8. This spatial orderin" in t*rn re-*ired 8the removal of certain h*man a""lomerations from the interior8, for as the map overleaf sho+s the ne+ streets did not leave the e.istin" city intact.+2, 9rom Ghedive 1sma8il8s ne+ palace of 2!din, close to the palace on Bar! al: @amami? ho*sin" the ne+ schools, the Bo*levard M*hammad 2li +as plo*"hed dia"onally thro*"h the old city. 1t +as t+o kilometres lon", and in its path stood almost fo*r h*ndred lar"e ho*ses, three h*ndred smaller ones, and a "reat n*m!er of mos-*es, mills, !akeries and !ath:ho*ses.+3, These +ere all destroyed, or c*t in half and left standin" like dolls8 ho*ses +ith no o*ter +all, so that +hen the road +as completed the scene resem!led 8a city that has recently !een shelled : ho*ses in all sta"es of delapidation, tho*"h still inha!ited, "ivin" most odd vie+s of domestic interiors, fro+nin" do+n *pon yo*8.+!, 1f s*ch meas*res seem heartless, it m*st !e remem!ered that, like the ed*cational policies 1 +ill !e e.aminin" later on, they conformed +ith prevailin" medical and political theory. The disorder and narro+ness of the streets that open !o*levards eliminated +ere considered a principal ca*se of physical disease and of crime, /*st as the indiscipline and lack of schoolin" amon" their inha!itants +as the principal ca*se of the co*ntry8s !ack+ard: ; '' ;

52

' Plan of Cairo, sho+in" the ne+ streets. ; '& ; ness. The medical ar"*ment +as made accordin" to the miasmic theory of conta"ion, +hich in nineteenth:cent*ry )*rope had temporarily s*perseded the rival "erm theory as an e.planation of the transmission of diseases. + 4, Conta"ion +o*ld not !e checked, it +as no+ tho*"ht, !y -*arantine and confinement, practices common thro*"ho*t the Mediterranean +orld incl*din" )"ypt, a"ainst the tyranny of +hich )n"lish li!erals had in recent decades campai"ned. ,hat +as re-*ired +as the elimination from the city of sites from +hich the fo*l vapo*rs of disease +ere "iven off, s*ch as 8cemeteries ... as +ell as se+ers, cess pools and all places of rottenness and decomposition8, and the demolition of ho*ses to allo+ the *no!str*cted passa"e of air and li"ht. The ne+ theories made this an *r"ent matter. 1ndeed there +ere -*estions raised, considerin" the n*m!er of !*ried h*man corpses alone, +hether the "ro*nd all over )"ypt had not !ecome so sat*rated +ith p*trifyin" material that it +as *na!le f*rther to decompose. ,ith s*ch *r"ent medical and political reasons in favo*r of open to+ns, there happened to coincide economic and financial ar"*ments. >pen, +ell:lit streets +ere a !enefit not only to health !*t to commerce, for they em!odied the principles of visi!ility and inspection +hose commercial *sef*lness +as demonstrated at +orld e.hi!itions. The dark 8interior8 of the city, cleared of its h*man a""lomerations, +o*ld !ecome easier to police, and artificial li"htin" +o*ld ena!le the ne+ shops and places of entertainment to do !*siness into the ni"ht. 9inancially, the need for cleanliness in the streets reflected the ne+ly envisa"ed relationship !et+een the city as a place of cons*mption and the co*ntryside as a place of prod*ction. By or"anisin" a system of se+a"e disposal, it +as said, the "overnment +o*ld realise the val*e per capita of h*man e.crement. 8The to+ns m*st restore to the co*ntryside in the form of fertiliser the e-*ivalent of +hat they receive in the form of items of cons*mption.8 1n these e.chan"es of a ne+ cons*mer economy, everythin" !ecame the representation of a certain val*eF even the odo*rs of

53

the city +ere dra+n into the economy of meanin"s. 8)very rotten smell in the ho*se, in the street, in the to+n8, it +as said, 8si"nifies ... a loss of fertillser in the co*ntryside.8 + , The Belta to+n of Tanta, +hich "ained a si?ea!le )*ropean colony d*rin" 1sma8il8s rei"n, +as one of several provincial centres o*tside Cairo to *nder"o these ne+ methods of 8or"anisation8. 81ts lanes +ere narro+ and disor"anised8, e.plained the Under:<ecretary of the ne+ B*rea* of <chools, in a te.t!ook he +rote on )"yptian "eo"raphy. 8They +ere damp and p*trid !eca*se the air co*ld not move and the s*n co*ld not enter.8 ,hat +as re-*ired +as tan%i& , a +ord often translated as 8modernisation8 for this period, tho*"h it means somethin" more like 8or"anisation8 or 8re"*lation8. 1n conte.t it co*ld mean simply 8the layin" o*t of streets8, and it !ecame the name of the Bepartment of P*!lic ,orks. Tanta, alon" +ith most other ; '8 ; lar"e to+ns of )"ypt in this period, received t+o officials appointed from Cairo, a Plannin" )n"ineer and a Medical >fficer, *nder +hose orders ho*ses +ere p*lled do+n to c*t open the !lind alleys that previo*sly lead into co*rtyards, and "reat thoro*"hfares across the to+n +ere opened *p.+ -, The 8disorder8 of Cairo and other cities had s*ddenly !ecome visi!le. The *r!an space in +hich )"yptians moved had !ecome a political matter, material to !e 8or"anised8 !y the constr*ction of "reat thoro*"hfares radiatin" o*t from the "eo"raphical and political centre. 2t the same moment )"yptians themselves, as they moved thro*"h this space, !ecame similarly material, their minds and !odies tho*"ht to need discipline and trainin". The space, the minds, and the !odies all materialised at the same moment, in a common economy of order and discipline. The connection !et+een *r!an order and individ*al discipline +as indicated in the *n*s*al location of the ne+ schools. They +ere placed at the centre of the *r!an space, from +here the ne+ !o*levards +ere to radiate o*t+ards. 1t +as a novel idea for the nineteenth cent*ry that places of "overnment instr*ction sho*ld stand in the centre of the city. ,hen the first military school had !een set *p !y M*hammad 2li more than fifty years !efore, in 181', it had !een ho*sed in the Citadel, +hich stood on the so*theastern ed"e of the city. >ther places of military trainin" had !een esta!lished later, in B*la-, in Hasr al:2ini, at the 3ile Barra"e, in @i?a, in Ghanka, on the island of 4a+da, and in 2!!asiyya. 3one of them had !een !*ilt in Cairo itself, !*t al+ays 6like the ne+ !arracks7 in o*tlyin" villa"es or s*!*r!s. By the time M*hammad 2li8s "randson 1sma8il came to po+er in 18'#, ho+ever, his "randfather8s military schools had mostly fallen into dis*se and !een sh*t do+n.+ ., ,ithin a +eek of ass*min" po+er, 1sma8il had reesta!lished a B*rea* of <chools. 1!rahim 2dham, the "overnment inspector already noted for his fondness for colo*red: "lass spectacles, +ho had !een responsi!le from 18#9 to 1809 for the administration of the "overnment8s schools, factories, arsenals and +orkshops, +as no+ made responsi!le for the schools alone. Ce proceeded to set *p "overnment primary and preparatory schools in Cairo and 2le.andria.+ /, 1n >cto!er 18'&, 2li M*!arak +as appointed Under: <ecretary of the B*rea*. Cis instr*ctions +ere 8to s*pervise the e.istin" "overnment and the pop*lar schools in Cairo, in other ma/or to+ns and in the provinces, to attend to their improvement and their or"anisation, and to see that they are properly mana"ed8. + 0, Ce then made his trip to visit the ).position Universelle in Paris, and ret*rned to set *p his office and his schools in the palace in the ne+ centre of the city. The placin" of the schools at the centre of the city can mark the moment +hen a ne+ politics of the modern state appeared. 9rom this centre +as to e.tend the s*rface of a field that had no previo*s e.istence. )d*cation +as ; '9 ; to !e set *p as an a*tonomo*s practice, spread over 8the entire s*rface of society8, +ith a distinct p*rpose. The ne+ schoolin" introd*ced earlier in the cent*ry *nder M*hammad 2li had !een intended to prod*ce an army and the partic*lar technicians associated +ith itF schoolin" +as no+ to prod*ce the individ*al citi?en. To *nderstand +hat +as envisa"ed in a system of civilian schoolin", t+o important innovations from the

54

180$s can !e picked o*t as an indication, the 8model school8 6 al'&a/ta( al'un&udha6i 7 in Cairo and the )"yptian school in Paris. 1 +ill !e"in +ith the model school, +hich had !een set *p !y 1!rahim 2dham in 180# in a lar"e room attached to the military primary school. + 1, 1ts p*rpose had !een to introd*ce into )"ypt the so:called Aancaster method of schoolin".

Impli it O!edien e
The Aancaster or 8m*t*al improvement8 schools had !een developed for the instr*ction of the ind*strial classes in )n"land. 2 "ro*p of t+enty )"yptians had !een sent to st*dy at 5oseph Aancaster8s Central <chool in Aondon in the 18($s, and in 180# 2dham himself had recently ret*rned from )n"land, +here he had !een sent to st*dy the or"anisation of factories. The Aancaster school, like the factory, consisted of a sin"le lar"e room, +hich contained ro+s of !enches +ith individ*ally n*m!ered places for *p to a tho*sand p*pils. )ach !ench constit*ted a 8class8 of ei"ht or ten p*pils, and +as *nder the s*pervision of a senior p*pil +ho monitored the !ehavio*r and +ork of the other st*dents. 2t the command of a +histle or !ell each class moved from its !ench to one of the !oards that +ere placed on the +alls aro*nd the room, and stood on a semi:circ*lar line marked on the floor aro*nd it. The !oards +ere n*m!ered in a se-*ence of ascendin" diffic*lty, and on each

& Aancaster school: monitors and st*dents at their readin" stations. ; &$ ; one there +ere +ritten letters, n*m!ers, or +ords, +hich another st*dent monitor +as allocated to teach. The classes +ere ta*"ht 8silently to meas*re their steps, +hen "oin" ro*nd the school in close order, to prevent +hat else +o*ld often occ*r from n*m!ers, treadin" on each other8s heels, or p*shin" a!o*t. 1n this case, meas*rin" their step commands attention to one o!/ect, and prevents disorderly cond*ct. 1t is not re-*ired that the meas*re sho*ld !e e.act, or !e a regular step F !*t, that each scholar sho*ld attempt to +alk at nearly a re"*lar distance from the one +ho precedes him.8 + 2, The monitor of each class +as also responsi!le for 8the cleanliness, order, and improvement of every !oy in it8. + 3, 2ll instr*ction +as received standin", +hich +as said to !e !etter for the health, e.cept at certain periods +hen they ret*rned to their !enches and sat do+n for the +ritin" e.ercise. The e.ercise follo+ed n*m!ered instr*ctions 6to !e memorised !y the monitors7, +ith all p*pils +ritin" the same +ords or the same letter, startin" the +ord or letter at the same moment and finishin" it at the same moment.
... 9: Cands on knees. This command is conveyed !y one rin" on the !ellF 1$: hands on ta!le, head *pF 11: clean slates: everyone cleans his slate +ith a little saliva, or !etter still +ith a piece of ra"F 1(: sho+ slatesF 1#: monitors, inspect. They inspect the slates of their assistants and then those of their o+n !ench. The assistants inspect those of their !enches and everyone ret*rns to his o+n place.+ !,

<*ch instr*ctions +ere to !e fe+ in n*m!er and often repeated. This ens*red that a*thority, instead of !ein" concentrated in the personal command of a master, +o*ld !e 8systematically diff*sed over the +hole school, and capa!le of dele"ation, +itho*t dimin*tion, to any a"ent.8+-4,

55

To assist in the diff*sion of a*thority, the commands +ere iss*ed !y means of a semaphore tele"raph. 8The tele"raph placed at the head of the school, consists of si. s-*ares, each s-*are a!o*t fo*r inches !y three. These s-*ares play on pivots, in the sides of a +ooden frame. >n each side is a letter as 9. front , on seein" +hich, the +hole school faces the masterF or, <. <. as show slates , on +hich the +hole school sho+s slates. The attention of the school is called to this !y means of a very small !ell affixed , +hich does not re-*ire lo*d rin"in" !*t has a sharp clear so*nd.8 The tele"raphic si"nals trained the p*pil in 8implicit o!edience8, +hich created a 8system of order8. The vis*al effect of this order, from the vie+point of the individ*al master at the head of the school, +as considera!le. 9or e.ample:
1t is +ished to kno+ that the hands of every !oy in school are clean, a command is "iven 8sho+ fin"ers8, each p*pil at once holds *p his hands and spreads open his fin"ers. The monitors pass !et+een the desks of their respective classes, and each inspects his o+n class. 2n e.amination as to cleanliness is th*s effected, over the +hole school in five min*tes, and the practice of inspection, anticipated !y the p*pil,

; &1 ;
promotes ha!it*al cleanliness. 1n a school of three h*ndred p*pils, three tho*sand fin"ers and th*m!s +ill !e e.hi!ited in a min*te, and the effect on the eye is as sin"*lar, as the e.amination is !eneficial. +- ,

2s +ell as st*dent monitors +ho instr*cted and s*pervised, there +ere monitors +ho promoted st*dents *p or do+n in the order of seatin", monitors +ho inspected the slates, monitors +ho s*pplied and sharpened pens, monitors +ho checked on st*dents +ho +ere not in their position, and a monitor:"eneral +ho checked on the monitors. +--, The school +as a system of perfect discipline. <t*dents +ere kept constantly movin" from task to task, +ith every motion and every space disciplined and p*t to *se. )ach se"ment of time +as re"*lated, so that at every moment a st*dent +as either receivin" instr*ction, repeatin" it, s*pervisin", or checkin". 1t +as a techni-*e in +hich the e.act position and precise task of each individ*al at every moment +as coordinated, to perform to"ether as a machine. 2*thority and o!edience +ere diff*sed, +itho*t dimin*tion, thro*"ho*t the school, implicatin" every individ*al in a system of order. The model school +as a model of the perfect society. 1n 180&, after fo*r years, the model school in Cairo had fifty:nine p*pils. 1t is not kno+n ho+ faithf*lly it +as modelled on the )n"lish ori"inal, altho*"h the Aancaster school +as actively promoted a!road !y its )n"lish proponents as a model, +hose "eometric pattern and mathematical f*nctionin" co*ld !e e.actly reprod*ced a!road, as it +as, in almost every part of the +orld.+-., The Cairo school +as *nder the s*pervision of 2!d al:4ahman 4*shdi, +ho had st*died the Aancaster method in )n"land and +as to serve later as minister for schools. The e.periment, anyho+, +as deemed a s*ccess, and in 180& an order +as o!tained for the esta!lishin" of a school on the Aancaster model in each of the ei"ht sections of the city of Cairo.+-/, These schools +ere not for creatin" soldiers, !*t for creatin" disciplined mem!ers of the comm*nity. They +ere to !e called &a/ati( al'&illa 6national schools7 to distin"*ish them from the military esta!lishments, and it +as planned to !*ild them thro*"ho*t the co*ntry.

The School in P%$is

1n the same period, from 1800 to 1809, the )"yptian "overnment set *p a school in Paris, or"anised and r*n !y the 9rench Ministry of ,ar, +hich introd*ced a similar re"ime of order and o!edience. The )"yptian st*dents sent to st*dy there incl*ded 1sma8il Pasha, the f*t*re r*ler of the co*ntry, 2li M*!arak, his f*t*re minister, and a si"nificant proportion of the f*t*re ed*cators and administrators +ho from the 18'$s +ere to attempt to constr*ct a ne+ system of disciplinary po+er in )"ypt. +-0, 1n >cto!er 1800 the ; &( ; Ministry of ,ar had assisted the responsi!le )"yptian officials in dra+in" *p re"*lations for the ne+ school. They are as follo+s.+-1,

56

"egulations of the Egyptian # hool in $aris% O to!er &'((

1 <t*dents are to respect the 1nstr*ctors, 2ssistants, and <taff, o!ey their orders, and "reet them +ith the military sal*te. ( <t*dents +ill !e called to assem!le every mornin", fifteen min*tes after the reveille. 2 list of names of those a!sent +ill !e "iven to the Birector. 1f all are present, this +ill !e noted. # The ho*r of the roll call +ill depend *pon the time of year. 2ny st*dent +ho fails to ans+er at the roll call +ill !e detained in school on one of the days of leave. >n the second occasion he +ill !e fined. 0 3o !ook or dra+in" is to !e !ro*"ht into the school +itho*t special permission. % The playin" of !ack"ammon, cards, or "ames of chance is for!idden. ' 3o st*dent may enter any class e.cept the one he is assi"ned to. & 2ll st*dents are to +ear their partic*lar *niform, !oth inside and o*tside the school, and are to pay caref*l attention to their dress. 8 <t*dents may not employ servants to perform errands o*tside the school, *nless permission is o!tained. 9 Packa"es and letters delivered to the school for any st*dent m*st !e inspected !y the porter. 1$ 1t is for!idden to !rin" into the school any chemical s*!stances, foodst*ffs, or +ine or other alcoholic !evera"es. 11 <t*dents are allo+ed o*t of the school on <*ndays and Th*rsdays, from 1$ a.m. on <*ndays and from #.#$ p.m. on Th*rsdays. They m*st ret*rn !y 1$ p.m., *nless they have o!tained permission to ret*rn later from the Birector of the <chool. 3o st*dent may "o o*t at any other time or ret*rn late +itho*t permission. <t*dents are to si"n their names in the re"ister at the porter8s office, and indicate the time at +hich they ret*rn. Those +ith special permission to "o o*t m*st also si"n their names +hen leavin" the school. 1( 1t is for!idden for any st*dent to introd*ce stran"ers into school. 1# 3o st*dent may take rooms in the to+n, for any p*rpose +hatsoever. 10 The p*nishment of st*dents +ill !e !y detention in school on days of leave, for one or more days, or !y fines. 1% The first penalty entails that the st*dent !e made to st*dy, from 1$ a.m. to #.#$ p.m. on <*nday or from & p.m. *ntil 9.1% p.m. on Th*rsday. 1' 4e-*ests to the Birector of the <chool m*st !e handed to the ser"eants. 1& <t*dents are to maintain silence in the classrooms. Their place in each classroom +ill !e permanently assi"ned, !y the dra+in" of lots. 18 2 st*dent is not permitted to chan"e his place in any of the classrooms, +itho*t permission. This order is to !e kept in all classes. 19 B*rin" lessons the st*dents are to refrain from play of any kind, are to make no noise, and are to a!stain from anythin" that may ca*se them to !e distracted from their lessons. ; &# ; ($ <t*dents may not leave the classroom to "o to their rooms, or to +alk in the corridors or the "arden. (1 3o st*dent may leave the classroom *ntil the lesson has ended and the si"nal for the !reak has !een "iven. (( 2ll +ritten +ork m*st !e si"ned !y the st*dents, and collected *p !y the master after they have completed it ... 2s in the Aancaster model school, learnin" is a process of discipline, inspection and contin*o*s o!edience. Aike the army, the school offers *nprecedented techni-*es !y +hich st*dents can !e 8fi.ed8 in their place and their lives metic*lo*sly re"*lated. )very ho*r of the day has !een marked o*t, divided into separate activities +hose !o*ndaries are "iven not in the *nfoldin" of the activity !*t in the a!stract dimensions of ho*rs and min*tes. The st*dents8 life in Paris had the follo+in" daily str*ct*re:+-2,

57

%.1%

: 4eveille

%.1%R'.0%

: <t*dy

'.0%R&.0%

: Breakfast

&.0%R9.0%

: Military <cience or 9ortification

1$.$$R1$.0%

: A*nch

1$.%$

: 4oll Call

11.$$R1.$$

: Mathematics, @eo"raphy, Cistory

1.1%R#.1%

: 9rench

#.1%R%.1%

: @*nnery

%.1%R'.0%

: Binner

&.$$R9.$$

: Military ).ercises

1$.$$

: Ai"hts >*t

Bet+een the reveille that opens it and the li"hts e.tin"*ished to mark its end, 8time8 is +ritten o*t *pon the e.terior s*rface of the day. The device of the timeta!le separates o*t the dimension of time to form a frame+ork, in +hich the activities of st*dyin", eatin", and e.ercisin" are to !e contained. By a process +hich can !e considered analo"o*s, individ*als are !ein" deli!erately distri!*ted amon" pre:arran"ed positions, allocated in each classroom to a desk that is 8permanently assi"ned8. 82 st*dent is not permitted to chan"e his place in any of the classrooms +itho*t permissionF this order is to !e follo+ed in all classes.8 <imilarly, each st*dent is assi"ned to a military rank : corporal, ser"eant, or ser"eant:ma/or. +-3, There is a metic*lo*s concern for the discipline of rank and place. 1t is not the partic*lar place that matters : desks can !e assi"ned !y dra+in" lots : !*t the act of positionin" and remainin" in place.

58

P*nishment is a more overt e.pression of this concern +ith order. 4eprimandin" and penalisin" +ron"f*l !ehavio*r +as nothin" ne+, and indeed the penalties here are less violent than those of the earlier military ; &0 ; schools mentioned in chapter (. <t*dents are no+ deprived of leave or confined to their rooms rather than !eaten +ith the leather +hip. 1n this +ay p*nishment is made an aspect of discipline, of that contin*o*s techni-*e of control +hose method is to position, to divide, and to set limits.+-!, 2s +ith the Aancaster school, an essential aspect of this discipline is the act of inspection. 2t %.1% every mornin" st*dents are +oken *p to stand and !e inspected. Their +ritten +ork is s*!mitted to a similar inspection, and their +ork and !ehavio*r is *nder constant s*rveillance. 1n the classroom they are to stay attentive, and any act that distracts attention +ill !e penalised. )ven to talk, at any point e.cept +hen a*thorised, is for!idden. The effect is a ri"oro*s discipline of movement, so*nd and "est*re. These separate acts of s*pervision and discipline com!ine to position and artic*late each individ*al. Ce is endo+ed +ith an individ*ality that e.ists only in the act of o!edience, or !y virt*e of position in a se-*ence. 2 person8s name, +hich he is constantly re-*ired to repeat, !ecomes somethin" ne+ : a la!el attached to an o!/ect, a lia!ility attached to a piece of +ritten +ork, or a moment in the se-*ence of the roll call. 1n 1809 !oth the monitorial schools in Cairo and the school in Paris came to an end, after 2!!as Pasha came to po+er and a!olished virt*ally all "overnment instr*ction. +.4, ,hen <a8id Pasha s*cceeded 2!!as in 18%0, 1!rahim 2dham p*t for+ard the proposal for 8national schools8 or"anised on the Aancaster model once a"ain, this time in association +ith 4ifa8a al:Tahta+i, another of the )*ropean:trained school administrators. +. , The plan +as a"ain re/ected, !*t not completely. Permission +as "iven for 2dham to or"anise elementary instr*ction amon" the )"yptians no+ !ein" recr*ited for the first time, alon"side mem!ers of the T*rkish elite and )*ropeans, as officers and 3C>s of the army. To carry o*t this pro/ect 2dham enlisted the services of 2li M*!arak, +ho had ret*rned from st*dyin" at the school in Paris to +ork as an administrator and military en"ineer. M*!arak proceeded to teach the soldiers at the !arracks and camps, *sin" a proced*re modelled on the Aancaster method of instr*ction. Ce !e"an +ith /*st a fe+ p*pils, and then *sed them as monitors to instr*ct lar"er "ro*ps. Cavin" no ro+s of !enches or classroom +alls, he improvised !y markin" o*t the letters or n*m!ers +hich the monitors +ere to teach +ith a stick in the sand, or +ith charcoal on the paved floor. +.-,

A Po)e$ 6itho9t E*te$n%l M%ni"est%tion

The precise methods of inspection, coordination and control of the model school in Cairo and the )"yptian school in Paris indicate the intentions and style of the practices that +ere to come into !ein" in the 18'$s, once 1sma8il came to po+er and 1!rahim 2dham, 2li M*!arak and 4ifa8a al:Tahta+i ; &% ; +ere once a"ain "iven office. The order and discipline of modern schoolin" +ere to !e the hallmark and the method of a ne+ form of political po+erF a po+er re-*ired, as 1 s*""ested earlier, !y the system of private lando+ner:ship and prod*ction for the )*ropean market that +as !ecomin" esta!lished in this period. The re-*irement, as one of the ne+ class of lar"e lando+ners e.pressed it, +as to introd*ce into )"ypt 8the )*ropean element, the prod*ctive element8. The prod*ctive element, it +as said, incl*ded 8commercial companies, incentives, financial facilities8, and the introd*ction amon" the pop*lation of 8ne+ ideas and ne+ processes8. ,hat +ere re-*ired, in other +ords, +ere the ne+ methods and social relations of an a"ric*lt*ral life or"anised to prod*ce for the market. These in t*rn re-*ired a ne+ techni-*e of political po+er, a method of +orkin" *pon the pop*lation individ*ally and contin*o*sly to make them into efficient parts of the prod*ctive process. 81n the introd*ction of these ne+ ideas and ne+ processes, a*thority

59

alone has no po+er. Po+er resides in pers*asion. >ne cannot take one:!y:one fo*r or five million individ*als to convince them that one s*ch thin" is !etter than another.8 +.., 1t +as to ela!orate a method of po+er +hich +o*ld +ork *pon an entire pop*lation 8one:!y: one8 that the representatives of this lando+nin" class = +hose most po+erf*l mem!er +as 1sma8il himself = !e"an to advocate and finance the esta!lishin" of the ne+ system of schoolin".
,e, the masters, sho*ld sei?e on o*r s*!/ects in their early yo*th. ,e shall chan"e the tastes and ha!its of the +hole people. ,e shall !*ild *p a"ain from the very fo*ndations and teach the people to live a fr*"al, innocent, !*sy life after the pattern of o*r la+s.+./,

The +ords are from 9Mnelon8s T7l7&a2ue , +hich +as translated into 2ra!ic !y 4ifaSa al:Tahta+i, and p*!lished in 18'&.+.0, To chan"e the tastes and ha!its of an entire people, politics had to sei?e *pon the individ*al, and !y the ne+ means of ed*cation make him or her into a modern political s*!/ect : fr*"al, innocent and, a!ove all, !*sy. >ne of the first steps taken +as the s*mmonin" in 18'' of a Cons*ltative Cham!er of Bep*ties, +hose seventy:five mem!ers +ere chosen from amon" the leadin" lando+ners and provincial officials of the co*ntry. The Cham!er +as intended to help e.tend political po+er over the r*ral pop*lation, !y a"reein" to the imposition of increasin"ly harsh levels of ta.ation on a 8fr*"al8 peasantry, for e.ample, and increasin" the effectiveness of ta.ation and military recr*itment !y approvin" a cens*s that +as to cover 8every hamlet, encampment and villa"e in )"ypt8.+.1, The Cham!er +as itself conceived as part of a system of po+er +hose method +o*ld !e that of discipline and instr*ction. 8>*r parliament8, it +as e.plained, 8is a school, !y means of +hich the "overnment, more advanced than the pop*lation, instr*cts and civilises that pop*lation.8+.2, The ed*cation of the pop*lation ; &' ; +as taken *p immediately !y the 2ssem!ly, not only as a metaphor to convey the idea of the political process, !*t as its ma/or practical method. 1n the first session, a dep*ty +ho +as close to the "overnment proposed the settin" *p of primary schools in the provinces.+.3, 1t +as anno*nced at the same time that the Ghedive 1sma8il had endo+ed to /*st s*ch a pro/ect the entire income of the ne+ a"ric*lt*ral land in ,adi T*milat, the valley created across the )astern desert !y the constr*ction of the 1sma8iliyya Canal, +hich carried s+eet +ater to the ne+ to+ns on the <*e? Canal. ,ith this incentive, a "ro*p of lando+ners and local officials from the to+ns and villa"es of Ao+er )"ypt formed to"ether to raise amon" themselves and fello+ lando+ners similar donations. There +as an enormo*s and hi"hly p*!licised response. 1n the ens*in" months over t+o tho*sand of the medi*m and lar"e lando+ners of the Belta donated f*nds to+ards the fo*ndin" of schools accordin" to the "overnment plan. +.!, 2t the same time, a comprehensive plan for instit*tions of elementary instr*ction thro*"ho*t the co*ntry +as dra+n *p, +hich !ecame the Aa+ of 1$th 4a/a! 1(80 6&th 3ovem!er 18'87. The >r"anic Aa+, as it +as called, determined the s*!/ects to !e ta*"ht in every school and those +ho +ere to teach in them, those +ho +ere to administer, the !ooks to !e *sed, the timeta!le of instr*ction, the clothes that st*dents +ere to +ear, the plan of !*ildin"s, the layo*t of the classroom and its f*rnit*re, the location of each school, the so*rce of its f*nds, the sched*le of its e.aminations, the re"istration of st*dents, and the physical handicaps for +hich they sho*ld !e e.cl*ded. +/4, Aearnin", in every detail, had very s*ddenly !ecome the state8s active and e.tensive concern, a field of or"anisation, a ma/or realm in +hich +hat is called 8the state8 +as to e.ist and !*ild relations of po+er. 2t the !e"innin" of this chapter 1 marked the !irth of this ne+ field of order !y mentionin" the ne+ B*rea* of <chools that +as set *p in the palace at the centre of the co*ntry8s reconstr*cted capital city. ,ith the !*ildin" of schools there are several other respects in +hich a ne+ order +as inscri!ed. 9irst, the distri!*tion of the schools themselves +as made the deli!erate e.pression of an administrative hierarchy, the hierarchical order of the ne+ nation:state. The Commission on the >r"anisation of Gno+led"e 6H*misy*n tan?im al:ma8arif7 laid do+n in Becem!er 1881 that the elementary schools +ere to !e classed in three ranks accordin" to their re-*ired si?e,

60

correspondin" to the si?e of the villa"e or to+n. )very villa"e or "ro*p of hamlets +ith a pop*lation of (,$$$ to %,$$$ +as to have a third:class elementary school 6one teacher and forty p*pils7, every to+n or "ro*p of villa"es +ith a pop*lation of %,$$$ to 1$,$$$ +as to have a second:class elementary school 6t+o teachers and t+o classes7, every lar"e to+n +as to have a first:class elementary school, every provincial capital +as to have a secondary school, +ith one school per 1$,$$$ inha!itants, and in the very ; && ; centre of Cairo, in the ne+ B*rea*, +ere located the hi"hest schools. +/ , The schools +ere precisely distri!*ted !y si?e and rank, as e.pressions of the correct orderin" of the separate elements : individ*als, villa"es, to+ns, and provincial and national capitals : in terms of +hich a nation:state co*ld !e conceived as an inte"rated and !o*nded totality. Th*s it +as claimed that the separate schoolrooms distri!*ted all over the co*ntry, re"*lated !y the 8>r"anic Aa+8, +o*ld 8form a +hole !y their coordination8. +/-, <econd, schoolin" +as divided into three sta"es, primary, preparatory, and final. By specifyin" the separate ranks of people eli"i!le for each s*ccessive sta"e of schoolin", a social order +as represented in the e.act form of a pyramid of social classes. Primary instr*ction +as to !e for all children, !oys and "irls, rich and poor alike. 8They re-*ire it as they re-*ire !read and +ater.8 The c*rric*l*m +as to incl*de learnin" to read and +rite thro*"h the st*dy of the H*ran, and the r*diments of arithmetic and "rammar. +/., 1t +as also to incl*de trainin" in 8s+immin", and horsemanship, and thro+in" and handlin" the /avelin and s+ord and other implements of +ar, to train children in the methods of protectin" and fi"htin" for the nation. These thin"s are of the "eneral "ood, and children m*st !e trained in them +hile yo*n".8+//, Preparatory or secondary ed*cation +as of a 8hi"her rank8 than primary, and +as to !e correspondin"ly less +ide:spread amon" the people. Unfort*nately they had little interest in it, 4ifaSa al:Tahta+i +rote, !eca*se of the hardship involved. 81t is the d*ty of or"anised "overnment to enco*ra"e and e.hort the people in this kind of schoolin", for it civilises the comm*nity.8 Ci"her ed*cation, on the other hand, +as for the political elite 6ar(a( al'styasat wa'l'ri' asat 7. )ach person +ho so*"ht to st*dy at the hi"her level had to !e someone of +ealth and stat*s, so that devotin" his time to his st*dies did no dama"e to the co*ntry. 1t +o*ld !e harmf*l for someone +ho had an occ*pation from +hich he earned a livin", and from +hich others !enefitted, to leave that occ*pation and enter the realm of hi"her learnin". +/0, Third, e.aminations provided a partic*lar practice in +hich schoolin" presented the ne+ hierarchy of the nation:state. They +ere events of enormo*s social, and str*ct*ral, si"nificance. The Aa+ of 18'& laid do+n that st*dents in the local schools +ere to !e e.amined, at the end of every month !y their teachers, at the end of every term !y the s*perintendent of the school, "overnment inspectors, and other officials, and at the end of every year !y the "overnor of the district, the local /*d"es, and other "overnment advisors and officials. The same str*ct*re +as laid do+n at each of the hi"her levels of schoolin", +ith officials of the appropriate rank !ro*"ht in to preside at each ascendin" sta"e of the e.amination process. The year:end e.ams +ere to !e follo+ed +ith a pri?e: "ivin" ceremony, accordin" to the la+, and a procession of the st*dents in their *niforms. 2t the schools of the ; &8 ; provincial capitals, military m*sic +as to !e played. 2t the top of the pyramid, in the "overnment schools on Bar! al:@amami?, ann*al e.aminations +ere held in the lar"e amphitheatre +ithin the palace, attended !y the Ghedive and the hi"hest officials and di"nitaries of the state.+/1, 1n the schools themselves a similar sort of order +as to !e inscri!ed, as it seemed, as a str*ct*re *pon the s*rface, +ritten do+n in re"*lations and constr*cted in desks and !enches and classroom +alls. 1n all the schools the layo*t and f*rnishin" of the classroom +as to !e identical: ro+s of !enches +itho*t !acks, a dais and !lack!oard of the correct si?e, a chair for the teacher.+/2, The separate !*ildin"s of a school +ere to !e placed in "eometrical relation to one another, to achieve the same 8order8. The "overnment primary school in Cairo +as laid o*t, and descri!ed, as follo+s: aro*nd a

61

lar"e co*rtyard stand fo*r main !*ildin"s. The lar"est, at the rear, is for the classroomsF the one on the ri"ht, for kitchens and refectoriesF the one on the left, for the infirmary and the +ash:ho*seF the remainin" one, +hich faces onto the street, contains the dormitories. This "eometric pattern +as copied in the other primary schools !*ilt in the follo+in" years at 2le.andria, Benha, and 2sy*t. +/3, The elementary schools, of +hich a!o*t thirty had already !een !*ilt all over the co*ntry !y 18&%, e.pressed a similar "eometry. The Commission on the >r"anisation of Gno+led"e p*!lished t+elve separate sets of !*ildin" plans. The correct plan +as to !e chosen for each school, accordin" to +hether it +as of the first, second, or third rank, and to +hether it +as on a site ad/oined !y other !*ildin"s on fo*r sides, on three, on t+o or one, or on none at all 6this to ens*re the correct passa"e of air and li"ht7. These plans +ere *sed, for e.ample, to constr*ct ne+ schools at @i?a 6188$7, at Ta-a?i-, <hi!in al:G*m, and Bamanh*r 6188#7, at <*e? and Madinat 9ayy*m 618887 and at 1sna 619$$7, all of +hich +ere !*ilt accordin" to plan n*m!er fo*r 6an elementary school of the first rank, on a site +ith no ad/oinin" !*ildin"s7.+/!, The interior space for eatin" and sleepin" in each !*ildin" +as planned and laid o*t +ith the same re"*larity. 81n the refectory there are seventeen ta!les, +ith thirty places to each ta!le. 1n the dormitories the !eds are placed at intervals of one to every (1 c*!ic metres of respira!le air.8 The entire esta!lishment, it +as said, sho*ld have 8a pleasin" appearance of order8.+04, ,hat characterises all these descriptions is a common attempt to constr*ct order, +hich has come into !ein" as an end in itself. 2s +ith the ne+ streets of the city, physical space : even respira!le air : has !ecome a s*rface and vol*me that can !e divided *p and marked o*t into places +here individ*als are positioned.+0 , <*ch acts create order in the a!stract, not only !y markin" divisions and determinin" +here thin"s are to !e p*t, !*t !y distri!*tin" accordin" to intervals that are identically spaced and "eometrically ali"ned. The re"*larity of the interval 6every (1 c*!ic metres7 and the ; &9 ; precision of the an"le 6the fo*r sides of a s-*are7 create a frame+ork +hich appears prior to, and therefore separate from, the o!/ects act*ally distri!*ted. 2s +ith the architect*re of the model villa"e or the layo*t and timeta!le of the model school, this is the essence of +hat is no+ "oin" to !e seen as 8str*ct*re8: that it is separate from the 8content8 distri!*ted +ithin it. Creatin" the impression of a str*ct*re separate from its contents : constit*tin" reality in terms of this separation : is precisely the effect of acts of re"*lated distri!*tion. The act of distri!*tin" and fi.in" in place, repeated a"ain and a"ain in a se-*ence of e.act and e-*al intervals, creates the impression that the intervals themselves are +hat e.ist, rather than the practices of distri!*tion. The repetitive orderin" creates the impression that the "aps !et+een thin"s are an a!straction, somethin" that +o*ld e.ist +hether or not the partic*lar thin"s +ere p*t there. This str*ct*ral effect of somethin" pre:e.istent, non:partic*lar and non: material is +hat is e.perienced as 8order8, or, the same thin" 6since it seems to e.ist apart from the material realisation7, as the 8concept*al8. The "aps are f*rther made to stand for+ard !y ca*sin" the o!/ects they are to 8separate8 to appear as similar to one another as possi!le : !y clothin" them, for e.ample, in identical dress 68the shirt has a sin"le ro+ of !*ttons, and is dark !l*eF the tro*sers are of !ri"ht redF the !ad"es, in "ilded leather, are attached to the front of the collarF on the head is +orn the tar!*shF the different schools are distin"*ished only !y the colo*r of the collar or the lapel, and !y the colo*r of the tro*ser stripe87. +0-, 1n the *niformity of appearance, the e-*idistant interval, and the "eometric an"le, the acts of distri!*tion, if practised -*ietly, *nceasin"ly, and *niformly, almost disappear from vie+. 2s the techni-*es of distri!*tion create an appearance of str*ct*re, the techni-*es themselves are to !ecome increasin"ly invisi!le. The 1nspector:@eneral of <chools, appointed in March 18&# to or"anise a national system of school inspection, compared these techni-*es of order and s*rveillance to the *niform and invisi!le force of a ma"netic fl*id. 8The peda"o"ic infl*ence of the master on

62

the p*pil8, he +rote, 8is like a ma"netic fl*id +hich transmits itself in a manner that is slo+, hidden, and permanent ... +itho*t e.ternal manifestation. 2t the moment +hen yo* attempt to s*rprise it, it may !e a!sent, !eca*se it does not like to !e *nder s*rveillance. 4emove yo*rself and it +ill ret*rn, reactivated once moreF the c*rrent +ill !e reesta!lished.8+0., The appearance of order means the disappearance of po+er. Po+er is to operate more and more in a manner that is slo+, *ninterr*pted and +itho*t e.ternal manifestation. 2s the process of control !ecomes a -*estion of achievin" the contin*o*s appearance of str*ct*re or order, there s*ddenly appears an e-*ally contin*o*s threat: the pro!lem of 8disorder8. Bisorder no+ emer"es as a nat*ral ; 8$ ; and inevita!le lia!ility, re-*irin" a constant vi"ilance. Bisorder tho*"h, like order, is a notion prod*ced in the distri!*tive practices themselves. 1t is only no+ that it appears as an ever present threat.

:iso$(e$
Bisorder seems a!o*t to !reak o*t, or already to prevail, +henever the old *ncoordinated, *ndistri!*ted style of learnin" +as no+ descri!ed, especially in descriptions of the famo*s teachin":mos-*e of al:2?har. 8,hat is astonishin" at al:2?har is the cro+d that thron"s in its halls8, +e are told !y the 1nspector:@eneral. 82 tho*sand st*dents of every a"e, of every colo*r ... scattered into "ro*ps, the diversity of cost*mes.8+0/, >ne +riter complains of the 8chaos8 and the a!sence of ni%a& 6order, discipline7, notin" that the teachers do nothin" !*t sit at the pillars of the mos-*e "ivin" lessons, +itho*t !otherin" to record the presence or a!sence of st*dents or their pro"ress thro*"h different lessons.+00, 2nother +riter descri!es 8the !ro*haha8 as 8the st*dents, lackin" all direction, move hapha?ardly from professor to professor, passin" from one te.t to another, *nderstandin" nothin" of passa"es

8 The interior of a corridor and vie+ of the co*rtyard of the al:2?har mos-*e, from 9. Bonfils X Cie, Catalo"*e des v*es photo"raphi-*es de l8>rient. The Bonfils catalo"*e +as e.hi!ited at the ).position Universelle, Paris, 1889. ; 81 ; on +hich the masters comment in a lan"*a"e a!o*t +hich they have no cl*e, and endin" +ith everythin" confo*nded and conf*sed8.+01, 8,hat is lackin" more than all is hei"ht, and space. >ne s*ffocates !eneath the endless ceilin".8 B*t +orse than this is 8the

63

noise and the perpet*al movement8.+02, <ome are sleepin" on their mats, +e are told, some eat, some st*dy, some en"a"e in ar"*ment, vendors move hapha?ardly amon" them sellin" +ater, !read, and fr*it. >r"anisation is a!sent, and anarchy hovers at the "ate. 2 !o*t of horseplay !reaks s*ddenly into a fi"ht, and a master m*st step in s+iftly. Ce separates the com!atants and administers t+o or three !lo+s +ith the +hip, 8to reesta!lish order8.+03, 5*st as the model schools offered the model of a modern system of po+er, this ima"e of the old style of teachin" +as also the ima"e of e.istin" )"yptian society. Movement is hapha?ard and *ndisciplined, space is cramped, comm*nication is *ncertain, the presence of a*thority is intermittent, individ*als are all *nalike and *ncoordinated, disorder threatens to !reak in at any point, and order can !e reesta!lished only !y the s+ift and physical demonstration of po+er. 9or the )*ropeans involved in introd*cin" into )"ypt an or"anised system of ed*cation, and some of the )"yptians, this evident disorder of traditional learnin" presents a parado.. There m*st have !een some method at +ork that ena!led people to cope +ith the a!sence of any or"anisational frame+ork. The 1nspector:@eneral of <chools offered an e.planation. 8The apparent noise and the disorder8, he +rote, 8... res*lt from the peda"o"ical method.8 This he characterised as a techni-*e of individ*al instr*ction employed even in the teachin" of lar"e "ro*ps. The instr*ctor, he e.plained, 8proceeds al+ays !y individ*al instr*ction, that is to say he never teaches to an entire class, !*t al+ays to a sin"le p*pil. )ach child in t*rn "oes *p to the master, sits do+n !eside him, recites +hat he has learnt, sho+s +hat he has +ritten, receives a ne+ task and ret*rns to take his place amon" his fello+ st*dents.+0!, Bespite the pro!lem of disorder, the +eakness of a*thority, the a!sence of re"*lation and system, and the conf*sion of noises, of colo*rs, of a"es, of clothin" and of activities, nevertheless the peda"o"ical style mana"es, it is said, to maintain some sort of order. 1ts form is the individ*al e.chan"e !et+een master and st*dent. This relation is seen as !oth the limitation and the stren"th of the social order. 1t is the limit, !eca*se every instr*ction, correction, enco*ra"ement and admonition m*st !e "iven separately and repeated for every p*pil. Compared +ith the systematic peda"o"y that +ill replace it, +here the master can instr*ct, correct, enco*ra"e and admonish all individ*als sim*ltaneo*sly and contin*o*sly, this is enormo*sly inefficient.+14, Det "iven this limitation, the individ*al relation is also its stren"th, !eca*se someho+ it keeps an other+ise inevita!le disorder at !ay. ; 8( ; Chaos is kept o*t, and the )*ropean o!servers attri!*te this, in the a!sence of a system of discipline, to the operation of a series of discrete, one:to:one relations, in +hich the master confronts, instr*cts, and disciplines each st*dent individ*ally. This kind of order m*st !e contin*ally reesta!lished, and so appears precario*s, ne"otiated, and contin*ally in fl*.. <*ch order +as, of co*rse, precario*sF !*t o*r ima"e of it is re-*ired and "iven val*e !y the +ider set of ass*mptions in +hich it stands, that of order vers*s disorder. 1t is an ima"e that fails to !reak +ith, to historicise, o*r contemporary notion of order. 1ts notion of disorder is a condition created concept*ally only in the mirror of order. 1t is visi!le and thinka!le only as the a!sence of the "eometric lines, the e-*al intervals, the re"*lated movements of a system of order, of ni%a& . 2nd this order +as a recent innovation. 8Bisorder8 is not a condition that precedes tho*"ht, a threat f*ndamental to the h*man condition, a"ainst +hich tho*"ht itself is ever !*sy or"anisin" the concept*al order. Bisorder "oes +ith order, as the polarity and !o*ndary of a partic*lar sort of +orld. Bisorder, moreover, tho*"h it appears to stand as a pair +ith order, as the e-*al and opposite condition, is not of the same val*e. 1t is the *ne-*al end of the polarity, the ne"ative element. 1t is the void that places order as the centre, e.istin" only to allo+ 8order8 its concept*al possi!ility. Aife +ithin the teachin" mos-*e of al:2?har re-*ired no +alls to divide classrooms, no desks, no ordered ranks, no *niforms, no timeta!le, and no posted c*rric*l*m. 1n short, as +ith the city, there +as no order in the sense +e e.pect, as a frame+ork, code

64

or str*ct*re that stands apart. To see, once a"ain, the pec*liar historical stran"eness of the ne+ kind of order, 1 +ant to look !riefly at the +ays in +hich an instit*tion like the teachin" mos-*e of al:2?har may have +orked.

The O$(e$ o" the Te*t

The "reat teachin" mos-*es of Cairo and of other lar"e to+ns in )"ypt, like those else+here in the 1slamic +orld, +ere centres not of ed*cation, or even learnin" per se , !*t of the art and a*thority of +ritin". They had !een esta!lished in earlier cent*ries !y those +ho held political po+er, as endeavo*rs to sec*re and e.tend thro*"h those learned in la+, lan"*a"e and philosophy the a*thoritative s*pport of its +ord. The st*dy and interpretation of this +ritin" +as a sina8a , a profession or craft. To stress the professional, political and economic aspects of this craft, 1 +ill refer to it as 8the la+8, tho*"h the +ord sho*ld !e *nderstood to incl*de a lar"e !ody of lin"*istic, philosophical and theolo"ical scholarship.+1 , 2l:2?har, the name of a partic*lar mos-*e !*t also the "eneral name for a "ro*p of mos-*es and ; 8# ; lod"in"s "athered in the older part of Cairo, +as not a school for la+, !*t the oldest and most important centre in the 1slamic +orld of la+ as a profession. 2s +ith other crafts and professions, one of the contin*o*s and pervasive activities of those involved +as the learnin" and teachin" of its skills. Aearnin" +as a part of the practice of la+, and it +as from this practice, rather than from any set of codes or str*ct*res, that it took its se-*ence and its form. The process of learnin" al+ays !e"an +ith the st*dy of the H*ran, the ori"inal te.t of the la+ 6indeed the only ori"inal te.t, the only te.t +hich co*ld not !e read in some sense as the interpretation or modification of an earlier +ritin"7. The st*dent then moved on to the hadith , the collections of sayin"s attri!*ted to the Prophet M*hammad +hich interpret and e.tend H*ranic doctrine, and then on a"ain to the ma/or commentaries *pon the H*ran and to the other s*!/ects dealin" +ith its interpretation, s*ch as the art of its recitation and the st*dy of variant readin"s. 9rom there one moved on to the st*dies related to the readin" of the hadith, s*ch as the !io"raphies of the transmitters, then to the principles of theolo"y 6usul al'din 7, then to the principles of le"al interpretation 6usul al'fi2h 7, then to the diver"ent interpretations amon" the different schools of la+, and so on accordin" to a se-*ence "iven in the readin" and interpretation of the la+, +hich +as the nat*re of the art !ein" st*died. Tho*"h the choice of secondary te.ts mi"ht vary, there +as no need of a sylla!*s or c*rric*l*m. The order of learnin" disclosed itself, !y the lo"ic of interpretation, in the order of the te.ts. 1n the same +ay there +as no need for a daily timeta!le. The ordinary se-*ence of the day8s lessons mirrored on a smaller scale the same te.t*al order. The first lessons +o*ld !e "iven immediately after da+n prayers, !y those teachin" the H*ran. These +ere follo+ed !y lessons in hadith , follo+ed !y H*ranic interpretation, and so on, +orkin" o*t+ards event*ally to the st*dy of mysticism, left to the period after evenin" prayer. The order of teachin", in other +ords, even the order of the day, +as insepara!le from the necessary relation !et+een te.ts and commentaries that constit*ted le"al practice. Practice +as not somethin" or"anised +ithin the indifferent order of the timeta!leF it *nfolded in its meanin"f*l se-*ence. The se-*ence of learnin" +as also the se-*ence of scholarship. 2 scholar at al: 2?har, +e are told, +o*ld prepare a le"al opinion, a lesson, or a disp*tation, !y placin" all the !ooks +hich disc*ssed the -*estion he +anted to el*cidate on a lo+ ta!le in front of him, arran"in" them in se-*ences radiatin" from the middle: 8at the centre is the ori"inal te.t 6&atn 7, then the commentary 6sharh 7 on this te.t, then the "loss on the commentary 6hashiya 7 and finally the e.plication of the "loss 6ta/tir 78.+1-, The !ooks often repeated this arran"ement themselves, as the pict*re on p. 10& ill*strates: a te.t

65

mi"ht !e accompanied !y a commentary +ritten !et+een the lines, or even inserted !et+een the +ords themselves, +ith a f*rther "loss *pon the com: ; 80 ; mentary +ritten in the mar"in, s*rro*ndin" the te.t on all sides, /*st as the circles of commentaries on the ta!le s*rro*nded the central te.t. There +ere other respects in +hich the patterns of learnin" +ere repeated in the forms of le"al practice. The lessons in +hich the +orks of la+ +ere read took place +ith the participants seated in a circle, each participant8s place in relation to the teacher determined !y his or her command of the te.t !ein" st*died. 2"ain, the process of masterin" the art +as +hat "ave learnin" its order. The circle of participants, in fact, +as the common form of all the aspects of the le"al profession carried on +ithin the mos-*e. 1t +as vario*sly *sed to hear cases and iss*e opinions, to disp*te -*estions of la+, to deliver addresses, and to dictate and disc*ss the te.ts. +1., The activity of learnin", in other +ords, +as simply one aspect +ithin the daily practice of the la+. 1t took its form from those practices, and +as not set apart !y a separate code, location, time, or !ody of instr*ctors. >n one hand, this style of learnin" +as remarka!ly fle.i!le and free of coercion, +hen compared to the modern disciplinary schoolin" typified !y the Aancaster system. Aearnin" occ*rred as a relationship that, as in every craft, mi"ht !e fo*nd !et+een any individ*als at almost any point. Be"inners learned from one another, accordin" to their differin" aptit*des, as m*ch as from those +ho +ere mastersF and even masters contin*ed to learn from those +ho possessed other skills, +ho had mastered other te.ts. The method +as one of ar"*mentation and disp*te, not lect*rin". The individ*al +as to !e deferent +here appropriate, !*t never passive. ,hatever p*nishments may have !een inflicted on *nr*ly st*dents, no system of discipline ever kept individ*als *nder contin*o*s s*pervision or s*rveillance, or o!li"ed them to st*dy +ith one partic*lar teacher, or to remain in place, or to contin*e at a certain task for a certain period. +1/, ,hatever their +eaknesses, these methods made the teachin" mos-*e of al:2?har the oldest contin*in" centre of scholarship and la+ any+here in the +orld. >n the other hand, it +o*ld !e a mistake to overstate the neatness or effectiveness of the kind of order 1 have /*st descri!ed. 1t shared the limitations and the +eaknesses that 1 mentioned earlier, as endemic to the kind of political a*thority of +hich it +as a part. 1n the nineteenth cent*ry it +as !reakin" do+n in the same +ay. Aa+ +as the profession in +hich important )"yptian families, from every re"ion of the co*ntry, ac-*ired and protected positions of r*ral and *r!an a*thority. 2fter a n*m!er of years at al:2?har or one of its sister instit*tions, the sons of the leadin" families mi"ht ret*rn to their districts and take *p positions of local a*thority, servin" as leaders of the comm*nity, preachers, interpreters and /*d"es. 2li Pasha M*!arak, for e.ample, the ed*cator and *r!an planner +ith +hose +ork 1 introd*ced this chapter, +as the son of s*ch an official. Cis father8s family had held the office of local /*d"e and prayer leader in the villa"e of Birn!al al:5adida for ; 8% ; at least three "enerations. By the mid nineteenth cent*ry this system of political a*thority +as *nder enormo*s stress, as the misfort*nes of 2li M*!arak8s o+n family indicated. The important posts in provincial )"ypt +ere still reserved for the increasin"ly *npop*lar T*rkish:speakin" elite 6a sit*ation that +as a!o*t to chan"e in the provinces, /*st as 2li M*!arak8s career marked the emer"ence of a native, 2ra!ic:speakin" !*rea*cracy in Cairo7, oppressive levels of ta.ation had forced men like 2li M*!arak8s father to flee from their villa"es, the income of the teachin" mos-*es had !een drastically c*t !y the "overnment8s appropriation of their endo+ments, and the precincts of al:2?har had !ecome an overcro+ded sanct*ary for those escapin" the military draft. The techni-*es of order and a*thority e.emplified in the learnin" of al:2?har co*ld not cope +ith the political and economic transformations takin" place.+10,

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Vill%ge Le%$ning
1n the acco*nt 1 have /*st "iven of the +ay learnin" in al:2?har ac-*ired its order, an order +itho*t reco*rse to re"*lation or str*ct*re, certain feat*res of learnin" in "eneral have emer"ed. These can !e s*mmarised as follo+s. 9irst, learnin" occ*rred +ithin the practice of the partic*lar profession or craft to !e learnt, and +as not separated o*t as 8schoolin"8. The la+ +as one s*ch profession, centred *pon the mos-*eF other professions and crafts +ere st*died in their o+n locations, in similar +ays. <econd, +ithin the profession, learnin" +as not a relationship that separated practitioners into t+o distinct "ro*ps, st*dents and teachers. The relation of teacher and st*dent co*ld !e fo*nd !et+een almost any t+o or more mem!ers of the occ*pation "ro*p 6tho*"h of co*rse the more senior practitioners mi"ht distin"*ish themselves from the rest in several +ays, incl*din" the +ay in +hich they "ave instr*ction7. Third, present at almost every point in the practices of a craft, learnin" did not re-*ire overt acts of or"anisation, !*t fo*nd its se-*ence in the lo"ic of the practices themselves. )d*cation, as an isolated process in +hich children ac-*ire a set of instr*ctions and self:discipline, +as !orn in )"ypt in the nineteenth cent*ry. Before that, there +as no distinct location or instit*tion +here s*ch a process +as carried on, no !ody of ad*lts for +hom it +as a profession, and no +ord for it in the lan"*a"e. To refer to centres of scholarship s*ch as al:2?har as places of 8traditional ed*cation8 is a misnomer, a misapprehendin" of the kinds of practice in +hich the life of the comm*nity, *p *ntil the last third of the nineteenth cent*ry, +as lived. 1t is to take a dominant practice of the late nineteenth and t+entieth cent*ry, and pro/ect it !ack onto a +orld in +hich it did not e.ist, res*ltin" in *nhelpf*l o!servations a!o*t the limited nat*re of its 8c*rric*l*m8 and the a!sence there of order and ; 8' ; discipline. The introd*ction of classrooms, desks and discipline +as not the reform of so:called traditional schoolin". The innovations appeared s*ddenly, +hen the ne+ techni-*es of order made s*ddenly o!vio*s the need for s*ch 8str*ct*re8. Th*s the settin" *p of learnin" as a process separate from life itself corresponded, for reasons 1 +ill e.amine f*rther at the end of this chapter, to the apparent separation of the +orld into thin"s in themselves on the one hand, and on the other their meanin" or str*ct*re. The vie+ 1 have /*st offered of traditional learnin" re-*ires a re:e.planation not only of the teachin" mos-*e in the city !*t also, finally, of the so:called H*ran school, or /utta( , of the villa"e. Aike the teachin" mos-*e, the /utta( +as ordered aro*nd the meanin" and the po+er of +ords, in their need to !e interpreted and properly handled. 3ot /*st mos-*es and /utta(s , in fact, !*t a "ood part of the comm*nal life of to+n, villa"e, and city, of marketplace and co*rtyard, of family and of +ork, +as dependent *pon differin" practices in relation to the a*thority of +ritin". The /utta( in the villa"e and the teachin" mos-*e in the city represent t+o places of s*ch practice. Their differin" treatment of the same te.t and +ords, f*rthermore, +as an aspect of the political relation !et+een the a*thority of the city and the pop*lar life of the villa"e. 9or the life of ordinary )"yptians, the correctly +ritten or artic*lated +ord 6the +ord of the H*ran, in most cases7 +as a critical reso*rce. Aife, as 1 have s*""ested, +as ne"otiated a"ainst, or in terms of, those not al+ays kno+a!le forces +hich if correctly attended to +ere propitio*s and s*stainin", !*t if mishandled +ere the so*rce of !arrenness and misfort*ne. The most common idiom for conceivin" of the person8s v*lnera!ility to s*ch forces +as the idiom of e.pos*re. The risks of e.pos*re +ere e.pressed in partic*lar in terms of the po+er of the h*man "a?e, the eye. 6)*ropeans *nderstood this, in their o+n terms, as the 8evil eye8, tho*"h in 2ra!ic it +as /*st al'ayn , the eye.7 The proper respect for the risks and potential associated +ith the h*man "a?e esta!lished a set of practices for dealin" +ith v*lnera!ility to+ards stran"ers and those more po+erf*l, and +ith the v*lnera!ility of the +eak and the very yo*n". The risks of the "a?e also esta!lished partic*lar proced*res and e.planations in cases of death, child!irth and ill health.+11, To deal +ith these latent forces and the threat of e.pos*re

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demanded vario*s strate"ies of propitiation, protection and concealment. 2 partic*lar reso*rce on +hich ordinary people co*ld call for s*ch p*rposes +as the po+er of the +ord. Michael @ilsenan8s anthropolo"ical st*dy of reli"ion in the modern 2ra! +orld descri!es ho+ 8the conception and comm*nal e.perience of the ,ord in prayer, in st*dy, in talismans, in chantin" of the sacred verses, in %i/r 6<*fi rit*als of remem!rance7, in the tellin" of !eads, in c*rin", in social eti-*ette, and in a h*ndred other +ays are at the root of !ein" a M*slim. The directness of the relationship +ith 2llah ; 8& ; thro*"h the ,ord and its intensely a!stract, intensely concrete force is e.tremely diffic*lt to evoke, let alone analy?e, for mem!ers of societies dominated !y print and the notion of +ords standin" for thin"s.8+12, The employment of the +ord in these and other +ays +as the partic*lar craft and occ*pation of the fi2i , the local healer, H*ran reciter and holy:man. +13, >ne thin" the fi2i did +as to teach children in the villa"e the art that +as the so*rce of his craft, the correct recitation and +ritin" of the +ords of the H*ran. 9or this reason he is often descri!ed as the villa"e school teacher. Cis role in the villa"e +as not to 8ed*cate8 ho+ever, !*t to provide at proper moments the +ritten and spoken +ord of the H*ran. Ce +as re-*ired to +rite charms or c*res, and to recite the correct +ords in the correct manner at marria"es and f*nerals, in homes, and at the tom! of the local saint, in the seekin" of a h*s!and and on the concl*sion of a !*siness deal.+1!, Aike the practitioners of other crafts he +o*ld "ive instr*ction in his art, an art that had a common prominence and val*e !eca*se of the critical importance of the sacred +ord in comm*nal life. This instr*ction +o*ld take place in a mos-*e or a room, at the tom! of a local saint or in lar"er to+ns in a !*ildin" erected at the p*!lic fo*ntain, the sa(il 6there +as an important connection !et+een the po+er of +ords and the propitio*s *se of +ater7. <*ch a place mi"ht !e referred to as the /utta( , tho*"h the +ord conveys not only the sense of a place !*t of a practice, the practices associated +ith +ritin" and in partic*lar +ith the H*ran. To e.plain the fi2i as a school teacher is clearly inappropriate, and leads inevita!ly once a"ain to o!servations of the sort that the c*rric*l*m of the 8school8 +as restricted to the memorisin" of a sin"le te.t, the H*ran. <choolin" did not e.ist !efore the last third of the nineteenth cent*ry, and it +as not the p*rpose of any distinct individ*al or instit*tion to "ive or"anised instr*ction. The fi2i 8s role +as formed +ithin an idiom of the po+er of +ords and the pro!lems of v*lnera!ility and po+erlessness. 1t +as this very idiom of po+erlessness that the system of ed*cation +as to oppose, offerin" instead, as +e have seen, an idiom of indiscipline and disorder.

Instru tions for )se

Aearnin" +as no+ to !e separated from the practices in +hich it +as ent+ined, assi"nin" it a distinct place, the school, and a distinct period of life, that of yo*th. 8A8instr*ction p*!li-*e8 6al'tar(iya al'u&u&iyya in 2ra!ic7 +as the novel phrase for this practice. 1t referred, it +as said, to 8that +hich is st*died !y !oys and "irls in schools and colle"es and in all esta!lishments +here a specific n*m!er of people are !ro*"ht to"ether for instr*ction8.+24, <choolin" +as to !e an a*tonomo*s field, defined not !y its s*!/ect or method, !*t as an activity that took place in a specialised location, amon" ; 88 ; a specific "ro*p of people of a partic*lar a"e. The or"anisation 6tarti( 7 of instr*ction, +rote 4ifa8a al:Tahta+i, re-*ired that a room !e taken in the market or the main street of the to+n and set aside for the p*rpose of teachin". Children +ere not to !e ta*"ht in places that served other f*nctions, partic*larly not in the mos-*e. +2 , This coincided +ith the administrative separation, in 2pril 18'8, of +hat +ere to !e called the 8civil schools8 from the military.+2-, The ne+ civilian ed*cation +as to !e entirely separate from the military pro/ect, /*st as it +as to !e separate from the life and the learnin" of the mos-*eF its p*rpose +as the discipline and improvement of every individ*al.

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The +ord ed*cation 6tar(iya 7 in this sense +as itself a ne+ *sa"e. 1n 4ifa8a al: Tahta+i8s +ell:kno+n +ork Ta/hlis al'i(ri% , p*!lished in 18#0, the first modern 2ra!ic acco*nt of )*rope, the term tar(iya does not occ*r, e.cept once or t+ice in the +ord8s "eneral sense of 8to !reed8 or 8to prod*ce8, as in a description of the )cole Polytechni-*e in Paris: 81n the Polytechni-*e mathematics and physics are ta*"ht, to prod*ce en"ineers 6li'tar(iyat &uhandisin 7.8 3or is there any sin"le +ord in its place, referrin" to the distinctive social practice of ed*cation.+2., The themes of the !ook8s description of learnin", like its description of )*rope in "eneral, are order and or"anisation. 1ts openin" pa"es are addressed to those +ho criticised M*hammad 2li for !*ildin" a military order *sin" e.perts from )*rope: 8Aook at the +orkshops,8 he +rote, 8the factories, the schools and the like, and look at the discipline 6tarti( 7 of the soldiers of the army ... the order.8+2/, The s*!/ect of the !ook is this same discipline and order as it +as fo*nd in 9rance, in all its aspects. The section of the +ork +hich disc*sses learnin" in Paris in some detail !e"ins +ith the title 8The pro"ress in fields of kno+led"e, skills, and man*fact*re amon" the Parisians, and their or"anisation8. The editor of the 19&# edition of Tahta+i8s +orks entitled the same section 8Gno+led"e, skills, and ed*cation amon" the 9rench8, s*!stit*tin" the +ord ed*cation 6tar(iya 7 for the similar:so*ndin" +ord or"anisation 6tarti( 7 and omittin" the +ord man*fact*re +hich no lon"er fits.+20, 1n makin" the s*!stit*tion the editor had repeated a transformation in voca!*lary and in thinkin" that act*ally occ*rred in nineteenth:cent*ry )"ypt. The +ord tarti( , meanin" s*ch thin"s as 8arran"ement 6into ranks78, 8or"anisation8, 8discipline8, 8r*le8, 8re"*lation8 6hence even 8"overnment87, +as replaced in the field of learnin" +here it had come to !e *niversally *sed !y the like:so*ndin" +ord tar(iya . Until perhaps the last third of the nineteenth cent*ry tar(iya had meant simply Uto !reed8 or 8to c*ltivate8, referrin", as in )n"lish, to anythin" that sho*ld !e helped to "ro+ : the cotton crop, cattle or the morals of children. 1t came to mean 8ed*cation8, the ne+ field of practices developed in the last third of the cent*ry.+21, ; 89 ; 2s schoolin" +as introd*ced to achieve this discipline, those +ho +ere responsi!le for its or"anisation and inspection +rote !ooks and man*als in +hich the ne+ practices +ere disc*ssed. 1n 18&(, for e.ample, Tahta+i p*!lished his principal +ork on ed*cation, al'Murshid al'a&in li'l'(anat wa'l'(anin , a "*ide!ook for !oys and "irls, in +hich he e.plained the need for the ne+ ed*cational practices in terms of h*man nat*re. 8Man emer"es from the mother8s stomach kno+in" nothin" and capa!le of nothin", e.cept !y ed*cation 6al'tar(iya wa'l'ta 'li& 7.8 Upon the process of instr*ction depended his a!ility to s*stain himself, to *se lan"*a"e, and to think. 9or these, Tahta+i e.plained, 8he needs to !e e-*ipped !y endless drillin" and practice and e.ercise over a len"th of time8. +22, The lan"*a"e s*""ests immediately an e.tension of the techni-*es ori"inally introd*ced in the military. 2nd it +as to+ards the very possi!ility of the co*ntry8s military and political stren"th that the lan"*a"e led !ack. The a!ilities formed !y the endless drillin" and e.ercise of ed*cation ena!led people to harmonise and associate +ith one another, in order to create a comm*nity. By developin" this capacity to the f*llest e.tent, the comm*nity "ained its stren"th and ac-*ired the a!ility to dominate others. +23, Th*s Tahta+i no+ distin"*ished !et+een t+o senses of the term ed*cation 6tar(iya 7. The first +as +hat he called 8the tar(iya of the h*man species8, *sin" the +ord in its older sense as the c*ltivation, !reedin" or prod*ction of some partic*lar thin". 1n this case it referred to 8the tar(iya of the h*man !ein" as s*ch, that is, makin" the !ody and the mental fac*lties "ro+8. The second sense +as 8the tar(iya of individ*al h*man !ein"s, +hich means the tar(iya of comm*nities and nations8. 1t +as the second meanin" that +as ne+ and that came to co*nt. The official "overnment te.t!ook on ed*cation p*!lished in 19$# !e"an +ith the clear statement that 8the tar(iya of thin"s does not mean makin" them increase in si?e8. 4ather, tar(iya referred to the discipline and e.ercise of individ*als, +hich +o*ld coordinate them to perform as a *nit. 81t means p*ttin" them in readiness and stren"thenin" them to perform their f*nction as re-*ired,

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in the most efficient manner. There is no +ay to ed*cate and stren"then somethin", e.cept !y trainin" and drillin" it in the performance of its f*nction, *ntil it can accomplish it +ith smoothness, speed, and precision.8 The a*thor of this te.t!ook +as 2!d al:2?i? 5a+ish, +ho had spent three years trainin" at the Boro*"h 4oad <chool in Aondon, the school set *p !y 5oseph Aancaster to train teachers for his monitorial schools. Ce +ent on to !ecome 1nspector:@eneral at the Ministry of )d*cation, and +as later a fo*nder of the 3ational Party and the editor of its ne+spaper al'Liwa 8.+2!, The case of 5ar+ish can remind *s that the ne+ discipline of ed*cation +as to !e implemented not only thro*"h or"anised schoolin". <choolin" +as only a part of the +ider political process of discipline and instr*ction. ; 9$ ; C*sayn al:Marsafi, the senior professor at the ne+ "overnment teacher trainin" colle"e, set *p in the same period to prod*ce instr*ctors for the villa"e schools, e.plained that there +ere three parts to the meanin" of ed*cation : three instit*tions in +hich this ne+ hold *pon the individ*al +o*ld !e developed: the school, the political assem!ly, and the press.+34, Marsafi8s more famo*s collea"*e at the trainin" colle"e, the "reat reformist thinker M*hammad 2!d*h, developed a similar vie+ of tar(iya . )d*cation, for him, e.pressed the necessary political role of the intellect*al, +ho +o*ld *se as his partic*lar 8school8 the ne+ or"ans of the press.+3 , Cavin" disc*ssed already !oth the "overnment schools and the political assem!ly, 1 +ant to look !riefly at the importance of the ne+ printin" presses. 1n 18'8 an or"anisation called the <ociety of Gno+led"e for the P*!lication of Usef*l Books 65am8iyyat al:ma8arif li:nashr al:k*t*! al:nafi8a7 +as fo*nded in Cairo !y M*hammad 2rif Pasha, one of the "rad*ates of the )"yptian school in Paris. 1t +as perhaps modelled on Aord Bro*"ham8s <ociety for the Biff*sion of Usef*l Gno+led"e, the or"anisation set *p to teach the val*es of self:discipline and ind*strio*sness to the +orkin" class of )n"land. M*hammad 2rif +as a hi"h:rankin" "overnment official, as +ere many of the other men involved in its fo*ndin". 1t +as esta!lished !y "eneral s*!scription, and ''$ people participated as shareholders, most of them lando+ners or "overnment officials.+3-, 2s part of the same process of 8ed*cation8, the "overnment also !e"an the p*!lication of /o*rnals, ne+spapers and !ooks. <ince the year 18(8 the "overnment had prod*ced an official "a?ette, al'9a2a'i' al' Misriyya , for the anno*ncin" of decisions, decrees, appointments, p*!lic +orks, and other domestic events, *p *ntil the 18%$s, d*rin" the rei"n of <a8id, +hen it had ceased to appear.+3., 1n Becem!er 18'% it +as decided to prod*ce the "a?ette a"ain, !*t in a ne+ form, +ith a ne+ and more caref*l p*rpose. 84ather than anno*nce its affairs to the +orld thro*"h its o+n officials,8 an internal order stated, 8the "overnment has decided to "ive the ri"ht of prod*cin" the "a?ette to an editor, +ho +ill p*!lish +itho*t the "overnment8s intervention.8 This decision marked an alteration in techni-*e, not a relin-*ishin" of control. T+o "overnment servants, 2hmad 4asikh )fendi of the >ffice of 9orei"n 2ffairs and M*stafa 4asmi )fendi from the retin*e of the Ghedive, +ere appointed to the ne+ >ffice of the @a?ette, and instr*ctions +ere iss*ed to the Minister of 9inance that 8they are to contin*e to !e considered "overnment servants and !e "iven the salary and !enefits of "overnment employees, and are to receive pay from no other so*rce.8 +3/, The chan"e in techni-*e corresponded to a chan"e in the nat*re of +hat +as p*!lished. The "a?ette +as no lon"er to !e simply a +ritten anno*ncement of the "overnment8s orders and instr*ctions, precisely as "overnment ; 91 ; itself +as no lon"er conceived as the mere iss*in" and enforcement of orders. 1nformation and instr*ctions +ere to !ecome the method of politics, somethin" 8*sef*l8 +hich the political process +as to p*!lish and make p*!lic. There +as an entire realm of tho*"ht, of meanin" to !e made p*!lic 6+hile the a*thors of this p*!lic kno+led"e +ere to !ecome more hidden, to dis"*ise themselves7.

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9 The e. li!ris of Gin" 9aro*k. ; 9( ; 9ollo+in" the reesta!lishment of the "a?ette, the "overnment !ecame more and more involved in the p*!lishin" of /o*rnals. 1n 18'& a +eekly /o*rnal named 9adi al'3il , the first )"yptian /o*rnal that +as not an official or"an, +as p*!lished *nder the editorship of 2!d*llah )fendi 2!* <a8*d. 2!* <a8*d, ho+ever, +as an official of the B*rea* of <chools, and the /o*rnal +as act*ally esta!lished and f*nded !y the "overnment.+30, Three years later, in 2pril 18&$, another /o*rnal appeared, this time iss*ed p*!licly !y the B*rea* of <chools, entitled :awdat al'&adaris . This monthly /o*rnal +as devoted to the spread of modern s*!/ects of kno+led"e, and +as printed and distri!*ted free to all st*dents in the ne+ "overnment schools. 1t +as *nder the s*pervision of 4ifa8a al:Tahta+i, all of +hose s*!se-*ent +ritin"s +ere first p*!lished in its pa"es.

6o$'ing "$om the Insi(e O9t

1 +ill !e ret*rnin" in a later chapter to this -*estion of the transformation in the or"anisation, nat*re and distri!*tion of +ritin", a transformation +hose !e"innin"s 1 have /*st tried to sketch. Aike schoolin", the +ritten +as no+ to appear as somethin" apart from life itself, a separate realm of instr*ction, representation and tr*th. 1n the scholarly +orld of al:2?har, +hatever the importance attached to the +ritten +ord,

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+ritin" had never formed its o+n realm of representation, meanin", or c*lt*reF there had !een no f*ndamental division !et+een 8te.t8 and 8real +orld8. 1t is in this conte.t, as +e +ill see, that the contin*ed re/ection of the technolo"y of printin" !y al:2?har scholars of the nineteenth cent*ry is to !e *nderstood. 9or the time !ein", ho+ever, 1 +ant simply to concl*de this chapter !y s*""estin" a connection !et+een the ne+ realm of instr*ction : of kno+led"e as a code of instr*ctions to !e ta*"ht : and the ne+ methods of creatin" order as a str*ct*re. 1 am "oin" to ar"*e that the ne+ methods of enframin", containin" and disciplinin" +hich 1 have !een e.aminin" in this and the previo*s chapter not only made possi!le the modern process of schoolin"F they created the very need for it. To ill*strate this, 1 +ill ret*rn to the str*ct*red +orld of the model villa"e. Model villa"es contin*ed to !e !*ilt in )"ypt thro*"ho*t the nineteenth cent*ry, especially on the ne+ kind of lar"e private estate kno+n as the i%(a and on the 8company estates8 *nder the control of )*ropean commercial interests. +31, 1n the first part of the t+entieth cent*ry, Cenry 2yro*t, a 5es*it +orkin" in r*ral )"ypt, noted that those +ho +ere o!li"ed to live in these or"anised villa"es "enerally considered them a 8"eometric /ail8. Ce e.plained this !y sayin" that the peasant,
!ein" of a child:like disposition, cannot !e presented a model ho*se +itho*t !ein"

; 9# ;
ta*"ht, in a kindly +ay, the 8directions8 +hich "o +ith it, the +ay of *sin" the ne+ device, and ho+ it is !etter than his old ho*se. This peda"o"y is more important than the material reali?ation.

The model villa"e, it seems, introd*ced a distinction !et+een the materiality of the !*ildin"s and the set of 8directions for *se8 re-*ired to live in them. This +as somethin" ne+F s*ch a distinction +as *nthinka!le in the Ga!yle villa"e descri!ed !y Bo*rdie*, +hich 1 s*""ested co*ld !e taken to typify the +ays of !*ildin", d+ellin" and thinkin" that the colonial order so*"ht to replace. 2s +e sa+, there +as nothin" in the !*ildin" or the life of the Ga!yle villa"e that co*ld !e artificially distin"*ished as the mere 8material reali?ation8, as +e say, of a separate set of directions, meanin"s or plans. The very !*ildin" of the ho*se +as not the realisation of a plan !*t the re:enactment, in s*ch processes as the /oinin" of a 8female8 pillar to the 8male8 roof!eam, of the *nion that formed the ho*sehold.+32, The ho*se +as never a mere device, and did not present its inha!itants, like a modern device, +ith separate instr*ctions for *se. 3othin" +as set apart in distinction to its mere materiality as the realm of the sym!olic, of the c*lt*ral code as anthropolo"ists sometimes say, or the directions to !e learnt. The ne+ order of the model villa"e introd*ced this notion of the code or plan, and this notion of materiality. Aike the classrooms e.amined in this chapter, its "eometric constr*ction presented the +orld as somethin" simply t+o:fold: a +orld of +hat +e call 8thin"s8, +hich e.ist !y appearin" as the material realisation of a separate realm of intentions or instr*ctions. This mysterio*s techni-*e, the ne+ order, +as the ori"in of the s*dden possi!ility and need for or"anised ed*cation. <*ddenly, apart from s*ch 8thin"s8, it appeared as tho*"h there +as a c*lt*ral code, a set of instr*ctions, +hich every child, and every 8peasant, !ein" of child:like disposition8 as it no+ seemed, needed to !e ta*"ht. 83o model villa"e8, 9ather 2yro*t contin*ed, 8can !e reali?ed or kept presenta!le *nless the architect*ral enterprise is linked +ith teachin", ed*cation and instr*ctionF in short one sho*ld +ork +ith the fellahin. The reconstr*ction of the )"yptian villa"e demands the re:ed*cation of its inha!itants, and first of all of +omen. ,e m*st +ork from the inside o*t.8+33, 1 !e"an this chapter +ith the story of 2li M*!arak ret*rnin" from Paris and proceedin" to !*ild a ne+ capital city and a ne+ system of ed*cation. 1n the intervenin" pa"es 1 have !een e.plorin" this connection !et+een the street and the school, !et+een ne+ kinds of spatial frame+ork and the means of coordinatin" and controllin" those +ho move +ithin them. These means of coordination +ere somethin" partic*lar and physical, offerin" +hat Michel 9o*ca*lt has called a microphysical po+erF a po+er that +orked !y reorderin" material space in e.act dimensions and ac-*irin" a ; 90 ; contin*o*s !odily hold *pon its s*!/ects. Det at the same time, 1 have tried to sho+, this po+er +as somethin" meta:physical. 1t +orked !y creatin" an appearance of order,

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an appearance of str*ct*re as some sort of separate, non:material realm. The creation of this metaphysical realm +as +hat made the ed*cation of the individ*al s*ddenly imperative : /*st as the micro:physical methods +ere +hat made s*ch ed*cation possi!le. Po+er no+ so*"ht to +ork not only *pon the e.terior of the !ody !*t also 8from the inside o*t8 : !y shapin" the individ*al mind.

; 9% ;

Ch%pte$ / A"te$ 6e ;%#e C%pt9$e( Thei$ <o(ies

1n his !ook :ecogni%ing "sla& , Michael @ilsenan cites from the report of a 9rench military officer in 2l"eria, on an ins*rrection p*t do+n !y his troops in 180%R0'. To esta!lish political a*thority over a pop*lation, +rote the officer, there are t+o modes, one of s*ppression and one of t*torin". The latter is lon":term and +orks *pon the mind, the former +orks *pon the !ody and m*st come first.
1n effect the essential thin" is to "ather into "ro*ps this people +hich is every+here and no+hereF the essential thin" is to make them somethin" +e can sei?e hold of a ,hen +e have them in o*r hands, +e +ill then !e a!le to do many thin"s +hich are -*ite impossi!le for *s today and +hich +ill perhaps allo+ *s to capt*re their minds after +e have capt*red their !odies.+ ,

1n the previo*s t+o chapters 1 have !een e.aminin" ne+ methods of military control, architect*ral order and schoolin", +hich made it possi!le for the first time to speak of 8capt*rin" the !odies8 of a pop*lation. Bra+in" on the +ork of Michel 9o*ca*lt, 1 have tried to sho+ the emer"ence in )"ypt of a political po+er that so*"ht not only to capt*re the individ*al !ody !*t to colonise it and maintain a contin*o*s presence. The +ords of the 9rench officer indicate somethin" f*rther a!o*t this colonisin" po+er. 2s 1 s*""ested at the end of the previo*s chapter, it +as a po+er that seemed to constr*ct its o!/ect as somethin" divided into t+o separate concerns, !ody and mind. 1n the follo+in" pa"es 1 am "oin" to ar"*e that this very division +as somethin" ne+, that it +as prod*ced !y the ne+ methods of po+er, and that the essence of these methods +as in fact to effect s*ch a separation. 2nalysin" the d*ality of mind and !ody +ill connect the st*dy of disciplinary po+er to the lar"er theme of the +orld:as:e.hi!ition. 1 +ill !e"in, like the 9rench officer, +ith the control of the !ody. The system of s*rveillance +as to start not in the school or the army, !*t from !irth. 9ollo+in" the British military occ*pation of )"ypt in 188(, a central office +as set *p to or"anise the official re"istration of !irths in every )"yptian villa"e. This re-*ired +hat Aord Cromer, the local a"ent of the British "overnment, liked to call 8systematic )n"lish inspection8, the everyday method of po+er that colonialism so*"ht to consolidate. 81n connection +ith ; 9' ; re"istration and the val*e of systematic )n"lish inspection8, he reported to the 9orei"n >ffice in Aondon, 8there cannot !e a !etter e.ample than a recent case in the Province of Beniso*ef. The )n"lish 1nspectin" >fficer had reason to !elieve that there m*st !e a lar"e n*m!er of ad*lts and children +ho had not !een re"istered on a certain Ues!ehU NestateO !elon"in" to a +ealthy )"yptian. The <heikh +ho +as responsi!le had certified that there +as no one in the villa"e on the NestateO lia!le to conscription or nonre"istered ... The 1nspectin" >fficer, +ith a force of police and +atchmen, s*rro*nded the villa"e at ni"htF in the mornin" over 0$$ +ere fo*nd *nre"istered, and the <heikh +ill !e tried !y co*rt:martial.8 The immediate p*rpose of re"isterin" the co*ntry8s !irths +as to or"anise recr*itment into the army, +hose o+n methods of s*rveillance and control 1 have disc*ssed earlier. B*t s*ch 8)n"lish inspection8 had a +ider val*e, as Cromer himself e.plained in the report to the 9orei"n >ffice. 1nspection 8ena!led a systematic s*pervision to !e e.ercised over the military and medical +ork of 4ecr*itin" Commissions, and,

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indirectly, over m*ch of the civil +ork of the M*dirieh Nprovincial "overnmentO a*thorities8.+-, <imilar methods of s*pervision and control +ere re-*ired at a local level for the ne+ methods of capitalist prod*ction, in partic*lar the c*ltivation and processin" of cotton. Private o+nership of lar"e estates and the investment of )*ropean capital +ere creatin" a class of landless +orkers, +hose !odies needed to !e ta*"ht the disciplined ha!its of +a"e:la!o*r. T+o )n"lishmen +ho o+ned a cotton:"innin" factory in the ne+ to+n of Ta"a?i" employed an )n"lish yo*th to oversee 8Mansoor8, their )"yptian overseer. Mansoor8s /o!, in t*rn, accordin" to the )n"lish yo*th, +as 8+atchin" the natives +hilst at +ork and keepin" them in order, for most of them +ere nat*rally of indolent disposition ... 2s moral pers*asion +as of very little *se, he carried +ith him a sort of ko*r!ash or lon" +hip, +ith +hich he enco*ra"ed ind*stry amon" the men and !oysF +hen, ho+ever, any man had !een fo*nd stealin" or committin" a more serio*s crime, he +as sent ro*nd to the police head-*arters for p*nishment, and it fell to me to accompany him, e.plain the crime to the chief officer, and see that he +as properly flo""ed.8+., Capitalist prod*ction also re-*ired the creation and mana"ement of lar"e !odies of mi"rant +orkers, to !*ild and maintain the ne+ str*ct*res !ein" laid in place across the )"yptian co*ntryside : roads, rail+ays, canals, dams, !rid"es, tele"raphs and ports. Aar"er pro/ects s*ch as the di""in" of the <*e? Canal re-*ired the movement and s*pervision of tens of tho*sands of men. <maller "an"s of la!o*rers +ere !ro*"ht from so*thern )"ypt for seasonal employment in constr*ctin" and maintainin" the ne+ net+ork of perennial irri"ation canals in the north, on +hich the c*ltivation of cotton depended. The British placed s*ch "an"s *nder contin*o*s police control. ; 9& ; They also introd*ced a system of 8tickets8, +hich +ere handed o*t to the +orkers in their villa"es !efore they travelled north, !*t only to those men +hom the local police deemed not to !e tro*!lemakers.+/, Perhaps the practice of iss*in" 8tickets8 +as !orro+ed from the co*ntry8s rapidly e.pandin" system of rail+ays, another loc*s of *nprecedented mechanisms of discipline. By the end of the cent*ry the n*m!er of miles of rail+ay in )"ypt, per capita and per inha!ited area, +as amon" the hi"hest in the +orld. The rail+ays carried 0.& million passen"ers in 189$ and almost #$ million in 19$', and they employed the lar"est permanent +orkforce in the co*ntry. Besides s*pervisin" and controllin" this +orkforce, the rail+ay a*thorities had to or"anise the iss*in" and collectin" of tickets for every one of the millions of passen"ers, and r*n their o+n army of "*ards, policemen and inspectors 8for the maintenance of discipline *pon them8. +0, 4*ral )"ypt +as to !ecome, like the classroom and the city, a place +herever possi!le of contin*o*s s*pervision and control, of tickets and re"istration papers, of policin" and inspection. Besides the partic*lar s*pervision of fields, factories, rail+ays and +ork "an"s, the "overnment +ished to esta!lish a "eneral system of policin" that +o*ld !e 8intelli"ent, active, and *!i-*ito*s8.+1, 2t first, follo+in" the !reakdo+n of "overnment a*thority in 188(, this re-*ired a system that +as, as Cromer admitted, 8tantamo*nt to the introd*ction of martial la+8. The so:called 8Bri"anda"e Commissions8 +ith +hich the "overnment attempted to cr*sh local armed "ro*ps in the co*ntryside employed all the no+:familiar techni-*es for overcomin" peasant resistance to the ne+ po+er of a modern state: military raids, secret police, informants, massive imprisonment 6the co*ntry8s /ails +ere filled to fo*r times their capacity7, and the systematic *se of tort*re. ).amples of tort*re *sed to e.tract confessions from s*spects incl*ded han"in" people from iron collars, and, in the case for instance of Mahm*d 2li <a8idi, arrested at a cafM in Tanta !y t+o secret policemen in 2pril 188&, !*rnin" the !ody +ith red:hot iron nails.+2, 2 decade after they +ere introd*ced, the Bri"anda"e Commissions +ere replaced +ith a more disciplined, +idespread and contin*o*s system of policin". Colonel Cer!ert Gitchener, one of the British officers of the )"yptian army, +as appointed 1nspector: @eneral of the )"yptian police. Gitchener e.emplified the ne+ style of late nineteenth:

74

cent*ry soldier:administrator, like Aya*tey in Morocco, +ho transformed modern military methods of inspection, comm*nication and discipline into an *ninterr*pted process of political po+er, s*cceedin" +here the earlier attempts 1 have disc*ssed had failed. 82 first:rate military administrator, every detail of the machine +ith +hich he had to +ork received ade-*ate attention8, +rote Aord Cromer of him. 8)ach portion of the machine +as adapted, so far as h*man foresi"ht co*ld provide, to perform its allotted task.8 +3, Besides the ; 98 ; or"anisation of a police force, a comprehensive system of )n"lish inspection +as esta!lished, set *p +ithin the Ministry of the 1nterior 6as this ne+ !*rea*cracy +as called7F the 8interior8 of )"yptian villa"e life +as th*s to !e !ro*"ht *nder contin*o*s s*pervision. To assist in this the local villa"e +atchmen, %$,$$$ in n*m!er, +ere placed on "overnment salaries, and later !ro*"ht to provincial centres for military trainin" and provided +ith arms. The +atchmen +ere to colla!orate in 8the s*rveillance !y the police of criminals and s*spected persons8 and indeed of all 8noted !ad characters8. 9inally, a series of "overnment re"*lations +ere introd*ced aimed at the repression of f*rther r*ral 8disorder8, incl*din" a prohi!ition on the carryin" of "*ns !y all e.cept 8"overnment or local officials, or s*!stantial lando+ners and traders8. The ne+ methods of control +ere enormo*sly s*ccessf*l. The "ro*ps of r*ral resistance +ere !roken *p, their leaders +ere shot or capt*red, the attacks on the ne+ private property +ere !ro*"ht to an end, and the po+er of 8s*!stantial lando+ners and traders8 made sec*re.+!,

S%nit%$y %n( Othe$ Re%sons

The ne+ methods of po+er so*"ht to police, s*pervise and instr*ct the pop*lation individ*ally. 1t +as a po+er that +anted to +ork +ith 8kno+n individ*als8 and 8noted characters8, +ho +ere to !e re"istered, co*nted, inspected and reported *pon. The first cens*s of the pop*lation +as carried o*t in 188(. 2s +ith the re"istration of !irths and the proced*res for medical inspection, the concern +ith the individ*al !ody of the political s*!/ect +as !oth military and economic. The ne+ medico:statistical practices, moreover, adopted from the armed forces, provided a lan"*a"e of the !ody : its n*m!er, its condition, its improvement, its protection : in terms of +hich political po+er mi"ht operate.+ 4, <*ch lan"*a"e co*ld !e *sed to control and restrict any lar"e movements or "atherin"s that mi"ht !e diffic*lt to penetrate and police. 1t +as *sed in this +ay, for e.ample, to s*ppress the pop*lar fairs that marked o*t the calendar of social and economic life all over )"ypt. The !i""est of the co*ntry8s ann*al fairs : indeed one of the "reat pop*lar "atherin"s of the +hole Mediterranean +orld : +as the feast of al:<ayyid Bada+i, +hich took place in the Belta to+n of Tanta. The feast +as an enormo*s occasion, and had "ro+n partic*larly follo+in" Tanta8s connection to the rail+ay system in 18%'. 1ts visitors in the 18'$s and 18&$s +ere said to n*m!er more than half a million every year. + , 2lready in this period the festival !e"an to receive criticism: that reli"io*s practices +hich occ*rred there contravened the la+, and that it +as harmf*l to the co*ntry !eca*se it kept people from their +ork. <*ch criticisms +ere ans+ered at the time !y pointin" o*t that the festival +as an enormo*s ann*al market, like ; 99 ; the "reat markets fo*nd in every part of the +orld, at +hich !*siness and commerce thrived.+ -, These vie+s, ho+ever, did not prevail, and in the last three decades of the cent*ry the entire festival +as s*ppressed, an act carried o*t in the name of hy"iene. There +as concern in the 18&$s a!o*t 8the prof*sion of diseases and !ad air8 each year follo+in" the event. The pro!lem +as !lamed at the time on the to+n8s physical str*ct*re and res*lted in the destr*ction of !*ildin"s to create open streets, disc*ssed at the !e"innin" of the last chapter. These meas*res +ere evidently ins*fficient for the p*rpose

75

ho+ever, !eca*se !y the t*rn of the cent*ry the "overnment had s*ppressed the festival more or less completely, 8for sanitary and other reasons8. + ., The lan"*a"e of health and physical hy"iene +as also *sed in the "overnment schools, as part of the ne+ discipline of the !ody. The teachin" of personal hy"iene, and the accompanyin" school !ooks, +ere intended of co*rse to promote individ*al cleanliness and tidiness. B*t their lan"*a"e and method aimed to eliminate an entire +ay of *nderstandin" personal v*lnera!ility amon" ordinary )"yptians, partic*larly in the villa"e, and to replace it +ith a nineteenth:cent*ry notion of the !ody. The !ody +as to !e treated as a physical machine, and disease as a mechanical process of ca*se and effect.+ /, The c*stoms of the villa"e +ere persistin" in )"ypt 8!eca*se they have not !een s*fficiently com!atted8 ar"*ed one of the a*thors of these school te.t!ooks, and the hope +as to see them, in the phrase of the >rientalist +ho translated part of his +ork into )n"lish, 8rele"ated to the archives of h*man error8.+ 0, The a*thor +as a man in his mid: t+enties from a villa"e in the Belta, +ho had trained as a doctor at the "overnment medical school in Cairo, and +as commissioned !y the Ministry of )d*cation to +rite t+o te.t!ooks for the "overnment schools, the first on hy"iene, +hich appeared *nder the title 1ealth Measures +gainst the 1a(its of Egyptians and the second, p*!lished in 189', on manners and morals more "enerally.+ 1, The method of these !ooks +as not simply to discredit the local practitioners of healin" amon" the poor : tho*"h all of them +ere ro*ndly condemned as 8impostors8, 8charlatans8, and 8p*!lic ro!!ers8 : !*t to impose an alternative idiom of e.planation and an alternative medical practice. The a*thor admitted, in fact, that many of the remedies of folk medicine +ere s*ccessf*l, !*t e.plained that they s*cceeded 8not from any therape*tic pec*liarities in them, !*t from the play of the ima"ination and nervo*s volitional infl*ence, +hich accordin" to !iolo"ists in most recent times, has a very dan"ero*s action *pon the constit*tion8.+ 2, 1n other cases he admitted that the local remedy +as scientifically correct, !*t attacked the local *nderstandin" of ho+ it +orked *pon the !ody, replacin" this +ith 8the tr*e e.planation8 +hich acco*nted for its +orkin" in an alternative idiom dra+n from late nineteenth:cent*ry medical science. The po+er of the evil eye, for e.ample, he e.plained in terms of 8electric ma"netism8. 8The evil ma"netic ; 1$$ ; electricity, +hich +e name en*y , directs itself !y +ay of man8s senses.8 Ce cited as an ill*stration the case of a healer in a certain villa"e +ho +as 8envyin"8 children and other o!/ects !y starin" at them. 8,henever the envier directed his "a?e *pon the envied one, in the moment of e.citement his poison affected that c*rrent and +eakened the life movement in animals and plants, and they +ere +asted and lost. 2nd in proportion to the po+er of the envier in overcomin" the po+er of the envied, so is the stren"th or +eakness of the dan"er, and there res*lts a sli"ht or severe illness, or death, or the snappin" of trees, or the destr*ction of lofty palaces.8 Ce even admitted, finally, that some of the imported )*ropean pills and eli.irs +ere chemically identical to the folk medicines they +ere displacin", altho*"h this did not prevent him from condemnin" the *se of s*ch local medication. Ce simply added: 8Co+ marvello*s it is of <cience to a!olish it at first in its capacity as a nat*ral prod*ct, and then find it 6or somethin" co*nterfeitin" it7 !y +ay of ind*stryQ8+ 3, C*rative practices +ere contin*ally isolated as harmf*l, mistaken, and mischievo*s in the literat*re of the period. 2 +ell:kno+n +ork in 2ra!ic on The $resent 0tate of the Egyptians and the Causes of their :etrogression , !y M*hammad Umar, attri!*ted m*ch of the ca*se of the co*ntry8s !ack+ardness to the i"norant practices of the poor, incl*din" s*ch manifestations of 8i"norance8 as the pop*lar trance:ind*cin" practices of the dhi/r and the %ar . There +ere also several critical and more e.tensive dia"noses p*t into print, s*ch as M*hammad Cilmi Tayn al:Bin8s Madar al'%ar 6The harmf*lness of the ?ar7, p*!lished in 19$#, +hich criticised s*ch practices in partic*lar for the dan"ero*s po+er they ena!led +omen to ac-*ire over their h*s!ands.

76

Politic%l Science
The attempt to introd*ce ne+ methods of +orkin" *pon the !ody +as only one aspect of the chan"es that +ere takin" place. 1n treatin" the !ody as a machine, re-*irin" contin*o*s s*pervision and control, politics constit*ted the person as a thin" of t+o parts, /*st as it constit*ted the +orld as somethin" t+ofold. The mechanical !ody +as to !e distin"*ished in political practice from the individ*al8s mind or mentality, /*st as the material +orld +as to !e made somethin" distinct from the concept*al order : or +hat in nineteenth:cent*ry 9rance +as often called 8the moral order8. 3*!ar Pasha, a mem!er of the ne+ lando+nin" elite +ho served as Prime Minister of )"ypt three times after the British occ*pation, *nderstood the political process in terms of this distinction. 4eferrin" in a memorand*m to +hat had !een achieved 8in the army, the rail+ays, ... !rid"es and roads, the health and sanitation services8, he ar"*ed that 8+hat has !een done in l'ordre &at7riel m*st !e done in l'ordre &oral 8.+ !, 3*!ar8s memo +as concerned +ith ; 1$1 ; the introd*ction of a )*ropean le"al system, +hich +o*ld consolidate the po+er of private property. Th*s the phrase 8the moral order8 referred to la+ in the modern sense, meanin" a comm*nity8s code of r*les 6a sense very different from e.istin" 1slamic la+, +hich +as never *nderstood as an a!stract code settin" limits +ithin +hich 8!ehavio*r8 +as to !e confined, !*t rather as a series of commentaries on partic*lar practices, and of commentaries *pon those commentaries7. The phrase referred more !roadly, ho+ever, to a comm*nity8s "eneral moral code. 1n this !roader sense, the moral order +as a nineteenth:cent*ry term for speakin" of the realm of 8meanin"8, as +e mi"ht say today. 1t +as a name for the a!stract code or str*ct*re +hich is tho*"ht to e.ist, in the +orld: as:e.hi!ition, as somethin" separate from the +orld8s materiality. By the end of the nineteenth cent*ry the moral order had "iven +ay to ne+ names for this a!straction, s*ch as 8society8 or 8c*lt*re8. To consider the political nat*re of these a!stractions, 1 +ant to reach them via a f*rther disc*ssion of the personF for the ne+ notion of the person, as composed of t+o separate entities, !ody and mind, can !e connected to s*ch a!stractions as 8the moral order8. 2t the same time as it denoted the social realm, morality +as somethin" to !e possessed !y individ*als. Up!rin"in" and schoolin" +ere intended not only to discipline the !ody, !*t to form the morals : the mind : of the child. The ne+ notion of c*lt*re had the same do*!le sense. 1t referred !oth to the moral order of the comm*nity and to the set of r*les or val*es to !e ac-*ired !y the individ*al. Th*s the moral or c*lt*ral dimension +as !oth a dimension of the +orld 6its concept*al order, as distinct from its materiality7 and a space or process +ithin the person 6the individ*al8s mind or mentality, as distinct from his or her !ody7. The political methods of the +orld:as:e.hi!ition lay in prod*cin" this coincidence !et+een an apparent d*ality of the person and an apparent d*ality of the +orld. <choolin" +as a process that treated the person in this d*al manner. 1ts po+ers of monitorin" and instr*ctin" +ere desi"ned to keep the mental as +ell as the material *nder o!servation. The para"raph of a "overnment report of 188$ disc*ssin" 8the nat*re of inspection8 e.plained that the task of school inspectors, as 8the eyes of the Minister of )d*cation8, +as to e.amine the condition of each school 8!oth materially and morally8. +-4, Correspondin"ly, the p*rpose of schoolin" +as to form !oth the !ody and the mind of the child. The t+o o!/ects +ere clearly distin"*ished in the standard +ork on )"yptian ed*cational practice, +ritten for the <chools 2dministration in 19$( !y 2!d al:2?i? 5a+ish, the f*t*re nationalist leader +ho had !een trained in the Aancaster method. )d*cation, 5a+ish +rote, +as intended !oth to train the physical !ody of the child, and to form the mind and character. The latter process +as the more vital, !eca*se character alone "*aran: ; 1$( ; teed the e.istence of society 6&u6ta&a 87 and sec*red the order of its affairs. The formation of the person8s mind or character in school +as the means to social order,

77

5a+ish e.plained, !eca*se the st*dents 8are ta*"ht o!edience and s*!mission to the school8s discipline and re"*lations, there!y !ecomin" acc*stomed to respectin" the re"*lation, discipline, and la+s of the state8. The school, he concl*ded, renders in this respect an enormo*s assistance to the "overnment. Unlike the home, moreover, the school 8is a place of competitive activityF this instils in the st*dent8s spirit a likin" for dili"ence and ind*stry in his +ork8.+- , The po+er of +orkin" *pon the individ*al offered !y modern schoolin", as 1 s*""ested in the previo*s chapter, +as to !e the hallmark and the method of politics itself. Politics +as a process to !e conceived accordin" to the same processes as schoolin", and +as to +ork in the same +ay *pon !oth !ody and mind. This ne+ notion of 8politics8 appears in )"yptian +ritin"s from the 18'$s, first of all as somethin" to !e ta*"ht and practised in the ne+ schools, +here it +o*ld provide +hat 4ifa8a al:Tahta+i called 8a "eneral "overnin" po+er8.

The c*stom of the civilised +orld has !een to teach children the Coly H*ran, in the case of the co*ntries of 1slam, and in other co*ntries their o+n !ooks of reli"ion, and then to teach them an occ*pation. This in itself is *no!/ectiona!le. The 1slamic co*ntries, ho+ever, have ne"lected to teach the r*diments of the science of soverei"n "overnment and its applications, +hich are a "eneral "overnin" po+er, partic*larly as re"ards the inha!itants of the villa"es.+--,

Politics in this sense +as not, of co*rse, a field of st*dy previo*sly ne"lected or overlooked. 1t +as a ne+ notion, !ro*"ht into !ein" !y the introd*ction of schoolin" and other practices, incl*din" the +ritin" of those +ho or"anised and directed the ne+ schools. 8The principles and precepts !y +hich the co*ntry is "overned8, Tahta+i e.plained,

are kno+n as the 2rt of <overei"n @overnment 6fann al'siyasa al'&ala/iyya 7, and as the 2rt of 2dministration 6fann al'idara 7, and also as the <cience of <tatecraft 6il& tad(ir al'&a&la/a 7, and the like. The st*dy of this science, the "eneral disc*ssion of it, de!ate and disco*rse *pon it in co*ncils and assem!lies, and its e.amination in the ne+spapers, all this is kno+n as 8Politics8 6(uliti2iyya 7, that is, "overnment 6siyasa 7, from +hich is derived the ad/ective 8political8, meanin" pertainin" to "overnment. Politics is everythin" connected +ith the state 6dawla 7 and its la+s, treaties and alliances.+-.,

The modern notion of politics +as to !e defined !y takin" an 2ra!ic term, siyasa , and associatin" it +ith the )*ropean +ord 8politics8. 0iyasa !efore no+ meant, amon" other thin"s, the e.ercise of a*thority or po+er, 8"overnment8 in the sense of the activity of "overnin" rather than of the !ody that "overns. Aendin" the +ord an association +ith the )*ropean term 8politics8, ; 1$# ; its meanin" is altered from !ein" one of several +ords for "overnin", to stand for a definite field of kno+led"e, de!ate, and practice. 1t +as !y no means the infl*ence of a )*ropean +ord alone, ho+ever, that accomplished this chan"e. Partic*lar practices had developed for +hich siyasa +as already an e.pression. The term had !een *sed in s*ch nineteenth:cent*ry phrases as 8siyasat sihhat al:a!dan8, a phrase translated into 9rench at the time +ith the sin"le +ord hygi;ne , and 8arif !i:*m*r al:siyasa8 6literally 8one learned in matters of siyasa 87, +hich in 18'0 an 2ra! scholar rendered into 9rench as cri&inaliste F siyasa co*ld also mean simply 8to police8.+-/, <imilarly the +ord tad(ir , meanin" arran"ement, administration, or mana"ement, +hich occ*rred t+ice in the passa"e a!ove definin" the meanin" of politics, +as *sed to mean 8treatment 6of an illness78.+-0, 1n other +ords, the appearance of the notion of 8politics8, siyasa , +as neither simply the adoption of a +ord from )*rope nor a concept creatin" its o+n space o*t of nothin". Politics +as a field of practice, formed o*t of the s*pervision of people8s health, the policin" of *r!an nei"h!o*rhoods, the reor"anisation of streets, and, a!ove all, the schoolin" of the people, all of +hich +as taken *p : on the +hole from the 18'$s on+ard : as the responsi!ility and nat*re of "overnment. These activities re-*ired the ela!oration of a ne+ concept denotin" an entire field of practice, of tho*"ht. Usin" the lon":esta!lished +ord siyasa , ho+ever, ca*sed an apparent contin*ity +ith the past, so that the kno+led"e and practices it referred to appeared not as the introd*ction of somethin" previo*sly *ntho*"ht, !*t simply the reintrod*ction of somethin" 8ne"lected8. 1n earlier periods, as 1 s*""ested in chapter (, the "overnment of the co*ntry had !een practised as the a""re"atin" of certain "oods : !odies, crops, monies : re-*ired !y r*lin" ho*seholds for their treas*ry and their armed

78

forces. The political process +as intermittent, irre"*lar, o!li"ed "enerally to e.pand as the only means of increasin" its reven*es, and concerned al+ays +ith a""re"ates. 2s 9o*ca*lt ar"*es, modern politics +as !orn +ith the concern not for a""re"ates !*t individ*als : individ*als +ho co*ld !e separately cared for, schooled, disciplined, and kept clean in an economy of individ*al order and +ell:!ein". Politics, +rote Tahta+i as he introd*ced the concept, 8is the pivot on +hich the or"anisation of the +orld t*rns8 6fa'&adar inti%a& al'ala& ala al'siyasa 7.+-1, The or"anisation of the +orld, its order and +ell:!ein", +as no+ to !e taken *p as the political pro"ramme. Politics, accordin" to Tahta+i, +as divided into five parts. The first t+o, al'siyasa al'na(awiyya 6prophetic7 and al'siyasa al'&ulu/iyya 6monarchic7, conveyed the common and older sense of siyasa as leadership or r*le. 1n the third and fo*rth cate"ories, al'siyasa al'a&&a 6p*!lic7 and al'siyasa al'/hassa 6private7, the ne+ meanin" of political practice appears. 8P*!lic siyasa 8 is defined as 8the leadin" of "ro*ps 6s*ch as the leadership of princes over co*ntries or ; 1$0 ; armies7, the or"anisation of matters as necessary for the improvement of people8s condition, proper administration 6tad(ir 7, and the s*pervision of la+ and order and finances.8+-2, The narro+er concept of leadership is !roadened to incl*de the re"*lation, mana"ement, and s*pervision of a nation8s affairs. The definition +as e.tended f*rther in 8Private siyasa 8, also kno+n as the siyasa of the ho*se, and the fifth kind, al'siyasa al'dhatiyya , the siyasa of the self, in +hich politics +as e.pressed in terms of hy"iene, ed*cation, and discipline. The 8 siyasa of the self8 is 8an individ*al8s inspection of his actions, circ*mstances, +ords, character, and desires, and his control of them +ith the reins of his reason8. 8Man8, Tahta+i added, 8is in fact his o+n doctor : some refer to this as al'siyasa al'(adaniyya 6the siyasa of the !ody7.8+-3, These statements e.tend the meanin" of siyasa from leadership or "overnment to em!race the practices of 8political policy8 : the policin" and inspection 6the +ord *sed has a military connotation, tafa22ud 7 of the !ody, mind, and character of the individ*al s*!/ect.

Ethnog$%phy %n( In(olence

Modelled on the processes of schoolin", the ne+ politics +as to ac-*ire an individ*al hold *pon !oth the !ody and the mind. The need for a hold *pon the mind +as e.plained !y Aord Cromer in terms of the very process of constr*ctin" a colonial a*thority. The pro!lem for the British colonial re"ime in )"ypt, he e.plained, +as that the traditional comm*nal !onds !et+een a r*ler and those +ho +ere r*led : the 8comm*nity of race, reli"ion, lan"*a"e and ha!its of tho*"ht8 : did not e.ist. 1t +as therefore necessary for the "overnment to for"e +hat he called 8artificial !onds8 in their place. These artificial !onds +ere to consist a!ove all in the "overnment8s information a!o*t and *nderstandin" of those +hom they r*led, a kind of *nderstandin" that Cromer called 8reasona!le and disciplined sympathy8. Ce insisted on 8the e.hi!ition of reasona!le and disciplined sympathy for the )"yptians, not merely !y the British @overnment, !*t !y every individ*al )n"lishman en"a"ed in )"yptian administration8. Co+ +as this artificial !ond of *nderstandin" to !e for"ed, in a manner that +o*ld keep it somethin" 8reasona!le and disciplined8E 1t +as to !e 8!ased on acc*rate information and on a caref*l st*dy of )"yptian facts and the )"yptian character8.+-!, The )"yptian character : a notion later to !e replaced +ith terms s*ch as c*lt*re : +as to !e caref*lly e.amined, for a disciplinary politics +as predicated *pon this o!/ect. <*ch e.amination +as itself part of the disciplinary mechanism of po+er : the mechanism that places *nder s*rveillance and contin*o*sly +atches. 2s +ith the re"istration, co*ntin" and inspection of !odies, the politics of the mind +o*ld have to !e"in +ith the process of description, in order to ; 1$% ;

79

constit*te its o!/ect as somethin" separate. The first task of "overnment +as 8to make an acco*nt of all the defects of the pop*lar character8, +rote one of the inspector: "enerals of )"yptian schools, 8to look for their ori"in, and to !rin" a!o*t their c*re !y means contrary to those +hich have ca*sed them8.+.4, 1n 18&(, therefore, he prod*ced a !ook on schoolin" in )"ypt +hose first fifty pa"es +ere devoted to 8the )"yptian character8. 8To descri!e p*!lic instr*ction8, he e.plained on pa"e one, 8is to paint at the same moment a pict*re of the manners and the character of a people.8 This he did, in clear, political terms: the )"yptian is timid and yet defiantF he is s*scepti!le to enth*siasm yet lackin" in all initiativeF his character is one of indifference and immo!ility, en"endered !y a lack of sec*rity a!o*t the f*t*re and an insta!ility of property, +hich has killed the spirit of ind*stry and the need to ac-*ire.+. , The )"yptian 8mind8 or 8character8 is formed in s*ch ethno"raphic decription as a solid o!/ect, the o!/ect *pon +hich the ed*cational practices in +hich the +riter +as en"a"ed co*ld +ork. 8)thnolo"y sho+s *s the effect, history "ives *s the ca*se. B*t it also indicates to those +ho +o*ld profit from its lessons, the remedies to those ills that the ne"lect or the harmf*l infl*ences of precedin" a"es have created.8 The descriptive process of 8ethnolo"y8 and the disciplinary practice of the school +orked to"ether in this +ay to create the ne+ s*!/ect of colonial politics, the individ*al character or mentality. Aike the more sophisticated ethno"raphic concepts that +o*ld replace it : first 8race8 and later 8c*lt*re8 : the concept of character +as to ac-*ire e.planatory force !y representin" the historically mo*lded 8nat*re8 of !oth the individ*als and the society st*died. 8The national character8, +rote the 1nspector:@eneral, dra+in" analo"ies from !iolo"y and "eolo"y, the ma/or sciences of the day, 8is the slo+ !*t constant prod*ct of the historical events that the nation has had to traverse. 4esem!lin" those all*vial plains to +hich each passin" flood has added another layer, this character forms, condenses little !y little, and, /*st as each different "eolo"ical layer indicates to *s a ne+ nat*ral phenomenon, so each physiolo"ical pec*liarity leads *s to a ne+ phase of formation.8 +.-, Modern, ed*cative politics is an ethnolo"ical process, predicated *pon the formation and maintenance of this mind or character. Politics +as to prod*ce and to remedy the individ*al character. The tr*e nat*re of this character, moreover, +as to !e a prod*cer. )thno"raphy emer"ed in the early nineteenth cent*ry, not /*st to descri!e the nat*re of man, !*t as part of a lar"er process of descri!in" man as, !y nat*re, prod*ctive. The first serio*s ethno"raphy of the Middle )ast, )d+ard Aane8s Manners and Custo&s of the Modern Egyptians , +as s*!sidised and p*!lished in )n"land !y the <ociety for the Biff*sion of Usef*l Gno+led"e, the or"anisation set *p !y Aord Bro*"ham, as 1 mentioned earlier, to introd*ce ; 1$' ; !ooks and schoolin" to the ne+ ind*strial +orkin" class in order to teach them the virt*es of ind*strio*sness and self:discipline. Aane8s !ook incl*ded s*ccessive chapters on 8Character8, 81nd*stry8 and 8Use of to!acco, coffee, hemp, opi*m, etc.8. These pa"es descri!ed ho+ 8indolence pervades all classes of the )"yptians, e.cept those +ho are o!li"ed to earn their livelihood !y severe man*al la!o*r8 and ho+ 8even the mechanics Nman*al la!o*rersO, +ho are e.tremely "reedy of "ain, +ill "enerally spend t+o days in a +ork +hich they mi"ht easily accomplish in one8F ho+ )"yptians 8are e.tremely o!stinate and diffic*lt to "overn8 and 8have !een notorio*s from ancient times ... for ref*sin" to pay their ta.es *ntil they have !een severely !eaten8F ho+ 8it is seldom that an )"yptian +orker can !e ind*ced to make a thin" e.actly to order: he +ill "enerally follo+ his o+n opinion in preference to that of his employerF and +ill scarcely ever finish his +ork !y the time he has promised8F ho+ 8in sens*ality, as far as it relates to the ind*l"ence of li!idino*s passions, the )"yptians, as +ell as other natives of hot climates, certainly e.ceed more northern nations8F and finally, ho+ the immoderate addiction of )"yptians to to!acco, coffee, hashish and opi*m had made them still 8more inactive than they +ere in earlier times, leadin" them to +aste ... many ho*rs +hich mi"ht !e profita!ly employed8.
+..,

There +as nothin" *n*s*al a!o*t the theme of indolence as the essential characteristic of the non:)*ropean mentality. )arlier in the nineteenth cent*ry @eor"

80

Bernhard Beppin", a 9rench scholar, ar"*ed for the serio*sness of st*dyin" empirically the manners and c*stoms of other peoples : referrin" to it as the 8moral part8 of "eo"raphy and history, for +hich he proposed a ne+ name 8ethno"raphy8 : !y stressin" +hat it co*ld reveal a!o*t the effects of indolence vers*s ind*stry. 8,hen yo* compare the nations of 2sia and 2frica +ith those of )*rope,8 he +rote, 8yo* cannot fail to discover a strikin" difference !et+een them. The former seem to !e almost pl*n"ed into s*ch a state of indolence as prevents them performin" any thin" "reat.8 1ndolence, in fact, +as the ma/or theme of Beppin"8s +ork. 1t +as the character of less civilised peoples and the ca*se of their condition. <*ch ar"*ments +ere *ncompromisin"ly empirical. 8The sava"es of 2merica are so indolent that they choose rather to end*re h*n"er than to c*ltivate the earth8, he noted, +hile others +ere red*ced !y la?iness to eatin" the !roiled flesh of their o+n kind or even, in the case of one <o*th 2merican tri!e, to a diet of m*d and clay 6kneaded, !aked !efore a slo+ fire, and sometimes seasoned +ith a small fish or li?ard7. Beppin" dre+ a clear lesson from st*dyin" the manners and morals of the less civilised. 8<h*n idleness ... Do* m*st not ima"ine that in co*ntries +here idleness and tho*"htlessness !ecome ha!it*al, men can !e as happy as in others.8 The decline of a people +as d*e to the indolence of those +ho +ork in the fields, 8to prod*ce +hat is necessary for the s*!sistence of the inha!itants8. They +ere to !e ta*"ht ; 1$& ; from their yo*th 8not to +aste in doin" nothin" a sin"le moment that can !e *sef*lly employed8.+./, The )"yptian st*dents +ho +ere !ro*"ht !y the 9rench to st*dy in Paris in the 18($s +ere "iven Beppin"8s +ork to read. 1ts theme that prod*ctive la!o*r formed the tr*e nat*re of man +as at the heart of 9rench plans for the political and economic transformation of )"ypt. 4ifaS al:Tahta+i, the most o*tstandin" of the )"yptian scholars, +as asked !y the 9rench director of the mission to prod*ce an 2ra!ic translation of Beppin"8s most recent !ook, +per<u histori2ue sur les &oeurs et coutu&es des nations . +.0, ,hen Tahta+i ret*rned to )"ypt in 18#1 carryin" in man*script the n*mero*s translations he had made of 9rench +orks, the !ook !y Beppin" +as the first that he revised and had printed.+.1, 2t the same time he tried to o!tain permission to esta!lish a school in Cairo to teach the 8moral part8 of "eo"raphy and history. 2ltho*"h the attempt failed, Tahta+i +as later allo+ed to set *p a <chool of Translation, +here amid the demands for translatin" +orks of military instr*ction he +as a!le to teach these s*!/ects.
+.2,

Tahta+i +rote that he +ished to spend the rest of his life translatin" into 2ra!ic the entire corp*s of 9rench +ritin" on "eo"raphy and history. @overnment d*ties prevented this, ho+ever, *ntil after a chan"e of re"ime in 18%$ +hen he +as sent to open a school in <*dan, +hich he considered a form of e.ile. 1n Gharto*m he prod*ced his translation of 9Mnelon8s +*entures de T7l7&a2ue , +hich e.pressed the same themes of the need for dili"ence and ind*stry amon" the pop*lation, in the earlier form of a moral tale. ,herever TMlMma-*e +ent in his travels o*tside @reece, to The!es, Tyre, and Crete, he fo*nd people 8ind*strio*s, patient, hard:+orkin", neat, so!er and thrifty8, and en/oyin" 8une exacte police 8. Ce fo*nd 8not a sin"le field +here the hand of the dili"ent la!o*rer had not made its markF every+here the plo*"h had left its deep f*rro+s: !ram!les, thorns and all the plants that occ*py the earth +itho*t profit +ere *nkno+n8. +.3, 1t is in terms of the pro!lem of 8ind*strio*sness8 that one can interpret Tahta+i8s !ook Manahi6 al'al(a( al'&isriya , one of the first ma/or +orks in modern 2ra! political +ritin". The !ook8s importance is in introd*cin" the concept of prod*ction, in the form of an e.tended interpretation of the phrase 8the "eneral "ood8 6 al'&anafi8 al'u&u&iyya 7. 2fter el*cidatin" the meanin" of the phrase, the +ork considers its three parts, a"ric*lt*re, man*fact*re, and commerce, and then e.amines their development in )"ypt from the earliest times to the present. The 8"eneral "ood8 refers to the common +ealth that is prod*ced in the material prod*ction of a"ric*lt*re, man*fact*re and commerce, !*t it also refers to prod*ction as the ha!it*al process that creates society. 2t one point in the +ork, Tahta+i states that the phrase 8"eneral "ood8 corresponds to the 9rench

81

term 8industrie 8. The ca*se of )"ypt8s condition is dia"nosed as the a!sence of this ha!it of ind*stry, the ; 1$8 ; characteristic of the prod*ctive individ*al and the civilised society. 1ts a!sence makes )"yptians indolent, and indolence is f*ndamental to their 8character8. Usin" )*ropean so*rces, Tahta+i traces the trait of indolence all the +ay !ack to the ancient )"yptians.+.!, The theme of ind*stry reappears at the end of the +ork, +here Tahta+i ar"*es that there sho*ld !e a "overnment teacher in every villa"e, 8to teach the principles of "overnment and the "eneral "ood8.+/4, The ne+ "overnment schools +ere needed to form the proper mentality in the individ*al, to make every citi?en ind*strio*s.

Sel"=;elp
2ll those +riters involved in the or"anisation of schoolin" developed the theme of indolence and ind*stry in disc*ssin" the mentality of the )"yptian : incl*din" the 1nspector:@eneral -*oted a!ove, and 2li M*!arak. They +ere assisted !y a contin*in" translation of !ooks from )*rope on the same theme. Pro!a!ly the most infl*ential of these translations +as !y the editor of the Cairene /o*rnal al'Mu2tataf , DaS-*! <arr*f. 1n 188$ +hen he +as a teacher in Beir*t, <arr*f translated into 2ra!ic the famo*s !ook !y <am*el <miles, 0elf'1elp, with "llustrations of Conduct and $erse*erence .+/ , The theme of 0elf'1elp coincided e.actly +ith practices takin" shape in )"ypt. 8The +orth and stren"th of a state8, +rote <miles, 8depend far less on the form of its instit*tions than on the character of its men. 9or the nation is only an a""re"ate of individ*al conditions, and civilisation is !*t a -*estion of ... NtheirO personal improvement.8+/-, The !ook +as a!o*t 8character8 6a/hla2 in the 2ra!ic translation7, and a!o*t the 8moral discipline8 6tar(iya 7 !y +hich those of an idle character are made 8ind*strio*s8 6&u6tahid 7. The ha!it of ind*stry 6al'i6tihad 7 is the moral -*ality *pon +hich the state and its pro"ress depend. 83ational pro"ress is the s*m of individ*al ind*stry, ener"y, and *pri"htness, as national decay is of individ*al idleness, selfishness, and vice.8+/., The !ook made 8character8 the o!/ect of its st*dy in order to make three ar"*ments, each of +hich +as to contri!*te to its enormo*s *sef*lness in )"ypt: 617 that the political task of those +ho "overn is to mo*ld individ*al ha!its and moralsF 6(7 that "overnment sho*ld not concern itself therefore +ith f*rther le"islation or "reater ri"hts, all of +hich lead to 8over"overnment8 +hile failin" to make the idle ind*strio*sF and 6#7 that to make the idle ind*strio*s re-*ires the discipline and trainin" of an ed*cation : the aim of +hich is not to s*pply kno+led"e as a 8marketa!le commodity8 +hose ac-*isition makes men 8!etter off, !*t to train those +ho m*st do society8s daily +ork in the mentality of perseverence and ind*stry.+//, The translation +as *sed as a reader at the <yrian Protestant Colle"e 6later the 2merican University7 in Beir*t, +here <arr*f ta*"ht, and its voca!*lary ; 1$9 ; and ideas infl*enced a "eneration of st*dents there.+/0, <everal of these st*dents, to"ether +ith <arr*f, +ere driven o*t of Beir*t in the 188$s !y their 2merican employers, for espo*sin" the theories of Bar+in. They moved to )"ypt, to +ork and to +rite *nder the patrona"e of the British. 3o more devo*t !elievers in the ideas of self:help co*ld have !een fo*nd in this period than the British administrators in )"ypt. The British considered their task to !e to relieve )"ypt of the evil of over"overnment, so that the prod*ctive capacity of the )"yptian peasant co*ld !e realised to the f*ll. +/1, <everal events indicate the impact of <miles8 !ook in )"ypt. 1n 188' a <elf:Celp <ociety +as fo*nded in 2le.andria.+/2, 1n 1898 M*stafa Gamil, the yo*n" leader of the nationalist opposition to the British occ*pation, fo*nded a private school : an act +hich he declared to !e his o+n practical application of the doctrine of self:help. +/3, The phrase 8self:help8 +as inscri!ed on the +all of the school, to"ether +ith several other mottoes

82

from <miles8 !ook.+/!, M*stafa Gamil8s patron, the Ghedive, is said to have "one even f*rther and had the +ords of <am*el <miles +ritten *p on the +alls of his o+n palace. +04, T+o years after fo*ndin" his school as an act of self:help, M*stafa Gamil !ecame the first person to call p*!licly for the fo*ndin" of a *niversity in )"ypt, criticisin" as he did so the ha!it amon" )"yptians of relyin" *pon the "overnment rather than themselves in their affairs.+0 , 2t the same time he esta!lished the ne+spaper al'Liwa 8, +hich +as to !ecome the political mo*thpiece of the 3ational Party. 1ts early iss*es referred fre-*ently to the s*!/ect of ed*cation, and ar"*ed that schools sho*ld !e fo*nded not primarily for the instr*ction of children, !*t for the formin" of their character. +0-, The ne+spaper sa+ its o+n role in the same +ay. 1t devoted an entire col*mn every day to the 8character and ha!its8 of )"yptians. ,ith the translation of +orks like 0elf'1elp , then, the )"yptian character or mentality co*ld !e treated as a distinct and pro!lematic o!/ect, the o!/ect *pon +hich society and its stren"th +ere said to depend. The very occ*pation of the co*ntry !y the British co*ld !e !lamed *pon defects in the )"yptian character, defects +hose remedy +as )"ypt8s political task.+0., 3ationalist +riters in the first years of the t+entieth cent*ry fre-*ently compared the colonial occ*pation of their co*ntry +ith the sit*ation of 5apan, as the 5apanese defeated first the Chinese and then the 4*ssians at +ar. The ma/or difference acco*ntin" for the s*ccess of the 5apanese in defeatin" the lar"est co*ntry in 2sia and the lar"est co*ntry in )*rope +as the difference !et+een the 5apanese and )"yptian mentality. The 5apanese, it +as e.plained at len"th, had or"anised ed*cation and instr*ction, and concentrated on 8the formation of character8.+0/, )"yptians +ere li"ht: hearted, la?y, and fond of idlin" their time, +hile the 5apanese +ere 8serio*s and ind*strio*s8.+00, )arlier, in 1881, the /o*rnal al'Mu2tataf had compared the ind*stry and serio*sness of the 5apanese +ith the li"ht:heartedness of ; 11$ ; )"yptians, mentionin" amon" other thin"s the ind*stry of the 5apanese in translatin" )*ropean !ooks and "ivin" a list of +orks they had translated, at the head of +hich +as the !ook Character , !y <am*el <miles. 2 similar comparison !et+een the mentality of the 5apanese and the )"yptian +as made in the /o*rnal in 1889 : !y comparin" the 5apanese and the )"yptian e.hi!its seen in Paris that year at the +orld e.hi!ition.+01, 2fter the translation into 2ra!ic of 0elf'1elp , perhaps the ne.t +ork to have a similar impact in )"ypt and the 2ra! +orld +as a translation of the !ook !y )dmond Bemolins, + 2uoi tient la sup7riorit7 des +nglo'0axons , a !ook +hich *nderstood the political process a"ain in terms of the pro!lem of individ*al character. +02, The +ork attempted to e.plain ho+ Britain had !ecome the "reatest and most s*ccessf*l colonial po+er, s*pplantin" the 9rench in 3orth 2merica, 1ndia, and )"ypt, and dominatin" the rest of the +orld in commerce, ind*stry, and politics.+03, 1t attri!*ted the s*ccess of the 2n"lo:<a.on to his distinctive moral character, created and transmitted !y the *ni-*e style of )n"lish ed*cation. 9rance and other nations, in contrast, had failed to find a means of transmittin" a modern character and +ay of life from one "eneration to the ne.t, and the res*lt one sa+ in these co*ntries +as a condition of 8*niversal social crisis8.
+0!,

2s the means of formin" a modern character and there!y prod*cin" order in a +orld +here everythin" +as 8in a state of disarray8, the !ook +as +ritten to advocate not /*st )n"lish methods of schoolin" !*t the teachin" of a ne+ and partic*lar kind of kno+led"e: social science. Bemolins, +ho +as editor in Paris of the /o*rnal La science sociale , descri!ed social science as 8at this moment, the sin"le thin" not scandalised !y a similar disarray8. <ocial:scientific kno+led"e, he e.plained, +as somethin" correct and concl*sive, and its very method of classification and comparison "ave an order to the +orld. The partic*lar form this order took +as a division of the +orld into t+o. <ocial science, he contin*ed, 8!y all the thin"s that it analyses, that it compares, that it classes, kno+s that at this moment the +orld is passin", necessarily : and for its o+n "ood : to a ne+ condition, +hich is not transitory, +hich is d*ra!le, and +hich separates, as tho*"h into t+o, the time precedin" and the time to come8.+14,

83

This division of the +orld 8as tho*"h into t+o8, moreover, +as a division not only !et+een epochs, !*t !et+een mentalities. 2s m*ch as there +as a difference !et+een sava"e people and o*rselves, Bemolins +rote, a moral or mental "*lf had opened !et+een those +hose minds +ere formed !y the social sciences and the rest. +1 , The res*ltin" condition, he concl*ded at the end of the !ook, +as 8a moral inferiorityF of the 4ed:<kin in relation to the >rientalF of the >riental in relation to the ,esternerF and of the Aatin and @erman peoples of the ,est, in relation to the 2n"lo:<a.ons8. +1-, 1t +as to these levels of mental inferiority that 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l, the ; 111 ; a*thor of the 2ra!ic translation, dre+ attention in the introd*ction he +rote to the 2ra!ic edition. Cis aim in translatin" the !ook, he said, +as to make people consider the ca*ses of this inferiority, !y comparin" the )"yptian 8character8 to the character of the )n"lish +ho had occ*pied their co*ntry.+1., Ce en*merated +hat he considered the areas of +eakness in the )"yptian character. They incl*ded +eakness in affection and friendship, in determination, in di"nity, and in the +illin"ness to do charita!le +orks. 2!ove all there +as the ha!it of relyin" for everythin" *pon the "overnment, +hose real f*nction +as only to provide order and sec*rity, and to carry o*t /*stice. ,eakness had !een added to +eakness he said, and the co*ntry8s +ealth and affairs +ere no+ in the hands of forei"ners. The forei"ners co*ld not !e !lamed for this, !eca*se they had !enefitted !y their o+n efforts, and !y their social:scientific kno+led"e. +1/, The translation of Bemolins8 +ork had a +ide impact in )"ypt, amon" a certain social class. 1t aro*sed immediately a "reat deal of disc*ssion in the press. +10, <everal years later it +as recalled !y a leadin" )"yptian intellect*al as one of the fe+ +orks that 8spread amon" the masses a scientific !asis for development, so that people co*ld apply its principles to their sit*ation8.+11, The !ook !ecame +idely kno+n amon" ed*cated men, even in provincial )"ypt. The "overnor of a province of *pper )"ypt told a 9rench traveller that he had read Bemolins8 !ook, soon after it had !een p*!lished. Ce had decided to send his son, +ho +as a st*dent at the "overnment preparatory school in Cairo to complete his st*dies at the ne+ school esta!lished !y Bemolins near Paris.+12, The famo*s )cole des 4oches +as set *p !y Bemolins follo+in" the s*ccess of his !ook on 2n"lo:<a.on s*periority. Ce descri!ed the principles of its or"anisation in another +ork, L'Education nou*elle 618987 : +hich Casan Ta+fi- al:Bi/+i, a la+yer employed *nder 9athi Ta"hl*l as a clerk to the native co*rts, translated almost immediately into 2ra!ic. +13,

A 7ene$%tion o" Mothe$s

2 partic*lar theme that co*ld !e dra+n from these political disc*ssions of the )"yptian mentality +as a link !et+een the co*ntry8s 8moral inferiority8 and the stat*s of its +omen. The retarded development of the nation corresponded, it co*ld no+ !e ar"*ed, to the retarded development of the )"yptian +oman. This +as a favo*rite theme of the British colonial administrators. 8The position of +omen in )"ypt8, +rote Aord Cromer, is 8a fatal o!stacle to the attainment of that elevation of tho*"ht and character +hich sho*ld accompany the introd*ction of )*ropean civilisation.8 This civilisation +o*ld not s*cceed, he ar"*ed, if 8the position +hich +omen occ*py in )*rope is a!stracted from the "eneral plan8.+1!, The 8position8 the British had ; 11( ; in mind +as that of modern motherhoodF for the political and economic transformation of )"ypt re-*ired a transformation of the ho*sehold.+24, 1f modern political a*thority +as to +ork thro*"h the formin" and disciplinin" of 8character8, the individ*al ho*sehold, it follo+ed, had to !e transformed into a site of this discipline. To this end it +as necessary to !reak do+n e.istin" patterns of association and se"re"ation, mystified and romanticised *nder s*ch la!els as 8the harem8. 8The *n+holesome : and fre-*ently de"radin" : associations of the old harem life8, +rote Cromer8s >riental <ecretary Carry Boyle, sho*ld 8"ive place to the healthy and elevatin" infl*ence of a "eneration of

84

mothers, keenly alive to their responsi!ilities as re"ards the moral trainin" and +elfare of their children.8+2 , 1n s*ch +ays political po+er +o*ld hope to penetrate that 8inaccessi!le8 space invisi!le to 8the o!servation of the police8 and th*s commence, recallin" a phrase from a previo*s chapter, to 8+ork from the inside o*t8. The need to open *p the inaccessi!le +orld of +omen and there!y prod*ce 8a "eneration of mothers8 +as a theme taken *p amon" )"yptian +riters, in partic*lar !y Hasim 2min, a mem!er of a lar"e lando+nin" family and one of the yo*n" "overnment prosec*tors employed, like Ta"hl*l, in the ne+, )*ropeanised le"al system. 1f men +ere to st*dy the sit*ation of +omen in )"ypt, he +rote, as men had already done in )*rope, they +o*ld find that +omen are 8the so*rce of their decline and the ca*se of their r*in8. +2-, 2ro*nd the t*rn of the cent*ry he p*!lished three +idely disc*ssed !ooks on this "eneral theme. The first of them, Les 7gyptiens , p*!lished +hile he +as still in his t+enties, +as +ritten in 9rench as a response to a +ork !y the B*c d8Carco*rt that had attacked Britain8s claim to !e civilisin" the )"yptians.+2., The !ack+ardness of the )"yptians, Carco*rt had said, +as d*e to certain mental traits that no administrative reforms !y the British co*ld ever noticea!ly alter. These incl*ded a s*!missive character, an insensi!ility to pain, a ha!it of dishonesty, and a!ove all an intellect*al lethar"y that had rendered all >riental societies immo!ile, *na!le to *nder"o any real historical or political transformation. The ideas, c*stoms, and la+s of the 2ra!s today +ere /*st as they had !een one tho*sand years !efore. This sterility, said Carco*rt, +as d*e partly to the stiflin" effects of climate, !*t more to the element most *niform thro*"ho*t the re"ion, 1slam. 1slamic teachin"s created a profo*ndly altered moral sense, +hich destroyed all intellect*al c*riosity. <o deep and lon"standin" +ere these traits that the people +ith +hom one r*!!ed sho*lders in the streets of Cairo differed from the people of 9rance, Carco*rt concl*ded, not only in the da??lin" colo*r of their flo+in" ro!es, !*t in the very nat*re of the men.+2/, 1t +as not *n*s*al that an )"yptian +riter sho*ld reply to these vie+s. ,hat is interestin" is the form of the response. Hasim 2min did not -*estion Carco*rt8s essential distinction !et+een vitality as the characteristic of the ; 11# ; ,est and the tho*sand:year immo!ility of his o+n co*ntry, or the ascription of its ca*ses to certain mental traits. 1n fact he +ent f*rther and said that their conse-*ence in present:day )"ypt +as a condition not /*st of relative decline, !*t of 8dMsor"anisation a!sol*e8. Ce differed +ith Carco*rt !y attri!*tin" this disorder, as he sa+ it, and the mental traits that ca*sed it, not to 1slam !*t to the a!andonin" of 1slam. 4eli"ion had provided the principles of an order that +as no+ lost. )"ypt as a res*lt faced a choice, !et+een attemptin" to reesta!lish order !y a ret*rn to the principles of 1slam, and seekin" a ne+ !asis alto"ether for social or"anisation : in the la+s and principles of social science. 1n fact !y startin" to adopt over the last fe+ decades ideas from contemporary )*rope, )"ypt seemed already to have chosen the second co*rse. ,hatever its merits, the choice had !een somethin" inevita!le and impossi!le to resist, he felt, for the movement of )*ropean civilisation 8prend parto*t *n caractPre envahissant8. )*rope8s civilisation, he said, +as 8la derniPre dans l8ordre des civilisations8 and possessed 8*n caractPre de lon"evitM, /8allais dire d8irrMvoca!ilitM8. +20, The end +as to overcome the state of 8a!sol*te disor"anisation8, +hich +as to !e done !y makin" social science the ne+ or"anisin" principle of society. This "ave a ne+ e.tent to the co*ntry8s need for scientific kno+led"e. Co+ in practice co*ld this political need !e metE The old method, sendin" a cadre of st*dents to )*rope to ac-*ire and !rin" !ack science, +o*ld not !e s*fficient. >ne sol*tion +as to !e the !*ildin" in )"ypt of a national *niversity to prod*ce an ed*cated elite at home. B*t Hasim 2min !e"an !y proposin" the formation of somethin" far lar"er than an intelli"entsia: an ed*cated )"yptian motherhood. 85e s*is partisan a!sol*e8, he anno*nced in Les 7gyptiens , 8d8*ne instr*ction relative po*r les femmes.8 Bismissin" Carco*rt8s fancif*l acco*nts of harems and e*n*chs, Hasim 2min e.plained that +ithin the )"yptian home it +as +omen and not men +ho held po+er. 1t +as this po+er that +as to !e en"a"ed, in order to esta!lish

85

science as society8s principle of order. )d*cation m*st !e "iven to "irls, he said, to ena!le them as mothers to offer scientific ans+ers to the eternal -*estionin" of their children. +21, 2s he ar"*ed repeatedly in his s*!se-*ent +ritin"s, the process of creatin" a modern political order +as to !e"in on the mother8s knee. ,ritin"s of this kind so*"ht to isolate +omen as the loc*s of the co*ntry8s !ack+ardness. They +ere the holders of a po+er that +as to !e !roken *p !y the ne+ policies of the state, transformed into a means of social and political discipline. The family +as to !e or"anised as this ho*se of discipline, +hich +o*ld then !e a!le to prod*ce, alon"side the schools, the military and the other practices 1 have mentioned, the proper 8mentality8 of the )"yptian : *pon +hich the very possi!ility of a social order +as *nderstood to depend. ; 110 ; 1 no+ +ant to ret*rn to this -*estion of the social order. Aike the notion of mind or mentality, the social order +as an a!straction. Aike the mind, it indicated a mental or concept*al realm e.istin" apart from the visi!le +orld of 8mere thin"s8 : the realm of order or str*ct*re. Bisc*ssin" the army, model ho*sin" and the school in chapters ( and #, 1 s*""ested that the ne+ methods of discipline and distri!*tion in each case prod*ced this sort of effect of a non:physical str*ct*re e.istin" apart from thin"s in themselves. Th*s in the military, for instance, the coordination and control of men made an army seem like a machine, somethin" more than the s*m of its parts. The appearance of the military as a machine made the a!sence of s*ch a str*ct*re in old armies s*ddenly visi!leF old armies no+ seemed like 8a cro+d in a place of diversion8. <imilarly, as +e sa+, the methods of discipline in the modern school made it s*ddenly possi!le to talk of the 8chaos8 and the 8!ro*haha8 of the teachin" mos-*e. >nce the same methods of coordination and control +ere envisa"ed for the civilian and the city, e.istin" cities in the same +ay s*ddenly appeared filled +ith the cro+d. 1n terms of the ne+ perception of the cro+d one enco*nters the same s*dden discovery of the pro!lem of a social order.

The $ro!lem of #o iety

The -*estion of the cro+d has already !een mentioned in )"yptian acco*nts of /o*rneys to )*rope. ,hat +as remarka!le a!o*t Paris or Marseilles +as not only the layo*t of the !*ildin"s and the shops !*t the disciplined, ind*strio*s manner of the individ*al in the !*sy streets. 8)ach person +as occ*pied +ith his o+n !*siness, proceedin" on his +ay, takin" care not to harm or interfere +ith anyone else.8 <*ch descriptions are reminiscent of )d"ar 2llan Poe8s 8Man in the cro+d8, +ho o!served from his cafM +indo+ ho+ 8!y far the "reater n*m!er of those +ho +ent !y had a satisfied, !*sinesslike demeano*r, and seemed to !e thinkin" only of makin" their +ay thro*"h the press. Their !ro+s +ere knit and their eyes rolled -*icklyF +hen p*shed a"ainst !y fello+:+ayfarers they evinced no symptom of impatience, !*t ad/*sted their clothes and h*rried on.8 +22, The cro+d in the street, in fact, !ecame a common topos in !oth ,estern and )"yptian +ritin". 83o s*!/ect8, o!served Ben/amin, 8+as more entitled to the attentions of nineteenth:cent*ry +riters.8+23, The cro+d in the city8s streets +as the theme in a +ork of fiction that appeared in )"ypt at the end of the nineteenth cent*ry. Aike the +orks 1 e.amined in earlier chapters, the story +as +ritten in the form of a /o*rney. B*t altho*"h its prota"onists event*ally find themselves in Paris 6travellin" there, 1 sho*ld add, to see the ).position Universelle of 19$$7, for the first time in a +ork of modern )"yptian fiction the ma/or events are set not in ; 11% ; )*rope !*t in Cairo. The t+o prota"onists, a yo*n" +riter named 1sa i!n Cisham and his elderly and respecta!le companion, the Pasha, are /ostled !y cro+ds from the very start of their /o*rney. They meet in one of the cemeteries o*tside Cairo, +here the Pasha, +ho lived in Cairo fifty years !efore, has ret*rned from the dead to discover +ith

86

shock and conf*sion +hat has happened to the city since. 2s they set off into the city, a donkey driver tries to cheat the Pasha over the payment of a fare and an ar"*ment !reaks o*t. The Pasha calls the donkey driver an 8insolent peasant8. Ce in t*rn +arns the Pasha 8+e are in an a"e of li!erty, and there is no distinction !et+een the donkey driver and the prince8. 2ro*nd them, +e are told, a cro+d has already formed. 2 policeman arrives, more interested in a !ri!e than in 8preservin" order,8 and marches the Pasha off to the police station. They are accompanied, the a*thor adds, !y the enormo*s cro+d. +2!, 1n s*!se-*ent chapters the t+o characters /o*rney thro*"h the modern streets of Cairo and the ne+ spaces of its p*!lic life. They find themselves in the co*rt ho*se and the "aol, the hotel and the resta*rant, theatres and dance halls, !ars, cafMs and !rothels, accompanied thro*"ho*t !y the restless, noisy cro+d. 8,hat is this enormo*s commotionE8 asks the Pasha on one occasion, as they +alk d*rin" the evenin" in the centre of the city, 8 ... this cleavin" m*ltit*de, this cro+dE8 Ce s*pposes there m*st !e some fantastic feast or f*neral. 83o,8 ans+ers 1sa i!n Cisham, 8/*st people con"re"atin" in p*!lic : companions spendin" an evenin" to"ether and drinkers "ettin" dr*nk.8 +34, This com!ination of the *nr*ly commotion of life and the a!sence of all moral and political discipline repeats itself in almost every episode of the novel. The cro+d is enco*ntered not only in the !rothel and the cafM !*t even at the final place they visit on their /o*rney, the theatre. The theatre in )*rope 6a companion e.plains to the Pasha7 is a place +here people8s morals are refined, !y the portrayal of their history and other themes in dramatic form. Cere it +as very different. The actors danced, sho*ted, and caro*sed on sta"e, and the a*dience, composed of people from every class, did not sit silently like )*ropeans, as spectators, !*t /oined in, la*"hin" and appla*din" as a ra*co*s cro+d.+3 , The Tale of "sa i(n 1isha& , as the !ook +as called, +as descri!ed !y later +riters as the most important +ork of ima"inative literat*re of its "eneration. +3-, 1t +as very +idely read. 2n e.p*r"ated version +as later *sed !y the Ministry of )d*cation, as a te.t in all "overnment secondary schools.+3., 1t has !een interpreted as a +ork of social criticism that e.presses the li!eralism +hich emer"ed in the political tho*"ht of the period. The term li!eralism tends to !e misleadin". The donkey driver8s statement a!o*t an a"e of li!erty has !een cited to ill*strate a ma/or theme of the !ook, that )"yptians m*st !e ta*"ht the principle of e-*ality !efore the la+.+3/, B*t these +ords ; 11' ; come from the mo*th of an insolent peasant. The concern of the !ook is not +ith e-*ality of ri"hts !*t +ith social chaos, a chaos s*ddenly visi!le in the indiscipline of the city8s streets +here the peasant !ehaves as an e-*al of the Pasha. 1ndiscipline is not *s*ally considered a central concern of li!eral tho*"ht, !*t rather than a!andonin" the la!el of li!eralism 1 +o*ld prefer to *se these +ritin"s from )"ypt to *nderstand li!eralism in its colonial conte.t. )"yptian li!eralism spoke a!o*t /*stice and le"al ri"htsF !*t these concerns +ere contained +ithin a +ider pro!lematic. 4i"hts co*ld only !e en/oyed +ithin a society of o!edient and ind*strio*s individ*als, and it +as these characteristics, as +e have seen, that )"yptians no+ s*ddenly seemed to lack. Ai!eralism +as the lan"*a"e of a ne+ social class, threatened !y the a!sence of the mental ha!its of ind*stry and o!edience +hich +o*ld make possi!le a social order. The Tale of "sa i(n 1isha& artic*lated the political fears of this class. The novel +as +ritten !y the thirty:year:old M*hammad al:M*+ailihi and p*!lished !et+een 1898 and 19$( in Mis(ah al'0har2 , a paper fo*nded and edited !y his father. The father +as a mem!er of a leadin" merchant ho*sehold of Cairo, the )"yptian !ranch of a +ealthy te.tile:tradin" family from the Ce/a? 6the 4ed <ea coast of 2ra!ia7. The history of the family is +orth mentionin", for it ill*strates the fort*nes of this mercantile class. The M*+ailihi8s had "ro+n prospero*s in the ei"hteenth cent*ry +ith the prosperity of )"ypt8s 4ed <ea trade, and in the nineteenth cent*ry had !ecome close political allies of the )"yptian r*lin" family. <*ch alliances, ho+ever, +ere *na!le to sec*re the co*ntry8s lar"e merchant families a"ainst the e.pansion of )*ropean commerce. 1n the 18&$s, after !ein" resc*ed from commercial r*in !y the Ghedive, the M*+ailihi8s +ere

87

amon" those +ho led the nationalist opposition to )"ypt8s commercial and financial control !y the )*ropean po+ers.+30, By the 189$s the son +as employed as a "overnment official *nder the British, +ho had responded to the nationalist *prisin" in 188( !y placin" the co*ntry *nder military occ*pation. M*hammad al:M*+ailihi +rote "sa i(n 1isha& at the same time as t+o infl*ential friends of his o+n a"e, Hasim 2min and 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l, +ere +ritin" the similar +orks of social criticism 1 have already mentioned, one descri!in" the co*ntry8s condition as a state of a!sol*te disor"anisation, the other as part of a *niversal social crisis.+31, The three men +ere all mem!ers of the same social and literary salon, +here they mi.ed +ith fello+ "overnment servants, ma"istrates, and prosec*ters, +ith mem!ers of some of the co*ntry8s important T*rkish families, +ith British officials, and +ith visitin" >rientalist scholars.+32, The concern amon" those +ho "athered in s*ch salons to+ards the end of the nineteenth cent*ry +as not so m*ch the colonial occ*pation, from +hich as lando+ners, merchants and "overnment officials their families +ere !e"innin" to !enefit even as they resented the ; 11& ; fact of )*ropean control, !*t the cro+d that threatened in the streets and cafMs o*tside.

Noise %n( Con"9sion

The n*m!er of cafMs, !ars, and "amin" rooms in Cairo increased more than threefold, from (,#1' to &,0&%, in the last decade of the nineteenth cent*ry. +33, Bescriptions of cafM life are fo*nd fre-*ently in the literat*re of the period, partic*larly that concerned +ith descri!in" the co*ntry8s state of disorder. They ena!led the +riter to follo+ the e.istence of the cro+d into confined, interior spaces.
The cafM in Cairo is a place +here the ra!!le "athers ... in a space so confined that its occ*pants are almost overcome !y the f*mes that rise from the stoves and the smoke of the pipes and nar"ilehsF so that a person +ho +alks in feels he has entered a !*rnin" fire, or the cramped confines of a prison. 1t is the so*rce of n*mero*s infections and diseases, and a ref*"e for the *nemployed and the indolent, partic*larly in those places kno+n for the cons*mption of hashish. The only thin" one hears once inside are +ords rep*"nant to the ear and offensive to one8s nat*re. The place is a scene of contin*al ar"*ments and fi"hts. +3!,

1n the cafM, as in the !ar and the !rothel, the partic*lar 8disorders8 of the cro+d co*ld !e dia"nosed : the first and most prevalent of +hich +as al+ays indolence and *nemployment. 1n 19$( the +ork in 2ra!ic on The $resent 0tate of the Egyptians, or, The Causes of Their :etrogression !y M*hammad Umar disc*ssed at len"th some of the f*rther conse-*ences of this indolence and these ne+ forms of social life, incl*din" alcoholism, dr*" addiction, promisc*ity, disease and insanity. +!4, 2ll of these +ere spreadin" alarmin"ly, the !ook said, especially amon" the poor. <choolin" amon" the poor +as still ins*fficient, and if anyone sho*ld learn to read, the !ooks availa!le to them contained more ill*strations than te.t, f*ll of *n+holesome stories s*ch as 8The 9ellah and the Three ,omen8. >ne s*ch !ook had recently "one thro*"h si. reprints in less than a month.+! , 9amily life +as ne"lected. Men had taken to spendin" their days or their entire evenin"s in the more disrep*ta!le cafMs, +here +omen entertained and men told the stories of Bon 5*an. A*nacy +as another symptom that co*ld no+ !e dia"nosed. Umar8s !ook +arned that the hospital for the insane in 2!!asiyya, a ne+ instit*tion only recently set *p !y the British, +as already so overcro+ded +ith mem!ers of the lo+er classes that it +as dischar"in" into the streets h*ndreds +ho +ere still diseased, to make room for others even +orse afflicted. 2 list of kno+n ca*ses of insanity for those admitted in 1899 +as -*oted, from the ann*al report of Mr ,arnock, Birector in A*nacy for the )"yptian "overnment. ; 118 ; The caref*l classification of ca*ses offered at least some sense of order:

88

Cashish

($%

Aoss of !lood

&

<e.*al incontinence

1#

2lcohol

1'

Typhoid fever

9ood deficiency

1#

<enility

1$

)pilepsy

#9

1diocy and im!ecility

1$

<yphilis

(&

T*!erc*losis

@rief, poverty and distress

#0

Ceredity

(9

,eakmindedness

(0

2ddiction to alcohol and dr*"s, the a*thor s*mmarised, +as part of a "eneral +eakness of +ill, +hich +as ca*sin" more dama"e to social life amon" the poor than poverty itself.+!-, The a*thor8s o+n class : those +ho +orked for the prosperity of the comm*nity in commerce, a"ric*lt*re, and man*fact*rin" 6to !e distin"*ished from the old aristocracy, he e.plained, +ho lived off income from property, emol*ments, or inheritance7, to"ether +ith those +ho +orked as scholars and +riters : +ere set apart from all this !y their sense of 8order8. They +ere not afflicted +ith the indolence fo*nd amon" the poor and even the very rich. This, the !ook emphasised, +as thanks to the order introd*ced !y the British, +hich had "iven them self:confidence and initiative in their affairs. The order stood in contrast to the chaos ca*sed !y the Ura!i revol*tion that had preceded the British occ*pation of the co*ntry.+!., 83oise and conf*sion8 +ere the sort of terms in +hich men of this class descri!ed the sit*ation aro*nd them. These +ere the +ords *sed !y the +riter 2!d al:Camid al:Tahra+i to descri!e the co*ntry8s "eneral condition. Tahra+i, a <yrian +ho lived in )"ypt in this period, +as later to serve in Paris as President of the 9irst 2ra! Con"ress and +as one of several do?en prominent 2ra! nationalists han"ed for 8treason8 !y the T*rkish "overnment d*rin" the 9irst ,orld ,ar. The noise and conf*sion +as a social disease, he +rote, that had !roken o*t over the comm*nity. The intelli"ent men one fo*nd amon" the scholarly comm*nity and those trained in modern science, amon" the old respecta!le families, and amon" those involved in lar"e:scale a"ric*lt*re and commerce, +ere in dan"er of !ein" silenced and destroyed !y this disorder, he +rote, this noise and conf*sion.+!/, 2nother threat to 8order8 sin"led o*t in the +ritin"s of this class +as Cairo8s yo*th. They +ere *nder:ed*cated, *nder:employed, and *nder:am*sed, and formed a distinct and potentially disr*ptive social pro!lem. They lacked the discipline of an ed*cation, it +as said, for schoolin" had done nothin" to keep pace +ith the increase in pop*lation, and e.cept amon" the co*ntry8s Christian pop*lation had act*ally declined.+!0, The yo*ths took to the streets of the city every evenin" and roamed a!o*t in "ro*ps. Their latest fad 6(id8a 7, +e are told, +as practical /okin". The a*thor of The $resent 0tate of the Egyptians mentioned that he himself had !een a victim, accosted at his cl*! !y three stran"ers t+o of +hom +ere dressed as ; 119 ; +omen. They t*rned o*t to !e yo*n" men from the "overnment office +here he +orked, the sons of +ell:to:do families and pro!a!ly dr*nk at the time. +!1, B*rin" the daytime, instead of !ein" occ*pied +ith school or +ork, yo*n" men idled their time, like the poor, in cafMs, partic*larly in the late afternoon +hen the daily ne+spapers appeared, and ar"*ed +itho*t point or end over the latest 4e*ters reports. They sho*ld !e made to

89

*nderstand, +rote Umar, that in civilised co*ntries politics +as a science, /*st like the other social sciences, and not a s*!/ect of idle de!ate in cafMs. +!2,

The Soci%l O$(e$

The nationalism that emer"ed d*rin" the later nineteenth cent*ry in Cairo, in its cafMs and in the ne+spapers yo*n" men read there, in the salons of the ne+ lando+nin" families and "overnment officials, in officers8 -*arters and in the open street, has often !een *nderstood as an 8a+akenin"8. The ima"e depicts a comm*nity that s*ddenly !ecame self:a+are, *s*ally !eca*se prompted !y )*ropeans. This a+areness, it is said, +as then "rad*ally artic*lated, *ntil it "re+ !y the end of the 9irst ,orld ,ar into anti: colonial revolt. The ima"e of national a+akenin" is pro!lematic : not only !eca*se it has al+ays implied that people +ere previo*sly *na+ake and *na+are 6yet Cairo never lacked an active and resistant political life7, !*t !eca*se there seems to follo+ from this the implication that nationalism al+ays e.ists, as a sin"*lar tr*th a!o*t 8the nation8 +aitin" to !e realised. 1t is somethin" discovered, not invented. +!3, 3ationalism +as not a sin"*lar tr*th, !*t a different thin" amon" these different social "ro*ps. My concern here is +ith those +ho sec*red ne+ +ealth and political po+er *nder the British, and maintained it as the British +ithdre+. Their political +ritin"s +ere concerned +ith the threatenin" presence of the mass of +orkin" and *nemployed )"yptians. This threatenin" presence took most often the form of the cro+d. <omeho+ this cro+d +as to !e ordered and made o!edient and ind*strio*s. 1ts individ*als +ere to !e formed into an or"anised and disciplined +hole. 1t +as this o!edient and re"*lated +hole that +as to !e ima"ined *nder the name of the 8nation8, that +as to !e constr*cted as )"yptian 8society8. 2nd the +ord for this political process of discipline and formation +as ed*cation.+!!, 1t +as in terms of ed*cation that the notion of 8society8 or 8social form8 had first !een introd*ced in the +ritin"s of the 18&$s. 8The proper state of the ed*cation of individ*als 6!oth male and female7, and its spread amon" them, Tahta+i had +ritten, 8or"anises the proper state of the ed*cation of the collective form, that is, the comm*nity in its entirety.8+ 44, The formation of individ*als +as to !e the means to the formation of a 8collective form8. <everal s*ch attempts +ere made to find a partic*lar phrase or +ord for this collectivity that +as to !e or"anised !y the discipline and instr*ction of indi: ; 1($ ; vid*als. Phrases s*ch as al'inti%a& al'u&rani 6social or"anisation7+ 4 , and al' 6a&8iyya al'&unta%i&a 6or"anised association7+ 4-, +ere *sed, !*t the sort of phrase that !ecame common +as al'hay'a al'&u6ta&a8iyya ' hay'a , meanin" 8form8 itself, in the sense of visi!le shape or condition, -*alified +ith the ad/ective from the +ord &u6ta&a8 , collective. Tahta+i in this case "lossed the *n*s*al and a+k+ard e.pression al'hay'a al' &u6ta&a8iyya 6the collective form, society7 !y e.plainin" that it stands for 8the comm*nity in its entirety8. The Pasha in The Tale of "sa i(n 1isha& had enco*ntered this ne+ e.pression in the midst of his enco*nter +ith the cro+d. 2fter his ar"*ment +ith the donkey driver and his ni"ht in "aol, he had fo*nd himself !efore the state prosec*tor, amid 8a cro+d of liti"ants8. 8,ho is this servant:!oy8, he asked, 8and +hat is this cro+dE8 Cis companion e.plained that the yo*n" man, from a peasant family, +as the prosec*tor. 2ccordin" to the ne+ order he +as responsi!le for prosec*tin" criminals, 8on !ehalf of society 6 al' hay'a al'i6ti&a8iyya 78. ,hat, asked the Pasha, is 8society8E 1t is the +hole comm*nity 6&a6&u8at al'u&&a 7, he +as told.+ 4., The neolo"ism +as e.plained !*t the Pasha8s conf*sion concernin" the ne+ order remained : 8that people sho*ld !e r*led over !y a peasant, the comm*nity represented !y a plo*"h!oyQ8+ 4/, Cis conf*sion reflects the diffic*lty of ima"inin" this ne+ o!/ect called society. 1t +as ne+ in several respects. 1ts order +as not a hierarchy of personal stat*s, for peasants no+ appeared as e-*al mem!ers +ith "entlemen. 1ts mem!ership +as not a

90

pattern of kinship e.tendin" o*t+ard, ho+ever distantly, from one8s o+n connections. 8<ociety8 +as somethin" enco*ntered a!ove all in the form of cro+ds. <omeho+ the stran"ers cro+ded to"ether in the co*rtroom +ere to !e conceived as parts of a social +hole to +hich one !elon"ed, even tho*"h nothin" seemed to connect the Pasha to the cro+d e.cept their occ*pyin" the same space at the same moment. To conceive of these connections, and to constr*ct them into a social +hole +as not necessarily a matter of e.tendin" one8s hori?ons or enlar"in" one8s ima"ination. 1t +as more a matter of adoptin" ne+ political and social practices, +hich !ro*"ht a ne+ set of ass*mptions. Certain practices involvin" self and space, order and time, !ody and mentality +ere to !e adopted, of the kind 1 have !een descri!in" in this !ook, so that the dimensions of space and time and mentality appeared to stand apart as a concept*al str*ct*re, a +holeF and it +as to !e for"otten that they +ere mere appearances. 1n )*rope in this period one finds the same attempt *nder+ay to envision 8society8 as !oth a political and concept*al str*ct*re e.istin" apart from people themselves, the same connection +ith the process of schoolin" and the same fears of the cro+d. 1n order to !rin" o*t the pec*liar nat*re of the connections !et+een the cro+d, the school and the conception of an o!/ect called society, it may help to recall the +ritin"s of a ma/or )*ropean social ; 1(1 ; theorist from this period. The +ork of )mile B*rkheim, +ho trained as a school teacher in Paris in the 188$s and later lect*red there on ed*cation and social theory, laid the !ase on +hich +as !*ilt m*ch of the t+entieth cent*ry8s scientific st*dy of this ne+ o!/ect, society. B*rkheim8s importance to social science +as that he esta!lished society as somethin" +ith an 8o!/ective8 e.istence, as a mental order independent of the individ*al mentality, and sho+ed ho+ this ima"inary o!/ect mi"ht !e st*died. B*rkheim demonstrated that the social realm had an e.istence independent of partic*lar individ*al minds !y referrin", in the first place, to the !ehavio*r of the individ*al +ho /oins a cro+d. 8The "reat movements of enth*siasm, indi"nation, and pity in a cro+d do not ori"inate in any one of the partic*lar individ*al conscio*snesses8, he +rote in The :ules of 0ociological Method , p*!lished in 189%. 8They come to each one of *s from +itho*t and can carry *s a+ay in spite of o*rselves ... Th*s, a "ro*p of individ*als, most of +hom are perfectly inoffensive, may, +hen "athered in a cro+d, !e dra+n into acts of atrocity.8+ 40, The tone of this passa"e already indicates +hat +as to !e politically at stake in esta!lishin" the o!/ect of social science. The pro!lem of the potentially *n!o*nded violence of the cro+d is associated +ith an *n!o*nded individ*al nat*re. Modern li!eralism8s ori"inary fear of +hat any one of *s mi"ht do 8in spite of o*rselves8 is a fear at the heart of li!eral social science. + 41, 9rom the fear of the *n!o*nded and *ndisciplined s*!/ect arises the need to kno+ and to stren"then the o!/ective e.istence of society. The co*nterpart to the o!/ective nat*re of society, in B*rkheim8s +ork as in all li!eral social theory, +as the necessity and the *niversal nat*re of ed*cation. )d*cation, B*rkheim +rote, is 8the means !y +hich society perpet*ally recreates the conditions of its very e.istence8.+ 42, 1f society +as an o!/ect e.istin" apart from the individ*al, as a conscience collecti*e , it re-*ired a mechanism for recreatin" its collective morality in the individ*al. This morality +as a system of discipline, !ased on 8re"*larity and a*thority8, and it +as s*ch discipline that schoolin" in the modern state +as to inc*lcate. 8The child m*st learn to coordinate his acts and re"*late them ... Ce m*st ac-*ire self:mastery, self:restraint, self:domination, self:determination, the taste for discipline and order in !ehavio*r.8 The coordination of individ*als to form a nation:state depended *pon this common discipline. 1n his lect*re co*rses on 8The teachin" of morality in the primary school8, B*rkheim e.plained that the p*rpose of *niversal sec*lar state ed*cation +as to make the child 8*nderstand his co*ntry and times, to make him a+are of its needs, to initiate him into its life, and in this +ay to prepare him for the collective tasks +hich a+ait him8.+ 43,

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2 n*m!er of )"yptians attended B*rkheim8s lect*res on ed*cation and social theory at the <or!onne, incl*din" the +riter and f*t*re ed*cation ; 1(( ; minister Taha C*sayn. B*t the +orks on ed*cation and social theory that Taha C*sayn and others chose to translate into 2ra!ic +ere not those of B*rkheim. They chose instead the +ritin"s of a !etter kno+n contemporary, +ho in 189%, the same year as The :ules of 0ociological Method appeared, p*!lished a famo*s +ork on The Crowd .

An Elite o" S9pe$io$ Men

81 *sed to feel a resentment to+ards )"ypt that 1 felt to+ards no other h*man society8, +rote a col*mnist in the )"yptian paper al'Mu'ayyad in 191$. 81 +o*ld almost !elieve that its character and condition made it a stran"e e.ception : *ntil 1 read this !ook.8 The !ook +as :uh al'i6ti&a8 , a translation of @*stave Ae Bon8s scientific st*dy of the cro+d, $sychologie des foules , and had !een p*!lished in Cairo the previo*s year. 81t e.plains the nat*re of societies in "eneral, eastern and +estern,8 contin*ed the col*mnist, 8and determines a sin"le la+ that applies to all of them, +itho*t variants or e.ceptions. 1 have learnt that there is no difference !et+een )"ypt8s people and the people of other co*ntries.8+ 4!, The !ook esta!lishin" this la+ +as translated into 2ra!ic !y 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l, the translator of Bemolins : and the estran"ed !rother of the f*t*re nationalist leader <aSd Ta"hl*l. 9athi Ta"hl*l +as kno+n amon" ordinary )"yptians as one of the mem!ers of the "overnment tri!*nal set *p in the Belta villa"e of Binsha+ai, follo+in" a fi"ht there in +hich a British officer of the army of occ*pation had !een killed. The tri!*nal had responded to this threat of pop*lar violence a"ainst the colonial re"ime !y orderin" si. of the villa"ers to !e han"ed. Ta"hl*l +as no+ Under:<ecretary in the )"yptian Ministry of 5*stice.+ 4, The !ook he translated seems to have !een +idely read, at least amon" those +ith similar fears concernin" the threat of pop*lar disorder. <carcely t+o years later the f*t*re rector of the )"yptian University +as +ritin" that its ideas 8have !een completely assimilated !y )"yptian minds, as sho+n in the very voca!*lary *sed !y +riters in the press8. The assimilation of the res*lts of research !y s*ch social scientists 6ula&a' al'i6ti&a8 7 +as helpin" to rectify )"yptian ideas a!o*t society. The la+s it revealed, he said, +ere to !e applied to "*ide the co*ntry for+ard. + , 2s part of this effort, several other +orks !y @*stave Ae Bon +ere translated into 2ra!ic. 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l prod*ced an 2ra!ic version of Les lois psychologi2ues de l'7*olution des peuples , +hile a translation of Ae Bon8s scientific st*dy of schoolin", $sychologie de l'7ducation , +as prod*ced !y the f*t*re rector8s protM"M Taha C*sayn : the +riter +ho +as to !ecome a dean of the University and later Minister of )d*cation and C*lt*re.+ -, Ae Bon8s +ork as an >rientalist +as e-*ally important, as +e +ill see, and t+o of his !ooks +ere translated into 2ra!ic: La ci*ilisation des +ra(es , and the third ; 1(# ; part of Les pre&i;res ci*ilisations .+ ., These +orks profo*ndly infl*enced the ne+ nationalist historio"raphy that +riters of this class +ere startin" to prod*ce. Ae Bon, in s*m, +as pro!a!ly the stron"est individ*al )*ropean infl*ence in t*rn:of:the:cent*ry Cairo on the political tho*"ht of )"ypt8s emer"ent !o*r"eoisie. There +as nothin" *n*s*al a!o*t the infl*ence of Ae Bon8s social theories. Cis !ook on the cro+d has !een descri!ed as 8possi!ly the most infl*ential !ook ever +ritten in social psycholo"y8.+ /, Cis +ork also infl*enced political leaders, incl*din" M*ssolini 6+ho is said to have fre-*ently cons*lted the +ork on the cro+d7 and Theodore 4oosevelt. ,hen the former 2merican president visited Cairo in 191$ and anno*nced controversially in an address at the ne+ 3ational University that )"yptians +ere not s*fficiently evolved to deserve self:"overnment, he +as carryin" +ith him, alon" +ith the Bi!le, a copy of Ae Bon8s !ook on the psycholo"ical la+s of the evol*tion of peoples. + 0, Ae Bon8s +ork as a pop*lar social scientist and >rientalist addressed t+o ma/or iss*es: ho+ to acco*nt for the difference !et+een advanced and !ack+ard societies, and

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ho+ to acco*nt for the difference +ithin a society !et+een the mass of its people and the elite. Ce had contri!*ted in his early +ork to the ne+ literat*re on intelli"ence, as the varia!le most closely correlated to the level of advancement of a race. 1ntelli"ence +as meas*red !y the vol*me and diameter of the sk*ll, +hich +ere sho+n to increase as the !rain itself evolved in si?e and comple.ity. 6These findin"s of Ae Bon +ere *sed !y B*rkheim, in his early +ork on The -i*ision of La(our in 0ociety .7+ 1, Ae Bon claimed to !e the inventor of the pocket cephalometer, a caliper device +ith +hich a traveller co*ld record the si?e of a people8s heads, and there!y cali!rate the de"ree of their advancement.+ 2, By this criterion, the !lack, yello+, and Ca*casian races +ere clearly distin"*isha!le as three separate sta"es on the ladder of evol*tion. 2natomical varia!les +ere *ns*ccessf*l, ho+ever, in e.plainin" one ma/or difference in c*lt*ral and political development, namely the "ap !et+een the t+o !ranches of the Ca*casian race, the )*ropeans of the north and the <emites of the Middle )ast. Ae Bon re/ected lan"*a"e or instit*tions as an alternative varia!le, and in +ritin" a!o*t the 2ra!s introd*ced instead the idea of a people8s psyche or so*l, the collective mind of the "ro*p or race. )very nation had a 8mental constit*tion8 : no do*!t correspondin" to anatomical varia!les in the !rain, !*t varia!les +hich science +as not yet precise eno*"h to detect : that +as composed of its sentiments, ideas, and !eliefs, and +as created !y a process of slo+, hereditary acc*m*lation.+ 3, 1t +as this idea of a collective mind or mental constit*tion that B*rkheim, ori"inally infl*enced !y Ae Bon, developed into the modern concept of society.+ !, ; 1(0 ; The national mind +as 8the synthesis of a people8s entire past8, Ae Bon e.plained, and took many "enerations to evolve. 1t follo+ed from this that )*rope +o*ld !e *na!le to introd*ce modern civilisation, as +as !ein" fre-*ently proposed, to other parts of the +orld simply !y ed*cation. 82 ne"ro or a 5apanese may easily take a *niversity de"ree or !ecome a la+yer8, +rote Ae Bon in one of his +orks translated into 2ra!ic. 8The sort of varnish he th*s ac-*ires is ho+ever -*ite s*perficial, and has no infl*ence on his mental constit*tion.8 )*rope +o*ld have to alter not /*st the level of intelli"ence of a nation it hoped to modernise, as +as then commonly tho*"ht, !*t its psyche. 8To ena!le it to !e-*eath its civilisation to another people, it +o*ld !e necessary that it sho*ld !e a!le to !e-*eath its so*l.8+ -4, Ae Bon also made the point that the ideas and c*lt*re of a nation +ere developed not amon" the mass of a nation !*t lar"ely amon" its elite. Bet+een the masses in a co*ntry s*ch as )"ypt therefore, and those in parts of )*rope, the difference in the level of development mi"ht not !e very "reat. 8,hat most differentiates )*ropeans from >rientals is that only the former possess an 7lite of s*perior men8, he e.plained. This small phalan. of eminent men fo*nd amon" a hi"hly civilised people 8constit*tes the tr*e incarnation of the forces of a race. To it is d*e the pro"ress realised in the sciences, the arts, in ind*stry, in a +ord in all the !ranches of civilisation.8 2s so m*ch of the ethno"raphic +ritin" of this period +as demonstratin", individ*als in less civilised comm*nities displayed a "reat de"ree of e-*ality amon" themselves. 9rom this there follo+ed an important concl*sion, +hich helps e.plain the pop*larity of Ae Bon amon" +riters of a certain class in )"ypt. Modern pro"ress m*st !e *nderstood as a movement to+ards increasin" ine-*ality.+ - , Pro"ress involved the steady "ro+th of an elite and its achievement of civilisation !y lon" hereditary acc*m*lation. Det this acc*m*lation, +arned Ae Bon, altho*"h inherited in the very cells of the !rain, co*ld !e -*ickly and easily lost. These cells +ere s*!/ect to physiolo"ical la+s /*st like those of any other or"an, and +hen no lon"er employed to f*lfil its f*nction the !rain atrophied very -*ickly. Those -*alities of character acc*m*lated over cent*ries !y an avanced people, namely 8co*ra"e, initiative, ener"y, the spirit of enterprise8, co*ld very -*ickly disappear.+ --,

The Collecti#e Min(

93

Ae Bon developed these ideas in his +ork on the history of 2ra! civilisation, +hich +as translated into 2ra!ic in Beir*t and +idely read in )"ypt amon" the co*ntry8s political elite.+ -., 62mon" those +ho admired the !ook +as M*hammad 2!d*h, the )"yptian scholar and ed*cationalist +hose re:interpretation of 1slamic history and doctrine +as to have a +ide infl*: ; 1(% ; ence. 2!d*h8s vie+ of a reformed 1slam, as a system of social discipline and instr*ction +ith +hich an intellect*al and political elite +o*ld or"anise the co*ntry8s 8political ed*cation8 and th*s ass*re its sta!ility and its evol*tion, +as inde!ted to his readin" of Ae Bon and other 9rench social scientistsF and indeed +hen he visited 9rance he paid a call on Ae Bon.7+ -/, 1n Les lois psycho'logi2ues de l'7*olution des peuples , the second of Ae Bon8s +orks translated into 2ra!ic !y 9athi Ta"hl*l, the same theories +ere presented more comprehensively. The pro"ress of a nation +as conditional *pon the "ro+th in po+er of its elite. 1n the +ork on the cro+d +hich he +rote soon after+ards, the same principles +ere applied to a pro!lem fo*nd not !et+een societies !*t +ithin them. Co+ +as it, Ae Bon asked, that +hen individ*als /oined a social "ro*p they seemed to *nder"o a mental chan"e, to lose somethin" of their intelli"ence and moral restraintE To this pressin" political -*estion he introd*ced a novel ans+er. The "ro*p +as an or"anism +hose individ*al cells mer"ed to form a livin" !ody, Ae Bon +rote, a 8provisional !ein"8 that possessed an *nconscio*s collective mind. 1n this mer"er individ*al psycholo"ical differences : the so*rce as he had sho+n of all e.cellence : +ere lost, leavin" only +hat +as common, the resid*e of psycholo"ical or racial *nconscio*s. Cro+ds therefore +ere like less intelli"ent !ein"s, like children or l*natics or +omen, said Ae Bon, evokin" as metaphors the fears of his "eneration and class.+ -0, They +ere imp*lsive, irrita!le, alternately "enero*s and cr*el, cred*lo*s, respectf*l of force, and +ishin" al+ays to !e dominated and r*led. They +ere like not only l*natics, children, or +omen, !*t also that other less intelli"ent form, the !ack+ard nation or race. This comparison +ith more primitive states +as presented not /*st as a metaphor !*t as a fact*al description of the psycholo"ical chan"e that took place +hen the individ*al /oined the cro+d. 8By the mere fact that he /oins an or"anised "ro*p,8Ae Bon e.plained in the phrase that for 9re*d e.pressed his ma/or contri!*tion, 8a man descends several r*n"s on the ladder of civilisation.8+ -1, The difference !et+een the individ*al and the cro+d +as identical to that !et+een the advanced nation and the !ack+ard. The t+o inferior social conditions represented the same retardin" in the state of psycholo"ical evol*tion ca*sed !y the a!sence of the individ*al e.cellence of the elite. The fear of the cro+d, then, +as linked to the pro!lematic need to create society, +hich re-*ired on the one hand the formation of an elite, and on the other : as Ae Bon himself e.plained in his other +ritin"s : the disciplinary system of modern schoolin". Ae Bon8s ideas +ere to fall o*t of fashion, lar"ely !eca*se of the +eakness of their !iolo"ical fo*ndation. B*rkheim8s efforts to address the same iss*es have lasted m*ch !etter. 2 ma/or reason for this is that B*rkheim e.plained the e.istence of the social order in terms of +hat 1 +o*ld call the representational nat*re of social phenomena. Cis ; 1(' ; social theory, therefore, coincided +ith the more and more 8e.hi!itional8 nat*re of the modern state. To concl*de this chapter, 1 +ant to point o*t the role of representation in B*rkheim8s theory of society. The !ehavio*r of the cro+d, B*rkheim e.plained, +as an indication that society +as a thin"F somethin" +ith an 8o!/ective8 e.istence. The o!/ect consisted of shared ideas or !eliefs. 1n phenomena s*ch as the cro+d, he +rote, these collective !eliefs 8ac-*ire a !ody, a tan"i!le form8F their ac-*isition of a !odily form demonstrated that shared !eliefs 8constit*te a reality in their o+n ri"ht8. The independent reality or o!/ectness of the social, in other +ords, +as a reality constit*ted !y the a!ility of this ideal o!/ect al+ays to present itself in a non:ideal, material !ody. 2nother e.ample of s*ch em!odiment +as the representation of shared ideas in statistics: 8c*rrents of opinion8, B*rkheim +rote, 8 ...

94

are, in fact, represented +ith considera!le e.actness8 in s*ch fi"*res, +hose avera"e provides a material representation of 8a certain state of the "ro*p mind8. Besides this e.ample, +hat "ave an o!/ective character to any aspect of the shared social order : le"al, moral or co"nitive : +as its em!odiment in a material representation. The entire social realm +as kno+n to e.ist only thro*"h representations: 8Aa+ is em!odied in codesF the c*rrents of daily life are recorded in statistical fi"*res and historical mon*mentsF fashions are preserved in cost*mesF and taste in +orks of art. By their very nat*re8, B*rkheim concl*ded, social facts 8 ... tend to+ard an independent e.istence.8 + -2, The reality or o!/ectivity of the social resided in its representational nat*re. <ociety, th*s, +as a thin" : that is, somethin" that occ*rs representationally. To the e.tent that +hat +e call 8material8 o!/ects +ere arran"ed to represent a non:material realm of ideas : +hether in the modern machinery of fashion and the accompanyin" cons*mer ind*stry, in +orks of art arran"ed in e.hi!itions 6and in the o!/ects displayed in m*se*ms, no do*!t, and in ?oos7, in the or"anisation of historical mon*ments and the rest of the modern to*rist ind*stry, in the codification of la+ and the "eneral codification of !ehavio*r, or in compilations of statistics and the +hole machinery of social science : they indicate or e.hi!it the e.istence of a shared concept*al order. 1n the +orld:as: e.hi!ition, as 1 s*""ested in chapter 1, these processes of representation +ere taken to !e the process of order itself. 1n the modern state, they +ere the method !y +hich the apparent e.istence of a concept*al realm, the separate realm of meanin" or order, +as to !e achieved. Colonisin" )"ypt, in the !road sense of the penetration of a ne+ principle of order and techni-*e of po+er, +as never merely a -*estion of introd*cin" a ne+ physical discipline or a ne+ material order. 1n the first place, disciplinary po+ers +ere themselves to +ork !y constr*ctin" their o!/ect as somethin" t+ofold. They +ere to operate in terms of a distinction !et+een ; 1(& ; the physical !ody that co*ld !e co*nted, policed, s*pervised and made ind*strio*s, and an inner mental space +ithin +hich the correspondin" ha!its of o!edience and ind*stry +ere to !e instilled. B*t more importantly, this ne+ divided personhood : +hose novelty 1 +ill !e ret*rnin" to in chapter ' : +as to correspond to a divided +orld. The +orld +as somethin" to !e constr*cted and ordered accordin" to an e-*ivalent distinction !et+een physical 8thin"s8 and their non:material str*ct*re. Politically, the most important s*ch str*ct*re +as to !e 8society8 itself, a social order no+ conceived in a!sol*te distinction to the mere individ*als and practices composin" it. 1n the colonial a"e, as B*rkheim8s +ritin"s indicate, this effect of an a!stract social realm is more and more to !e !*ilt into thin"s. The mon*ments, !*ildin"s, commodities, fashions and e.periences of the +orld:as:e.hi!ition are all to !e *nderstood as mechanisms presentin" themselves as mere 8thin"s8, al+ays there!y claimin" to re: present a f*rther realm : the realm of meanin", +hich is to !ecome synonymo*s +ith the social. <*ch a machinery of the social order and of tr*th is to !ecome the political principle inha!itin" not only colonial *r!an architect*re, methods of instr*ction, or commercial practice. 1n the colonisation of )"ypt it can !e fo*nd transformin" even the most local mechanisms of meanin", the very process of +ritin".

; 1(8 ;

Ch%pte$ 0 The M%chine$y o" T$9th

95

The !om!ardment of 2le.andria, +e are told !y an )n"lishman +ho +itnessed from a ship at sea the event that had initiated the colonial occ*pation of )"ypt,
commenced on T*esday, 5*ly 11, 188( at seven o8clock in the mornin". 9rom +here the Tan6ore +as anchored +e co*ld see the +hole thin" -*ite clearly thro*"h o*r "lasses. To a civilian +ho had never seen +arfare the spectacle +as ma"nificent.+ ,

,ithin t+o days most of 2le.andria +as t*rned to r*!!le and ash. Co+ far its destr*ction +as d*e to the British !om!ardment and ho+ far to the local inha!itants +ho responded !y settin" fire to )*ropean property +as never determined. 1t scarcely seemed to matter that Britain ca*sed s*ch loss to the )*ropeans for +hom it claimed to !e actin" in self:defence. 8The patience ... of the British p*!lic +as e.ha*sted8, +e are told, and 8somethin" effect*al8 had to !e done.+-, 9ollo+in" the !om!ardment the marines +ere sent ashore, accompanied !y a ne+ kind of armament invented in the 18'$s, the @atlin" machine "*n. ,ith the help of this rapid:fire +eapon, after a +eek of street fi"htin" they took possession of the to+n. Machine "*ns then accompanied the British as they proceeded +ith their lar"er p*rpose, to overthro+ the ne+ nationalist "overnment. 5*nior officers in the )"yptian army had ass*med po+er a year !efore : promisin", if not a revol*tion, at least an end to the a!sol*te po+er of the T*rkish elite and their )*ropean creditors, and to the cripplin" inde!tedness of the peasants. They +ere defeated !y the British forces +ithin the space of ei"ht +eeks. 1n the final !attle at Tell al:Ga!ir the ne+ machine "*ns 8"ave most effective s*pport, firin" +ith "reat /*d"ment *pon the enemy +henever e.posed to them8.+., The mechanical efficiency of the invasion +as then t*rned into a demonstration of Britain8s military po+er. 8>n the #$th <eptem!er a "rand parade !efore the Ghedive of all the NBritishO troops took place. The army had for the p*rpose "rad*ally !een concentrated on Cairo. 1t +as no mere -*estion of sho+ and no mere holiday spectacle. 1t is hardly possi!le to ima"ine a si"ht more calc*lated to impress an )astern pop*lation than the display of the vario*s arms of the little force +hich had in so short a time disposed of the fate of )"ypt.8+/, More than a mere spectacle, the dis: ; 1(9 ; play of arms demonstrated to an 8)astern pop*lation8 the effectiveness and a*thority of Britain8s military occ*pation. The speed and efficiency epitomised in the ne+ machine "*ns on sho+ +as made the mark of Britain8s colonial a*thority. 4eadin" the official history of the invasion p*!lished !y the ,ar >ffice in Aondon, one senses the remarka!le self:certainty +ith +hich the British prepared and carried o*t the occ*pation. This self:certainty +as made possi!le !y the enormo*s reso*rces of the British )mpire, incl*din" its ne+ +eaponry. 1t +as a certainty that seemed to !e "enerated in partic*lar o*t of the coordination of these reso*rces, !y the modern means of transport and comm*nication. 8The follo+in" statement8, says the official history in its o+n self:certain style, descri!in" the days !efore the shellin" of 2le.andria, 8+ill "ive some idea of the -*estions that at this time had to !e settled.8
2rran"ements +ere made to provide tents, +ood as f*el for ($,$$$ men for si.ty days from Cypr*s, and to !e ready to p*rchase m*les. The formation of a rail+ay:constr*ction company of en"ineers, the or"anisation of a corps of military police, re"*lations as to ne+spaper correspondents, +ere determined on. The esta!lishment of hospitals at @o?o 6Malta7 and Cypr*s, +ater s*pply, revolvers, carts, the e.tension of service of men then servin" +ith re"iments from si. years to seven years,

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1$ 2le.andria after the British !om!ardment, 188(. ; 1#$ ;

had to !e considered ... The formation of a Postal Corps +as determined on and a scheme for it devised. 1t +as decided to arran"e +ith the 1ndian @overnment the dispatch of troops from thence. 2ll these points had !een settled, and the details departmentally +orked o*t, !y the 1$th 5*ly. +0,

The control of comm*nication !ro*"ht to"ether all the military reso*rces of the )mpire and concentrated them at the scene of the !attle. 4ail+ays +ere constr*cted to carry the forces from one en"a"ement to the ne.t. The tele"raph +ire and postal service advanced at the same pace, carryin" the daily reports of ne+spaper correspondents : as +ell as the private letters of soldiers : !ack to the impatient 8British p*!lic8 on +hose !ehalf the +ar +as fo*"ht. The coordinated movement of commands, of soldiers and s*pplies, of ne+s reports, even of private correspondence, all contri!*ted to Britain8s military effectivenessF it all provided a f*rther instance, in other +ords, of the effectiveness of the methods of order and discipline 1 have !een e.aminin" in the precedin" chapters. B*t s*ch coordination also contri!*ted, no do*!t, to the effect of self:certainty. The s*dden !reakthro*"hs in developin" the technolo"y of comm*nication d*rin" the last third of the nineteenth cent*ry, +hich +ere to c*lminate in 189% in Marconi8s s*ccessf*l demonstration of the +ireless tele"raph, made possi!le !oth the contin*in" penetration of the colonial order and also +hat mi"ht !e called its tr*th. They "ave "lo!al political po+er not /*st its detailed practicality !*t its facticity. 9rom the to*rist spectacles of !om!ardment and the displays of +eaponry to the tele"raphed ne+s report and the postcard home, "lo!al colonialism came into !ein" not only as a local method of order, seekin" to +ork +ith individ*al minds and !odies, !*t as a process that +as contin*o*sly reportin", pict*rin" and representin" itself. The "reat e.hi!itions that 1 disc*ssed in chapter 1 +ere only partic*lar hi"hli"hts of this contin*o*s representational process. ,ithin s*ch a +orld of representations the "eneral p*!lic : that c*rio*s !ody : co*ld !e formed and entertained, and a modern political certainty prod*ced. 1t is this -*estion of certainty, raised in chapters 1 and (, to +hich 1 no+ +ant to ret*rn. >ne co*ld st*dy s*ch "lo!al certainty as simply the end res*lt of vario*s lon" historical developments. 1n this vie+ the steadily increasin" ran"e, speed and certainty of means of comm*nication co*pled +ith the increasin" ran"e, speed and certainty of means of destr*ction +o*ld correspond, and contri!*te, to the increasin" ran"e, speed and certainty, so to speak, of the tr*th and a*thority of modern political po+er. <*ch an approach, ho+ever, +o*ld take the nat*re of this kind of po+er and a*thority for

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"ranted, and e.amine its "ro+th rather than its pec*liar -*ality. 1t +o*ld not e.plore, in other +ords, the representational dimension of this po+er, a po+er +hich ; 1#1 ; +orked more and more !y the methods 1 have referred to as the +orld:as: e.hi!ition. ,hat 1 +ant to descri!e here is the distinctiveness of this kind of po+er and tr*th. 1t is a tr*th of the a"e of tele"raphs and machine "*ns, of representations and e.hi!itions, and is an a*thority ima"ined and prod*ced in the ima"e of s*ch mechanisms. >*r thinkin" a!o*t this a*thority, ho+ever, is itself somethin" that lives +ithin the lan"*a"e of machinery and comm*nication : the lan"*a"e of representation. Contained in this manner, +e are "enerally constrained from considerin" the very pec*liar +ay in +hich the tr*th of s*ch political a*thority is prod*ced. To see the pec*liarity of this a*thority 1 propose rather than e.aminin" its ori"ins to compare it +ith the modes of achievin" a*thority and tr*th +hich colonial po+er, in the case of )"ypt, +as to replace. 1 am "oin" to do so !y lookin" in partic*lar at the -*estion of +ritin". 1 have t+o reasons for e.aminin" political a*thority in the *se of +ords. 9irst, as +e sa+ earlier +hen lookin" at the teachin" mos-*e of al:2?har, the a*thoritative interpretation of le"al and scholarly te.ts +as a si"nificant aspect of the +ay in +hich an older political a*thority *sed to +ork. <econd, +hat happened to +ritin" in later nineteenth:cent*ry )"ypt provides a parallel +ith +ider political chan"es. 2 transformation that occ*rred in the nat*re of +ritin" corresponded to the transformation in the nat*re of political a*thority. Both +ritin" and politics, 1 am "oin" to ar"*e, came to !e considered somethin" essentially mechanical. Their essence in !oth cases +o*ld !e considered a process of comm*nication. Comm*nication and machinery mi"ht appear to !e ne*tral and matter:of:fact notions. B*t it +as these seemin"ly innocent processes, the mechanisms of the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, that served to introd*ce a modern and mysterio*s political metaphysics.

Eight 6o$(s
1n >cto!er 1881, a month after the nationalist leader 2hmad Ura!i had lined *p his troops in front of the Ghedival Palace and forced the re"ime to accept his pop*lar demands, there!y precipitatin" the British invasion to restore Ghedival po+er, a !ook had !een p*!lished in Cairo entitled The Essay on Eight 9ords 6:isalat al'/ali& al'tha&an 7. The !ook disc*ssed the meanin" of ei"ht +ords 8c*rrent on the ton"*es of the yo*n"er "eneration today8, nation, homeland, "overnment, /*stice, oppression, politics, li!erty and ed*cation. 1t +as +ritten !y C*sayn al:Marsafi, the senior professor at Bar al:Ul*m, the 7cole nor&ale set *p in Cairo ten years earlier to prod*ce teachers for the ne+ "overnment schools, +ho +as amon" the most prominent of the esta!lished scholars and teachers of his time. <i"nificantly, he +as also the mentor of Mahm*d <ami Pasha al: Bar*di, the officer and poet ; 1#( ; +ho +as to !ecome Prime Minister the follo+in" year of the short:lived nationalist "overnment.+1, The voca!*lary and thinkin" of the nationalist leadership +as reflected in Eight 9ords . 2ddressin" the political crisis as a crisis fo*nd in the mis*se and mis*nderstandin" of +ords, the !ook8s ma/or theme +as the need for the a*thority and discipline of a national system of ed*cation. Colonel Ura!i8s o+n ideas concernin" 8political matters8 had first !een formed from readin" a!o*t the military trainin" of the 9rench and the manner in +hich they +ere 8drilled and or"anised8, and in their manifesto of 1881 the nationalist leaders declared that the aim of the )"yptian people +as 8to complete their national ed*cation8. This they so*"ht to achieve !y means of a parliament, the press, and the spread of schoolin", addin" in the manifesto that 8none of these means of ed*cation can !e sec*red e.cept !y the firm attit*de of national leaders8. +2, Th*s the nationalists sei?ed po+er in >cto!er 1881 not so m*ch in the name of revol*tion as in the

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name of )"ypt8s 8national ed*cation8. Ura!i !ro*"ht his re"iment o*t of the !arracks and took them !y train from Cairo to the Belta to+n of Ta-a?i-, near the villa"e of his !irth. There he "ave a speech assertin" 8the *sef*lness and necessity of a "ood ed*cation8, and as his first act of national leadership laid the fo*ndation stone of a ne+ school. +3, Eight 9ords +as sympathetic to the "rievances of the nationalist officers, +hile +arnin" them a"ainst mistakin" factionalism for patriotism. The ei"ht +ords it disc*ssed +ere the ne+ voca!*lary of modern nationalism, +hose proper *se re-*ired, in t*rn, the school:centred a*thority of the nation:state. Marsafi s*pported the "eneral spread of schoolin", so that teachers +o*ld !e a!le to *se +ords like 8patriotism8 repeatedly in the classroom and e.plain their proper meanin". The !ook criticised traditional scholars for havin" lost their moral and political a*thority, and advocated in their place the ne+ a*thority of teachers over st*dents in the "overnment schools. 2nd yet, the !ook +as still ca*"ht *p in other, older notions of a*thority. Unlike the nationalist leadership, Marsafi +as opposed to the *ncontrolled spread of printin" in )"ypt. Ce ar"*ed the need for a !ody of properly ed*cated scholars +ho +o*ld !e responsi!le for the !ooks and /o*rnals to !e printed, in order to control the mis*se of +ritin". 1ndeed, he *nderstood the political crisis as a +hole in terms of the !reakdo+n of a te.t*al a*thority, evident in the proliferation of +ords 8on the ton"*es of the yo*n"er "eneration today8. 2ltho*"h as a scholar of enormo*s talent Marsafi had !een dra+n into the ed*cational politics of the ne+ state, in many +ays he still !elon"ed to a different tradition of scholarship and a*thority. Ce +as a man from a small villa"e in the 3ile Belta, trained at al:2?har, and !lind from !irth. Ce had "ro+n *p +ithin an intellect*al and political tradition in +hich the city depended *pon the co*ntryside rather than dominatin" it, allo+in" partic*: ; 1## ; lar villa"es to provide "enerations of Cairene scholars. This +as a tradition +hich re/ected the *se of the printin" press and accepted !lindness 6there +as an entire colle"e for the !lind at al:2?har7 for the same reason. 3amely, that the only +ay to read a te.t and retain its *ncertain a*thority +as to hear it read alo*d, phrase !y phrase, !y one +ho had already mastered it, and to repeat and disc*ss it +ith s*ch a master. This sort of tradition in respect of +ords and their transmission stands in marked contrast to the proliferation of tele"raphs, ne+s reports, and even private correspondence amon" the British. Marsafi +as a remarka!le scholar. Unlike many 2?har scholars, he +as open to the innovations of )*ropean methods of schoolin" and had even ac-*ired, despite his !lindness, the a!ility to read 9rench. 1t seems stran"e, that at a moment of profo*nd political crisis he sho*ld !e as preocc*pied as he +as +ith -*estions of proper lin"*istic *sa"e and the threat of an *ncontrolled spread of ne+ voca!*laries. Marsafi8s response to the crisis echoes that of an earlier )"yptian scholar, the historian al:5a!arti, +ritin" on the previo*s occasion +hen the co*ntry faced the threat of occ*pation !y a )*ropean army. The 9rench forces that invaded )"ypt in 1&98, like the British in 188(, had employed innovative methods of comm*nication. 5a!arti8s acco*nt noted, as 1 mentioned in chapter (, ho+ the 9rench 8make si"ns and si"nals amon" themselves that they follo+ and never deviate from8. <till more indicative of the *n*s*al nat*re of )*ropean po+er +as that the 9rench arrived to con-*er )"ypt +ith a printin" press. Aandin" at 2le.andria and advancin" *pon Cairo, 3apoleon8s first act had !een to iss*e a printed proclamation to the )"yptian people, prepared in 2ra!ic !y 9rench >rientalists. 5a!arti8s response to this stran"e innovation, in a chronicle +ritten in the midst of the crisis, +as an interestin" one. Ce !e"an his acco*nt !y copyin" the te.t of the proclamation, and follo+ed it for several pa"es +ith a detailed list of its "rammatical errors. Phrase !y phrase he pointed o*t the collo-*ialisms, misspellin"s, ellipses, inconsistencies, morpholo"ical inacc*racies and errors of synta. of the 9rench >rientalists, dra+in" from these incorrect *sa"es a pict*re of the corr*ptions, deceptions, mis*nderstandin"s and i"norance of the 9rench a*thorities.+!,

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The contrast !et+een the critical and sometimes hostile response amon" M*slim scholars to the introd*ction of an 2ra!ic printin" press and the efficient and advanced techni-*es of the 9rench military scholars is sometimes taken to e.emplify the history of )"ypt8s relationship +ith the modern ,est. 1t took the 3apoleonic occ*pation to introd*ce to the Middle )ast the first 2ra!ic press, and the a!sence of printin" over the precedin" cent*ries has often !een cited as evidence of the !ack+ardness and isolation of the 2ra! +orld that the 9rench occ*pation +as to shatter. 2fter the ; 1#0 ; depart*re of the 9rench soldiers the )"yptian "overnment did mana"e to set *p its o+n press. B*t this +as essentially a part of the co*ntry8s ne+ military e-*ipmentF the !*lk of +hat +as printed in the first half of the cent*ry +as for p*rposes of military instr*ction.+ 4, The fe+ individ*als +ho tried to e.tend the *se of the press o*tside the military pro/ect s*!se-*ently fo*nd themselves removed from office and in some cases e.iled. By the 18%$s, +hen )"ypt had !een forced to a!andon its military am!itions, the press had fallen into disrepair, and in 18'1 it +as formally sh*t do+n. + , Printin" +as started *p a"ain !y the "overnment *nder 1sma8il, and !y the time of the nationalist *prisin" there +as an active periodical press. B*t the "overnment attempted to s*ppress +hatever p*!lication it did not control, and esta!lishment scholars like Marsafi spoke o*t a"ainst the press, !lamin" the political crisis in part on the +anton spread of printin". + -, Th*s the story of printin" in )"ypt seems to confirm the !ack+ardness of the 2ra! +orld, its contin*in" resistance to chan"e, and the irrational hostility of M*slim scholars to+ards modern learnin". Co+ever, rather than evidence of others8 !ack+ardness, resistance and irrationality, 1 think these attit*des to+ards the technolo"y of printin" can point *s to+ards an *nderstandin" of some of o*r o+n stran"e ideas a!o*t the nat*re of +ritin", and the political ass*mptions to +hich they correspond. To *nderstand these ideas, 1 am "oin" to e.amine Marsafi8s o+n p*rposes in +ritin" Eight 9ords .

I&n >h%l(9n
The first cl*e to an *nderstandin" of Marsafi8s p*rpose is the !ook8s title. 8)i"ht +ords8 refers to the ei"ht political terms disc*ssed, !*t it also refers, 1 think, to politics itself. The reference is to the so:called 8rin" of ei"ht +ords8 fo*nd in pop*lar +isdom literat*re and political +ritin"s, in +hich the nat*re of the political +as al+ays e.pressed. 4ifaSa al: Tahta+i8s ma/or +ork Manahi6 al'al(a( al'&isriyya , for e.ample, +hich had appeared a decade !efore Marsafi8s te.t, !e"an its interpretation of the meanin" of politics !y citin" the circle of ei"ht +ords.+ ., The ei"ht +ords denoted the ei"ht parts of the political +orld, +ith the meanin" of each one interpreted in terms of the ne.t: 8 ... the soverei"n is an order s*pported !y soldiers, the soldiers are assistants s*stained !y means of +ealth, +ealth is no*rishment "athered !y the s*!/ects8 and so on, so that 8each term is tied to the ne.t and the last ret*rns to the first, /oinin" them in a circle +hose end is not marked8.+ /, The circle derives from the same ori"ins as 2ristotle8s "olden octa"on, !*t the so*rce for 2ra! scholars of the nineteenth cent*ry +as the +ork of the "reat fo*rteenth: cent*ry 3orth 2frican +riter, 1!n Ghald*n. 1!n Ghald*n8s seven:vol*me st*dy of the conditions and history of h*man social life, =ita( al'i(ar , had !een one of the first +orks p*!lished on the ; 1#% ; ne+ presses set *p in Cairo in the 18'$s, in the first printed edition of the complete te.t.+ 0, The +ork +as !ein" read amon" st*dents and intellect*als, in partic*lar at the ne+ teachers8 trainin" colle"e, +here !oth Marsafi and M*hammad 2!d*h are kno+n to have lect*red on 1!n Ghald*n.+ 1, Book one of 1!n Ghald*n8s +ork, kno+n as The Mu2addi&a , presented his theory of h*man society, a theory addressed to the political crisis of his o+n a"e. The entire theory of the "overnin" of h*man comm*nities, he +rote, if st*died +ith d*e attention, co*ld !e *nderstood as a commentary *pon the rin" of ei"ht +ords.+ 2, Marsafi, takin" his title

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perhaps from this passa"e, +as also +ritin" in a period of political crisis. 1n many +ays, of co*rse, the crisis of Marsafi8s a"e +as *ni-*e, for the penetration of )*ropean capital had ca*sed an *nprecedented +eakenin" of the kind of local a*thority +hose nat*re 1 +ant to descri!e. Det the +eaknesses of this a*thority +ere somethin" "eneric, and +ere descri!ed !etter than any+here in the +ork of 1!n Ghald*n. 1t +as an a*thority, in the first place, as 1 s*""ested in an earlier chapter, that seemed !y nat*re to !e *nsta!le. 1ts tendency +as to e.pand contin*o*sly, *ntil its stren"th !e"an to de"enerate and it proceeded to fra"ment itself and !ecome dispersed. 1ts effectiveness al+ays decreased to+ards its ed"es, !ein" +eaker in the co*ntryside than in the city and +eakest of all +here the co*ntryside met the desert. 1ts stren"th lay in the stren"th of those +ho r*led, and the stren"th of the !onds !et+een them. 1n the second place, it +as an a*thority that made partic*lar *se of the a*thoritative interpretation of te.ts. Te.ts too carried their o+n a*thority, an a*thority +hich mirrored that of politics in its tendency to de"enerate over time and !ecome corr*pt. The proper preservation and interpretation of the a*thority of +ritin" +as in this sense an essential reso*rce of political po+er. The crisis and collapse of political po+er, in t*rn, +as addressed !y 1!n Ghald*n in terms of the de"eneration and collapse of scholarship. Marsafi8s o+n intellect*al career +as part of an attempt, on the part of himself and other 2?har:trained scholars dra+n into the ed*cational politics, to e.tend and make sec*re political a*thority in )"ypt !y means of the revival of learnin". Ce +ished to dra+ on 1!n Ghald*n8s disc*ssion of scholarship, in an effort to revive on the !asis of e.istin" notions of a*thorship and the po+er of +ritin" a political a*thority that +orked thro*"h literat*re. The attempt failed, !*t the fail*re can thro+ li"ht on the chan"e in the nat*re of +ritin" and politics that +as to take place. The s*!/ect of Marsafi8s lect*res +as the art of proper +ritin" in 2ra!ic, ta*"ht thro*"h the st*dy of its literat*re. Marsafi had revived thro*"h his lect*res the st*dy of an enormo*s ran"e of 2ra!ic literat*re, !oth poetry and prose, +hich most al:2?har scholars, entrenchin" themselves intellect*ally d*rin" the *pheavals of the previo*s fifty years or more, had ne"lected.+ 3, The p*rpose of this learnin" +as more political than the term 8literat*re8 ; 1#' ; mi"ht s*""est. The !ody of literat*re !ein" ta*"ht +as kno+n as ada( , a +ord meanin" manners, politeness, or propriety. 8Polite letters8 +as a literat*re that em!odied the manners of a threatened social order and the val*es of an imperilled social class. There +as an ada( appropriate to every social position, esta!lishin" in life the patterns of proper cond*ct.+ !, The st*dy of polite letters +o*ld esta!lish amon" people the !o*ndaries and the patterns of social action. 8The real meanin" of ada( 8, Marsafi e.plained, 8is that each sho*ld kno+ the limits of his position, and not overstep them.8 +-4, The manner in +hich a proper learnin" +o*ld serve a political a*thority +as made clear in Eight 9ords . The !ook +as introd*ced as a sharh , a +ork of te.t*al criticism, +hich +o*ld interpret the real meanin"s of important +ords. +- , The !ook +as f*ll of references to +ritten so*rces +hose te.ts +ere "rafted into its o+n, incl*din" the H*ran, the Traditions of the Prophet, an enormo*s ran"e of +orks in 2ra!ic literat*re, and even a n*m!er of +orks in 9rench.+--, B*t these +ere not its only so*rces. Political activity itself +as a sort of readin", that is, an interpretation of +ords +hich re-*ired criticism. Marsafi *nderstood the political crisis +ithin +hich he +rote as the attempt !y partic*lar "ro*ps to "ive partic*lar meanin"s to +ords, s*ch as li!erty and in/*stice. +-., The lia!ility of these +ords +as to !e mis*sed and misinterpreted. Aike all +ords, they carried the risk of !ein" placed o*t of conte.t, or spoken in the +ron" sense. This ver!al lia!ility +as not the res*lt of the prevailin" political disorder, !*t the symptom and nat*re of the crisis. There +as no analytic separation in this approach !et+een +ritin" and politics, or !et+een theory and practice. )very political act +as an interpretation of +ords, and th*s a te.t*al act, a readin". Marsafi8s o+n p*rpose +as to interpret the 8real meanin"8 6ha2i2a 7 of every +ord he treated, and from there to see that meanin" 8realised8 6ha22a2a, taha22a2a 7 in political life. The political +orld +as not a posited

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o!/ect, independent of +ritten lan"*a"e. ,ords +ere not la!els that simply named and represented political ideas or o!/ects, !*t interpretations +hose force +as to !e made real.+-/, The scholar responded, therefore, to a socio:political crisis s*ch as the events of 1881R8( +ith attempts to provide the proper interpretation of +ords. )mployin" and re+orkin" the +ritin" of 1!n Ghald*n, Marsafi said that !esides the specialised kno+led"e re-*ired in every occ*pation there +as a "eneral !ody of *nderstandin"s 6u&u& al'&a8arif 7 that all individ*als m*st ac-*ire. The s*rvival and +ell:!ein" of the comm*nity depended on the ac-*isition of s*ch shared *nderstandin"s, for it +as these that ena!led the separate social "ro*ps to think of their +ork, in its variety and diversity, as the la!o*r of a sin"le person. ,itho*t this conception of a sin"le !ody that a shared *nderstandin" prod*ces, the 8realisation of the comm*nity8 ; 1#& ; 6taha22u2 al'u&&a 7 +as not possi!le. 1t +as thro*"h its common learnin", shared amon" its mem!ers, that the comm*nity itself is distin"*ished from other "ro*ps. The dan"er for a comm*nity that failed to realise these shared meanin"s +as that the comm*nity +o*ld split into separate factions and fall into the hands of forei"ners. +-0, 1t +as to co*nter s*ch a crisis that Marsafi +rote. Marsafi concl*ded Eight 9ords !y statin" that intelli"ent men in the comm*nity +ere to pay partic*lar attention, +ithin these *nderstandin"s, to +hat concerned the ha!its and character of the people, and distin"*ish !et+een the "ood and the !adF and that those +ho ta*"ht in the ne+ schools +ere to make patriotism 6al'wataniyya 7 the !asis of their instr*ction. )very trade and occ*pation +as to !e ta*"ht in a +ay +hich !ro*"ht o*t that the +ork is in the service of the comm*nity. By *sin" the +ord 8patriotism8 fre-*ently in class, teachers co*ld help to realise its meanin", so that the comm*nity +o*ld deserve its name and !ecome one in reality. +-1, To s*m *p so far then, Marsafi8s !ook +as s*spicio*s of printin" and s*""estive of 1!n Ghald*n. Printin" +as part of the "eneral pro!lem of the 8spreadin" of +ords8 that seemed someho+ the nat*re of the political crisis. Political a*thority, in t*rn, +as associated +ith the a*thority of +ritin". ).tendin" the a*thority of +ritin", thro*"h schools and proper learnin", +as the means to restore and make sec*re political a*thority. The importance of 1!n Ghald*n +as that he addressed the "eneral -*estion of a*thority in terms of the -*estion of a*thorship, th*s directly linkin" the political crisis to the iss*e of +ritin". To *nderstand the nat*re of this link, 1 +ant to compare +hat +ritin" +as, for 1!n Ghald*n and for C*sayn al:Marsafi, +ith o*r o+n *nderstandin" of ho+ +ords +ork. 1 +ill !e"in +ith certain stran"e ass*mptions of o*r o+n.

This Ideal Existen e

1n the events of 188$R8(, 2hmad Ura!i and his fello+ political leaders called themselves al'hi%( al'watani . 2 hi%( is a party or faction, and the phrase meant the patriotic or nationalist faction, those +ho +ere opposed to the control of )"ypt !y forei"ners, +hether T*rkish or )*ropean. 1n Eight 9ords C*sayn al:Marsafi +arned the nationalists a"ainst dividin" the co*ntry into hostile ethnic "ro*ps, invokin" for the p*rpose some f*rther associations of the +ord hi%( . Compared to the *nity implied !y the +ord u&&a , +hich means comm*nity or nation, Marsafi ar"*ed, the +ord hi%( implied self:interest and factionalism 6taha%%u( 7. The +ord8s associations +ere !ro*"ht o*t to discredit the politics of those +ho *sed it. Political ar"*ment al+ays +orked thro*"h this po+er of lan"*a"e, seekin" o*t the contradictions in +ords or their a!ility to evoke alternative meanin"s. Ura!i ; 1#8 ; in t*rn tried to !rin" o*t different associations of the +ord. ,hen he +as p*t on trial after the defeat of the nationalist movement !y the British, his interro"ators asked him +hy he had allo+ed himself to !e called 8the leader of al'hi%( al'watani 8. Ura!i replied !y associatin" the +ord hi%( +ith the fract*res r*nnin" thro*"h the +hole co*ntry, and its

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domination !y forei"ners. The inha!itants of )"ypt, he pointed o*t, are divided into separate races each of +hich co*ld !e considered a hi%( . 8The native people of the co*ntry 6ahl al'(ilad 7 are a hi%( in themselves8, he ar"*ed !efore the /*d"es, addin" that 8they are called Uthe peasantsU in order to h*miliate them8. +-2, Ura!i8s statements in co*rt are -*oted in the article on the modern term 8Ci?!8 in the Encyclopaedia of "sla& , +ith a very different approach to lan"*a"e. The article8s p*rpose is to sho+ ho+ the +ord hi%( , 8al!eit slo+ly, *nconscio*sly and hesitatin"ly ... has come to !e sta!ili?ed in meanin" and to si"nify *nam!i"*o*sly a political party8. Ura!i8s po+erf*l claim that !oth the nationalist leadership and the )"yptian people co*ld !e called a hi%( is cited to ill*strate +hat is called the ori"inally 8am!i"*o*s and fl*ct*atin"8 meanin" of the term. The +ord 8stands in Ura!i8s mind for t+o different meanin"s8, says the Encyclopaedia , 8+hich he cannot clearly distin"*ish8. <ince Ura!i8s time, it can then !e sho+n, the +ord has evolved, 8al!eit slo+ly8, from this state of conf*sion to one of clarity : a movement, in other +ords, from hesitation to certainty, from am!i"*ity to *nam!i"*o*sness, from insta!ility to sta!ility, and from *nconscio*sness, it is implied, to political a+areness. The movement traced !y the Encyclopaedia , moreover, is not /*st the history of a +ord. The +ord stands in people8s minds for a meanin", and its development is taken to represent the "rad*al development of this meanin", this political mind.+-3, There are t+o ass*mptions that "overn this approach to lan"*a"e, neither of them f*lly shared !y Ura!i or his contemporaries. The first is that the proper nat*re of +ords is to !e clear, sta!le and *nivocal, and that a +ord ac-*ires more po+er the closer it comes to this ideal. The second is that the st*dy of +ords is the st*dy of some lar"er a!straction for +hich they stand : the political mind or c*lt*re or meanin" of a certain comm*nity.

Teleg$%ph Sign%ls
2t the time of Ura!i8s trial, as the co*ntries to the north +ere em!arkin" on a "lo!al e.pansion of their colonial po+er, )*ropean theories of lan"*a"e +ere dominated !y the +ork of those +ho had come to !e kno+n as 8>rientalists8. >riental scholarship, as )d+ard <aid has sho+n, "re+ in importance in the nineteenth cent*ry +ith the "ro+th of )*ropean commercial and colonial interest in the >rient. 1f the e.pansion of >rientalism +as d*e to the ; 1#9 ; position of the >rient +ithin )*rope8s e.pandin" po+er, the stren"th of >riental st*dies +as also d*e to the position of this >rient +ithin the patterns of nineteenth: cent*ry )*ropean kno+led"e. <ince the end of the precedin" cent*ry, to kno+ a thin" had come to involve kno+in" the sta"es of its internal development, its 8history8 in the ne+ sense of that +ord. This +as tr*e of the t+o pioneerin" nineteenth:cent*ry sciences, "eolo"y, +hich had *nfolded the life:history of the earth, and !iolo"y, +hich had *nfolded the life:history of the physical or"anism.+-!, 1t +as e-*ally tr*e for the life:history of the h*man mind, +hose *nfoldin" +as >rientalism. 8,hether in the petrified strata of ancient literat*re or in the co*ntless variety of livin" lan"*a"es and dialects,8 claimed Professor Ma. MIller of >.ford, invokin" the parallels of "eolo"y and !iolo"y in a sin"le phrase,8 ... +e collect, arran"e, and classify all the facts of lan"*a"e that are +ithin o*r reach. 8 +.4, 2nalo"o*sly +ith his physical !ody and his planet, man himself +as no+ to !e *nderstood not in the psycholo"y of his po+er of reason, !*t in the development of this relatively ne+ and pec*liar o!/ect, the h*man mind. >rientalism +as 8the e.perimental science8, in the +ords of the "reat 9rench >rientalist )rnest 4enan, +hich +o*ld *ncover 8an em!ryo"eny of the h*man mind8.+. , The ra+ material of this empirical science of 8the mind8 +as provided !y >riental lan"*a"es. 5*st as "eolo"y had "iven a meanin" to !e read in the strata of the rock, and !iolo"y a meanin" in the fossil, >rientalism had "iven to ancient +ords, *ncovered in >riental te.ts, the means of providin" 8a comprehension,

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in no other +ay o!taina!le, of the "rad*ally advancin" condition of mind and state of kno+led"e8 of the h*man race.+.-, Aan"*a"e +as to !e tho*"ht of as an or"anism, evolvin" in accordance +ith nat*ral historical la+s. 1ts cells +ere formed of individ*al +ords, each of +hich +as an entity +ith a plenit*de of meanin" +hose development co*ld !e traced !ack to an etymolo"ical ori"in. 1n the !irth of individ*al +ords and the sta"es of their "ro+th co*ld !e discovered the sta"es of evol*tion of the h*man mind. 8)very ne+ +ord8, it +as claimed at the ina*"*ration of the 3inth 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, 8represents really a most momento*s event in the development of o*r race.8+.., The st*dy of lan"*a"es +as of partic*lar political *sef*lness !eca*se >rientalism shared a f*rther feat*re of nineteenth:cent*ry science. 1t introd*ced from its sister disciplines the f*ndamental idea of the 8s*rvival8. Aike fossils to the !iolo"ist, contemporary non:)*ropean lan"*a"es +ere s*rvivals, remnants from the past of the h*man 6that is, the )*ropean7 mind, preserved at vario*s sta"es of 8!ack+ardness8. 2s 4enan e.plained: 8la marche de l8h*manitM n8est pas sim*ltanMe dans to*tes ses parties ... Telle est l8inM"alitM de son mo*vement -*e l8on pe*t, V cha-*e moment, retro*ver dans les differentes contrMes ha!itMes par l8homme les Y"es divers -*e no*s voyons MchelonnMs dans son histoire.8+./, >rientalism +as not merely some ; 10$ ; esoteric st*dy of alien lan"*a"es, +hich the political re-*irements of )*ropean "eo"raphical e.pansion had t*rned into a thrivin" instit*tion of colonial po+er. 1t +as the proper st*dy of mankind. Man +as to !e st*died in terms of the history of the h*man mindF the sta"es in the development of this ne+ mental o!/ect, lost in the vertical depth of the past, +ere made availa!le !y >rientalism, capt*red in time, distri!*ted across "eo"raphical and colonial space. >rientalism, ho+ever, like all nineteenth:cent*ry science of man, had its limitations. 1t ena!led colonial administrators to talk of the 8>riental mind8 and to conceive of its 8!ack+ardness8. B*t !eca*se its theory of lan"*a"e considered individ*al +ords to !e plenit*des of meanin" in themselves, >riental <t*dies tended to remain ca*"ht *p in the detailed analysis of te.ts. ,hat +as needed +as a +ay of movin" -*ickly from these empirical partic*lars to the a!straction of an >riental mentality. ,hat +as needed +as for +ords themselves to !e considered ins*!stantial o!/ects, mere tokens, and for the >riental mind to !ecome a f*ller, more s*!stantial str*ct*re : to "ive +ay to some ne+ a!straction, s*ch as >riental 6or Middle )astern7 8c*lt*re8 or 8society8. The !reakthro*"h +as made !y s*ddenly considerin" a lan"*a"e to !e in essence not an or"anism !*t a means of comm*nication. 1t +as a !reakthro*"h that came +ith the comin" of modern comm*nication. 1n 189% Marconi demonstrated for the first time his system of +ireless tele"raphyF s*ch events made it possi!le to e.plain the nat*re of lan"*a"e in a ne+ +ay. 8,ords are si"ns8, it +as no+ declared. 8They have no other e.istence than the si"nals of the +ireless tele"raph.8 This claim +as made in 189& !y Michel BrMal, professor of comparative "rammar at the CollP"e de 9rance. +.0, The si"nificance of ar"*in" that +ords +ere mere si"ns, as empty in themselves as tele"raph si"nals, +as that a lan"*a"e co*ld no+ !e tho*"ht of as somethin" more, e.istin" apart from +ords themselves. The meanin" of a lan"*a"e e.isted not in the plenit*de of +ords, +hich +ere ar!itrary marks meanin"less in themselves, !*t o*tside them, as a semantic 8str*ct*re8. BrMal ill*strated the separate e.istence of this str*ct*re !y comparin" the effect of +ords to 8the ill*sion8 that occ*rs +hen lookin" at paintin"s in an e.hi!ition. <tandin" !efore a pict*re, he +rote,
o*r eyes think they perceive contrasts of li"ht and shade, on a canvas lit all over !y the same li"ht. They see depths, +here everythin" is on the same plane. 1f +e approach a fe+ steps, the lines +e tho*"ht +e reco"nised !reak *p and disappear, and in place of differently ill*minated o!/ects +e find only layers of colo*r con"ealed on the canvas and trails of !ri"htly colo*red dots, ad/acent to one another !*t not /oined *p. B*t as soon as +e step !ack a"ain o*r si"ht, yieldin" to lon" ha!it, !lends the colo*rs, distri!*tes the li"ht, p*ts the feat*res to"ether a"ain and recomposes the +ork of the artist. +.1,

; 101 ; ,ords +ere not a livin" or"anism !*t the parts of a representation. Placed to"ether they formed an ima"e of somethin", a coded messa"e, a tele"raph. They +ere made of

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marks that +ere meanin"less in themselvesF inspected closely, they dissolved into dots. 1n formin" a representation, moreover, they pres*pposed a s*!/ect, +ho stands apart like the vie+er of a paintin" or the visitor to an e.hi!ition: 8everythin" proceeds from him and addresses itself to him8.+.2, The p*rpose of lin"*istic representation +as this comm*nication !et+een speakin" s*!/ects. Ain"*istic meanin" +as to !e fo*nd, then, neither +ithin the material of the +ords themselves nor simply +ithin the mind of the individ*al. 1t lay o*tside !oth, as a 8str*ct*re8 +ith an 8ideal e.istence8. 6BrMal8s discovery of lin"*istic 8str*ct*re8 occ*rred in the same years as B*rkheim8s discovery of social str*ct*re, +hich rested as +e sa+ on makin" the same separation !et+een the material realm of representations and an ideal realm they represented.7+.3, 81t does not diminish the importance of lan"*a"e8, BrMal +rote, 8to "rant it only this ideal e.istenceF on the contrary, it means placin" it +ith the thin"s that occ*py the first rank and e.ert the "reatest infl*ence in the +orld, for these ideal e.istences : reli"ions, la+s, c*stoms : are +hat "ives a form to h*man life.8 +.!, Aan"*a"e +as to !e considered part of an ideal realm, like la+ and c*stom 6and later c*lt*re or social str*ct*re7, the realm that "ives 8form8 to people8s ordinary life. This form +as somethin" *ni-*e to a partic*lar people. <*ch forms or str*ct*res had not !een visi!le to nineteenth:cent*ry >rientalists, +ho had mistakenly ar"*ed that a people8s concept*al +orld +as limited to the +ords one fo*nd in their voca!*lary. 9or BrMal there +as somethin" more. 8By not admittin" a people to have ideas other than those that are formally represented, +e r*n the risk of ne"lectin" perhaps +hat is most vital and ori"inal in its intelli"ence ... 1t does not s*ffice at all, in order to "ive an acco*nt of the str*ct*re of a lan"*a"e, to analy?e its "rammar and to trace the +ords !ack to their etymolo"ical val*es. >ne m*st enter into the people8s +ay of thinkin" and feelin".8 +/4, >nce +ords +ere conceived as mere instr*ments of comm*nication, mere representations of somethin", it !ecame possi!le to move from the +ords themselves to this somethin", this lar"er a!straction : a people8s mentality, its +ay of thinkin" and feelin", its c*lt*re. To s*m *p a"ain, in )*rope the +ords of a lan"*a"e had come to !e considered not meanin"s in themselves !*t the physical cl*es to some sort of metaphysical a!straction : a mind or mentality. <ince the end of the nineteenth cent*ry, this mentality has !een form*lated into an entity in its o+n ri"ht, e.istin" apart from mere individ*als and mere +ords, as an a!stract realm of meanin" that "ives order to ordinary life. This vie+ of lan"*a"e did not emer"e in isolation. 2s +e sa+ +ith B*rkheim8s ar"*: ; 10( ; ments for the metaphysical e.istence of 8society8, in the +orld:as:e.hi!ition everythin" one enco*ntered +as comin" to !e ordered and "rasped as tho*"h it +ere the mere physical representation of somethin" a!stract. Politics itself in its colonial a"e, as 1 s*""ested at the start of this chapter, +as !e"innin" to proceed more and more !y contin*o*sly orderin" *p the representations that +o*ld prod*ce this apparent realm of meanin". C*sayn al:Marsafi on the other hand, opposed to the spread even of printin", shared a !elief in no s*ch metaphysical realm. Cis +ays of *sin" +ords, it follo+ed, did not carry the same ass*mptions a!o*t the nat*re of meanin". 1t is to these +ays and ass*mptions 1 +ill no+ t*rn.

O$(in%$y L%ng9%ge
Perhaps the first thin" that one notices a!o*t a +ork like Eight 9ords is that it is not 8or"anised8, in the +ay +e e.pect of a te.t and especially of a te.t addressin" an *r"ent political crisis. The !ook has no ta!le of contents : no str*ct*re that mi"ht seem to stand o*tside the te.t itself : and offers no strai"htfor+ard a*thoritative definitions of the +ords it treats, !*t seems to +ander thro*"h all the associations each +ord evokes, in a +ay that seems disor"anised and even !adly +ritten. 8The statements of ideas are ill*strated8, accordin" to one analysis of the te.t, 8in +hat seems a +ilf*l disorder, +ith

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am*sin" anecdotes, +ith comparisons of h*man ha!its +ith those of animals, +ith verses of the H*ran and hadiths, and +ith stories dra+n from the personal e.perience of the a*thor.8 The analysis seeks the necessary remedy to this pro!lem, e.plainin" that it 8+ill not follo+ the +himsical arran"ement of the +ork, !*t +ill p*t in order the main themes8.
+/ ,

The pro!lem of *nderstandin" +hat seems like a 8+himsical arran"ement8 and even 8+ilf*l disorder8 appears thro*"ho*t the scholarship of Middle )astern st*dies. 1t is enco*ntered not only in the st*dy of te.ts, !*t also as +e sa+ in the +ay cities are !*ilt or in the a!sence of political instit*tions. 2"ain 1 +ant to e.plore this apparent a!sence of order more closely. By e.aminin" a line or t+o from Marsafi8s te.t in some detail, 1 propose to sho+ that the s*pposed disorder is a conse-*ence of readin" it accordin" to o*r o+n stran"e ass*mptions a!o*t ho+ +ords +ork. The first of the ei"ht +ords e.amined in the !ook is u&&a , a term that can !e translated into )n"lish as comm*nity or nation. The +ord is interpreted first of all as 6u&latun &in an'nas ta6&a8uhu& 6a&i8a , +hich co*ld !e translated as 8a "ro*p of people *nited !y some common factor8, the common factor, it is added, !ein" ton"*e, place, or reli"ion.+/-, B*t this idiomatic )n"lish translation misses the force of the phrase. 9irst of all, 6u&latun can mean not only a "ro*p or "atherin", !*t also a com!ination of +ords, a ; 10# ; cla*se or sentence. 2nd 6'&'8 , the ver!, means not only to "ather or *nite !*t also to compose, to compile a te.t, to +rite. The comm*nity is somethin" that coheres, accordin" to this semantic echo, in the +ay a "atherin" of +ords compose a te.t. B*t there is m*ch more than this. The force of the phrase "athers not simply from the vario*s references of the separate +ords, !*t from the rever!eration of senses set *p !et+een the parts of the phrase !y their differin" so*nds. The initial so*nd 6'&'l indicatin" s*m, totality, is echoed at the other end of the phrase in the so*nd 6'&'' indicatin" a *nion, "atherin", assem!la"e. 2n almost identical so*nd, &'n , fills the middle of the phrase, &in an'naas . These so*nds in t*rn recall other potential so*nds, s*ch as 6'&& , to "ather, !e n*mero*s, 6'&'d , to con"eal, 6'&h'r , m*ltit*de mass, 6'l' s>&'6l's , to sit to"ether assem!ly, perhaps &'l'8 , to !e f*ll, cro+d, assem!ly, and so on. 2ll these f*rther so*nds are implicated in the meanin", the force, of the phrase. )ach com!ination of so*nds connects +ith and evokes a f*rther so*nd, so that from one com!ination to the ne.t a potentially endless chain of meanin" can !e made to rever!erate, ho+ever distantly, in the movement of a sin"le phrase. This +ritin" does not seek to discover and realise the po+er of +ords in a *ni-*e, *nivocal meanin", !*t in allo+in" the so*nds and s*""estions of a +ord to mi. +ith those aro*nd it and proliferate. 1n )n"lish +e +o*ld call this proliferation poetic or literary. 8Aiterary8 lan"*a"e has !een defined as a kind of +ritin" +here 8+ords stand o*t as +ords 6even as so*nds7 rather than !ein", at once, assimila!le meanin"s8 and +here their 8-*ality of reference may !e comple., dist*r!ed, *nclear8. +/., 1n e.planations of this kind, the literary or poetic is defined in opposition to somethin" normal, to the plain or ordinary *se of lan"*a"e. 9or the a*thor of Eight 9ords , there +as no s*ch plain lan"*a"e. 2ll +ritin" +orked !y makin" +ords 8stand o*t as +ords8, that is !y evokin" the echoes and resem!lances in +hich one +ord so*nd differs from the ne.t. 1n so:called plain lan"*a"e, as +e have seen from BrMal, +e *nderstand +ords to +ork as si"ns. BrMal8s s*ccessor in lin"*istics +as <a*ss*re, +ho form*lated o*r modern theory of lan"*a"e, acceptin" that its essence +as comm*nication. 2ccordin" to <a*ss*re, the +ord or lin"*istic si"n is a t+o:sided entity consistin" of a so*nd:ima"e 68si"nifier87 and a meanin" 6the 8si"nified87. 5*st as the physical dots on the canvas, in BrMal8s e.ample, represent a pict*re, the so*nd:ima"e represents, or si"nifies, a meanin". The +ord is th*s composed of a 8material8 ima"e, as <a*ss*re says, and a non: material tho*"ht. 1ts t+o sides, as insepara!le as the t+o sides of a sheet of paper, are the material and the concept*al.+//, The t+o sides of the si"n, tho*"h insepara!le, are not e-*al to one another. The material element in the +ord is merely the representative of the

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; 100 ; meanin". The so*nd:ima"e stands for the idea, +hich ori"inates else+here, in the mind of the speaker or a*thor. Th*s the material element is secondary, in !oth rank and se-*ence. 1t merely represents a meanin" in material form, in order to comm*nicate it. The concept*al element is prior, closer to the ori"inal tho*"ht !ein" comm*nicated, to the a*thor, to the ori"in. 2s 5ac-*es Berrida has pointed o*t, this hierarchy is fo*nd, at another remove, in o*r *nderstandin" of the relationship of speech to +ritin". The +ritten +ord, it is said, is a representation of the spoken +ord. ,ritin" is a s*!stit*te for direct speech, and can make an a*thor8s +ords present for a reader in the a*thor8s physical a!sence. 5*st as the material element in spoken lan"*a"e is secondary to the concept*al, +ritin" is secondary to speech. 1t is still f*rther separated from its a*thor8s mind, from the ori"inal intention !ein" comm*nicated. 1t is f*rther removed from the meanin" itself.
+/0,

1t is this hierarchy of ori"inal meanin" and secondary representation that is at +ork, and at stake, in the distinction +e make !et+een normal lan"*a"e, +hose p*rpose is to comm*nicate, and the literary or poetic. ,ords that 8stand o*t as +ords 6even as so*nds78 are +ords that do not kno+ their proper place in the hierarchy. 1n so:called literary +ritin", +ords are not the d*tif*l representatives of their a*thors. They do not mechanically make present a simple, ori"inal meanin" from their a!sent a*thor8s mind. 2s +e sa+ from the line in Marsafi8s te.t, s*ch +ords *s*rp lar"er po+ers, "atherin" their force from their associations +ith other +ords and settin" loose an almost endless play of semantic ver!al echoes. To la!el this *s*rpation a poetic or literary effect, and therefore oppose it to +hat is 8normal8, protects the hierarchy. Poetic lan"*a"e is treated as an e.ception, +hich proves the validity of the normal process of comm*nication. The essential opposition of material so*nd and immaterial meanin" is preserved, preservin" the hierarchical relationship !et+een the t+o elements. More than /*st a lin"*istic theory is at stake here. >n this hierarchical opposition rests an entire metaphysics of meanin", of the !roadest political importance.

?9st the S%me Only :i""e$ent

,hat e.actly is this stran"e t+o:sided sheet, the si"nE <*ppose, as Berrida s*""ests, +e ref*se to take for "ranted the opposition of ideal vers*s material 6and hence of te.t vers*s +orld7 of +hich it is said to consist, and their hierarchical relationship. ,hat kind of a thin" then is the si"n, +hat sort of eventE Berrida8s ans+er +o*ld !e that the si"n is never e.actly a thin" or an event, in the sense of a *ni-*e and isolated empirical partic*lar. ,ords do not +ork in that manner. 1n the first place, as <a*ss*re himself else+here e.plains, a partic*lar +ord al+ays e.ists in relation to other similar so*ndin" ; 10% ; +ords. 1ts partic*larity is simply an effect of the +ay it differs from like:so*ndin" +ords, as +e sa+ /*st no+ +ith certain 2ra!ic +ords. The )n"lish +ord 8!it8, for instance, ac-*ires its *ni-*eness only !y differentiatin" itself from +ords like 8!et8 and 8!i"8. 8Bi"8 in t*rn esta!lishes itself as different from 8di"8 and from 8pi"8, and so on. The same is tr*e of +hat +e call the +ord8s meanin". The meanin"s of 8pi"8, for e.ample, are determined !y other +ords, s*ch as the e.istence in )n"lish of the +ord 8pork8 to refer to pi"s +hen served as food. The very !ond !et+een a +ord and its meanin", +hich +as said to !e the essence of the si"n, can !e sho+n to !e /*st an instance of this process of difference. To find the meanin" of a +ord 6to !orro+ an e.ample from Terry )a"leton7 +e look *p its definition in a dictionary. The definition +e are "iven is made *p of other +ords. These +ords in t*rn are defined !y more +ords, and so on. ,ords ac-*ire their meanin" from other +ords, not from the acc*racy +ith +hich they 8represent8. 2 +ord and its meanin" t*rn o*t to !e not a *ni-*e, t+o:sided o!/ect, !*t the prod*ct of inter+oven relations of

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differences, one 8element8 of +hich e.ists only in terms of others, in a +eave that has no ed"e or e.terior.+/1, 1f meanin" is not simply that a!stract realm +e "ain access to in dictionaries, ho+ is it that +ords nevertheless do meanE 1t can !e ar"*ed, Berrida sho+s, that +hat is most essential a!o*t +ords, for them to +ork as +ords, is that they are repeata!le. 2 si"n that +as *ni-*e even in this sense, that happened only once, +o*ld not !e a si"n. <o even +hen +e insist on somethin"8s identity as 8the same +ord8, it is in fact somethin" reiterated on different occasions, in different conte.ts. The simplest identity of a +ord, its self:sameness in this sense, is formed o*t of differences, the difference of reiteration. This reiteration has somethin" parado.ical a!o*t it. >n the one hand, each occ*rrence of a +ord is different. The +ord may differ in time or place, and may !e modified in a diversity of empirical characteristics = !ein" +ritten, for e.ample, instead of spoken. Aan"*a"e depends on the possi!ility of s*ch diverse and different repetitions of the +ord, /*st as it depends *pon the differences !et+een +ordsF it occ*rs only as s*ch differin" repetition. >n the other hand, +hat is reiterated m*st remain the same +ord. 1n the midst of different repetitions, thro*"h every modification, there m*st remain a trace of somethin" reco"nisa!ly the same. 1t is this trace of sameness that +e e.perience as the +ord8s 8meanin"8. Meanin" arises, then, !eca*se the +ord is al+ays a repetition, in a do*!le sense. 1t is a repetition in the sense of somethin" non:ori"inal, somethin" that occ*rs !y modifyin" or differin" from an otherF and a repetition in the sense of the:same:a"ain. Meanin" is an effect of this parado.ical -*ality of sameness and difference, +here!y a +ord al+ays happens to !e /*st the same only different.+/2, ; 10' ; The parado. of repetition is not somethin" to !e resolved, Berrida +o*ld ar"*e, as a stran"e conse-*ence of lan"*a"e. >n the contrary, lan"*a"e is somethin" made possi!le !y the movement of repetition and differin". The parado.ical effect of an insepara!le sameness +ithin difference is not ackno+led"ed, ho+ever, !*t avoided. 1t is avoided !y s*pposin", +ith <a*ss*re, that the +ord is an o!/ect made *p of t+o opposin" aspects, the material and the concept*al. These !elon" to t+o distinct realms, one physical and the other, someho+, meta:physical, +hich are ass*med mysterio*sly to !e con/oined in the *nity of the +ord. 1t is this mystical distinction !et+een t+o realms that Berrida sho+s to !e no lon"er f*ndamental, !*t a 8theolo"ical8 effect. 81t depends entirely on the possi!ility of acts of repetition. 1t is constit*ted !y this possi!ility.8 +/3, 1 no+ +ant to ret*rn to 2ra!ic, and ar"*e that this theolo"ical effect of a distinct 8realm8 of meanin" +as not prod*cedF or at least, to the e.tent that it +as prod*ced it +as ackno+led"ed to !e somethin" theolo"ical, and treated as s*ch.

The A&sence o" the Vo)el

1n e.aminin" earlier a phrase from C*sayn al:Marsafi8s Eight 9ords , 1 have already s*""ested that the so:called literary *se of lan"*a"e, in +hich 8+ords stand o*t as +ords, even as so*nds8 +as not an e.ception to ordinary +ritin" !*t the only kind of +ritin" there co*ld !e. There +as no 8+hite mytholo"y8, as Berrida calls it, accordin" to +hich the play of differences !et+een +ords +o*ld !e somethin" additional to the ordinary +ay in +hich +ords evoke a meanin". >r rather, so as not simply to invert the +hite man8s mytholo"y and make 2ra!ic the e.ample of its a!sence, the -*estions of meanin" and the play of difference remained pro!lematised in the +ritin" of a +ork s*ch as Eight 9ords . 4ather than representin" an a*thor8s *nivocal meanin", the +ords prod*ced their force from the play of differences !et+een them, differences +hich cannot !e resolved into a distinction !et+een the concept*al and the material. B*t this ar"*ment a!o*t the nat*re of 2ra!ic +ritin" can !e made from several other feat*res. 9irst of all there +ere its inscriptional feat*res. <a*ss*re ar"*ed that the material form of +ords +as somethin" ar!itrary, attached to their meanin" only !y phonetic

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convention. Berrida points o*t that this separation !et+een material form and meanin" i"nores all the non:phonetic aspects of +ritin", +hich are 8material8 and yet create effects of meanin" = s*ch as p*nct*ation, spacin" and the /*.taposition of different te.ts. 1n 2ra!ic, +ritin" proceeded "enerally +itho*t reco*rse to p*nct*ation or even spaces !et+een +ords, often /*.taposed several te.ts on a sin"le pa"e in vario*s si"nificant relations to one another, made caref*l and meanin"f*l distinc: ; 10& ;

11 Pa"e from a Co&&entary on the hundred gra&&atical regents of al'.ur6ani !y <a8d 2llah, kno+n as al:<a"hir, copied in 18$8 !y 2hmad 2!d:4a!!ih, +ith mar"inal and interlinear notes and "lossesF 3askhi script. ; 108 ; tions !et+een different styles of script, and in "eneral e.tended the art of inscription into the most ela!orate and deli!erate forms. 2 second set of feat*res pro!lematised !y Berrida are those that make a !ook or other piece of +ritin" seem an 8interior8, an internal place of meanin" separated from the 8real +orld8 o*tside. The title pa"e, the preface, and the ta!le of contents are e.amples of s*ch feat*res, +hich seem to stand apart from the te.t and, like the map of a city,

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provide it +ith a form and e.terior frame. 2ra!ic +ritin", a"ain, in "eneral did not employ these devices, and instead !e"an every +ork +ith a len"thy invocation 6/hita( 7 and indeed made the method of transition from the /hita( into the rest of the te.t 6fasl al' /hita( 7 a s*!/ect of important theoretical de!ate. There are many other feat*res one mi"ht mention: the si"nificance of the ver! 8to !e8, +hich in 2ra!ic occ*rs only in the 8past8 6Berrida, follo+in" Ceide""er, has to *se the present tense of the ver! 8to !e8 8*nder eras*re8, +ritin" it and crossin" it o*t at the same time, !eca*se the empty device of the ver! 8to !e8 makes *s for"et ho+ pro!lematic is the notion of 8!ein"87F the conception of lan"*a"e as a code, e.istin" apart from the +ords themselves as a "rammatical str*ct*re 6the 2ra! "rammarians did not st*dy the r*les of a code, !*t the modes of sameness 6nahw 7 and difference 6sarf 7 in lan"*a"e, terms that are no+ translated as 8synta.8 and 8morpholo"y87F and finally, +hat >rientalists have called 8the a!sence of the vo+el8 in 2ra!ic. 1 +ill look !riefly at this last idea. 1n the 2ra!ic script, it is said, the vo+els are not normally marked. 2n )n"lish transcription of an 2ra!ic phrase, s*ch as mine of Marsafi8s earlier in this chapter, has to insert the missin" vo+els. B*t this +ay of p*ttin" it is misleadin". The vo+el is a pec*liar )*ropean invention, and is not some:thin" 8missin"8 from 2ra!ic. 2ra!ic +ords are formed !y +hat 2ra! "rammarians call the 8movement8 of a se-*ence of letters. )ach letter is prono*nced +ith a partic*lar movement 6of the mo*th and vocal cords7, referred to as 8openin"8, 8fract*rin"8 and 8contractin"8, and different movements of the same letters prod*ce differences in meanin". The letters /'t'( , for e.ample, can mean 8he +rote8, 8it +as +ritten8, 8!ooks8, and so on, accordin" to the different +ays in +hich each letter is moved. 1t is the different kinds of movement that the >rientalists translate into vo+els. The movement, ho+ever, is not the e-*ivalent of a vo+el. 2s the T*nisian lin"*ist MonJef Chelli has pointed o*t, the movement cannot !e prod*ced independently of the letter and a letter cannot !e prod*ced +itho*t a movement, +hereas vo+els and consonants seem to e.ist independently of each other. +/!, This independence, Chelli s*""ests, "ives +ords in )*ropean lan"*a"es a pec*liar appearance of fi.edness, as opposed to the movement of 2ra!ic +ords. 1n treatin" +ords as movin" com!inations of letters, 2ra!ic +ritin" remains closer to the play of differences that prod*ces ; 109 ; meanin". <een in this +ay, the vo+el is not somethin" missin" in 2ra!ic. 1t is a stran"e artifice, +hose presence in )*ropean +ritin" masks the relations of difference !et+een +ords, "ivin" the individ*al +ord the apparent independence of a si"n. Chelli "oes on to ar"*e that this apparent independence endo+s +ords +ith an o!/ect:-*ality. 2s si"n:o!/ects they seem to e.ist independently of their !ein" said. Their e.istence appears as somethin" apart from the material repetition of the +ord, and seems to precede s*ch repetition. The realm of this prior and separate e.istence is la!elled the 8concept*al8, the independent realm of meanin". The p*rpose of this disc*ssion of 2ra!ic +ritin" has !een to s*""est that in diverse +ays 2ra!ic is m*ch closer than )*ropean lan"*a"es to the play of difference that prod*ces meanin", and correspondin"ly m*ch f*rther than )*ropean lan"*a"es from prod*cin" the metaphysical effect of a concept*al realm, a realm of 8meanin"8 that is !elieved to e.ist -*ite apart from +ords themselves *nder the theolo"ical name of 8lan"*a"e8 or 8tr*th8 or 8mind8 or 8c*lt*re8. Berrida8s +ork is *s*ally employed to demonstrate, in the readin" of a partic*lar te.t, ho+ this effect of meanin" can !e made to collapse. That is not my interest. Bespite the ease +ith +hich s*ch feats of deconstr*ction seem to !e accomplished, +hat needs e.plainin" is not +hy meanin" collapses !*t +hy it does not. Politically, +hat seems important is not /*st to sho+ that o*tside the te.t, or o*tside the e.hi!ition, there is only a f*rther te.t or a f*rther e.hi!ition, !*t to consider +hy, in that case, +e have come to live more and more as tho*"h the +orld +ere a real e.hi!ition, an e.hi!ition of reality. My st*dy of nineteenth: cent*ry )"ypt is intended as a st*dy of ho+ a +orld comes to !e ordered and

110

e.perienced as tho*"h it +ere an e.hi!ition, divided in this +ay into t+o realms, the realm of thin"s and the separate realm of their meanin" or tr*th. 1n earlier chapters of this !ook 1 have descri!ed some of the +ays in +hich )"ypt +as or"anised in the nineteenth cent*ry to prod*ce the effect of a concept*al realm. >ne e.ample +as the re!*ildin" of cities, +ith a re"*lar plan to the streets and e.terior faJadesF another +as the "eo"raphical hierarchy of schools, arran"ed to represent the str*ct*re of a nation:state. More "enerally, the techni-*e of order 1 called enframin", in military manoe*vres, in timeta!les, in the layo*t of classrooms and hospitals, in the re!*ildin" of villa"es as +ell as cities, in each case tended to prod*ce the effect of a str*ct*re, +hich seemed to stand apart as somethin" concept*al and prior. Meanin" is an effect not only of concept*ality, ho+ever, !*t also of intention. 8To mean8 implies at the same time !oth to si"nify and to have intention or p*rpose. 1f a piece of +ritin" or other process of representation prod*ces meanin", in doin" so it prod*ces the impression of an a*thorial intention or +ill. The more effectively this meanin" is made to stand apart as its o+n realm, the more effective +ill !e the impression of s*ch intentionality. 1n ; 1%$ ; order to ret*rn to the -*estions a!o*t modern political certainty that 1 raised at the !e"innin" of this chapter, 1 +ant to sho+ ho+ the methods of effectin" the e.istence of a separate concept*al realm +ere at the same time a ne+ method of effectin" intention, certainty, a*thorial +ill, or more "enerally a*thority itself.

A9tho$ %n( A9tho$ity

,e *nderstand +ritin" to !e a means of comm*nication, a vehicle +hich can carry the +ords, and +ithin them the ideas, of an a*thor across the distance of time and space. Thanks to the mechanical efficiency of lin"*istic si"nification, an a*thor8s intention or meanin" can !e made present to an a*dience despite his or her physical a!sence. 1n +ritin", the a*thor8s a!sence is overcome. 2ccordin" to this *nderstandin", printin", for e.ample, is simply a more efficient means of overcomin" a!sence. 1t provides a +ider and more lastin" representation of an a*thor8s meanin".+04, 1n this ordinary *nderstandin" of +ritin" the mechanical nat*re of +ords is never in do*!t. 1f +ritin" can represent an a!sent a*thor8s mind or meanin", if it can make an a!sent a*thor present to a reader, this is !eca*se it is the nat*re of +ords to operate as the representatives of sin"*lar meanin"s. <*ch a mechanism of meanin" appears normal and *npro!lematic. 1f +ords do have the potential to m*ltiply in meanin", to +ork am!i"*o*sly, to slip !eyond their a*thor8s ori"inal intention, to !e misread, this lia!ility, as +e sa+ /*st no+, is considered an e.ception, rather than somethin" essential to the +ay in +hich +ritin" +orks. 2m!i"*ity is declared to !e simply a -*estion of minor error, or else a poetic effect. The lia!ility then remains +ithin the control of the intention of the a*thor, +ho can decide +hether or not to !e poetic, to allo+ the +ords a little licence. 1t seems to me that !efore the introd*ction of printin" no 2ra! +riter fo*nd these ass*mptions similarly *npro!lematic. ,ritin" +as not the mechanical representation of an a*thor8s meanin", and in this sense there +as no simple 8presence8 of an a*thor in a te.t. 2*thorship, and a*thority, +ere far more pro!lematic concerns. Beca*se +ritin" co*ld never *nam!i"*o*sly represent an a*thor8s *nam!i"*o*s meanin", it follo+s, no proper 2ra! scholar +o*ld have !een interested in the po+er of the printin" press. The pro!lem of the a*thor8s presence in +ritin", f*rthermore, corresponded to a pro!lem in the presence of political a*thority in society. 2s evidence for these assertions 1 +ill ret*rn to the +ork of 1!n Ghald*n, in +hich the cr*cial iss*e +as precisely this a!sence of a*thor and a*thority. 1!n Ghald*n shares the ass*mption that +ritin" attempts to e.tend the presence of an a*thor. The art of +ritin", he says, 8ena!les the innermost tho*"hts of the so*l to reach those +ho are far and a!sent. 1t perpet*ates in

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; 1%1 ; !ooks the res*lts of thinkin" and scholarship.8+0 , B*t here the similarity +ith o*r o+n ass*mptions a!o*t +ritin" ends, for 1!n Ghald*n does not *nderstand this overcomin" of a!sence in terms of any mechanical practice of +ritten representation, !*t rather as a pro!lem at the centre of h*man social life. To +rite, accordin" to 1!n Ghald*n, is to risk !ein" misread or mis*nderstood. +0-, ,ords that s*rvive !eyond their a*thor8s presence are c*t loose. Their tendency is to drift, to !ecome altered, to !e read +itho*t re"ard for conte.t, and to "erminate ne+ meanin"s. 2nd there is al+ays their ordinary am!i"*ity.+0., 1t follo+s that +ords do not mechanically si"nify a sin"*lar meanin". The readin" of a te.t is al+ays a +ork of interpretation. 8The st*dent of ideas8, he says, 8m*st e.tract them from the +ords 6so*nds7 that e.press them.8+0/, The meanin" arises, as +e have seen, only from the differin" movement of the letters. The letters are moved, hence differed and made to mean, only +hen recited !y the reader. 9or this reason, the scholar in his +ork 8does not copy comments directly from !ooks !*t reads them alo*d8. +00, 2 te.t is never to !e read m*tely, it m*st !e recited alo*d in order to mean. To read a te.t, then, one m*st recite it, for the !are letters on the pa"e are am!i"*o*s. Properly, one m*st read it alo*d three times, follo+in" a teacher. >n the first readin" the teacher "ives only !rief comments o*tlinin" the principal iss*es, on the second he "ives a f*ll interpretation of every phrase, incl*din" the differences in interpretation amon" the different schools, and on the third he e.plores even the most va"*e and am!i"*o*s terms.+01, The teacher, moreover, m*st !e the one +ho +rote the te.t, or failin" that, one of those to +hom the a*thor read the te.t, or one +ho read it *nder one of them, and so on in an *n!roken chain of recitation leadin" !ack to the ori"inal a*thor. 1n the 1ranian to+n of 3ishap*r, to "ive an e.ample, those +ho +ished to st*dy and teach the 0ahih of B*khari, one of the most a*thoritative collections of the sayin"s of the Prophet, 8travelled some t+o h*ndred miles to the to+n of G*shmaihan near Marv +here there +as a man +ho recited the te.t from a copy made from a copy made from B*khari8s o+n dictation8. The scholar 2!* <ahl M*hammad al:Cafsi, +e are told in another e.ample, 8st*died the 0ahih of B*khari *nder al:G*shmaihani +ho st*died it *nder M*hammad !. D*s*f al:9ar!i +ho st*died it *nder B*khari himself. <eventy:five years after the death of his master al:G*shmaihani, 2!* <ahl M*hammad al:Cafsi fo*nd himself ... to !e the only man alive +ho had st*died *nder him.8 Ce +as therefore !ro*"ht over t+o h*ndred miles to 3ishap*r, and hono*red personally !y the r*ler. 8Then in the 3i?amiya madrasa he "ave a class, in +hich he dictated the 0ahih to a "reat cro+d.8+02, These kinds of practices sho*ld not !e e.plained a+ay, it seems to me, !y references to the importance of the oral or the memorised over the +rittenF ; 1%( ; they sho*ld !e taken as indications of the very nat*re of +ritin" and a*thorship. >nly s*ch chains of recitation co*ld overcome the inevita!le a!sence of the a*thor +ithin the te.t. @iven the am!i"*o*s nat*re of +ritin", +hich +as not merely a fla+ in partic*lar te.ts !*t somethin" essential, as +e sa+, to the +ay in +hich +ords ac-*ire their force, a m*te and private readin" co*ld never recover the a*thor8s meanin", never restore the a*thor8s presence. The entire practice of 2ra! scholarship revolved aro*nd the pro!lem of overcomin" the a!sence in +ritin" of the a*thor8s *ne-*ivocal meanin". 1!n Ghald*n +rote in a period of political crisis in the 2ra! +orld, as 1 mentioned, +hich +as also a period of crisis in the pro!lem of a*thorial a!sence. This relationship !et+een political +eakness and the +eaknesses of +ritten scholarship +as no coincidence for 1!n Ghald*n. Ce addressed one in terms of the other. The connection is evoked even in the title of his +ork, the 8Book of i(ar 8. 2s M*hsin Mahdi has sho+n, the term i(ar is am!i"*o*s, !oth referrin" to and ill*stratin" the am!i"*ity of lan"*a"e. The +ord can mean the 8lessons8 to !e learnt from historical te.ts, !*t in a +ider sense s*""ests !oth the e.pression of meanin" and its concealment.+03, The f*ller title contin*es this link

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!et+een +ritin" and history, for the +ork is f*rther entitled 8the record of the s*!/ect and the predicate8 in the history of the 2ra!s and others. The first si.ty or seventy pa"es of the te.t are then concerned +ith the pro!lem of +ritin", sho+in" ho+ te.ts are corr*pted and misread, ho+ the techni-*es of discipleship have !roken do+n and the chains of a*thority have !een severed. The p*rpose of the +ork is to !rin" a remedy to the political crisis !y overcomin" this !reakdo+n in +ritin". The remedy 1!n Ghald*n offers is entirely ne+. 1t stands o*t from the fo*rteenth cent*ry as a *ni-*e attempt to overcome the essential +eaknesses of +ritin". B*t the remedy is not that of a theory of representation. Cis sol*tion is to attempt to set do+n for the first time the "ro*nds of interpretation, principles +hich are to "overn the f*t*re readin" of te.ts. The "ro*nds are in the form of the essential 8conte.t8 or 8circ*mstances8 6ahwal 7 of h*man social life. Ce offers in the Mu2addi&a an ela!orate statement of the ordinary limits of h*man comm*nity, e.plainin" the process in +hich comm*nities are formed, "ro+, flo*rish and decay. These conte.t*al limits are to circ*mscri!e the possi!le interpretation of all +ritten +orks, to keep the readin" of history, "iven the corr*ption of te.ts and the normal am!i"*ity of +ritin", +ithin the !o*nds of historical pro!a!ility. Cis +ork +as an enormo*s effort to provide the interpretive limits that +o*ld help to overcome the a!sence of a*thors of the past, and th*s make it possi!le to imitate +hat +as *sef*l from the historical record. This perhaps e.plains the enormo*s interest in the +ork in nineteenth:cent*ry )"ypt, +here scholars faced a similar crisis, and +here men like ; 1%# ; Marsafi *nderstood the crisis very m*ch as a crisis in the *se of +ords, to !e resolved !y a teachin" of a proper *nderstandin" of +ritin". 9rom aro*nd the time of Marsafi, ho+ever, the entire practice of +ritin" had !e"*n to chan"e. ,ords +ere to lose their po+er, their a!ility to proliferate in meanin", their tendency to echo and rever!erate +ith other +ords and set in movement a play of resem!lance and difference. >r at least this tendency +as to !e denied, circ*mscri!ed as an e.ception, confined !y names s*ch as poetry. Their essence +as to !ecome the mechanical process of comm*nication. The entire pro!lem of a*thority to +hich 1!n Ghald*n addressed himself +as to !e overcome, !y a for"ettin" of the pro!lematic nat*re of +ritin" in the face of the apparent certainty : the effect of an *nam!i"*o*s meanin" : made possi!le !y the modern methods of representation. Co+ mi"ht s*ch a transformation have occ*rredE ,ithin the limits of this +ork 1 can only s*""est an ans+er. The introd*ction and spread of printin" +as the most o!vio*s factor, !*t the chan"e can !e seen in ne+ kinds of +ritin", in partic*lar the enormo*s state:sponsored peda"o"ic literat*re, and the ne+ /o*rnalism +ith its 8tele"raphic8 style. The tele"raph and the printin" press +ere amon" several kinds of ne+ machinery and techni-*e appearin" in )"ypt that introd*ced a modern practice of comm*nication. 61t +as an )"yptian employee of one of the )*ropean tele"raph companies, 2!d*llah 3adim, +ho had !e"*n prod*cin" )"ypt8s first pop*lar nationalist ne+spaper in the s*mmer and a*t*mn of 1881.7+0!, The )"yptian army, as +e sa+, had adopted the ne+ techni-*es of si"nallin", +hich made it possi!le to assem!le and control the enormo*s modern armies of the nineteenth cent*ry. The operation of the ne+ )"yptian rail+ays, +hich as 1 mentioned +ere amon" the most e.tensive in the +orld in relation to the co*ntry8s si?e and pop*lation, depended on an ela!orate system of si"nals and codes. 2 "eneral aim of the British +as 8the improvement of comm*nications, traffic and "eneral commerce8.+14, The "rad*al spread of "overnment schoolin" involved ne+ techni-*es of instr*ction and ne+ methods of classroom o!edience. These kinds of development all demanded, d*rin" the decades of the later nineteenth cent*ry, that lan"*a"e !e employed not in the 8proliferatin"8 manner e.amined a!ove, !*t as a precise system of si"ns, in +hich +ords are handled as tho*"h they +ere the *nam!i"*o*s representatives of sin"*lar meanin"s. The aim +as to *se +ords in the ordinary manner of )*ropeans, +ho +ere o!served in the streets of Paris, as +e sa+ in chapter (, to *se +ords only as 8necessary to do !*siness8.

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The lin"*istic transformation +as a part of the process of orderin", in armies and schools, architect*re and rail+ays, irri"ation pro/ects and the prod*ction of statistics, +hich, like the +orld e.hi!ition, !e"an to prod*ce +hat seemed a str*ct*re standin" apart from thin"s themselves, a separate ; 1%0 ; realm of order and meanin". This ne+ realm, 1 propose to ar"*e from the parallel +ith +ritin", +o*ld appear not only as the realm of meanin" !*t also as the realm of intentionality : of a*thority or political certainty. ,ith the older kind of +ritin", e.emplified !y 1!n Ghald*n, the presence of an a*thor8s intention or meanin" in the +ords of a te.t +as, as +e /*st sa+, essentially pro!lematic. The pro!lem of the a*thor8s presence in +ritin" corresponded to the pro!lem of the presence of a*thority in political life. The ne+ mode of +ritin" and comm*nication made the re:presentin" of an a*thor8s meanin" appear an essentially *npro!lematic mechanical process. The *npro!lematic presence of an a*thor in +ritin" +o*ld no+ correspond, in all the other realms of orderin" that characterise the +orld:as:e.hi!ition, to the prod*ction of an essentially *npro!lematic and mechanical presence of a*thority in political life. This political a*thority, prod*ced in the modern state the +ay a modern te.t prod*ces the *nam!i"*o*s effect of an a*thor, +o*ld appear contin*o*sly and mechanically present. 2t the same time, like an a*thor8s meanin", this a*thority +o*ld someho+ stand mysterio*sly apart. 5*st as meanin" does not e.ist in the 8material8 of the +ords themselves, !*t seems to !elon" to a separate mental or concept*al realm that +ords only ever re:present, political a*thority +o*ld no+ e.ist apart as somethin" metaphysical, +hich in the material +orld is only ever re:presented. 2*thority +o*ld !ecome somethin" !oth mechanical and mysterio*s: as certain and strai"htfor+ard as the process of meanin", and e-*ally metaphysical. To concl*de this chapter, 1 +ant to offer some evidence that this transformation in the nat*re of a*thority took place, in a manner that parallels the transformation in the nat*re of the a*thor, of the a*thor8s meanin" in a te.t. The evidence 1 +ill offer is a common ima"e of the nat*re and place of a*thority, the ima"e of the comm*nity as a !ody. 1 +ant to demonstrate, in effect, a transformation that occ*rred in parallel, in three different aspects: in the notion of +ritin", of the !ody, and of politics.

The *a hinery of +o,ernment

The description of the political comm*nity as a !ody can !e fo*nd thro*"ho*t the history of 2ra!ic literat*re. 1n the ne+ political +ritin"s of the 18'$s and 18&$s it remained the most common ima"e to +hich +riters t*rned +hen e.plainin" the harmony and hierarchy of social life, even +hen introd*cin" ne+ themes s*ch as nationalism and ed*cation. 8There can !e no do*!t that the nation is like a !ody8, +rote Tahta+i in the openin" pa"es of the Manahi6 , and that individ*als and "ro*ps form its lim!s or mem!ers.+1 , Marsafi in Eight 9ords relied *pon the !ody in the same +ay, +henever he +ished to e.plain ho+ the comm*nity +as composed of interactin" parts. 1n ; 1%% ; disc*ssin" ed*cation, he said that its p*rpose +as to teach the st*dent 8that his comm*nity is a !ody, of +hose or"ans and lim!s he is a part8.+1-, 5amal al:Bin al:2f"hani, the 1ranian:!orn scholar and political activist +ho +as teachin" in )"ypt at the same time as Marsafi, also *sed the livin" !ody to e.press the nat*re of social life. )very or"an and lim! corresponded to a partic*lar profession or trade, the social "ro*pin"s to +hich individ*als all !elon"ed. @overnment, +hich +as one s*ch profession, co*ld !e considered the !rain, ironsmithin" the *pper arms, a"ric*lt*re the liver, seamanship the le"s, and so on.+1., This provided a po+erf*l e.pression of the order of the social +orld and the a*thority of different "ro*ps +ithin it, and its po+er +as employed fre-*ently in political de!ate. ,hen 2f"hani +as invited in 18&$ to "ive an address in 1stan!*l at the ina*"*ration of the ne+ *niversity, he ar"*ed for the

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importance in society of philosophical tho*"ht !y s*""estin" that the !odily location of philosophy as a profession +as alon"side prophecy, in the position of the so*l. This attempt to "ive the practice of philosophy an a*thoritative position in the social order, e.pressed in terms of the parts of the !ody, provoked a storm in 1stan!*l8s scholarly and reli"io*s esta!lishment, and 2f"hani +as e.pelled from the co*ntry. +1/, The ima"e of the !ody +as po+erf*l !eca*se it provided the separate elements of the h*man +orld +ith their intelli"i!ility, revealin" the meanin"f*l relations !et+een them. The livin" !ody +as an ima"e that e.pressed an order of thin"s that +as "iven in the nat*re of h*man e.istence, from +hich co*ld !e ded*ced ho+ the social +orld sho*ld !e arran"ed. 1t demonstrated hierarchies of task and position, !y sho+in" the connections linkin" different "ro*ps into a contin*o*s +hole. 85*st as every lim! and or"an of the !ody has a f*nction to perform !y nat*re, and one part does not consider its task honora!le nor another contempti!le !*t each simply performs that for +hich it +as created ... so the individ*als of the comm*nity each have a f*nction they m*st perform.8+10, Aike the circle of ei"ht +ords mentioned earlier, this contin*o*s +hole +as not an order conceived in the ima"e, common to *s today, of an inside vers*s an o*tside, a material +orld vers*s its str*ct*re, or a physical !ody vers*s a mental entity called 8the mind8. Th*s the r*lers corresponded simply to a partic*lar or"an of the !ody. 5*st as +ritin" +as not tho*"ht of in the simple terms of the metaphysical presence of an a*thor8s meanin" in a physical te.t, in the ima"e of the !ody there +as no a!stract a*thority, no invisi!le interior so*rce of po+er "overnin" a physical e.terior. )ven amon" the +riters of the 18&$s, ho+ever, the !ody as a metaphor +as !e"innin" to sho+ symptoms of stress. The !ody +as spoken of, !*t *s*ally to say that some vital or"an +as a!sent,+11, or that some lim! +as diseased and sho*ld !e removed. +12, Teachers +ere to teach their st*dents in ; 1%' ; the ne+ "overnment schools that they +ere the lim!s and or"ans of a !ody, !*t if they failed to do so the !ody itself +o*ld fail : the comm*nity +o*ld not !e realised. +13, 3e+ political practices +ere makin" this ima"e of the !ody inappropriate. The or"anisation of schoolin", the e.pandin" military order, the re!*ildin" of the co*ntry8s capital and other to+ns and villa"es, and all the other ne+ methods of order 1 have disc*ssed in earlier chapters, +ere all processes introd*cin" a ne+ ima"ery of the !ody and at the same time a ne+ effect of political a*thority. By the last decades of the nineteenth cent*ry, the old ima"e of the !ody +as seldom *sed in political +ritin". ,here the !ody does appear, it is in a +holly ne+ sense.

Unseen &9t None the Less Re%l

The ima"e appears, for e.ample, in M*hammad Ma/di8s Eighteen -ays in )pper Egypt , an acco*nt of his trip *p the 3ile in 189( on a Thomas Cook steamer. The conte.t is indicative of the chan"es takin" place in )"ypt. Ma/di +as an official in the )"yptian Co*rt of 2ppeal, and travelled as a to*rist on a !oat that carried mail, colonial officials, and officers of the army of occ*pation. The year 189( +as Ma/di8s first opport*nity to to*r Upper )"ypt since the nationalist *prisin" of 188$R8(, for, as 1 mentioned in the last chapter, it had taken the British ten years to s*ppress provincial resistance to the occ*pation.+1!, 2s he !oarded the steamer and set off from Cairo, he descri!ed the co*ntry as a !ody, +hose heart +as its capital city.

,henever 1 leave Cairo 1 think of it as o*r co*ntry8s heart, in +hich +e o*rselves are like the spherical particles of !lood. ,e acc*m*late there, and form into lines in order to "et o*t, proceedin" /*st like the fl*id of life. 1t is as tho*"h +e are impelled !y a re"*lated movement, on +hich the life of the !ody depends. +24,

This ima"e of society as a !ody is very different from the earlier *sa"e. The !ody is no lon"er somethin" composed of social "ro*ps formin" its vario*s lim!s and or"ans. 1t e.ists apart from people themselves, as a sort of machinery. The one or"an mentioned, the heart, +hich corresponds to the ne+ colonial capital, is a p*mp drivin" the machine.

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1ndivid*als are not parts of the !ody, !*t *niform particles that flo+ +ithin it. The !ody8s mechanical parts serve to channel, re"*late and set in motion these movin" particles. 2 second e.ample is provided !y an article p*!lished in March 19$$ in one of )"ypt8s ne+ daily ne+spapers, al'Liwa 8, disc*ssin" the political need for or"anised ed*cation. The article compared the co*ntry8s system of schoolin" to the nervo*s system of the !ody. )ach school, it said, co*ld !e considered an individ*al nerve:endin", and the nerve:endin"s +ere connected !ack to the !ody8s central nervo*s system. The system +as con: ; 1%& ; trolled and re"*lated !y its !rain, the Ministry of )d*cation. >rders +ere sent o*t from the !rain to the schools at the nerve:endin"s, +hich sent !ack imp*lses re"isterin" the reaction of the school as it made contact +ith the o*tside. 2ltho*"h the !ody in this ima"e still seems to refer to the +ay in +hich parts are interconnected, it has !ecome somethin" *tterly different. The connection it refers to is not the interaction of separate mem!ers that form a +hole, !*t the relationship of an e.terior to an interior. Previo*s ima"es of the parts of the !ody never referred in this +ay to an o*tside, and hence the !ody +as never an inside. The !ody has no+ !ecome not only a mechanical o!/ect, !*t an o!/ect +ith an o*t+ard s*rface. 1ts relationship to an e.terior makes it into an interior. This interior forms a political apparat*s, +hose f*rthest e.tension is the school. <eemin" to e.ist apart from a +orld 8o*tside8, the apparat*s of politics and schoolin" m*st to*ch this e.terior +orld, send !ack messa"es a!o*t it, and +ork *pon it. 3otions of this sort the old ima"ery of the !ody +as never tho*"ht to e.press. These e.amples s*""est ho+ the political ima"e of the !ody had chan"ed, in accordance +ith ne+ political practices. The !ody as a harmony of interactin" parts has !een replaced +ith the !ody as an apparat*s, kno+n as politics, schoolin", "overnment, or the state. 1t is tho*"ht of as a str*ct*re +ithin +hich particles move, or else as an internal mechanism +orkin" *pon somethin" e.ternal to it, namely the people, )"yptian society, the o*tside +orld. Aike the process of +ritin", the political process +as no+ to !e tho*"ht of more and more in terms of this kind of mechanical, internal e.ternal apparat*s. Perhaps nothin" +o*ld seem more strai"htfor+ard and less metaphysical than the idea of a machine : /*st as nothin" seems more strai"htfor+ard than the mechanical process of representation !y +hich +e *nderstand the nat*re of meanin". B*t a machine never occ*rs !y itself. ,hat is mystifyin", so to speak, a!o*t machinery is that thinkin" of somethin" as a mere machine al+ays implies somethin" else apart from the machineF /*st as +hat is mystifyin" a!o*t the e.hi!ition, as 1 s*""ested in chapter 1, is the effect it prod*ces of a real +orld o*tside, a place !eyond the process of representation. The ima"e of the machine makes possi!le certain f*ndamental yet seemin"ly o!vio*s separations in the *nderstandin" of the political +orld: !et+een the machinery and the 8ra+ material8 o*tside, and also !et+een the mechanism and its operator. 1t is these separations, +hich pass *nnoticed, that t*rn o*t to !e pro!lematic. 1 +ill ill*strate this +ith a final e.ample. 5*st as the ne+ machinery of +ar and comm*nication, as +e sa+ at the start of this chapter, +as essential to Britain8s colonial occ*pation of )"ypt, the machine +as a favo*rite metaphor amon" British colonial administrators. 1n Cromer8s Modern Egypt the system of colonial po+er is descri!ed a"ain and a"ain as a machine, indeed as 8one of the most complicated politi: ; 1%8 ; cal and administrative machines the +orld has ever kno+n8. Chapters of Cromer8s +ork are devoted to the 8nat*re of the machinery8 and to descri!in" the 8parts of the machine8. To e.plain the ideal of colonial "overnment, e.plicit comparisons are made to steam machinery, +here 8the rate at +hich each +heel t*rns is re"*lated to a nicety8. <afety:valves and 8a variety of other checks and co*nterchecks8 are re-*ired as 8"*arantees a"ainst accident8. 1n "eneral, each portion of the machinery is to operate *nder 8perfect control8.+2 , Cromer8s te.t can !e considered one of the first ma/or +orks of modern political science, and it foreshado+s in its voca!*lary the kind of idiom +hich

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political science +as re-*ired to develop. Politics is conceived mechanically, in terms of e-*ili!ri*m and control, inp*t and o*tp*t : or in Cromer8s terms, ra+ material and finished article. The colonial official, he +rote, 8+ill soon find that the )"yptian, +hom he +ishes to mo*ld into somethin" really *sef*l ... is merely the ra+est of ra+ material8. The tools +ith +hich he +orked +o*ld determine 8the e.cellence of the finished article8. +2-, The political is a machinery, +orkin" *pon an e.ternal +orld, a +orld in +hich the lives of )"yptians occ*r as 8ra+ material8. This ima"e of the political process corresponds !oth to the ne+, mechanical ima"e of the !ody and to the ne+ *nderstandin" of +ritin". ,ritin" too +as no+ to !e *nderstood as a mere apparat*s or instr*ment, like the !ody and hence like the machinery of politics, an apparat*s of comm*nication +hich reacts to or +orks *pon a +orld e.ternal to it. Aike this *nderstandin" of the te.t, the politics of the +orld:as: e.hi!ition +o*ld no+ pres*ppose its o+n *npro!lematic e.terior, the ra+ +orld o*tside itself formin" its "reat referent. Det altho*"h +ritin", the !ody and the political process +ere each no+ *nderstood mechanically, each seemed to share a similar physical metaphysical nat*re. 5*st as the mechanical *nderstandin" of the !ody no+ pres*pposed the 8mind8, the non:mechanical 6nonphysical7 operatin" conscio*sness +hose orders and intentions the !ody mechanically relayed, so +ritin" +o*ld no+ pres*ppose an operatin" conscio*sness. 2 te.t +o*ld !e the representation of an a*thor, in o*r modern sense, of +hose intentions and meanin"s it +as like+ise merely the machine. 5*st as the !ody +as no+ tho*"ht of as a vehicle thro*"h +hich a mind comm*nicates +ith the +orld, so +ritin" +as to !e tho*"ht of from no+ on as a mere vehicle of comm*nication +hich makes an a*thor8s mind or tr*th present in the +orld. Politics, in t*rn, +o*ld !e *nderstood as a mysterio*s machine that makes present the ideal realm of an a*thority, the state, +ithin the material +orld of society. 2fter fo*r chapters of Modern Egypt descri!in" the vario*s parts of the political machine, Cromer comes to descri!e himself, the Cons*l:@eneral. The passa"e in +hich he introd*ces himself ill*strates this ne+ notion of a*thority. Cis po+er is mechanical, +e are told, like the po+er of other parts ; 1%9 ; of the colonial apparat*s, yet, as +e +ill read, it is *nseen. 1t is somethin" real, !*t invisi!le, operatin" thro*"h the machine and yet e.istin" apart from it. To e.press this stran"e idea the metaphor s+itches, at a certain moment in the +ritin", !et+een the machine and the !ody. 82n endeavo*r has !een made in the fo*r precedin" chapters to "ive some idea of the machinery of @overnment in )"ypt ...8, Cromer !e"ins.
This description is ho+ever incompleteF indeed in some respects it is almost misleadin"F for all*sion has so far only !een made to those portions of the <tate machinery +hose f*nctions can !e descri!ed +ith some de"ree of precision. There are, ho+ever, other portions of that machinery +hose f*nctions are incapa!le of e.act definition, !*t +hose e.istence is none the less real. ,hether, in fact, the +hole machine +orks +ell or ill depends in no small de"ree *pon the action of those parts of the machinery +hich, to a s*perficial o!server, mi"ht appear *nnecessary, if not detrimental to its efficient +orkin". 1n the )"yptian !ody politic, the unseen is often more important than the seen. 3ota!ly, of late years a va"*e !*t preponderant po+er has !een vested in the hands of the British Cons*l:@eneral ...+2.,

Cromer has disc*ssed the po+er and f*nctionin" of each part of the political apparat*s over several chapters +itho*t once, as far as 1 kno+, employin" the ima"e of the !ody. 2t the moment +hen he t*rns to disc*ss po+er itself = the va"*e, invisi!le, preponderant po+er of the 8British representative8, +ho 8represents8 colonial a*thority itself = the machine metaphor is s*ddenly associated +ith the !ody. 1n terms of the 8!ody politic8 one can speak of the 8*nseen8. To the physical apparat*s of the !ody can !e added a separate entity, the non:physical, non:visi!le realm of a*thority itself. Colonial a*thority appears as this *nseen, yet 8none the less real8, metaphysical po+er. 2ltho*"h the metaphor s+itches from the machine to the physical !ody, there is no contradiction. The !ody is no+ tho*"ht of like a machine, and a machine, like a physical !ody, al+ays implies a non:mechanical po+er separate from itself. There is al+ays apart from the machine an operator or a 8motive force8, as Cromer says, the +orkin" of an *nseen +ill. ,hat matters a!o*t this lan"*a"e is not ho+ +ell it represents the +orkin" of colonial a*thority. ,hat is interestin" is the kind of ima"ery to +hich +ritin"s like Modern

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Egypt m*st resort in order to echo and correspond to the stran"e effects of colonial po+er. The -*estion that matters is +hat kind of thin" colonial or modern po+er mi"ht !e, if it m*st !e depicted in the form of a machine. The machine al+ays implies an operator apart from itself, /*st as +ritin" is no+ distin"*ished from its a*thor8s meanin" and the physical !ody from its mind. 1n each case there is an a!sol*te separation !et+een a visi!le, material apparat*s and an intention, meanin" or tr*th contin*o*sly presented from +ithin it. The +orld divided into t+o realms ; 1'$ ; that 1 have !een descri!in" in these pa"es is a +orld +here political po+er, ho+ever microphysical in its methods, operates al+ays so as to appear as somethin" set apart from the real +orld, effectin" a certain, metaphysical a*thority.

; 1'1 ;

Ch%pte$ 1 The Philosophy o" the Thing

Marshal Aya*tey +as the colonial "overnor of 9rench:occ*pied Morocco d*rin" the early part of the t+entieth cent*ry. 3ear the end of his period in po+er, on the occasion of the openin" of the Casa!lanca:4a!at <tandard @a*"e 4ail+ay, Aya*tey led a "ro*p of 9rench en"ineers and /o*rnalists on a to*r of 4a!at, the ne+ly !*ilt colonial capital. The +riter 2ndrM Ma*rois +as amon" the "*ests and he recorded the Marshal8s +ords, +ords +hich can introd*ce the concl*sions 1 +ant to dra+ in this final chapter. 81 shall e.plain to yo* the philosophy of the thin"8, Aya*tey !e"an, as they "ot off the train at 4a!at and entered the ne+ capital. 8The !*ildin"s as a +hole form a fan. 2t the centre of the fan, in the mo*ntin" : those are the 2dministration. Beyond them, +here it !roadens o*t, are the @overnment Ministries placed in the lo"ical order. Do* *nderstandE 9or e.ample, here, P*!lic ,orks. 3e.t to it: 4oads and Brid"es, and then Mines. 3e.t to 2"ric*lt*re, 9orests. This, here, is the "ap for 9inance. The !*ildin" has not yet !een !*ilt, !*t it +ill !e intercalated in its lo"ical place.8 >ne of the "*ests interr*pts +ith a -*estion: 8Monsie*r le MarMchal8, he asks, 8+hat is this kiosk forE8 To +hich Aya*tey replies: 8ThatE That is for the sale of maps.8+ , The colonial city +as to !e *nam!i"*o*sly e.pressive. 1ts layo*t and its !*ildin"s +ere to represent, in the +ords of the architect +ho !*ilt 4a!at, 8the "eni*s for order, proportion and clear reasonin"8 of the 9rench nation.+-, 2s a system of political e.pression, each !*ildin" in the city seemed to stand for somethin" f*rther. Aya*tey8s lan"*a"e in namin" the !*ildin"s act*ally named instead this somethin" f*rther: 8Cere, P*!lic ,orks. 3e.t to it, 4oads and Brid"es ... 8 The method of !*ildin" and namin" made present to the visitor the order and the instit*tions of colonial a*thority. Aater on +hen they entered 89orests8, there seemed to han" in the air 8the faint smell of cedar8, so perfectly did the !*ildin" represent the lar"er a!straction for +hich it stood. ,ith the colonial "overnor as o*r "*ide, it is as tho*"h +e have re:entered the +orld e.hi!ition. The similarity !et+een the +orld e.hi!ition and the ne+ cities of the Middle )ast and 3orth 2frica +as nothin" accidental, nor did it "o *nnoticed !y local +riters. Both the e.hi!ition and the city +ere !*ilt as ; 1'( ; political e.pressions, didactic in style, and !oth demanded the individ*al to !e an a+ed and c*rio*s spectator, a to*rist in need of a political "*ide and a map. There +ere many partic*lar similarities. 1n the case of 1stan!*l, the first Middle )astern capital to constr*ct a lar"e )*ropeanised -*arter, the ne+ city +as e.pressly intended to !e a 8model8 for the rest of the >ttoman +orld : and its constr*ction +as s*pervised !y

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<adatl* Gamil Bey, +ho had ac-*ired his e.perience !y s*pervisin" the constr*ction of the >ttoman e.hi!it at the Paris ,orld ).hi!ition.+., The similarity !et+een cities like 4a!at and the +orld e.hi!ition +as not somethin" limited to the !*ildin"s of the 9rench colonial administration, /*st as +hat +as e.hi!ited +as not simply colonial po+er. 1nside the @erman Cons*late at Casa!lanca, for e.ample, one fo*nd 8the elements of a remarka!le commercial or"anisation: samples of everythin" the 4eich co*ld prod*ce, +hich the Cons*late +as char"ed +ith offerin" to Moroccan merchantsF and also samples of prod*cts desired !y Morocco, +hich +ere sent to man*fact*rers in @ermany capa!le of prod*cin" them8. Beyond s*ch official !*ildin"s, moreover, +ere the )*ropean cafMs, and the retail esta!lishments +ith their display of )*ropean commodities, their advertisements, their postcards of the 82ra! city8 for sale. 2n )"yptian +riter at the t*rn of the cent*ry complained that )*rope +as convertin" the entire )ast into an 8e.hi!ition8, at +hich every kind of )*ropean commercial prod*ct +as on display.+/, Aya*tey himself claimed the title 8chief commercial traveller of the protectorate8, and in 191% after seein" +hat had !een done +ith the @erman Cons*late he or"anised a commercial e.hi!ition at Casa!lanca, and the follo+in" year a trade fair at 9e?. The effect of s*ch commercial displays on the natives, +e are told, +as -*ite e.traordinary:
>ne of the re!el chieftains on the northern front, +ho +as keepin" *p a st*!!orn resistance to @eneral Cenrys, heard a description of the e.hi!ition and +as sei?ed +ith an irresisti!le c*riosity. Ce re-*ested a tr*ce, and permission to "o there and then res*me his post of +arfare a"ainst *s. 2s stran"e and *naccepta!le as s*ch a re-*est appeared, it +as "ranted. Ce +as +armly +elcomed, and after his visit he and his tri!e made s*!mission.+0,

To s*!mit and !ecome a citi?en of s*ch an e.hi!itional +orld +as to !ecome a cons*mer, of commodities and of meanin"s.

The Nee( "o$ the O$ient%l

1n the order of an e.hi!itional +orld, s*ch as Aya*tey8s 4a!at, each !*ildin" and each o!/ect appeared to stand for some f*rther meanin" or val*e, and these meanin"s appeared to stand apart as a realm of order and instit*tions, indeed as the very realm of the political. The effect of meanin", ; 1'# ; ho+ever, as +e mi"ht e.pect from the disc*ssion of lan"*a"e in the previo*s chapter, act*ally arose not from each !*ildin" or o!/ect in itself !*t o*t of the contin*o*s +eave of !*ildin"s and o!/ects in +hich an individ*al item occ*rred. <o altho*"h 89inance8 had not yet !een !*ilt, it already e.isted as a 8lo"ical place8 in the process of intercalation. To create the effect of a realm of meanin", this differential process +as to mark every space and every "ap. 1t +as to e.tend across the +hole city, as contin*o*s as a system of disciplinary po+er, to incl*de even the 8native to+n8 portrayed on the )*ropean postcards. 2t first si"ht the older, indi"eno*s -*arters of the city appeared to !e e.cl*ded from the ne+ colonial order. ,hen Aya*tey8s "*ests are sho+n the main street of Casa!lanca it seems to them *n!alanced, +ith lo+, irre"*lar ho*ses on one side and tall !*ildin"s on the other. 8PreciselyQ8 replies Aya*tey. 8>n the left yo* have the faJade of the native to+n ... >n the ri"ht, the faJade of the )*ropean to+n, lar"e properties in the 9rench style.8+1, 1n Cairo d*rin" the colonial period, 9rench e.perts disc*ssin" the esth7ti2ue of the modern -*arters insisted on a similar e.cl*sion of the older part of the city. There co*ld !e no reor"anisation of the older part, and if anythin" +ere to !e re!*ilt there, they said, 8it m*st !e >riental8. The 2ra! to+n, it +as e.plained,
m*st !e preserved to sho+ to f*t*re "enerations +hat the former city of the Caliphs +as like, !efore there +as !*ilt alon"side it an important cosmopolitan colony completely separate from the native -*arter ... There are t+o Cairo8s, the modern, infinitely the more attractive one, and the old, +hich seems destined to prolon" its a"ony and not to revive, !ein" *na!le to str*""le a"ainst pro"ress and its inevita!le conse-*ences. >ne is the Cairo of artists, the other of hy"ienists and modernists.+2,

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Th*s altho*"h the ne+ order seemed at first to e.cl*de the 2ra! to+n, in a lar"er sense it incl*ded it. Colonialism did not i"nore any part of the city, !*t divided it in t+o, one part !ecomin" an e.hi!ition and the other, in the same spirit, a m*se*m. +3, This 8preservation8 of a pict*res-*e 8Cairo of artists8, it sho*ld !e noted, +as advocated after the pop*lation of the city had increased !y seventy per cent in the first t+enty:five years of colonial r*le. More than t+o:thirds of this increase +as ca*sed !y in: mi"ration, incl*din" the movement of the poor from the to+ns and villa"es of the co*ntryside to Cairo, +here the rate of pop*lation "ro+th +as almost t+ice that of the co*ntry as a +hole.+!, There +as also a movement of pop*lation +ithin the city, as the arrival of )*ropean settlers, the )*ropeanisation of the -*arters in +hich they p*rchased property, and risin" rents p*shed the poor more and more into the cro+ded streets of the so:called 8old city8. 2s poverty, maln*trition and *nemployment increased, this 8>riental8 -*arter and other !ackstreets +here the poor ; 1'0 ; fo*nd room to live !ecame rapidly more cramped and more decrepit. 8The poorer classes are !ein" more and more cro+ded into Usl*msU of the +orst type8, +rote the Egyptian #a%ette in an editorial of 9e!r*ary 19$(. 83o ne+ ho*ses are !ein" !*ilt for their accommodation and the risin" rent roll is constantly limitin" the n*m!ers that are still +ithin their reach. Cence, in the !y+ays and !ackstreets of all -*arters of the to+n, as +ell as in the s*!*r!s, there is an ever enlar"in" n*m!er of ho*ses in +hich families are packed to"ether in n*m!ers and *nder conditions that render these places the e.act co*nterpart of the sl*ms of )*rope and 2merica.8+ 4, Under these circ*mstances, the ar"*ment that the native to+n m*st remain 8>riental8 did not mean preservin" it a"ainst the impact of the colonial order. The >riental +as a creation of that order, and +as needed for s*ch order to e.ist. Both economically and in a lar"er sense, the colonial order depended *pon at once creatin" and e.cl*din" its o+n opposite. 1n a +ell:kno+n passa"e in The 9retched of the Earth , 9rant? 9anon descri!es the colonial +orld as 8a +orld divided into, compartments, ... a +orld c*t in t+o8. Cis description of the division of the colonial city into the )*ropean and the native -*arters can ill*minate the lar"er sense in +hich the colonial depends *pon its >riental opposite.
The settler8s to+n is a stron"ly:!*ilt to+n, all made of stone and steel. 1t is a !ri"htly:lit to+nF the streets are covered +ith asphalt, and the "ar!a"e:cans s+allo+ all the leavin"s, *nseen, *nkno+n and hardly tho*"ht a!o*t. The settler8s feet are never visi!le, e.cept perhaps in the seaF !*t there yo*8re never close eno*"h to see them. Cis feet are protected !y stron" shoes altho*"h the streets of his to+n are clean and even, +ith no holes or stores. The settler8s to+n is a +ell:fed to+n, an easy:"oin" to+nF its !elly is al+ays f*ll of "ood thin"s. The settler8s to+n is a to+n of +hite people, of forei"ners. The to+n !elon"in" to the colonised people, or at least the native to+n, the ne"ro villa"e, the medina, the reservation, is a place of ill fame, peopled !y men of evil rep*te. They are !orn there, it matters little +here or ho+F they die there, it matters not +here, nor ho+. 1t is a +orld +itho*t spacio*snessF men live there on top of each other, and their h*ts are !*ilt one on top of the other. The native to+n is a h*n"ry to+n, starved of !read, of meat, of shoes, of coal, of li"ht. The native to+n is a cro*chin" villa"e, a to+n on its knees, a to+n +allo+in" in the mire. 1t is a to+n of ni""ers and dirty ara!s. The look that the native t*rns on the settler8s to+n is a look of l*st, a look of envyF it e.presses his dreams of possession :all manner of possession: to sit at the settler8s ta!le, to sleep in the settler8s !ed, +ith his +ife if possi!le.+ ,

9anon8s +ritin" capt*res the effect of colonial se"re"ation !y shiftin" !et+een t+o voca!*laries and t+o perspectives. )ach ?one is descri!ed *sin" the lan"*a"e and vie+point of those o*tside it. The colonisers8 to+n is seen thro*"h the eyes of those +ho have s*ffered colonisation, those to ; 1'% ; +hom the settler is a person never seen in !are feet. The native to+n is descri!ed in terms of the fears and pre/*dices of the colonisers, +ho represent those +hom they e.cl*de as the ne"atives of their o+n self:ima"e: the natives are cro+ded to"ether like animals, they are cro*chin" or kneelin" like slaves, they are +itho*t se.*al restraint. Bescri!in" the process of e.cl*sion thro*"h the eyes of those +ho do the e.cl*din" imitates, in the very style of +ritin", somethin" of its nat*re. The identity of the modern city is created !y +hat is keeps o*t. 1ts modernity is somethin" contin"ent *pon the e.cl*sion of its o+n opposite. 1n order to determine itself as the place of order, reason, propriety, cleanliness, civilisation and po+er, it m*st represent o*tside itself +hat is

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irrational, disordered, dirty, li!idino*s, !ar!arian and co+ed. The city re-*ires this 8o*tside8 in order to present itself, in order to constit*te its sin"*lar, *ncorr*pted identity. 1t is this techni-*e of esta!lishin" one8s identity over and in terms of another that )d+ard <aid has analysed, in a lar"er intellect*al and political conte.t, as 8>rientalism8. 1t is in this lar"er sense that the native to+n 8m*st !e >riental8. To represent itself as modern, the city is dependent *pon maintainin" the !arrier that keeps the other o*t. This dependence makes the o*tside, the >riental, parado.ically an inte"ral part of the modern city. The order of the city does not stop at the limit of the modern to+n, as Aya*tey8s "*ests +ere led to think. The limit is somethin" the city maintains +ithin itself, !y means of a contin*o*s orderin" that is the so*rce of its o+n ordered identity. Det it appears as the !o*ndary of order itself. The city, in this analysis, can !e taken to e.emplify a parado. at +ork in the maintenance of any modern political order, any modern self:identity.

A L%$ge :e"inition
1n the same period as the constr*ction of divided colonial capitals, a similar separation +as !ein" made on a "lo!al scale, in the form of a c*lt*ral and historical 8!reak8 dividin" the modern ,est, as the place of order, reason, and po+er, from the o*tside +orld it +as in the process of colonisin" and seekin" to control.+ -, 82s lon" as +e kno+ anythin" that deserves the name of history8, declared the President of the 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists held in Aondon in 189(, 8that !reak e.ists.8+ ., Professor Tylor, in his ina*"*ral address as the President of the Con"ress8s ne+ 2nthropolo"ical <ection, e.plained more precisely that 8in the lar"e definition adopted !y this con"ress, the >riental +orld reaches its e.treme limits. 1t em!races the continent of 2sia, stretchin" thro*"h )"ypt over 2frica, and into )*rope over T*rkey and @reece . . . 8 + /, The proceedin"s of the Con"ress +ere reported in the local periodical press in )"ypt. Professor Tylor8s definition ; 1'' ; of the >rient +as reprod*ced in f*ll, and an astonished )"yptian editor added his comment: 81t is as if the +orld +ere divided in t+o.8 + 0, The +orld8s division into t+o +as an essential part of the lar"er process of its incorporation into the )*ropean +orld economy and the )*ropean political order. The President8s a*dience incl*ded, amon" the vice:presidents of the Con"ress, ,illiam @ladstone, +hose "overnment had carried o*t the invasion and occ*pation of )"ypt, Aord B*fferin, the first architect of Britain8s colonial policy in the co*ntry, and many others :8so many practical men,8 as the President +armly remarked, 8so many statesmen, and r*lers, and administrators of )astern co*ntries8.+ 1, 1t +as to these colonial administrators and policy makers that the orderin" of >rientalism +as addressed. 81t is simply da??lin" to think of the fe+ tho*sands of )n"lishmen r*lin" the millions of h*man !ein"s in 1ndia, in 2frica, in 2merica, and in 2*stralia8, said the President. 2fter thankin" for their "enerosity the nine 1ndian ra/as and mahara/as +ho had p*t *p the money for the Con"ress, he called for a m*ch closer cooperation !et+een those +ho st*died and those +ho administered the >rient. ,hile it +as one thin" to con-*er )astern nations, he said, 8to *nderstand them is -*ite another8. @reater *nderstandin" of the >rient, he concl*ded, +o*ld sec*re 8the commercial s*premacy of )n"land8 and ena!le 8the yo*n" r*lers and administrators +ho are sent every year to the )ast8 to esta!lish 8intimate relations +ith the people +hom they are meant to r*le8.+ 2, ,hat >rientalism offered +as not /*st a technical kno+led"e of >riental lan"*a"es, reli"io*s !eliefs and methods of "overnment, !*t a series of a!sol*te differences accordin" to +hich the >riental co*ld !e *nderstood as the ne"ative of the )*ropean. These differences +ere not the differences +ithin a self, +hich +o*ld !e *nderstood as an al+ays:divided identityF they +ere the differences !et+een a self and its opposite, the opposite that makes possi!le s*ch an ima"inary, *ndivided self. The >rient +as !ack+ard, irrational, and disordered, and therefore in need of )*ropean order and

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a*thority: the domination of the ,est over the non:,estern +orld depended on this manner of creatin" a 8,est8, a sin"*lar ,estern self:identity. Aike the 82ra! to+n8, the >rient +as created as the apparent e.terior of the ,estF as +ith the colonial city, +hat is o*tside is parado.ically +hat makes the ,est +hat it is, the e.cl*ded yet inte"ral part of its identity and po+er. 9*rther e.amples of this parado.ical method of order co*ld !e mentioned. 1t helps to prod*ce, for instance, the identity and a*thority of an 8individ*al8 nation:state. >ne co*ld think of a partic*lar case in the modern Middle )ast, of a state +hose e.istence is contin"ent *pon maintainin" a radical difference !et+een itself and the identity of those o*tside it. The o*tside m*st !e represented as ne"ative and threatenin", as the method of ; 1'& ; maintainin" meanin" and order +ithin. The o*tside, in this sense, is an aspect of the inside. >n closer inspection, moreover, the same opposition is fo*nd at +ork +ithin the state, !et+een +hat !elon"s to the o*tside and +hat !elon"s +ithin. The a*thority and self:identity of the nation:state, like that of the city and the colonial +orld, are not sta!le, circ*mscri!ed conceptions !*t internal !o*ndaries of hierarchical separation +hich m*st constantly !e policed. The parado. 1 have !een descri!in" is not somethin" *ni-*e to colonial or modern politics. >n the contrary, the indi"eno*s modes of order that 1 tried to descri!e in chapter ( ill*strated the same parado.. 1n Pierre Bo*rdie*8s ethno"raphy of the Ga!yle ho*se +e fo*nd oppositions s*ch as interior e.terior and male female that tended contin*ally to reverse and to collapse *pon themselves. <o:called se"mentary political systems co*ld !e e.plained in terms of the same parado.: the identity of a political "ro*p is not fi.ed as a ri"id !o*ndary containin" those inside. The inside is contin"ent *pon the desi"nation of an e.terior, and e.ists only in relation to partic*lar e.teriors. Political identity, therefore, never e.ists in the form of an a!sol*te, interior self or comm*nity, !*t al+ays as an already:divided relation of self other. Political identity, this means to say, is no more sin"*lar or a!sol*te than the identity of +ords in a system of +ritin". 5*st as the partic*larity of +ords, as +e sa+, is merely an effect of the differences that "ive rise to lan"*a"e, so difference "ives rise to political identity and e.istence. + 3, There are no political 8*nits8, no atomistic, *ndivided selvesF only relations or forces of difference, o*t of +hich identities are formed as somethin" al+ays self:divided and contin"ent. ,hat difference, then, does colonialism !rin"E ,hat distin"*ishes its modern political orderE Clearly the ans+er is not, in itself, the division into selves and others. 4ather, it is the effect of seemin" to e.cl*de the other a!sol*tely from the self, in a +orld divided a!sol*tely into t+o. The esta!lishin" of this seemin"ly a!sol*te difference is in fact an overcomin", or an overlookin", of difference. 2s +ith the e.ample of the colonial city, !y esta!lishin" a !o*ndary that ri"oro*sly e.cl*des the >riental, the other, from the self, s*ch a self ac-*ires its apparent cleanliness, its p*rity, its *ncorr*pted and *ndivided identity. 1dentity no+ appears no lon"er self:divided, no lon"er contin"ent, no lon"er somethin" arran"ed o*t of differencesF it appears instead as somethin" self: formed, and ori"inal. ,hat is overlooked, in prod*cin" this modern effect of order, is the dependence of s*ch identity *pon +hat it e.cl*des. 1t is for"otten that the !o*ndary of the o*tside, as +e have /*st seen, in this sense is somethin" inte"ral, somethin" inside. Co+ is s*ch an overlookin", a for"ettin", in the colonial order achievedE 2 first ans+er mi"ht !e that modern colonialism +as constr*cted *pon a ; 1'8 ; vastly increased po+er of representation, a po+er +hich made possi!le an *nprecedented fi.in" and policin" of !o*ndaries :an *nprecedented po+er of portrayin" +hat lay 8o*tside8. B*rin" the colonial occ*pation of )"ypt in 188(, as 1 mentioned in chapter %, rail+ays, steamships, tele"raphs, ne+spaper correspondents, official reports, photo"raphers, artists, and postcards from the front +ere all !ro*"ht into coordination. The coordination made it possi!le to prod*ce and relay !ack to )*rope a contin*o*s ima"e of British imperial po+er, and an e-*ally effective ima"e of the disordered and

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!ack+ard )"yptians. 1n this manner, the enormo*s tr*th of colonialism : !oth its description and its /*stification : co*ld !e ordered *p, p*t into circ*lation, and cons*med. The tr*th of colonialism +as con"r*o*s +ith the e.istin" reality:ima"es of the )ast ela!orated in the pop*lar and scholarly literat*re of nineteenth:cent*ry >rientalism, +hich 1 disc*ssed in chapter 1. These ima"es in t*rn referred !ack to the "reat -escription de l'Egypte prod*ced d*rin" )"ypt8s earlier period of )*ropean occ*pation, *nder 3apoleon. By the end of the nineteenth cent*ry, as <aid has sho+n, kno+led"e of the >rient had !ecome an e.pertise instit*tionalised in the centres of colonial administration, in "overnment ministries, and in *niversities. This e.pertise, com!ined +ith ima"es of the >rient in pop*lar +ritin", entertainment, the press, "overnment reports, "*ide !ooks, travelo"*es and the memoires of colonial officials, came to form a !road disc*rsive field, a vast theatre or e.hi!ition of the real. ,ithin this theatrical machinery, ela!orate representations of the 8o!/ects8 of colonial a*thority co*ld !e prod*ced. Before p*rs*in" f*rther my -*estion a!o*t +hat distin"*ishes the order and self: identity of modern politics, it may !e +orth mentionin" somethin" of the penetration of these mechanisms of reality, !y recallin" the e.tent to +hich the tr*ths of >rientalism +ere reprod*ced *nder the British in political de!ate +ithin )"ypt. 1 have already disc*ssed, in chapter 0, ho+ s*ch >rientalist representations as the )"yptian character, the place of +omen in 1slam and the po+er of c*stom and s*perstition +ere taken *p in )"yptian +ritin" and in the strate"ies of modern schoolin" as f*ndamental political iss*es. 1 have also mentioned the process !y +hich the +ritin"s of some of the more pop*lar and racist )*ropean >rientalists, s*ch as @*stave Ae Bon, made their +ay into )"yptian political life. The British themselves +ere active in enco*ra"in" and financin" the spread of >rientalist ideas in )"ypt. They +orked in partic*lar +ith +riters dra+n from the Christian comm*nities of Ae!anon, ed*cated !y 2merican missionaries in Beir*t, +ho tended to !elieve the only +ay to rival the ,est +as to learn from it and for this and other reasons preferred )*ropean colonialism to local T*rkish r*le. The British secretly s*!sidised a daily and monthly 2ra!ic press in )"ypt, edited !y s*ch +riters, and also or"anised the prod*ction of ; 1'9 ; te.t!ooks for the ne+ "overnment schools. The res*lt, as 1 +ill !riefly descri!e, +as a steady penetration of >rientalist themes into the +ritin"s of the Middle )ast.

O9$ P$esent <%c')%$(ness

8Co+ have +e come to !e re"arded as part of the >rientE8 asked a reader +ho +rote to the )"yptian /o*rnal al'Mu2tataf in 1888. 82re +e not closer to )*rope than to China or 3orth 2fricaE8 1t had happened, replied the editor, !eca*se those +ho st*dy *s 8call themselves >rientalists8.+ !, B*t his scepticism did not last. 9ive years later, +hen he had come to kno+ personally some of the leadin" >rientalists of his day, the editor +as +illin" to accept the >rient as a self:ima"e. 81t is +e +ho have placed o*rselves in this position. There is one thin" that *nites *s all in the >rient: o*r past "reatness and o*r present !ack+ardness.+-4, The manner in +hich this kind of >riental self:conception +as spread can !e ill*strated +ith the case of the +riter 5*r/i Taydan, a Ae!anese Christian +ho lived in )"ypt d*rin" the period of British occ*pation. Taydan +as commissioned to prod*ce t+o te.t!ooks for *se in the ne+ "overnment secondary schools, a Modern 1istory of Egypt 618897 and a )ni*ersal 1istory 6189$7.+- , Ce +as also the a*thor of a five:vol*me 1istory of "sla&ic Ci*ilisation , !ased on a +ide readin" of pre:modern 2ra! historians !*t also, !y his o+n acco*nt, on half a do?en )*ropean st*dies of 1slam, the first amon" +hich +as La ci*ilisation des ara(es !y @*stave Ae Bon. ,orkin" from these so*rces, Taydan e.plained that 8the history of 1slamic Civilisation . . . constit*tes the history of the civilised +orld in the Middle 2"es8.+--, Bescri!in" the period of the first fo*r caliphs as the

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hi"hest phase of 1slamic civilisation, Taydan represented every s*!se-*ent period, from the Umayyad and 2!!asid caliphates on+ard, as a s*ccessive sta"e of decline. The p*rpose of the +ork +as to sho+ for each sta"e the 8political8 ca*ses of decline, and its c*lt*ral conse-*ences. This vie+ of history as a *nilinear development in +hich 1slam represented only a 8connectin" link8 in the medieval formation of an o!/ect called the ,est had direct political implications. ,ritin" in the /o*rnal he had fo*nded, al'1ilal , on the 1ndian *prisin"s of 18%& a"ainst the British, Taydan +arned )"yptians of the social disr*ption that faced them if they did not follo+ the steady co*rse of development +hose sta"es had !een marked o*t !y the ,est. The 1ndian revolt a"ainst colonialism had failed !eca*se 1ndia had not yet reached the historical sta"e in its development that made possi!le an independent political life. The 1ndian people had not ac-*ired a kno+led"e of 8science and administration8, or an *nderstandin" of their ; 1&$ ; o!li"ations to the state. <imilarly, disc*ssin" the nationalist revol*tion of 188$R8( in )"ypt, Taydan descri!ed the co*ntry8s political disorder as the conse-*ence of a 8premat*re8 demand for chan"e, !y a people that had not properly follo+ed the la+s of social development.+-., Taydan8s >rientalist historio"raphy +as stron"ly criticised !y certain intellect*al "ro*ps +ithin )"ypt.+-/, Det he +as s*!se-*ently invited, altho*"h a Christian, to !ecome the first )"yptian professor of 1slamic history at the ne+ national *niversity. <*pport for Taydan +as stron"est from )*ropean >rientalists, many of +hom he kne+ as ac-*aintances or friends.+-0, >ne of these friends, B. <. Mar"olio*th, the Aa*dian Professor of 2ra!ic at >.ford, translated the fo*rth vol*me of Taydan8s history of 1slamic civilisation into )n"lish. 1t covered the period of the Umayyad and 2!!asid caliphates, on +hich there +as no scholarly +ork in )n"lish yet +ritten.+-1, Th*s )n"lish scholarship !e"an to repeat, via 2ra!ic, the ideas of men like @*stave Ae Bon. The infl*ence of >rientalism on )"yptian learnin" +as not confined to the +ritin" of )"ypt8s political history as a part of the history of the ,est. 2ll of 2ra!ic literat*re +as no+ to !e or"anised and st*died in the same +ay, as s*!/ect to the principle of a *nilinear historical development. 2lready in the 189$s Casan Ta+fi-, a st*dent of C*sayn al:Marsafi, had ret*rned from st*dy in @ermany and the infl*ence of the >rientalist Brockelmann to prod*ce the first 1istory of +ra(ic Literature .+-2, Taydan himself t*rned to the s*!/ect in response to a re-*est from the ne+ *niversity for a te.t!ook to *se in teachin" 2ra!ic literat*re. Ce prod*ced the fo*r:vol*me Ta'ri/h ada( al'lugha al'ara(iyya 6191$R107 +hich covered all aspects of intellect*al life, e.plainin" its history once a"ain in terms of the rise and lon" decline of 1slam.+-3, <*ch >rientalism reached a +ide a*dience. Besides its propa"ation thro*"h the *niversity and thro*"h the te.t!ooks *sed in schools, it +as +idely circ*lated in /o*rnals like Taydan8s monthly al'1ilal . Moreover, from 1891 Taydan +as en"a"ed in an enormo*s effort to spread his ideas amon" the ne+spaper:readin" pop*lation, !y +ritin" the history of 1slamic civilisation in a series of pop*lar historical novels. >ver the co*rse of t+o decades he prod*ced a se-*ence of seventeen novels encompassin" the history of 1slam from its !e"innin"s to the a"e of the Maml*ks. The novels circ*lated +idely, for they +ere distri!*ted free amon" the s*!scri!ers to al'1ilal, +hich had the +idest circ*lation of all Middle )astern periodicals of its time. They made the ne+ *nderstandin" of history !oth pop*lar and entertainin". Taha C*sayn +rote of !ein" captivated !y these !ooks, +hich +o*ld keep him a+ay from his st*dies at al:2?har +henever he read one, and attri!*ted to them a ma/or infl*ence on modern 2ra!ic letters. +-!, ; 1&1 ; The e.ample of Taydan8s +ork ill*strates ho+ e.tensive +ere the historical representations o*t of +hich colonial a*thority +as !*ilt. The a!sol*te opposition !et+een the order of the modern ,est and the !ack+ardness and disorder of the )ast +as not only fo*nd in )*rope, !*t !e"an to repeat itself in )"yptian scholarship and pop*lar literat*re, /*st as it +as replicated in colonial cities. Thro*"h its te.t!ooks, school

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teachers, *niversities, ne+spapers, novels and ma"a?ines, the colonial order +as a!le to penetrate and colonise local disco*rse.+.4, This colonisin" process never f*lly s*cceeded, for there al+ays remained re"ions of resistance and voices of re/ection. The schools, *niversities and the press, moreover, like the military !arracks, +ere al+ays lia!le to !ecome centres of some kind of revolt, t*rnin" the colonisers8 methods of instr*ction and discipline into the means of or"anised opposition. 6Cence the rise after the 9irst ,orld ,ar of disciplinary political movements opposed to )*ropean occ*pation, s*ch as the M*slim Brotherhood in )"ypt, +hose leaders +ere almost invaria!ly school teachers.7 3evertheless the po+er of colonialism +as itself a po+er that so*"ht to colonise: to penetrate locally, spreadin" and esta!lishin" settlements not only in the shape of cities and !arracks, !*t in the form of classrooms, /o*rnals and +orks of scholarship. Colonialism :and modern politics "enerally : distin"*ished itself in this colonisin" po+er. 1t +as a!le at the most local level to reprod*ce theatres of its order and tr*th. Colonialism +as distin"*ished !y its po+er of representation, +hose paradi"m +as the architect*re of the colonial city !*t +hose effects e.tended themselves at every level. 1t +as distin"*ished not /*st !y representation8s e.tent, ho+ever, !*t !y the very techni-*e. The order and certainty of colonialism +as the order of the e.hi!ition, the certainty of representation itself. >ther kinds of political order, ho+ever harmonio*s, tended to !e dynamic and indecida!le, lia!le to reverse and to collapse *pon themselves in +ays that +ere already *nderstood in the +ritin"s of 1!n Ghald*n. <*ch orders arose o*t of the opposin" play of differences. To ret*rn to my earlier -*estion, ho+ did the ne+ order appear to overcome internal difference, and set *p the different as somethin" o*tsideE Co+ did it seem to esta!lish an a!sol*te !o*ndary, !et+een ,est and non: ,est, !et+een modernity and its past, !et+een order and disorder, !et+een8 self and otherE The ans+er, 1 think, lies in recallin" the connections !et+een all the different +ays in +hich the +orld no+ seemed divided in t+o. Modern politics +as to reside +ithin a reality effect, a techni-*e of certainty, order and tr*th, !y +hich the +orld seemed a!sol*tely divided into self and other, into thin"s themselves and their plan, into !odies and minds, into the material and the concept*al. 1t is +ith the connections !et+een these different divisions that 1 +ant to concl*de.

; 1&( ;

The $hilosophy of the Thing

81 shall e.plain to yo* the philosophy of the thin"8, Aya*tey8s to*r of 4a!at had !e"*n. 1t had ended at the kiosk sellin" maps. There +as nothin" !efore the visitors8 eyes e.cept, as in any city, a certain distri!*tin" of s*rfaces and spaces. Det the re"*larity of their distri!*tion and the distance maintained !et+een the s*rfaces and the eye resolved this distri!*tin" into +hat seemed to the o!server t+o distinct entities, one spatial and material, the other non:spatial and concept*al: on the one hand the !*ildin"s themselves, and on the other a plan. ,hat +as !efore them appeared divided into the 8thin"8 and its 8philosophy8, the city and its map : as tho*"h cities and maps !elon"ed to t+o different cate"ories of !ein". The division of the +orld into the material and the concept*al seems somethin" o!vio*s and commonsensical. <*rely, it +ill still !e said, the nat*re of the +orld and of personhood has al+ays !een *nderstood in terms of some sort of distinction !et+een the material and the immaterial. Perhaps so. To *nderstand +hat +as novel a!o*t the distinction !et+een thin"s themselves and their plan +e m*st recall the enco*nter +ith the +orld e.hi!ition. ,hat characterised those e.hi!itions +as not /*st their acc*racy and e.tent of representation, !*t the a!sol*te distinction !et+een the representation and 8reality8. The e.hi!it of an )"yptian street, of the City of Paris, of the Pro"ress of 1nd*stry, +as al+ays merely an e.hi!it, clearly discerna!le, or so it seemed, from the ori"inal street, the real city, the act*al ind*strial pro"ress to +hich it referred. This

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discerna!ility, !et+een a representation and the ori"inal o!/ect or idea to +hich it refers, is the principle on +hich e.hi!itions e.ist. 1t is the method !y +hich o*r effect of an ori"inal 8reality8 is achieved. The same principle +as at +ork, moreover, o*tside the e.hi!ition. 1t +as at +ork in m*se*ms and ?oolo"ical "ardens, in >rientalist con"resses and li!raries, in statistics and le"al codes, in +orks of art and 2lpine scenery, in the commerce of department stores and in the architect*re of the city. )very+here one +ent in the modern +orld, 8thin"s8 seemed more and more to !e !*ilt, arran"ed, handled or cons*med as 8si"ns of8 somethin" f*rther. 2 certain street, a partic*lar vie+, a !ook, an advertisement or a commodity appeared as a mere o!/ect or arran"ement that someho+ al+ays stood, as in an e.hi!ition, for some more ori"inal idea or e.perience. The arran"ement of !*ildin"s seemed to e.press the instit*tions and a*thority of a political po+er, 2lpine scenery !ecame an e.perience of nat*re, articles in m*se*ms conveyed the presence of history and c*lt*re, +ords in >riental lan"*a"es represented an e.otic past, animals in ?oos an e.otic present. Aife +as more and more to !e lived as tho*"h the +orld itself +ere an e.hi!ition, an ; 1&# ; e.hi!ition of the e.otic, of e.perience, of the ori"inal, the real. ,hat this meant +as that the a!sol*te discerna!ility +hich +as the principle of e.hi!itions +as to !e the principle of the +orld !eyond as +ell. 2s in the e.hi!ition, the caref*l orderin" of !*ildin"s, vie+s, displays and e.periences aro*nd the individ*al so*"ht to make everythin" into a mere representation of somethin" more real !eyond itself, somethin" ori"inal o*tside. The reality:effect of the ,est lay in effectin" this a!sol*te distinction !et+een mere 8thin"s in themselves8, as the ,esterner co*ld say, and the 8real8 meanin", p*rpose or plan for +hich they stood. Co+ever, if the +orld o*tside the e.hi!ition +as in this sense not a simple ori"inal, not reality itself, !*t a f*rther series of representations, then the distinction !et+een an e.hi!it and the real thin" +as not, after all, somethin" a!sol*te. The clear discerna!ility !et+een a representation and an ori"inal, promised !y the e.hi!ition, act*ally consisted only of representations standin" for representations. Aife +as to !e lived as tho*"h the +orld +ere an e.hi!ition of realityF !*t the e.its from the e.hi!ition led not to reality itself, !*t only to f*rther e.hi!itions. The real o*tside +as never -*ite reached. 1t +as only ever represented. The e.hi!ition, 1 hope, can serve as a motif for the kind of order and certainty +e consider nat*ral and commonsensical +hile remainin" o!livio*s to its mysterio*s nat*re. ,ith the help of this motif, s*ch order can !e seen no lon"er as somethin" nat*ral !*t as a partic*lar historical practice in +hich +e are still ca*"ht *p. My aim has not !een to descri!e its history, even in relation to the Middle )ast, !*t to isolate it and *nderstand its pec*liarity and po+er. To assist in its isolation, in chapter (1 tried to s*""est +hat other kinds of order there may have !een, in the case of the Middle )astern or Mediterranean +orld, +hich the order of the e.hi!ition so*"ht to replace. 1 did so +ith the reservation that s*ch other kinds of order risk seemin", as a conse-*ence of this sort of analysis, simply the opposite of o*r o+nF and as s*ch, somethin" total and self: contained. These conse-*ences, as 1 said then, are *nintended. Borro+in" some e.amples from the +ork of Pierre Bo*rdie*, 1 ar"*ed that the order of this +orld does not appear as a fi.ed correspondence !et+een material o!/ects and the concepts they represent : !et+een a realm of thin"s in themselves and their meanin" or plan. There is nothin" sym!olic in s*ch a +orld, in o*r o+n stran"e sense of that term. 1ts order, therefore, is not somethin" analo"o*s to a pict*re, a te.t or an e.hi!it. 1t does not form a sin"le, enframed totality, set *p !efore an o!servin" or readin" s*!/ect and representin" to this s*!/ect a 8meanin"8. >rder does not occ*r, in this sense, in relation to the idealised position of an o!server 6or reader7 sit*ated o*tside itself. 4ather, order occ*rs as a play of correspondence and difference !et+een thin"s, or perhaps !etter, !et+een forcesF and al+ays ; 1&0 ;

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as a partic*lar order, contin"ent *pon a point or person formed o*t of this play. 2s +ith the e.hi!ition, my p*rpose +as to take Bo*rdie*8s Ga!yle villa"e as an instance that ena!les *s to think a!o*t the lar"er +orld to +hich it !elon"ed. To do so overlooks, of co*rse, the enormo*s differences !et+een a 3orth 2frican villa"e and, say, the city of Cairo, as +ell as those !et+een different social "ro*ps +ithin s*ch a city 6incl*din" the learned and the *nlearned7, and !et+een different periods in its history. 1t overlooks in partic*lar the ma/or economic and social transformations already *nder +ay in cities like Cairo in the ei"hteenth cent*ry and earlier. 3evertheless, to the e.tent that the e.ample of the villa"e makes it possi!le to conceive of a kind of orderin" +hich is not that of the e.hi!ition, and to do so +itho*t the *s*al reco*rse to notions of ma"ic, reli"ion or c*lt*re, it can !e of *se. The kind of orderin" +hich can !e conceived +ith this e.ample is not that of a str*ct*re, a te.t or a code. 1n s*ch a +orld nothin" pretends to stand apart as an inert spatial or concept*al frame+ork. Th*s there is no simple or a!sol*te distinction, for e.ample, !et+een a city and its 8str*ct*re8, nor, it follo+s, !et+een the inside and its o*tside. 2s 1 s*""ested later on in chapter (, a city s*ch as pre:colonial Cairo +as not divided into an e.terior, p*!lic part and a private, enframed interior. 1t consisted of a series of more or less open enclos*res, +hose openin" and closin" +as contin"ent *pon s*ch thin"s as the time of day and the relationship !et+een those enterin" and those +ithin. These dynamics of spatial and personal relation provide a +ay of *nderstandin" not /*st the order of the ho*se and the city, !*t +ider notions of "eo"raphical and political order :none of +hich +ere conceived in terms of a fi.ed and separate frame+ork. >rder as a frame+ork or str*ct*re, ho+ever, sho*ld not !e mentioned simply as somethin" a!sentF for its 8presence8, in the contrastin" case of the colonial city, +as seen /*st no+ to !e some+hat pro!lematic. The a!sol*te division !et+een a modern city and its >riental e.terior, for e.ample, +hich seemed to form the very identity of the colonial city, +as fo*nd to !e only a str*ct*ral effectF on closer e.amination, the identity of the city co*ld !e *nderstood to incl*de its e.cl*ded e.terior. The pre:colonial city, it follo+s, lacked not an act*al frame+ork esta!lishin" s*ch divisions as e.terior and interior, !*t rather the mysterio*s effect of s*ch a frame+ork. 1n nineteenth:cent*ry )"ypt the methods of creatin" s*ch apparent distinctions !et+een concept*al frame+orks and the material they enframed provided a ne+ technolo"y of po+er. 1 disc*ssed these technolo"ies in chapters (, # and 0, ill*stratin" ho+ they so*"ht to +ork directly *pon the !odies of individ*als. 1 e.amined this 8disciplinary po+er8, as Michel 9o*ca*lt has called it, first of all in the 3e+ >rder of the )"yptian army and in the ; 1&% ; attempt to form a parallel system of r*ral discipline and s*rveillance. 1 then sho+ed ho+ the same kind of disciplinary order, or ni%a& , +as envisioned for the civilian pop*lation as a +hole, in the form of a nationally or"anised pro"ramme of schoolin". By its caref*l control of the !ody8s movements, "est*res, so*nds, post*re and cleanliness, ed*cation +as to "enerate an a*thority no lon"er concentrated in the personal command of a master, !*t 8systematically diff*sed over the +hole school ... +itho*t dimin*tion8, prod*cin" in the p*pil a ha!it of 8implicit o!edience8. The politics of the modern state +ere modelled on this method of replacin" a po+er concentrated in personal command, and al+ays lia!le to diminish, +ith po+ers that +ere systematically and *niformally diff*sed. The diff*sion of control re-*ired mechanisms that +ere meas*red rather than e.cessive and contin*o*s rather than sporadic, +orkin" !y invi"ilation and the mana"ement of space. Besides schoolin" and the army, these mechanisms incl*ded s*ch civilisin" innovations as the s*pervision of hy"iene and p*!lic health, a military:style system of permanent r*ral policin", the !*ildin" of model villa"es on ne+, privately:o+ned a"ric*lt*ral estates, the constr*ction of net+orks to channel and control the movement of commodities, 3ile +aters and to*rists, the s*rveillance of +orkers on irri"ation pro/ects, on the rail+ays and in factories, the openin" *p of to+ns and cities to contin*o*s inspection +ith +ide thoro*"hfares, street li"htin" and police

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forces, and the or"anisation of a system of criminal co*rts, prisons and insane asyl*ms. +. , 8The +aters of the 3ile are no+ *tilised in an intelli"ent manner8, +rote Aord Cromer in s*mmin" *p the achievements of the British occ*pation, 8... The soldier has ac-*ired some pride in the *niform +hich he +ears. Ce has fo*"ht as he has never fo*"ht !efore. The sick man can !e n*rsed in a +ell:mana"ed hospital. The l*natic is no lon"er treated like a +ild !east. The p*nishment a+arded to the +orst criminal is no lon"er !ar!aro*s. Aastly, the schoolmaster is a!road, +ith res*lts +hich are as yet *ncertain, !*t +hich cannot fail to !e important.8+.-, ,ithin the lan"*a"e of improvement and civilisation reside the strate"ies of order that provided an *nprecedented hold *pon the !odies of individ*als. 2t the same time as they +ere e.tended, these strate"ies +ere to !ecome increasin"ly *nnoticea!le. Aord Cromer, +ho liked to descri!e colonial control as a process of contin*o*s 8t*torin"8, envisa"ed the ideal colonial official in the form of an omnipotent yet silent school teacher: 8he +as to e.ercise s*preme a*thority over his p*pil, and at the same time ... his a*thority +as to !e *nfelt8. +.., Det +hile the ne+ methods of order +ere to make the mechanisms of po+er increasin"ly *nnoticea!le, at the same time the tr*th of political po+er +as to !ecome somethin" increasin"ly certain. This +as !eca*se the ne+ methods of creatin" the effect of frame+orks or str*ct*res +orked not only to hold and coordinate the individ*al s*!/ect8s physical ; 1&' ; !ody. They +ere also to +ork *pon a non:physical interior, the individ*al mind. <choolin" +as a"ain the practice in +hich this +orkin" *pon the mind +as most readily envisioned and p*t into practice. The discipline and coordination of schoolin" +as to prod*ce not only the implicit o!edience of the !ody, !*t also a +ell:formed character. The most important trait of this character, as +e sa+ in chapter 0, +as its ind*strio*sness. The individ*al +as to !e prod*ced, and +as to !e prod*ced as, essentially, a prod*cer. Character +as somethin" to !e e.amined, to improve it and also to kno+ ho+ to r*le it and control it. <*ch e.amination, as men like Aord Cromer made clear, +as to !e an essential part of the process of political control. There +as more to the -*estion of the mind, ho+ever. The division of the political s*!/ect into an e.ternal !ody and a mental interior corresponded to the other divisions 1 have !een e.aminin", !et+een representation and reality and !et+een thin"s and their str*ct*re, each of +hich +as a method of effectin" the same internal e.ternal and material concept*al d*alities. This correspondence provides the connection !et+een the disciplinary mechanisms that 1 e.amined in chapters (, # and 0 and the -*estions a!o*t representation 1 raised in chapters 1 and %. There mi"ht at first seem to !e a contradiction rather than a correspondence: in disc*ssin" representation, 1 have e.amined the +ays in +hich political a*thority or soverei"nty +as made visi!le, +hereas in disc*ssin" disciplinary po+er 1 have stressed, follo+in" 9o*ca*lt, that s*ch po+er !ecame more and more *nnoticea!le. 9o*ca*lt in fact has ar"*ed that the ne+ disciplinary po+er +as somethin" 8a!sol*tely incompati!le8 +ith the notion of the a*thority or soverei"nty of the state. The theory of soverei"nty, he ar"*es, +as retained merely as an ideolo"y, 8to !e s*perimposed *pon the mechanisms of discipline in s*ch a +ay as to conceal its act*al proced*res8.+./, My o+n response to this apparent contradiction is that discipline and representation are t+o aspects of the same novel strate"ies of po+er, linked !y the notion of enframin". Bisciplinary po+ers ac-*ire their *nprecedented hold *pon the !ody !y methods of distri!*tin" and dividin" that create an order or str*ct*re in +hich individ*als are confined, isolated, com!ined to"ether and kept *nder s*rveillance. This 8order8 is, in effect, a frame+ork that seems to precede and e.ist apart from the act*al individ*als or o!/ects ordered. The frame+ork, appearin" as somethin" pre:e.istent, non:material and non:spatial, seems to constit*te a separate, metaphysical realm :the realm of the concept*al. 1t is s*ch 8order8 that the modern and colonial state claimed to have introd*ced into )"yptF +hat +as introd*ced, +ith this order, +as the effect of the +orld8s division into t+o realms, the material and the concept*al. 1n the same +ay as it divided

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the +orld, this division separated the h*man person into t+o distinct parts, a !ody and a mind. The ; 1&& ; po+er of representation +orked in terms of this correspondence !et+een the division of the +orld and the division of the person. Aya*tey, once more, is the man to ill*strate the correspondence. Marshal Aya*tey8s to*r of the colonial capital had !een follo+ed, in the evenin", !y a dinner at the 3e+ 4esidence for the visitin" /o*rnalists and en"ineers. 1n his after:dinner speech, Aya*tey disc*ssed the formation of his o+n political ideas, recallin" from his yo*th his discovery of the +ork of Bescartes. 81 +as at the lyc7e in Bi/on, startin" to st*dy philosophy. That mornin" +e had !een "iven the -iscours de la &7thode in a small st*dent edition. 1 kept that !ook for many years ... 2nyho+, that ni"ht, in !ed, 1 !e"an readin" this ne+ !ook. 2hQ 1 +as fascinated. <*ch tidiness. <*ch order. +.0, Aya*tey, one mi"ht say, conceived of the nat*re of colonial order in the same terms as Bescartes conceived of the nat*re of the h*man s*!/ect. The colonial city +as to !e constr*cted, like a +orld e.hi!ition, as a representation set *p !efore the mind of an o!servin" s*!/ect. The Cartesian mind +as conceived, in a similar +ay, as an interior space in +hich representations of e.ternal reality are inspected !y an internal eye : in other +ords, a"ain, like an e.hi!ition set *p !efore an o!server. 3ative scholars in the co*ntry Aya*tey +as seekin" to colonise did not share this conception of h*man personhood. They did not conceive of the person as possessin" a mind in this sense : that stran"e myth of a separate, non:spatial entity +ithin +hich occ*r the 8mental processes8 of representation.+.1, They shared +ith other M*slim scholars +hat *sed to !e the common scholarly conception of personhood thro*"ho*t the Mediterranean +orld, "oin" !ack to 2ristotle. They conceived of the person as possessin" reason, a po+er or fac*lty. 4eason +as the po+er of "raspin" *niversals amid partic*lars, the *nchan"in" sameness amid differences.+.2, 1t +as one amon" n*mero*s h*man fac*lties, al!eit the most important since it +as the mark or resem!lance +ithin h*man !ein"s connectin" them +ith the *niversal and the *nchan"in". 9or M*slim scholars, kno+led"e +as a -*estion of increasin" this po+er of reason, deepenin" the "rasp of *niversals. 9or Bescartes, on the other hand, kno+led"e !ecame the -*est for certainty, *nderstood as the correct modellin" of an 8e.ternal reality8 in the internal e.hi!it of the mind. 9or the M*slim scholar, it follo+s, there +as no correspondin" mind !ody dichotomy. The concept*al material distinction +as a distinction, at most, only !et+een different h*man fac*lties rather than !et+een different parts of the person. The fac*lty of reason, moreover, +as concerned +ith distin"*ishin" the trace of *niversal +ithin the partic*lar, rather than the concept*al from the material. 1t +as only +ith Cartesian tho*"ht and, in the case of the Middle )ast, nineteenth:cent*ry politics that the h*man person ; 1&8 ; came to !e treated as somethin" divided into t+o parts, on the one hand an e.ternal physical apparat*s and on the other an interior mechanism of representation. The e.hi!ition motif can indicate the connections !et+een a Cartesian notion of the mind and the politics of colonial order. The kind of political order epitomised in the +orld e.hi!ition addresses, and demands, a political s*!/ect +ho m*st learn that reality is simply that +hich is capa!le of representation. Colonial or modern politics +ill seek to create for this s*!/ect a contin*o*s theatre of certainty, *nkno+n to pre:colonial politics. <*ch certainty rests, as +e have seen, on acceptin" a series of essential distinctions, !et+een mere representations and an 8e.ternal reality8 !eyond the play of representation, !et+een models, te.ts or copies and an a!sol*te 8ori"inal8 to +hich they refer, and "enerally !et+een a realm of the concept*al and the 8real +orld8 o*tside. ,ith a Cartesian conception of the s*!/ect, these distinctions come to inha!it the very nat*re of personhood, as somethin" self:evident and *n-*estiona!le.

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Aya*tey8s passion for the -iscourse on the Method +as not, perhaps, s*rprisin". 1t +as in the -iscourse that )*ropean philosophy !roke +ith the method of scholarship it had shared +ith the 1slamic +orld. <*ch scholarship *nderstood learnin" as a process that moved from te.t to te.t, as +e sa+ +ith the learnin" of al:2?har, constr*ctin" interpretation *pon interpretation, one readin" restin" *pon another like the !*ildin"s of a pre:modern city. ,hat +as +ron" +ith s*ch 8!ook:learnin"8, as Bescartes called it, +as +hat +as +ron" +ith pre:modern cities. Bescartes anno*nced the ,est8s re/ection of the scholastic tradition !y comparin" it to 8those old cities8 +hich 8are as a r*le !adly laid o*t, as compared +ith those to+ns of a re"*lar pattern that are laid o*t !y a desi"ner8. The !*ildin"s of old cities, he e.plained, "ive no indication of s*ch a desi"ner, of the mind and intention that planned them. 81n vie+ of their arran"ement : here a lar"e one, there a small : and the +ay they make the streets t+isted and irre"*lar, one +o*ld say that it +as chance that placed them so, not the +ill of men +ho had the *se of reason.8 +.3, 5*st as the person +as no+ *nderstood as composed of mind and material !ody, the material +orld +as to !e arran"ed in s*ch a +ay as to reveal this mind, this pre:e.istent plan or frame+ork, this intention or +ill. The practice of colonial politics +o*ld !e !ased on the same strate"y of arran"in", of orderin" everythin" *p so as to reveal a pre:e.istent plan, a political a*thority, a 8meanin"8, a tr*th. 1n the colonial order, in other +ords, the effect created of a frame+ork +o*ld al+ays appear as tho*"h it +ere a 8concept*al str*ct*re8, as +e say. 1t +o*ld appear, that is to say, as an order of meanin" or tr*th e.istin" someho+ !efore and !ehind +hat +o*ld no+ !e tho*"ht of as mere 8thin"s in themselves8. Political a*thority itself +o*ld no+ more and more reside in ; 1&9 ; this effect of a prior, orderin" tr*th. The reor"anisation of to+ns and the layin" o*t of ne+ colonial -*arters, every re"*lation of economic or social practice, the constr*ction of the co*ntry8s ne+ system of irri"ation canals, the control of the 3ile8s flo+, the !*ildin" of !arracks, police stations and classrooms, the completion of a system of rail+ays : this pervasive process of 8order8 m*st !e *nderstood as more than mere improvement or 8reform8. <*ch pro/ects +ere all *ndertaken as an enframin", and hence had the effect of re:presentin" a realm of the concept*al, con/*rin" *p for the first time the prior a!stractions of pro"ress, reason, la+, discipline, history, colonial a*thority and order. These a!stractions +ere no more than effects, and yet the very possi!ility and po+er of s*ch effects +as somethin" ne+. They +ere created !y the techni-*es that no+ divided the +orld into its t+o realms, the realm of mere thin"s and the realm of order. The realm of order, of +hat +as si"nified, +as the ne+ realm of a*thority, of the certainty of political po+er. <*ch political a*thority presides, as +hat is seemin"ly prior and s*perior. 2nd yet it presides +itho*t ever -*ite !ein" present. 1n the +hite mytholo"y, it is that +hich stands apart from the +orld itself, as the meanin" that thin"s themselves represent. This political method is the essence of the modern state, of the +orld:as:e.hi!ition. The certainty of the political order is to !e every+here on e.hi!it, yet no+here -*ite accessi!le, never -*ite to*cha!le. Aike reality at the +orld e.hi!ition, the +orld8s political tr*ths are never presented, they are only ever represented. B*t +e remain certain they e.ist : o*tside.

; 18$ ; Notes Ch%pte$

1. (. 1. (.

Egypt %t the E*hi&ition

M*hammad 2min 9ikri, "rshad al'ali((a' ila &ahasin )ru((a 6Cairo, 189(7, p. 1(8. i(id . pp. 1(8:#'. M*hammad 2min 9ikri, "rshad al'ali((a' ila &ahasin )ru((a 6Cairo, 189(7, p. 1(8. i(id . pp. 1(8:#'.

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#. 4. 3. Cr*st, SThe 1nternational Con"resses of >rientalists8, 1ellas ' 6189&7: #%1. 0. i(id . p. #%9. #. 4. 3. Cr*st, SThe 1nternational Con"resses of >rientalists8, 1ellas ' 6189&7: #%1. 0. i(id . p. #%9. %. 4ifaSa 4afiS al:Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila, vol. (: al'0iyasa wa'l'wataniyya wa'l'tar(iya, p. &'. '. 4ifaSa 4afiS al:Tahta+i, ?ala'id al'&afa/hir fi ghari( awa'id al'awa'il wa'lawa/hir 6188#7, p. 8'. &. Bernard Ae+is, The Musli& -isco*ery of Europe 6Aondon: ,eidenfeld and 3icolson, 198(7, p. (99. 8. Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila, (: 1&&, 119:($F 2lain <ilvera, SThe first )"yptian st*dent mission to 9rance *nder M*hammad 2li8, Modern Egypt@ 0tudies in $olitics and 0ociety , ed. )lie Gedo*rie and <ylvia @. Caim 6Aondon: 9rank Cass, 198$7, p. 1#. 9. @eor"es Bo*in, 1istoire du r;gne du =h7di*e "s&a,l , (: 0:%. 1$. The Ti&es , 1'th 5*ne 180'F 2imM Lin"trinier, 0oli&an'$acha, Colonel 0;*e@ #7n7alissi&e des ar&7es 7gyptiennesA ou, 1istoire des guerres de l'Egypte de 1 BC D 1 EC 6Paris: Bidot, 188'7, pp. %$$:1. 11. 2li M*!arak, +la& al'-in 62le.andria, 188(7, p. 81'. 1(. Ae+is, Musli& -isco*ery , pp. (99:#$1. 1#. Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , (: 1(1. 10. >f the ei"ht +orks p*!lished in Cairo d*rin" the last ten years of the nineteenth cent*ry descri!in" the co*ntries and ideas of )*rope, five +ere acco*nts of a trip to an >rientalist con"ress or a +orld e.hi!ition: Bimitri i!n 3iSmat 2llah Ghallat, 0ifr al'safar ila &a8rad al'hadar, an acco*nt of the Paris +orld e.hi!ition of 1889 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:M*-tataf, 18917F Mahm*d Umar al:Ba/*ri, al'-urar al'(ahiyya fi al'rihla al'uru(awiyya , an acco*nt of a /o*rney to the ).position Universelle in Paris, and the )i"hth 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, <tockholm, 1889 6Cairo, 18917F M*hammad 2min 9ikri, "rshad al'ali((a' ila &ahasin )ru((a , an acco*nt of the same /o*rneyF 2hmad Taki, al'0afar ila al'&u'ta&ar, wa hiya al'rasa'il allati /ata(aha ala )ru((a , an acco*nt of a /o*rney to the 3inth 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, Aondon 189( 6Cairo, 189#7, and al'-unya fi Baris , an acco*nt of the Paris +orld e.hi!ition 6Cairo, 19$$7. 1n the precedin" decade 6the 188$s7, the t+o ma/or +orks on )*rope had incl*ded acco*nts of the Paris ).hi!ition of 18&8 and the Milan ).hi!ition of 1881 in M*hammad Bayram, 0afwat al'i8ti(ar (i&ustawda8 al' a&sar wa'l'a2tar , % vols. 6Cairo, 1#$(:1#11h, 1880 %:189# 07, #: %0, &#:81, and of a fictional Con"ress of >rientalists in Paris in 2li M*!arak, + la& al'-in , pp. 11%#:&9. >n )"yptian +ritin" a!o*t )*rope in the nineteenth cent*ry, see 1!rahim 2!*:A*"hod, +ra( :edisco*ery of Europe , and 2no*ar Ao*ca, 4oyageurs et 7cri*ains 7gyptiens en France au G"Ge siDcle . 1%. 2sa Bri""s, The +ge of "&pro*e&ent, 1! H'1 E! , rev. ed. 6Aondon: Aon"mans, 19&97, p. #98. 1'. 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, Transactions of the 3inth Congress, London, I'1B 0epte&(er 1 JB , ed. ). Belmar Mor"an, ( vols. 6Aondon, 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, 189#7, 1:#0. 1&. Cited )d+ard ,. <aid, Orientalis& , p.1'%. 18. Theodor 2dorno, Mini&a Moralia@ :eflections Fro& a -a&aged Life , trans. ). 9. 3. 5ephcott 6Aondon: Lerso, 19&87, p. 11'F on the theatre, see for e.ample M*hammad al:M*+ailihi, 1adith "sa i(n 1isha&,'' aw fatra &in al'%a&an , p. 0#0F on the p*!lic "arden, M*hammad al:<an*si al:T*nisi, al'"stitla8at al'(arisiyya fi &a8rad sanat 1 J 6T*nis, 1#$9h7, p. #&. 19. 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, Transactions , 1: #%. ($. Martin Ceide""er, SThe a"e of the +orld pict*re8 in The ?uestion Concerning Technology and Other Essays , p. 1(&. (1. al'0anusi, al'"stitla8at , pp. (0#:0. ((. Clovis Aamarre and Charles 9linia*., L'Egypte, la Tunisie, le Maroc et l'exposition de 1 ! , in the series, Les pays 7trangers et l'exposition de 1 ! , ($ vols. 6Paris: Ai!raire Ch. Bela"rave, 18&87, p. 1(#. (#. al:<an*si, al'"stitla8at , p. (0(. (0. Aamarre and 9linia*., L'Egypte, la Tunisie, le Maroc et l'exposition de 1 ! , p. 1##. (%. )dmond 2!o*t, Le fellah@ sou*enirs d'Egypte 6Paris: Cachette, 18'97, pp. 0&:8. ('. >n this la!yrinth see 5ac-*es Berrida, 0peech and $heno&ena, and other Essays on 1usserl's Theory of 0igns , p. 1$0, as +ell as his s*!se-*ent +ritin"s, all of +hich, he once remarked, Sare only a commentary on the sentence a!o*t a la!yrinth8: S1mplications: 1ntervie+ +ith Cenri 4onse8, in $ositions , trans. 2lan Bass 6Chica"o: University of Chica"o Press, 19817, p. %. (&. <*san Aee Dea"er, SThe >ttoman )mpire on e.hi!ition: the >ttoman )mpire at international e.hi!itions 18%1:18'&, and the ser"i:i *m*mi osmani, 18'#8 6Ph.B. dissertation, Col*m!ia University, 19817, p. 1'8. (8. Bavid Carvey, Consciousness and the )r(an Experience@ 0tudies in the 1istory and Theory of Capitalist )r(ani%ation 6Baltimore: The 5ohns Copkins University Press, 198%7, p. 118. (9. Cited ,alter Ben/amin, SParis, capital of the nineteenth cent*ry8, in :eflections@ Essays, +phoris&s, +uto(iographical 9ritings , pp. 10':&. #$. M*!arak, +la& al'-in , p. 818. #1. 1d+ar Bey 1lyas, Mashahid )ru(a wa'+&ir/a 6Cairo, 19$$7, p. ('8. #(. M*!arak, +la& al'-in , pp. 8(9:#$. ##. Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , (: %%:'F for another e.ample see M*!arak, +la& al'-in , p. 81&. #0. The phrase Sor"anisation of the vie+8 occ*rs in M*!arak, +la& al'-in , p. 81&. The ?oo is descri!ed in <an*si, al'"stitla8at , p. #&, the theatre in Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , (: 119:($, the model farm o*tside Paris in M*!arak, +la& al'-in , pp. 1$$8:0(, the vis*al effect of the street in i(id . pp. 008, 9'0, and in 1lyas, Mashahid , p. ('8, the ne+ f*nic*lar at A*cerne and the )*ropean passion for panoramas in 9ikri, "rshad , p. 98. ##. Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , (: %%:'F for another e.ample see M*!arak, +la& al'-in , p. 81&. #0. The phrase Sor"anisation of the vie+8 occ*rs in M*!arak, +la& al'-in , p. 81&. The ?oo is descri!ed in <an*si, al'"stitla8at , p. #&, the theatre in Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , (: 119:($, the model farm o*tside Paris

131

in M*!arak, +la& al'-in , pp. 1$$8:0(, the vis*al effect of the street in i(id . pp. 008, 9'0, and in 1lyas, Mashahid , p. ('8, the ne+ f*nic*lar at A*cerne and the )*ropean passion for panoramas in 9ikri, "rshad , p. 98. #%. <ee Ceide""er, SThe a"e of the +orld pict*re8. #'. The !est acco*nts of nineteenth:cent*ry )"ypt are to !e fo*nd in 5ac-*es Ber-*e, Egypt@ "&perialis& and :e*olution , 2l!ert Co*rani, +ra(ic Thought in the Li(eral +ge, 1!J '1JHJ , 4o"er >+en, The Middle East in the 9orld Econo&y 1 CC'1J1K , and, for the first half of the cent*ry, 2faf A*tfi 2l:<ayyid Marsot, Egypt in the :eign of Muha&&ad +li . #&. Ben/amin, SParis, capital of the nineteenth cent*ry8, pp. 10', 1%(F Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , (: &'. The reflection of these chan"es in )*ropean and 2merican +ritin"s of the period is e.plored in 4achel Bo+l!y, .ust Loo/ing@ Consu&er Culture in -reiser, #issing and Lola 63e+ Dork: Meth*en, 198%7. #8. <ee 2ndrM 4aymond, +rtisans et co&&er<ants au Caire au G4"""e si;le , 1: 1&#:($(F 4o"er >+en, The Middle East in the 9orld Econo&y 1 CC'1J1K F and Charles 1ssa+i, +n Econo&ic 1istory of the Middle East and 3orth +frica . #9. 4o"er >+en, Cotton and the Egyptian Econo&y 6>.ford: >.ford University Press, 19'97, p. #$&. 0$. >n the <aint:<imonists in )"ypt, see 2no*ar 2!del:Malek, "d7ologie et renaissance nationale@ l'Egypte &oderne , pp. 191:&F on Chevalier see 5. M. CarrM, 4oyageurs et 7cri*ains fran<ais en Egypte , (: #(', and Ben/amin, SParis, capital of the nineteenth cent*ry8, p. 1%(. 01. The Ti&es , 1#th >cto!er 18%1. 0(. Cited Ben/amin, SParis, capital of the nineteenth cent*ry8, p. 1%1. 0#. <*layman al:Carayri, +rd al'(ada'i8 al'a&& 6Paris, 18'&7. 00. Dea"er, S>ttoman )mpire on e.hi!ition8, pp. 1($:(. 0%. Mary 4o+latt, + Fa&ily in Egypt 6Aondon: 4o!ert Cale, 19%'7, p. 0(. >n the re!*ildin" of Cairo see 5anet 2!*:A*"hod, Cairo@ 1CC1 Mears of the City 4ictorious , pp. 98:11#F on similar pro/ects for the re!*ildin" of 1stan!*l, see Teynep Zelik, The :e&a/ing of "stan(ul@ $ortrait of an Otto&an City in the 3ineteenth Century 6<eattle: University of ,ashin"ton Press, 198'7. 0'. Ben/amin, SParis, capital of the nineteenth cent*ry8, pp. 1%1:(. 0&. Garl Mar., Capital , 1: 1'#:&&. 08. Ben/amin, SParis, capital of the nineteenth cent*ry8, p. 1%(. 09. Mar., Capital , 1: 1&#. %$. i(id . pp. 1&#, (8#F Garl Mar., 0elected 9ritings , ed. Bavid McAellan 6>.ford: >.ford University Press, 19&&7, p. 0%%. 09. Mar., Capital , 1: 1&#. %$. i(id . pp. 1&#, (8#F Garl Mar., 0elected 9ritings , ed. Bavid McAellan 6>.ford: >.ford University Press, 19&&7, p. 0%%. %1. <ee 5ean Ba*drillard, The Mirror of $roduction , pp. (1:%1. %(. Mar., 0elected 9ritings , pp. 0%%:'. %#. Cited Dea"er, 8>ttoman )mpire on e.hi!ition8, p. #9. %0. The Ti&es , 1#th >cto!er 18%1. Dea"er, 8>ttoman )mpire on e.hi!ition8, p. 8. %%. Charles )dmond, L'Egypte D l'exposition uni*erselle de 1 E! 6Paris: Bent*, 18'&7. %'. Mar., 0elected 9ritings , p. 0%'. <ee <tefania Pandolfo, 8The voye*r in the old city8, mimeo, >cto!er 198#, for the follo+in" ar"*ment. %&. >n the e.hi!ition as the ori"in of the to*rist ind*stry, see C. 4. 9ay, $alace of "ndustry, 1 I1@ + 0tudy of the #reat Exhi(ition and its Fruits 6Cam!rid"e: Cam!rid"e University Press, 19%17, pp. &', 90. %8. @*stave 9la*!ert, Flau(ert in Egypt@ + 0ensi(ility on Tour , p. &9. %9. M*!arak, +la& al'-in , p. #$8. '$. @Mrard de 3erval, Oeu*res , vol. 1: Le *oyage en Orient 618%17, p. 0$$, n. 1$0. '1. 9la*!ert, Flau(ert in Egypt , p. (#. '(. Cited Genneth P. Bendiner, 8The portrayal of the Middle )ast in British paintin", 18(18#%:18'$8 6Ph.B. dissertation, Col*m!ia University, 19&97, p. #10. '#. The phrase !elon"s to )liot ,ar!*rton, a*thor of The Crescent and the Cross. or :o&ance and :ealities of Eastern Tra*el 6180%7, descri!in" 2le.ander Gin"lake8s Eothen, or Traces of Tra*el Brought 1o&e fro& the East 6Aondon, 1800F reprint ed., 5. M. Bent, 19$87. Cf. Oxford Co&panion to English Literature , %th ed. 6>.ford: >.ford University Press, 198%7. '0. )d+ard Aane, +n +ccount of the Manners and Custo&s of the Modern Egyptians 6Aondon, 18#%7, pp. vii, .viiF <tanley Aane:Poole, 8Memoir8, in )d+ard Aane, +n +ra(ic'English Lexicon, deri*ed fro& the (est and &ost copious Eastern sources 6Aondon: ,illiam and 3or"ate, 18&%F reprint ed., Beir*t: Ai!raire d* Ai!an, 198$7, %: .ii. '%. Aeila 2hmed, Edward 9. Lane@ + 0tudy of 1is Life and 9or/, and of British "deas of the Middle East in the 3ineteenth Century F 5ohn B. ,ortham, The #enesis of British Egyptology, 1IKJ'1JCE 63orman, >klahoma: University of >klahoma Press, 19&17, p. '%. The camera l*cida +as the invention of )d+ard Aane8s friend Br ,ollastone 6Aane, +ra(ic'English Lexicon , %: .ii7. ''. Bendiner, 8The Middle )ast in British paintin"8, pp. 1#:18. '&. Bolf <tern!er"er, $anora&a of the 3ineteenth Century , Trans. 5oachim 3e*"roschel 63e+ Dork: Uri?en Books, 19&&7, pp. 188:9F Ben/amin, 8Paris, capital of the nineteenth cent*ry8, p. 1%$. '8. Cited 2hmed, Edward Lane , p. ('. '9. @Mrard de 3erval, Oeu*res , 1: (81:9$. &$. M*hammad al:M*+ailihi, 1adith "sa i(n 1isha&, aw fatra &ill al'%a&an , pp. 0$%:1&. &1. 5eremy Bentham, 8Panopticon8, in The Co&plete 9or/s of .ere&y Bentha& , ed. 5ohn Bo+rin", 0: '%: '. &(. Malek 2llo*la e.amines the voye*rism of the )*ropean photo"rapher as a mode of colonial presence in The Colonial 1are& .

132

&#. 1and(oo/ for Tra*ellers in Lower and )pper Egypt 6Aondon: 5ohn M*rray, 18887, p. 1(. &0. CarrM, 4oyageurs et 7cri*ains , 1: (&(. &%. 1!rahim 2!d*h, Tatawwur al'sahafa al'&isriyya, 1!J '1JI1 , pp. (0(:0. &'. Cited CarrM, 4oyageurs et 7cri*ains , (: 191F cf. <aid, Orientalis& , pp. 1'$:1, 1'8, (#9. &&. Cited Aane, +ra(ic'English Lexicon , %: vii. &8. @Mrard de 3erval, Oeu*res , 1: 1&(:0. &9. <aid, Orientalis& , pp. 1'$:0. 8$. Pierre Bo*rdie*, Outline of a Theory of $ractice , pp. (, 9'. >n the criti-*e of 8vis*alism8 in anthropolo"y, see also 5ohannes 9a!ian, Ti&e and the Other 63e+ Dork: Col*m!ia University Press, 198#7, pp. 1$%:01, and 5ames Clifford, 8Partial tr*ths8, in 9riting Culture@ The $oetics and $olitics of Ethnography , ed. 5ames Clifford and @eor"e ). Marc*s 6Berkeley: University of California Press, 198'7, pp. 11:1(. 81. CarrM, 4oyageurs et 7cri*ains , (: ($$. 8(. 2hmed, Edward Lane , p. 9F Bendiner, 8The Middle )ast in British paintin"8, pp. #%:08. 8#. @Mrard de 3erval, Oeu*res , 1: 8&8:9, 88(, 88#. 80. Gin"lake, Eothen O, p. (8$F ThMophile @a*tier, Oeu*res co&pl;tes , vol. ($, L'Orient , (: 18&F 9la*!ert, Flau(ert in Egypt , p. 81. 8%. Cited Bendiner, 8The Middle )ast in British paintin"8, p. '. 8'. @a*tier, L'Orient , (: 91:1((. 8&. @Mrard de 3erval, Oeu*res , 1: 8'(, 8'&. 88. <aid, Orientalis& , pp. 1&':&. 89. #ood(ye to +ll That 6Carmonds+orth: Pen"*in Books, 19'$7, p. ('%. 9$. <ee in this respect 5ames Clifford, 84evie+ of >rientalism8, 1istory and Theory 19 6198$7: ($0:(#. 91. Cerman Melville, .ournal of a 4isit to the Le*ant, Octo(er 11 1 IE'May 1 I! , ed. Co+ard C. Corsford 6Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19%%7, pp. &9, 110. 9(. <ee <tefania Pandolfo, 8The voye*r in the old city: t+o postcards from 9rench Morocco8, paper presented at the Bepartment of 2nthropolo"y, Princeton University, >cto!er 198#. 9#. @Mrard de 3erval, Oeu*res , 1: 1(&'. 90. Cited 2lain <ilvera, 8)dme:9ranJois 5omard and the )"yptian reforms of 18#98, Middle East 0tudies & 619&17: #10F on Aam!ert see CarrM, 4oyageurs et 7cri*ains , 1: ('0:&#. 9%. 85.B. a* Pacha8, 1'th 2pril 18(8. Bentham archives, University Colle"e, Aondon.

Ch%pte$ - En"$%ming
1. Bayle <t 5ohn, 4illage Life in Egypt , ( vols. 6Aondon, 18%(7, 1:#%F Celen 4ivlin, The +gricultural $olicy of Muha&&ad +li in Egypt , pp. 89:1$1F on )"yptian politics in "eneral in this period, see 2faf A*tfi al:<ayyid Marsot, Egypt in the :eign of Muha&&ad +li , pp. 1$$:'1. (. 5ean Beny, 0o&&aire des archi*es tur2ues du Caire 6Cairo, 19#$7, pp. 1(':9F 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , pp. &9, 89:1$1. #. <ee Baniel Creceli*s, The :oots of Modern Egypt@ + 0tudy of the :egi&es of 8+li Bey al'=a(ir and Muha&&ad Bey +(u al'-haha(,1!EC'1!!I F on intellect*al chan"es in this earlier period, see Peter @ran, "sla&ic :oots of Capitalis&, 1!EJ'1 KC . 1 am "ratef*l to Peter @ran for his comments on an earlier version of some of the chapters of this !ook. 0. 2l!ert Co*rani analyses the nat*re of these ho*seholds and their po+er, and their nineteenth:cent*ry transformation, in 8>ttoman reform and the politics of nota!les8, in Beginnings of Moderni%ation in the Middle East@ the 3ineteenth Century , ed. ,illiam 4. Polk and 4ichard A. Cham!ers, pp. 01:'8. %. Michel 9o*ca*lt, 8T+o lect*res8, in $ower>=nowledge@ 0elected "nter*iews and Other 9ritings 1J!B'1J!! , pp. &8:1$8, and -iscipline and $unish@ The Birth of the $rison . The follo+in" pa"es o+e m*ch of their analysis to the paths of en-*iry opened *p !y 9o*ca*lt. The phrase 8prod*ctive po+ers8 is fo*nd in 84eport on )"ypt and Candia8 !y 5ohn Bo+rin", the friend of 5eremy Bentham, +ho served as an advisor to the )"yptian "overnment. '. 5eremy Bentham8s panoptic principle +as devised in factories r*n !y his !rother <am*el on the Potemkin estates, land colonised !y 4*ssia after the defeat of the >ttomans in 1&'8:&0. <ee Mathe+ <. 2nderson, 8<am*el Bentham in 4*ssia8, The +&erican 0la*ic and East European :e*iew 1% 619%'7: 1%&:&(. &. >n the formation of this lando+nin" class see 9. 4o!ert C*nter, Egypt )nder the =hedi*es, 1 CI'1 !K@ Fro& 1ousehold #o*ern&ent to Modern Bureaucracy , pp. 1$9:(1. 8. <ee B. 9arhi, 83i?am:i cedid: military reform in )"ypt *nder Mehmed S2li8, +sian and +frican 0tudies 8 619&(7: 1%#. 9. 2ndrM 4aymond, #randes *illes ara(es. N l'7po2ue otto&ane , pp. '9:&8F Creceli*s, :oots of Modern Egypt , pp. 1%:(0. 1$. 5*stin McCarthy, 83ineteenth:cent*ry )"yptian pop*lation8, Middle Eastern 0tudies 1( 6>cto!er 19&87: #&, n. &&F if the 3ational @*ard of the early 180$s is incl*ded, the )"yptian military may have !een m*ch lar"er still. 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , p. #%1, n. (8. 11. 2min <ami, al'Ta8li& fi Misr fi sanatay 1J1K'1J1I, wa'(ayan tafsili li'nashr al'ta8li& al'awwali wa'l' i(tida' (i'anha' al'diyar al'&isriyya , p. 8. 1(. 5*dith ). T*cker, 9o&en in 3ineteenth'Century Egypt , pp. 1#%:&. 1#. <ee <tanford 5. <ha+, Between Old and 3ew@ The Otto&an E&pire )nder 0eli& """, 1! J'1 C! 6Cam!rid"e: Carvard University Press, 19&17, pp. 8':1&9. 10. Bernard Ae+is, The E&ergence of Modern Tur/ey , (nd ed. 6Aondon: >.ford University Press, 19'87, p. %&.

133

1%. 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , p. (%1. The introd*ction of the ni%a& 6adid in T*nisia !e"an a decade later: see A. Carl Bro+n, The Tunisia of +h&ed Bey, 1 H!'II 6Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19&07, pp. ('1: #(1. 1n Morocco, men !e"an to +rite a!o*t the innovation of ni%a& in the 18#$s: see 2!dallah Aaro*i, Les origines sociales et culturelles du nationalis&e &arocain O1 HC'1J1BP 6Paris: Maspero, 19&&7, pp. (&(:80. 1'. 2min <ami, al'Ta8li& , p. 8. 1&. M*stafa 4eshid Cele!i )ffendi, 82n e.planation of the ni?am:y:"edid8, in ,illiam ,ilkinson, +n +ccount of the $rincipalities of 9allachia and Molda*ia "ncluding 4arious $olitical O(ser*ations :elating to The& 6Aondon: Aon"man et al ., 18($7, appendi. %, p. (#0. 2 !accal is a "reen"rocer. 18. M*stafa 4eshid, 83i?am:y:"edid8, pp. (#':&. 19. Compare +ith the Maml*k furusiyya e.ercises descri!ed !y 2yalon, +here military trainin" +as a parade, a "ame, a p*!lic entertainment, and a mark of individ*al hono*r, in +hich the cavalryman displayed and developed his !odily pro+ess, his a"ility, his skill +ith horse and lance, his chivalry: Bavid 2yalon, 83otes on the f*r*siyya e.ercises and "ames in the Maml*k <*ltanate8, in The Ma&lu/ Military 0ociety@ Collected 0tudies 6Aondon: Larior*m 4eprints, 19&97, ch. (. 2ltho*"h )*ropean artillery e.perts +ere employed in )"ypt in the 1&&$s, they made little impact on the tactics of the army, +hich contin*ed to rely on the char"e of the individ*al cavalier as the preferred form of attack. <ee Creceli*s, :oots of Modern Egypt , pp. &&:8, 1&%. ($. Military "nstructions of the Late =ing of $russia, etc. , fifth )n"lish edition, 1818, p. %, cited in 5. 9. C. 9*ller, The -ecisi*e Battles of the 9estern 9orld and Their "nfluence )pon 1istory , # vols. 6Aondon: )yre X <pottis+oode, 19%%7, vol. (: Fro& the 0panish +r&ada to the Battle of 9aterloo , p. 19'. (1. 9*ller, -ecisi*e Battles , (: 19(:(1%. L. 5. Parry, on the other hand, descri!es this chan"e in )*ropean practice, +hich the ni%a& 6adid +as an attempt to adopt, as 8not so m*ch a ne+ depart*re as an ela!oration of accepted, indeed of 88traditionalU practice8: 8Aa maniPre de com!attre8, in 9ar, Technology and 0ociety in the Middle East, ed. !y L. 5. Parry and M. ). Dapp 6Aondon: >.ford University Press, 19&%7, p. (0$. 1t is tr*e that drill had !een systematised and ro*tinely practised !y )*ropean armies for over t+o h*ndred years, since the innovations of Ma*rice of 3assa*. >nly in the later ei"hteenth cent*ry, ho+ever, +ere sim*ltaneo*s !reakthro*"hs made in drill, si"nallin" and command, em!odyin" the ne+ tho*"ht a!o*t +hat an army +as and ho+ it co*ld !e created, that res*lted in armies do*!lin" their speed of manoe*vre, triplin" their firin" rate, and -*adr*plin" their mana"ea!le si?e. ((. 2!d al:4ahman al:5a!arti, Ta'ri/h &uddat al'faransis (i'Misr , edited !y <. Moreh and p*!lished +ith a translation as +l'.a(arti's Chronicle of the First 0e*en Months of the French Occupation of Egypt, Muharra&' :a6a( 1B1H O1I,.une'-ece&(er 1!J P , p. (1. (#. M*stafa 4eshid, 83i?am:y:"edid8, pp. ('8:9. The ela!oration and si"nificance of these techni-*es in ei"hteenth:and nineteenth:cent*ry )*rope are disc*ssed !y 9o*ca*lt, -iscipline and $unish , pp. 1#%:'9. (0. 9*ller, -ecisi*e Battles , (: 19(:(1%F 9o*ca*lt, -iscipline and $unish , pp. 1'(:#. (%. M*stafa 4eshid, 83i?am:y:"edid8, p. ('8. The British military advisor attached to the T*rkish forces that fo*"ht the 9rench considered the >ttomans e.cellently armed and s*pplied, lackin" only the ne+ system of discipline. 8They have fine men,8 he +rote, 8e.cellent horses, "ood "*ns, plenty of amm*nition and provisions and fora"e, and in short "reat a!*ndance of all the materials re-*ired to constit*te a formida!le army, !*t they +ant order and system.8 6@eneral Goehler, British military advisor to the re"*lar >ttoman army d*rin" the )"yptian campai"n, in despatch to Aondon, (9th 5an*ary 18$$. 9> &8 (8, cited in <ha+, Between Old and 3ew , p. 1#'.7 ('. M*stafa 4eshid, 83i?am:y:"edid8, p. ('9F cf. 9o*ca*lt, -iscipline and $unish , p. 1'#. (&. M*stafa 4eshid, 83i?am:y:"edid8, p. (0(. (8. i(id . pp. 1'':&. (&. M*stafa 4eshid, 83i?am:y:"edid8, p. (0(. (8. i(id . pp. 1'':&. (9. 2hmad 1??at 2!d al:Garim, Ta'ri/h al'taDli& fi asr Muha&&ad +li 6Cairo, 19#87, pp. 8(:9(F 5ames Cey+orth:B*nne, +n "ntroduction to the 1istory of Education in Modern Egypt , pp. 11%:8$. #$. 2.:B. Clot Bey, M7&oires , ed. 5ac-*es Ta"her 6Cairo: 1nstit*t 9ranJais d82rchMolo"ie >rientale, 19097, p. #(%. #1. Cey+orth:B*nne, Education in Modern Egypt , pp. 18%, 19%, The /ur(a6 is a leather +hip. #(. i(id . p. 19&. #1. Cey+orth:B*nne, Education in Modern Egypt , pp. 18%, 19%, The /ur(a6 is a leather +hip. #(. i(id . p. 19&. ##. 5ohn Bo+rin", 84eport on )"ypt and Candia8, p. 09. #0. 2s reported !y the British Cons*l:@eneral, Colonel Patrick Camp!ell: 9> &8 0$8', cited 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , p. (11. #%. Beny, 0o&&aire des archi*es tur2ues du Caire , pp. 1%$:#. #'. 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , pp. 89, 1$(:#. #&. These para"raphs +ere rep*!lished one month after the iss*in" of the !ooklet *nder the title 8Han*n al:filaha8 6The 2"ric*lt*ral Code7. Ciroshi Gato, 8)"yptian villa"e comm*nity *nder M*hammad 2li8s r*le: an annotation of Han*n al:filaha8, Orient 1' 6198$7: 18#. #8. 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , pp. &8, 89:98. #9. i(id . pp. 1$%:#', ($$:1(. #8. 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , pp. &8, 89:98. #9. i(id . pp. 1$%:#', ($$:1(. 0$. Bo+rin", 84eport on )"ypt and Candia8, p. 09F 2faf A*tfi 2l:<ayyid Marsot, Muha&&ad +li , pp. 1#(:'F on the political nat*re of s*ch revolt see 9red Aa+son, 84*ral revolt and provincial society in )"ypt, 18($:(08, "nternational 6ournal of Middle East 0tudies 1# 619817: 1#1:%#. 01. Bo+rin", 84eport on )"ypt and Candia8, pp. %:'.

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0(. T*cker, 9o&en in 3ineteenth'Century Egypt , p. 1#%F on the British intervention, and its effect on )"ypt8s nascent, military:!ased ind*strialisation, see Marsot, Muha&&ad +li , pp. (#(:%&. 0#. >ri"inal translation from the British 9orei"n >ffice records: 9> &8 %$(, (0th May 1800, in 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , appendi. #, p. (&1. 00. >ri"inal translation from the British 9orei"n >ffice records: 9> &8 (#1, 1'th March 18##, cited in 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , pp. (&':&. 0%. >n the comparison +ith contemporary )*ropean methods, see Marsot, Muha&&ad +li , p. 1(9. 0'. Cited Mo*stafa 9ahmy, La r7*olution de l'industrie en Egypte et ses cons72uences sociales au 1Je si;cle O1 CC'1 ICP 6Aeiden: ). 5. Brill, 19%07, p. 19. 0&. 4ivlin, +gricultural $olicy , pp. '%:&$F Marsot, M*hammad 2li, pp. 1%&:'$, (%$:1. 08. Genneth C*no traces the ori"in of this system and its antecedents in 8The ori"ins of private o+nership of land in )"ypt: a reappraisal8, "nternational 6ournal of Middle Eastern 0tudies 1( 6198$7: (0%:&%. 09. B82rna*d, 84econstr*ction des villa"es de l8)"ypte8, p. (8$F see also 2li M*!arak, al'=hitat al'6adida li' Misr al'2ahira wa'&uduniha wa'(iladiha al'2adi&a wa'l'shahira , 1%: &. %$. <t 5ohn, 4illage Life , 1: 1$0. %1. >n space as a system of ma"nit*des, and the 8ne*trality of order8, see Ae+is M*mford, Technics and Ci*ili%ation , pp. ($, #('. The term 8enframin"8 is !orro+ed from Martin Ceide""er, The ?uestion Concerning Technology , pp. ($:1. %(. <ee Pierre Bo*rdie* and 2!delmalek <ayed, Le d7racine&ent@ la crise de l'agriculture traditionnelle en +lg7rie 6Paris: )ditions de Min*it, 19'07. 9or a f*rther disc*ssion of the 8discipline of space8 see Michael @ilsenan, :ecogni%ing "sla&@ :eligion and 0ociety in the Modern +ra( 9orld . %#. Bo+rin", 84eport on )"ypt and Candia8, p. #. %0. P. <. @irard, 8MMmoire s*r l8a"ric*lt*re, l8ind*strie, et le commerce de l8)"ypte8, -escription de l'Egypte, 7tat &oderne , ( vols. 6Paris, 18$9:((7, vol. 1, part 1, p. '88, cited Charles 1ssa+i, ed., The Econo&ic 1istory of the Middle East 1 CC'1J1K@ + Boo/ of :eadings 6Chica"o: University of Chica"o Press, 19''7, p. #&'. %%. Bo+rin", 84eport on )"ypt and Candia8, pp. #:0. %'. B82rna*d, 84econstr*ction des villa"es8, p. (&9. %&. 2ltho*"h Bo*rdie*8s essay 8The Ga!yle ho*se or the +orld reversed8 is a str*c:t*ralist interpretation, his later Outline of a Theory of $ractice offers +hat mi"ht !e called a post:str*ct*ralist readin" of the same material. 9or an attempt to descri!e the life of the pre:colonial villa"e in )"ypt, see 5ac-*es Ber-*e, 1istoire sociale d'un *illage 7gyptien au GGe si;cle 6Paris: Mo*ton, 19%&7, and Egypt@ "&perialis& and :e*olution , pp. 0%:%9, '%:9. %8. Michael T. Ta*ssi", The -e*il and Co&&odity Fetishis& in 0outh +&erica 6Chapel Cill: University of 3orth Carolina Press, 198$7, p. &. %9. Bo*rdie*, Outline , p. 9$F 8Ga!yle ho*se8, pp. 1#%:'. '$. Bo*rdie*, Outline , pp. 9$:1. '1. Bo*rdie*, 8Ga!yle ho*se8, p. 1#8F Outline , p. 11'. '(. Bo*rdie*, 8Ga!yle ho*se8, p. 1#9. '#. Brinkley Messick, 8<*!ordinate disco*rse: +omen, +eavin" and "ender relations in 3orth 2frica8, +&erican Ethnologist 10 ( 6198&7: ($:#%. '0. Cf. M*shin Mahdi, "(n =haldun's $hilosophy of 1istory 6Chica"o: University of Chica"o Press, 19%&F Phoeni. ed., 19'07, pp. 180:&. '%. This is not to deny, of co*rse, that there +ere re"*lar, caref*lly ordered constr*ctions in pre: nineteenth:cent*ry 2ra! cities 6often laid o*t as the core of ne+ly fo*nded dynastic capitals7 : /*st as the Ga!yle ho*se can !e *nderstood as a caref*lly ordered constr*ction. The point is not the re"*larity of the !*ildin" in modern cities, +hich in itself is nothin" ne+, !*t the ne+ distinction !et+een the materiality of the city and its non:material str*ct*re. 1t is interestin" to note the remark of al:5ahi? on the circ*lar palace:comple. 6misleadin"ly referred to as the 8ro*nd city87 constr*cted in the year &'( !y the Caliph al:Mans*r: 81t is as tho*"h it +ere po*red into a mo*ld and cast8. The re"*larity of the !*ildin" is evoked !y referrin" to the process of constr*ction, and not in terms of any distinction !et+een the materiality of the city and its 8str*ct*re8. Cited 5. Aassner, 8The Caliph8s personal domain: the city plan of Ba"hdad re:e.amined8, in 2l!ert Co*rani and <. M. <tem, eds., The "sla&ic City , p. 1$#. ''. Bo*rdie*, 8Ga!yle ho*se8, p. 10%F Outline , pp. 111, 1('. '&. <. B. @oitein, + Mediterranean 0ociety@ The .ewish Co&&unities of the +ra( 9orld as $ortrayed in the -ocu&ents of the Cairo #eni%a , 0 vols. 6Berkeley: University of California Press, 19'&:8%7, 0: '0:&0F Bavid Gin", 82rchitect*re and astronomy: the ventilators of Cairo and their secrets8, .ournal of the +&erican Oriental 0ociety 1$0 619807: 9&:1##. '8. Gin", 82rchitect*re and astronomy8. '9. 4aymond, #randes *illes ara(es , p. 18'. &$. 4o!erto Berardi, 8)space et ville en pays d81slam8, in B. Chevallier, ed., L'Espace sociale de la *ille ara(e , p. 1$'. &1. 8The +hole sho+s very clearly the appearance of their private life. The architect*re portrays their necessities and c*stoms, +hich do not res*lt only from the heat of the climate. 1t portrays e.tremely +ell the political and social state of the M*slim and >riental nations: poly"amy, the secl*sion of +omen, the a!sence of all political life, and a tyrannical and s*spicio*s "overnment +hich forces people to live hidden lives and seek all spirit*al satisfaction +ithin the private life of the family.8 2le.is de Toc-*eville, 83otes d* voya"e en 2l"Mrie de 18018, Oeu*res co&pl;tes , "en. ed. 5. P. Mayer, vol. %, 4oyages en +ngleterre, "rlande, 0uisse et +lg7rie , ed. 5. P. Mayer and 2ndrM 5ardin 6Paris: @allimard, 19%87, part (, p. 19(. &(. Melvin 4ichter, 8Toc-*eville on 2l"eria8, :e*iew of $olitics (% 619'#7: #'9:98F on the floatin" hotel, see Charles:Cenri 9avrod, La r7*olution alg7rienne , cited ,illiam B. H*andt, :e*olution and $olitical Leadership@ +lgeria 1JIK'E 6Cam!rid"e: M1T Press, 19'97, p. #.

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&#. P. M. Colt, 2nn G. <. Aam!ton, and Bernard Ae+is, eds., The Ca&(ridge 1istory of "sla& , ( vols. 6Cam!rid"e: Cam!rid"e University Press, 19&$7, (: (%':&. &0. 81t is not +ith the material, topo"raphical aspects of the 1slamic city that 1 +ish to deal, !*t +ith its inner str*ct*re. 1 sho*ld like to s*""est that one of the most essential characteristics of the 1slamic city is the looseness of its str*ct*re, the a!sence of corporate m*nicipal instit*tions.8 <. M. <tern, 8The constit*tion of the 1slamic city8, in Co*rani and <tern, eds., The "sla&ic City , p. ('. &%. >le" @ra!ar, 8The ill*strated &a2a&at of the thirteenth cent*ry: the !o*r"eoisie and the arts8, in Co*rani and <tern, eds., The "sla&ic City , p. (1#F @oitein, Mediterranean 0ociety , 0: #0. &'. M*hammad al:<an*si al:T*nisi, "stitla'at al'(arisiyya fi &a'rad sanat 1 J 6T*nis, 1#$9h7, p. (0(. &&. Cf. 5ac-*es Berrida, 8The do*!le session8, in -isse&ination , p. 191. &8. Bo*rdie*, Outline , pp. 1$9:%8F cf. Michel 9o*ca*lt, The Order of Things@ +n +rchaeology of the 1u&an 0ciences , pp. 1&:#$F 5ean Ba*drillard, The Mirror of $roduction , pp. %#:'&. <imilarly, +ith the /ars of "rain *sed for cookin": to tell the -*antity of "rain they held, these /ars have holes do+n the side, so that the "rain itself can indicate its level. The -*antity is not meas*red !y some meas*rin" device, or represented on an a!stract scale +hose ar!itrary divisions +o*ld 8stand for8 a certain amo*nt. 3othin" is ar!itrary in that sense. The "rain indicates its o+n level !y a direct reference or repetition. &9. Berrida, 8The do*!le session8, p. 191. 8$. Ma. ,e!er, 8 U>!/ectivityU in social science and social policy8, in The Methodology of the 0ocial 0ciences , p. 81, emphasis in ori"inal, translation modified. 81. Ma. ,e!er, 8<cience as a vocation8, Fro& Max 9e(er@ Essays in 0ociology , trans. C. C. @erth and C. ,ri"ht Mills 63e+ Dork: >.ford University Press, 190'7, p. 1#9.

Ch%pte$ . An Appe%$%nce o" O$(e$

1. 2li M*!arak, al'=hitat al'6adida li'Misr al'2ahira wa'&uduniha wa'(iladiha al2adi&a wa'l'shahira , 9: 09:%$. (. 2li M*!arak, +la& al'-in , pp. 00':&. #. i(id . pp. 81':18, 9'(:#, 00&. (. 2li M*!arak, +la& al'-in , pp. 00':&. #. i(id . pp. 81':18, 9'(:#, 00&. 0. The "overnment8s ac-*isition of this property marked at the same moment )"ypt8s s*ccessf*l !reak +ith the a*thority of 1stan!*l. The palace had !een the )"yptian residence of the Ghedive8s half:!rother M*stafa 9adil, +ho had served as finance minister to the >ttoman <*ltan in 1stan!*l and schemed to !ecome 1smaSil8s s*ccessor. The schemes had failed, M*stafa 9adil had fled to Paris, and 1smaSil and his direct descendents had !een reco"nised as the f*t*re r*lers of )"ypt. <erif Mardin, The #enesis of Moung Otto&an Thought 6Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19'(7, pp. 0(:8, (&'. %. M*!arak, al'=hitat , 9: %$. '. <ee 5anet 2!*:A*"hod, Cairo@ 1CC1 Mears of the City 4ictorious , pp. 98:11#F 5ac-*es Ber-*e, Egypt@ "&perialis& and :e*olution , pp. 91:(, 90. &. 2!!ate:Bey, 8H*estions hy"iMni-*es s*r la ville d* Caire8, Bulletin de l'"nstitut 7gyptien , (nd series, 1 6188$7: '9. 8. 2!*:A*"hod, Cairo , p. 11#. 9. )d+in Be Aeon, The =hedi*e's Egypt 6Aondon: <ampson Ao+ X Co., 18&&7, p. 1#9. 1$. ,illiam C. Mc3eill, $la2ues and $eoples 63e+ Dork: Bo*!leday, 19&'7, pp. ('':&8. 11. 2!!ate:Bey, 8H*estions hy"iMni-*es8, pp. %9, '1, '0. 1(. M*hammad 2min 9ikri, .ughrafiyyat Misr 6Cairo: Mat!a8at ,adi at:3il, 18&97, p. %#. 1#. The only "overnment schools in e.istence +ere a military school, set *p in 18'( and closed a"ain in 18'0, a naval school, and a m*ch:ne"lected medical school at Hasr al:2ini. >ne other "ro*p of ne+ schools that e.isted +ere those esta!: lished !y the comm*nities of resident forei"ners in )"ypt and !y )*ropean and 2merican missionaries, mostly in the period of <a8id Pasha 618%0:'#7. 5ames Cey+orth:B*nne, +n "ntroduction to the 1istory of Education in Modern Egypt , pp. #(#, #0$. 10. 2min <ami, Ta2wi& al'3il, wa'as&a' &an tawallaw a&r Misr &a'a &uddat hu/&ihi& alayha wa &ulaha%at ta'ri/hiyya an ahwal al'/hilafa al'a&&a wa shu'un Misr al'/hassa , #: 1':1&F Cey+orth:B*nne, Education in Modern Egypt , pp.18%, ((%, #0&. 1%. Ghedival >rder of 1# 5*madi 11, 1(80 h., in <ami, Ta2wi& al'3il , #: &((. 1'. 2hmad 1??at 2!d al:Garim, Ta'ri/h al'ta8li& fi asr Muha&&ad +li , pp. ($$:%. 1&. 5oseph Aancaster, 8The Aancasterian system of ed*cation8 618(17, in Carl 9. Gaestle, ed., .oseph Lancaster and the Monitorial 0chool Mo*e&ent@ + -ocu&entary 1istory , pp. 9(:#. 18. 5oseph Aancaster, 81mprovements in ed*cation as it respects the ind*strio*s classes of the comm*nity ...8 618$%7, in Gaestle, ed., .oseph Lancaster , p. ''. 19. 4. 4. Tronchot, 8A8ensei"nement m*t*el en 9rance8, cited Michel 9o*ca*lt, -iscipline and $unish@ The Birth of the $rison , p. #1%, n. %, translation modified. The m*t*al improvement school +as introd*ced from )n"land into 9rance in 1810. By the 18($s, +hen )"yptians +ent there are o!served methods of schoolin", there +ere 1($$ s*ch schools 6Gaestle, ed., .oseph Lancaster , pp. #$:17. ($. Aancaster, 8The Aancasterian system of ed*cation8, p. 91. (1. i(id . pp. 90, 9%:'. ($. Aancaster, 8The Aancasterian system of ed*cation8, p. 91. (1. i(id . pp. 90, 9%:'.

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((. 2!d al:Garim, al'Ta'li& fi asr Muha&&ad +li , pp. ($1:#. (#. Gaestle, ed., .oseph Lancaster , pp. (9:#0. Aancaster model schools +ere introd*ced in the same period in 1stan!*l. <ee 3iya?i Berkes, The -e*elop&ent of 0ecularis& in Tur/ey 6Montreal: Mc@ill University Press, 19'07, pp. 1$(:'. (0. 2!d al:Garim, al'Ta'li& fi asr Muha&&ad +li , p. ($9. (%. <i.ty:si. st*dents +ere sent to st*dy at the school. Besides 1smaSil Pasha and 2li M*!arak, they incl*ded: 2li 1!rahim, later Birector of the @overnment Primary <chool *nder 1smaSil, and Minister of )d*cation and Minister of 5*stice *nder Ta+fi-F M*hammad <harif, later Minister of 9orei"n 2ffairs *nder <aSid, President of the Ae"islative 2ssem!ly and Minister of )d*cation *nder 1smaSil, and Prime Minister several times *nder Ta+fi-F <*layman 3a//ati, Birector of the Military <chool *nder <aSid, an administrator of the military schools *nder 1sma8il, and later a /*d"e of the Mi.ed Co*rtsF Uthman <a!ri, Birector of the <chool for Princes esta!lished !y Ta+fi-, and later a /*d"e of the Mi.ed Co*rts and President of the Mi.ed Co*rt of 2ppealF <hahata 1sa, Birector of the Military <taff Colle"e *nder 1smaSilF M*hammad 2rif, holder of several "overnment posts and fo*nder of the <ociety of Gno+led"e for the Biff*sion of Usef*l Books 65am8iyyat al:Ma8arif li:3ashr al:G*t*! al:3afi8a7, and its press Mat!aSat al:MaSarif 6see !elo+7F 3*!ar the 2rmenian, later Minister of P*!lic ,orks and of 9orei"n 2ffairs *nder 1smaSil, and three times Prime Minister *nder Ta+fi-F <aSid 3asr, holder of n*mero*s administrative posts in ed*cation *nder 1sma8il, and appointed /*d"e of the Mi.ed Co*rts in 1881 and Conorary President of the Mi.ed Co*rts in 19$#F M*stafa M*khtar, appointed 1nspector of Upper )"ypt, and later of Ao+er )"yptF <adi- <alim <hanan, later Birector of the @overnment Primary <chool, of the @overnment Preparatory <chool, and finally of the <chool of )n"ineerin"=and many others. Cey+orth:B*nne, Education in Modern Egypt , pp. (%#:9F Umar T*s*n, al' Bi8that al'il&iyya fi ahd Muha&&ad +li thu&&a fi ahday +((as al'awwal wa'0a8id , pp. ((':#''. ('. Umar T*s*n, al'Bi8that al'il&iyya , pp. 1&':9. (&. Cey+orth:B*nne, Education in Modern Egypt , p. (0'. (8. Cey+orth:B*nne, Education in Modern Egypt , p. (0'. (9. Cf. 9o*ca*lt, -iscipline and $unish , pp. 1#%:((8. #$. 2!d al:Garim, al'Ta8li& fi asr Muha&&ad +li , p. (1$. #1. 2hmad 1??at 2!d al:Garim, Ta'ri/h al'ta'li& fi Misr &in nihayat hu/& Muha&&ad +li ila awa'il hu/& Tawfi2, 1 K '1 B , 1: 1&&:81, #: 1:10F 9rit? <teppat, 83ational ed*cation pro/ects in )"ypt !efore the British occ*pation8, in ,illiam 4. Polk and 4ichard A. Cham!ers, eds., Beginnings of Moderni%ation in the Middle East@ The 3ineteenth Century 6Chica"o: University of Chica"o Press: 19'87, p. (8(F @il!ert Belano*e, Moralistes et politi2ues &usul&ans dans l'Egypte du G"Ge si;le O1!J '1 BP , pp. 0$%:8. #(. M*!arak, =hitat , 9: 08. ##. 3*!ar Pasha, letter of 8th >cto!er 18'', cited in 2n"elo <ammarco, 1istoire de l'Egypte &oderne depuis Moha&&ad +li 6us2u'D l'occupation (ritanni2ue O1 C1'1 BP vol. #: Le r;gne du /h7di*e "s&,l de 1 EH D 1 !I , p. 1#&. #0. 9ranJois de <ali"nac de la Mothe:9Mnelon, Les a*entures de T7l7&a2ue , cited in 1srael 2ltman, 8The political tho*"ht of 4ifaSah 4afiS al:Tahta+i8 6Ph.B. dissertation, University of California, Aos 2n"eles, 19&'7, p. 1%(. #%. Mawa2i8 al'afla/ fi wa2a'i8 Tili&a/ 6Beir*t: al:Mat!aSa al:<*riyya, 18'&7. Tahta+i8s other +ritin"s of the period +ere clearly infl*enced !y this +ork 6cf. Belano*e, Moralistes et politi2ues , (: 0$%7. #'. 9. 4o!ert C*nter )"ypt )nder the =hedi*es , p. %#. #&. 3*!ar Pasha, letter of 8th >cto!er 18'', cited <ammarco, 1istoire de l'Egypte &oderne , #: 1#&. #8. 2!d al:4ahman al:4afiSi, +sr "s&a'il , ( vols, (: 9#. #9. <ami, Ta2wi& al'3il , (: &#(:#F al'Ta8li& fi Misr fi sanatay 1J1K'1I , p. (1. 0$. <ami, Ta8li& , pp. (1:(F Cey+orth:B*nne, Education in Modern Egypt , pp. #'(:'9. 01. <ami, Ta8li& , p. 0$. 0(. L. )do*ard Bor, L'"nstruction pu(li2ue en Egypt , p. (1'. 0#. 4ifaSa 4afiS al:Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , (: #8&:8. 00. 4ifaSa 4afiS al:Tahta+i, al'Murshid al'a&in li'l'(anat wa'l'(anin , p. 0%. 0%. Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , (: #88:9. 0'. Bor, "nstruction pu(li2ue , pp. (0%, #%9, #'8. 0&. i(id . p. (#%. 08. i(id . pp. (#1:(, ('8. 0'. Bor, "nstruction pu(li2ue , pp. (0%, #%9, #'8. 0&. i(id . p. (#%. 08. i(id . pp. (#1:(, ('8. 0'. Bor, "nstruction pu(li2ue , pp. (0%, #%9, #'8. 0&. i(id . p. (#%. 08. i(id . pp. (#1:(, ('8. 09. <ami, Ta8li& , pp. (#:#(, and appendi. 0. %$. Bor, "nstruction pu(li2ue , pp. (#1:(. %1. Cf. 9o*ca*lt, -iscipline and $unish , pp. 101:9. %(. Bor, "nstruction $u(li2ue , p. (#%. %#. i(id . p. (0$. %0. i(id . pp. 1'', 1&$. %(. Bor, "nstruction $u(li2ue , p. (#%. %#. i(id . p. (0$. %0. i(id . pp. 1'', 1&$. %(. Bor, "nstruction $u(li2ue , p. (#%. %#. i(id . p. (0$.

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8%.

%0. i(id . pp. 1'', 1&$. %%. 2hmad al:Ta+ahiri, al'"l& wa'l'ula&a wa'ni%a& al'ta8li& , pp. 9$:#. %'. Pierre 2rmin/on, L'Enseigne&ent, la doctrine et la *ie dans les uni*ersit7s &usul&anes d'Egypte , p.

%&. Bor, "nstruction pu(li2ue , p. 1&$F 2rmin/on, Enseigne&ent , p. 81. %8. Bor, "nstruction pu(li2ue , pp. 1'':&. %9. i(id . pp. &&, 8#. %8. Bor, "nstruction pu(li2ue , pp. 1'':&. %9. i(id . pp. &&, 8#. '$. Cf. 9o*ca*lt, -iscipline and $unish , p. 10&. '1. <ee 1!n Ghald*n, The Mu2addi&ah , for a disc*ssion of learnin" in the mos-*e as the practice of a sina8a 6(: 0(':#%7 and for the te.t*al se-*ence disc*ssed !elo+ 6(: 0#':#: 1$#7. >n the teachin" mos-*e as a centre of la+, see 4ichard ,. B*lliet, The $atricians of 3ishapur@ + 0tudy in Medie*al "sla&ic 0ocial 1istory 6Cam!rid"e: Carvard University Press, 19&(7, pp. 0&:'$F and @eor"e Makdisi, The :ise of the Colleges@ "nstitutions of Learning in "sla& and the 9est 6)din!*r"h: )din!*r"h University Press, 19817, +here it is sho+n that "eneral references in the medieval so*rces to st*dyin" and teachin" in the mos-*e 6terms s*ch as &adrasa, dars, darras, tadris and &udarris 7 al+ays referred to fi2h , the la+ 6p. 11#7. '(. 2rmin/on, Enseigne&ent , pp. (%#:0. '#. <ee M*stafa Bayram, Ta'ri/h al'+%har 6Cairo, n.d., c. 19$(7, pp. #%:8F and 6for a m*ch earlier period7 Makdisi, :ise of the Colleges , pp. 1#:19. '0. Cf. Michael M. 5. 9ischer, "ran@ Fro& :eligious -ispute to :e*olution , Carvard <t*dies in C*lt*ral 2nthropolo"y, no. # 6Cam!rid"e: Carvard University Press, 198$7, pp. '1:&'. '%. <ee M*!arak, =hitat , 9: #&:8, and +la& al'-in , pp. (0(ff.F 5ac-*es Ber-*e, Egypt@ "&perialis& and :e*olution , pp. &':8#F 2faf A*tfi al:<ayyid Marsot, 8The S*lama8 of Cairo in the ei"hteenth and nineteenth cent*ries8, in 3ikki 4. Geddie, ed., 0cholars, 0aints, and 0ufis@ Musli& :eligious "nstitutions in the Middle East since 1ICC 6Berkeley: University of California Press, 19&(7F Baniel Creceli*s, 83onideolo"ical responses of the )"yptian *lama to moderni?ation8, in Geddie, ed., 0cholars, 0aints and 0ufis F Caim <haked, 8The !io"raphies of S*lama8 in M*!arak8s =hitat as a so*rce for the history of the S*lama8 in the nineteenth cent*ry8, +sian and +frican 0tudies & 619&17: %9:'&. 9or the life and learnin" of a Moroccan scholar and the impact of political and social chan"es in the colonial period, see Bale 9. )ickelman, =nowledge and $ower in Morocco@ The Education of a Twentieth'Century 3ota(le 6Princeton: Princeton University Press, 198%7. ''. 9or an analysis of the idiom of e.pos*re, its relation to notions of hono*r and modesty, and the +ay these conceptions invest social practice and relations of po+er, see Aila 2!*:A*"hod, 4eiled 0enti&ents@ 1onor and $oetry in a Bedouin 0ociety . The +ork8s analysis is dra+n from the life of an )"yptian Bedo*in comm*nity, !*t its theoretical insi"hts have +ide relevance for )"ypt and the Mediterranean +orld. '&. Michael @ilsenan, :ecogni%ing "sla&@ :eligion and 0ociety in the Modern +ra( 9orld , p. 1'. '8. 2hmad 2min, ?a&us al'adat wa'l'ta2alid wa'l'ta'a(ir al'&isriyya 6Cairo, 19%#7, p. #$8F Cey+orth: B*nne, 1istory of Education , pp. %:'. '9. Cf. ,inifred <. Blackman, The Fellahin of )pper Egypt 6Aondon: 9rank Cass, 19'87, pp. 1$9:1&, (%', (%9. &$. Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , (: #8&. &1. i(id . 1: (98. &$. Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , (: #8&. &1. i(id . 1: (98. &(. <ami, Ta2wi& al'3il , #: &&9. &#. Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , (: 1'9. Tahta+i p*!lished at the same time a translation of a +ork !y @eor" Beppin", in +hich he had met the follo+in" sentence: 8N9or the inha!itant of ancient @reeceO les e.ercices d* corps ... faisaient partie che? l*i de l8Md*cation nationale.8 The +ord 8nation8 he co*ld handle, !*t 8ed*cation8 re-*ired a circ*mloc*tion: 84iyadat al:!*d*n ... hiya maslaha -ad ya8*d* naf8aha ala sa8ir al:+atan8 6The e.ercise of the !ody ... is a "ood +hose !enefit may redo*nd "enerally *pon the nation7. 4ifa8a al:Tahta+i, ?ala'id al' &afa/hir fi ghari( awa'id al'awa'il wa'l'awa/hir 6B*la-, 18##7, p. %(F a translation of @eor" Bernhard Beppin", +per<u histori2ue sur les &oeurs et coutu&es des nations , p. 1$&. &0. Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , (: 18. &%. i(id . (: 1%9, &&$. &0. Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , (: 18. &%. i(id . (: 1%9, &&$. &'. 1n his le.ico"raphical +ork, p*!lished in 1881, Bo?y "ave the meanin" of tar(iya as 8to !rin" *p8 or 8to !reed8, !*t added the follo+in" "loss on the +ord, citin" so*rces most of +hich had !een +ritten or p*!lished in Cairo in the previo*s fifty years: 8>n emploie ce mot dans le sens d8 ordre, arrange&ent, disposition , et dans les phrases o[ l8on s8attendrait pl*tWt V tro*ver le mot tarti( 8. 4. Bo?y, 0uppl7&ent aux dictionnaires ara(es 6Aeiden: ). 5. Brill, 18817, 1: %$'. &&. Tahta+i, al'Murshid al'a&in , p. ##. &8. i(id . pp. (8:9. &&. Tahta+i, al'Murshid al'a&in , p. ##. &8. i(id . pp. (8:9. &9. 2!d al:2?i? 5a+ish, #hunyat al'&u'addi(in fi turu2 al'hadith li'l'tar(iya wa'l'ta'li& , p. 0F 2n+ar al: 5indi, +(d al'+%i% .awish 6Cairo: al:Bar al:Misriyya li:l:Ta8lif +a:l:Tar/ama, 19'%7, pp. 0#:1'%. 8$. C*sayn al:Marsafi, :isalat al'/ali& al'tha&an , pp. #$:1. 81. <imilar ideas +ere central to the tho*"ht of 2!d*h8s mentor, al:2f"hani, and 2!d*h8s disciple, 4ashid 4ida. Cf. 4ashid 4ida, 8al:5ara8id: +a?a8if asha!iha8, al'Manar 1 618987: &%%.

138

8(. 2!d al:4ahman al:4afi8i, +sr "s&a'il , 1: (0(:0. 8#. 1!rahim 2!d*h, Ta'ri/h al'9a2a'i' al'Misriyya, 1 B '1JKB 6Cairo: al:Mat!a8a al:2miriyya, 190(7, p. (9. 80. Cited <ami, Ta2wi& al'3il , #: 0%0. 8%. Cey+orth:B*nne, Education in Modern Egypt , p. #0% 8'. <ee Cenry Ca!i! 2yro*t, The Egyptian $easant , rev. ed., trans. 5ohn 2lden ,illiams 6Boston: Beacon Press, 19'#7, pp. 110:1%. 8&. Bo*rdie* disc*sses at len"th ho+ this kind of polarisation renders every action +ithin the ho*se and every movement in relation to it a re:enactment, and there!y an implicit inc*lcation, of the practical principles in terms of +hich everyday life is improvised. Outline of a Theory of $ractice , pp. 8&:9%. 88. 2yro*t, The Egyptian $easant , p. 1#$.

Ch%pte$ / A"te$ 6e ;%#e C%pt9$e( Thei$ <o(ies

1. Charles 4ichard, Etude sur l'insurrection du -ahra O1 KI'1 KEP , in Michael @ilsenan, :ecogni%ing "sla&@ :eligion and 0ociety in the Modern +ra( 9orld , p. 10(, cited from Pierre Bo*rdie* and 2!delmalek <ayad, Le d7racine&ent@ la crise de l'agriculture traditionelle en +lg7rie 6Paris: )ditions de Min*it, 19'07, p. 1%. (. @reat Britain, 9orei"n >ffice, Further Correspondence :especting the +ffairs of Egypt , no. #0, 5*ly: <eptem!er 189$ 6Aondon: 9orei"n >ffice, 189$7, pp. 19:($. #. Baron de G*sel, +n English&an's :ecollections of Egypt, 1 EH to 1 ! 6Aondon: 5ohn Aane, The Bodley Cead, 191%7, pp. 19:($. 0. @reat Britain, Further Correspondence , no. #8, 5an*ary:5*ne 189( 6189#7, p. &(. %. The )arl of Cromer, Modern Egypt , (: #11, #1#F Charles 1ssa+i, +n Econo&ic 1istory of the Middle East and 3orth +frica , pp. %0:%F Tachary Aockman, 8Class and nation: the emer"ence of the )"yptian +orkers8 movement8 6Ph.B. dissertation, Carvard University, 198#7, p. 01. '. Cromer, Modern Egypt , (: 08(. &. 5ac-*es Ber-*e, Egypt@ "&perialis& and :e*olution , pp. 1(&:#%F @reat Britain, Further Correspondence , no. #1, >cto!er:Becem!er 1889 6189$7, p. 0(F and no. #(, 5an*ary:March 189$ 6189$7, p. 19. 8. Cromer, Modern Egypt , (: 8&F cf. M. ). Co+ard, 8The armed forces8, The 3ew Ca&(ridge Modern 1istory , vol. 11: Material $rogress and 9orld'wide $ro(le&s, 1 !J'1 J , ed. 9. C. Cinsley 6Cam!rid"e: Cam!rid"e University Press, 19'(7, p. ((%. 9. @reat Britain, Further Correspondence , no. #&, 5*ly:Becem!er 1891 6189(7, pp. &:8F no. #8, 5an*ary: 5*ne 189( 6189#7, p. &(F and no. 0(, 5an*ary:5*ne 1890 6189%7F 4o!ert Ti"nor, Moderni%ation and British Colonial :ule in Egypt, 1 B'1J1K 6Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19''7, pp. 180:%, ($&F Ber-*e, Egypt , p. 1#%. 1$. Cf. Michel 9o*ca*lt, -iscipline and $unish@ The Birth of the $rison , pp. 1#%:((8. 11. @a!riel Baer, 0tudies in the 0ocial 1istory of Modern Egypt , p. 1#8. 1(. 2li M*!arak, +la& al'-in , pp. 1'$:(. 1#. Baer, 0ocial 1istory of Modern Egypt , p. 1#8. 10. 2s early as the 18#$s 4ifa8a al:Tahta+i, +ho +as +orkin" as a translator at the "overnment8s military hospital, prod*ced !ooks in 2ra!ic on )*ropean medicine. The first +ork of "eneral interest to !e printed on the ne+ 2ra!ic printin" presses +as Tahta+i8s translation of a 9rench !ook +ritten for children on the 8manners and c*stoms8 of different nations, +hich incl*ded sections on 89alse !eliefs, heresies and s*perstitions8, stressin" that 8s*ch errors are "reater in the villa"e than in the city8. Tahta+i, ?ala'id al'&afa/hir fi ghari( awa'id al'awa'il wa'l' awa/hir , p. 8%F cf. <alih Ma/di, 1ilyat al'%a&an hi'&ana2i( /hadi& al'watan@ sirat :ifa'a al'Tahtawi 6Cairo, n.d., c. 18&07, pp. ##, #%. 1%. 2!d al:4ahman 1sma8il, Ti(( al'ru//a 6Cairo: ( vols., 189(:90F serialised earlier in al'+da( 7, partial translation !y 5ohn ,alker, Fol/ Medicine in Modern Egypt, Being the :ele*ant $arts of the Ti(( al':u//a or Old 9i*es' Medicine of '+(d al':ah&an "s&a'il 6Aondon: A*?ac and Co., 19#07, pp. &, 9. The second vol*me +as printed in the name of the Tenth 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, held in @eneva in <eptem!er 1890. 1'. 2!d al:4ahman 1sma8il, al'Ta2wi&at al'sihhiyya an al'awa'id al'&isriyya 6Cairo: n.p., 189%7F and al' Tar(iya wa'l'ada( al'shar'iyya li'l'&a/ati( al'&isriyya 6Cairo, 189'7. >n the Ministry of )d*cation8s sponsorship, see al'Mu2tataf ($ 62pril 189'7: ('9F on the a*thor, see 1sma8il, Fol/ Medicine , p. #(. 1&. 1sma8il, Fol/ Medicine , p. 1'. 18. i(id . pp. &9, 11(. 1&. 1sma8il, Fol/ Medicine , p. 1'. 18. i(id . pp. &9, 11(. 19. Cited 2n"elo <ammarco, 1istoire de l'Egypte &oderne depuis Moha&&ed +li 6us2u'D l'occupation (ritanni2ue O1 C1'1 BP , #: (%'. ($. 2min <ami, al'Ta'li& fi Misrfi sanatay 1J1K'1J1I , pp. 0&:8. (1. 2!d al:2?i? 5a+ish, #hunyat al'&u'addi(in fi turu2 al'hadith li'l'tar(iya wa'l'ta'li& , pp. 1&:19, 0(F cf. 2n+ar al:5indi, +(d al'+%i% .awish 6Cairo: al:M*8assasa al:misriyya al:amma li:l:ta8lif +a:l:an!a8 +a:l:nashr, 19'%7. ((. 4ifa8a 4afi8 al:Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , 1: %1&. (#. i(id . ((. 4ifa8a 4afi8 al:Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , 1: %1&. (#. i(id . (0. )llio*s Bochthor, -ictionnaire fran<aise'ara(e , #rd ed. 6Paris, 18'07. (%. B*tr*s al:B*stani, Muhit al'&uhit 6Beir*t, 18&$7. ('. Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , 1: %.

139

(&. i(id . 1: %11. (8. i(id . 1: %1(. ('. Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , 1: %. (&. i(id . 1: %11. (8. i(id . 1: %1(. ('. Tahta+i, al'+'&al al'/a&ila , 1: %. (&. i(id . 1: %11. (8. i(id . 1: %1(. (9. Cromer, Modern Egypt , pp. %'9:&$. #$. L. )do*ard Bor, L'"nstruction pu(li2ue en Egypte , p. #'. #1. i(id . pp. %, 1$:11, 1', ((. The same concern +ith the 8oriental character8 is fo*nd in a report on )"yptian ed*cation presented to the 9rench Minister of P*!lic 1nstr*ction in 18'8: >ctave <achot, 8Mission en )"ypte: 4apport addressM V Lictor B*r*y, ministre de l81nstr*ction P*!li-*e, s*r l8Mtat des sciences en )"ypte dans la pop*lation indi"Pne et dans la pop*lation e*ro:pMenne8 6Paris, 5*ne 18'87 cited in @il!ert Belano*e, 84Pfle.ions et -*estions s*r la politi-*e scolaire des vice:rois rMformate*rs8, in L'Egypte au G"Ge si;cle 6Paris: C34<, 198(7, p. #('. #$. L. )do*ard Bor, L'"nstruction pu(li2ue en Egypte , p. #'. #1. i(id . pp. %, 1$:11, 1', ((. The same concern +ith the 8oriental character8 is fo*nd in a report on )"yptian ed*cation presented to the 9rench Minister of P*!lic 1nstr*ction in 18'8: >ctave <achot, 8Mission en )"ypte: 4apport addressM V Lictor B*r*y, ministre de l81nstr*ction P*!li-*e, s*r l8Mtat des sciences en )"ypte dans la pop*lation indi"Pne et dans la pop*lation e*ro:pMenne8 6Paris, 5*ne 18'87 cited in @il!ert Belano*e, 84Pfle.ions et -*estions s*r la politi-*e scolaire des vice:rois rMformate*rs8, in L'Egypte au G"Ge si;cle 6Paris: C34<, 198(7, p. #('. #(. Bor, "nstruction pu(li2ue , p. #'. ##. )d+ard lane, +n +ccount of the Manners and Custo&s of the Modern Egyptians , pp. #$(:#, ##8:9. #0. @eor"e Bernhard Beppin", E*ening Entertain&ents 6Aondon, 181(F Philadelphia: Bavid Co"an, 181&7, pp. vi, #$#, ##1:%. #%. @eor"e Bernhard Beppin", +per<u histori2ue sur les &oeurs et coutu&es des nations@ Contenant le ta(leau co&par7 che% les di*ers peuples anciens et &odernes, des usages et des c7r7&onies concernant l'ha(itation, la nourriture, l'ha(ille&ent, les &arriages, les fun7railles, lex 6eux, les f5tes, les guerres, les superstitions, les castes, etc., etc . 6Paris: A8)ncyclopedie Portative, 18('7. #'. 4ifaSa 4afiS al:Tahta+i, ?ala'id al'&afa/hir fi ghari( awa'id al'awa'il wa'l'awa/hir 6B*la-: Bar al: Ta!aSa, 18##7. 2mon" Tahta+i8s other translations from Paris +ere parts of a similar +ork !y Conrad Malte:Br*n 61&&%:18('7, $r7cis de la g7ographie uni*erselle , 8 vols. 6Paris: 9. B*isson, 181$:(97, +hich +ere also later p*!lished in Cairo, 1n contrast, t+o man*scripts of translations from +orks on 3at*ral Aa+ !y 5ean 5ac-*es B*rlama-*i 61'90:1&087, $rincipes du droit naturel et politi2ue 6@eneva, 1&0&7, and $rincipes ou 7l7&ents du droit politi2ue 6Aa*sanne, 1&807, +ere never p*!lished. Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , 1: &(:0F see also 2lain <ilvera, 8The first )"yptian st*dent mission to 9rance *nder M*hammad 2li8, in Modern Egypt@ 0tudies in $olitics and 0ociety , ed. )lie Gedo*rie and <ylvia Caim 6Aondon: 9rank Cass, 198$7, pp. 1:((. #&. 1srael 2ltman, 8The political tho*"ht of 4ifaSa 4afiS al:Tahta+i8 6Ph.B. dissertation, University of California, Aos 2n"eles, 19&'7, p. (0. #8. 9ranJis de <ali"nac de la Mothe:9Mnelon, Les +*entures de T7l7&a2ue , pp. 0%, '9F 2ra!ic translation pp. (', '#. #9. Tahta+i, Manahi6 al'al(a( al'&isriyya, fi &a(ahi6 al'ada( al'asriyya , p. 1($. 0$. Tahta+i, al'+ 8&al al'/a&ila , 1: %18. 01. 0elf'1elp, with "llustrations of Conduct and $erse*erence , introd*ction !y 2sa Bri""s, &(nd impression 6Aondon: 5ohn M*rray, 19%87, translated into 2ra!ic !y DaS-*! <arr*f as 0irr al'3a6ah 6Beir*t, 188$7. 0(. <miles, 0elf'1elp , p. #', 2ra!ic translation p. 0, 0#. i(id . p. #', 2ra!ic translation p. %. 00. i(id . pp. #%, #1%:1'. 0(. <miles, 0elf'1elp , p. #', 2ra!ic translation p. 0, 0#. i(id . p. #', 2ra!ic translation p. %. 00. i(id . pp. #%, #1%:1'. 0(. <miles, 0elf'1elp , p. #', 2ra!ic translation p. 0, 0#. i(id . p. #', 2ra!ic translation p. %. 00. i(id . pp. #%, #1%:1'. 0%. 3adia 9ara", Sal:M*-tataf 18&':19$$: a st*dy of the infl*ence of Lictorian tho*"ht on modern 2ra!ic tho*"ht8, p. 1'9. 0'. Cromer, Modern Egypt , 1: 0:8F cf. 4onald 4o!inson and 5ohn @alla"her, +frica and the 4ictorians@ The Official Mind of "&perialis& 6Aondon: Macmillan, 19'17, pp. (&0:%F 4o"er >+en, 8The infl*ence of Aord Cromer8s 1ndian e.perience on British policy in )"ypt, 188#:19$&8 in 2l!ert Co*rani, ed., Middle Eastern +ffairs 3o. K 6Aondon: >.ford University Press, 19'%7, pp. 1$9:#9F Ti"nor, Moderni%ation and British Colonial :ule , pp. 08:9#. 2 cent*ry later, in 198', a ne+ edition of 0elf'1elp +as p*!lished in Britain, +ith an introd*ction !y the "overnment8s Minister of )d*cation. 0&. 9ara", Sal:M*-tataf8, p. 1'9. 08. <peech at the school pri?e:"ivin", cited in Ma6allat al'Liwa 8, 1% 3ovem!er 19$$. 09. 2li 9ahmi Gamil, Mustafa =a&il fi ar(a8a wa'thalathin ra(i8an@ siratuhu wa'a8&aluhu &in /huta( wa' ahadith wa'rasa'il , 11 vols. 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:Ai+a8, 19$87, pp. 1$8:9. %$. 2sa Bri""s, 81ntrod*ction8 to <miles, 0elf'1elp , p. &. %1. al'Liwa 8, (%th 5an*ary 19$$. %(. i(id . 0th 5an*ary 19$$.

140

%1. al'Liwa 8, (%th 5an*ary 19$$. %(. i(id . 0th 5an*ary 19$$. %#. Mahm*d <alama, al'Liwa' , 11th 9e!r*ary 19$$. Besides those 1 +ill disc*ss later, other !ook disc*ssin" the pro!lem of mentality incl*ded: the infl*ential +ork !y 2hmad Cafi? 2+ad, Min walid ila waladihi 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:Bashla+i, 19(#7, consistin" of letters +ritten !efore the 9irst ,orld ,arF 2li )fendi 9ikri, +da( al'fatah 6Cairo, 19987F 2!d al:4ahman ismaSil, al'Tar(iya wa'ada( al'shar8iyya 6Cairo, 189'7F <alih Camdi Cammad, Tar(iyat al'(anat , a translation of 9Mnelon8s L'Education des filles 6Cairo: Mat!aSat Madrasat ,alidat 2!!as al:2++al, 19$97F 4afi- al:2?m, Tan(ih al'afha& ila &atali( al'haya al'6adida wa'l'isla& 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:Ma+s*Sat, 19$$7F M*hammad al:<a!aSi, al'Tar(iya , a translation of Cer!ert <pencer8s essay on )d*cation 6Cairo: Mat!a8at al:5arida, 19$87. %0. M*stafa Gamil, al'0ha&s al'&ushri2a 6Cairo: Mat!aSat:Ai+a8, 19$07, pp. 11 1&':8. %%. Mahm*d <alama, al'Liwa' , 11th 9e!r*ary 19$$. %'. 9ara", 8al:M*-tataf8, p. #$9. %&. 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l, 0irr ta2addu& al'in/li% al'sa/suniyyin 6Cairo: Mat!a8at al:MaSarif, 18997, a translation of )dmond Bemolins, + 2uoi tient la sup7riorit7 des +nglo'0axons 6Paris: Ai!raire de Paris, 189&7. %8. Bemolins, +nglo'0axons , p. iv. %9. i(id p. 9(, 2ra!ic translation, p. &%. '$. i(id . p. 9#F 2ra!ic translation, p. &'. '1. i(id . p. 98. '(. i(id p. 01$F 2ra!ic translation, p. ###. %8. Bemolins, +nglo'0axons , p. iv. %9. i(id p. 9(, 2ra!ic translation, p. &%. '$. i(id . p. 9#F 2ra!ic translation, p. &'. '1. i(id . p. 98. '(. i(id p. 01$F 2ra!ic translation, p. ###. %8. Bemolins, +nglo'0axons , p. iv. %9. i(id p. 9(, 2ra!ic translation, p. &%. '$. i(id . p. 9#F 2ra!ic translation, p. &'. '1. i(id . p. 98. '(. i(id p. 01$F 2ra!ic translation, p. ###. %8. Bemolins, +nglo'0axons , p. iv. %9. i(id p. 9(, 2ra!ic translation, p. &%. '$. i(id . p. 9#F 2ra!ic translation, p. &'. '1. i(id . p. 98. '(. i(id p. 01$F 2ra!ic translation, p. ###. %8. Bemolins, +nglo'0axons , p. iv. %9. i(id p. 9(, 2ra!ic translation, p. &%. '$. i(id . p. 9#F 2ra!ic translation, p. &'. '1. i(id . p. 98. '(. i(id p. 01$F 2ra!ic translation, p. ###. '#. 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l, 0irr ta2addu& , p. ($. '0. i(id . pp. (0:#$. '#. 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l, 0irr ta2addu& , p. ($. '0. i(id . pp. (0:#$. '%. <ee Casan Ta+fi- al:Bi/+i8s introd*ction to al'Tar(iya al'haditha 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:Tara--i, 19$17, p. &. ''. 2hmad A*tfi al:<ayyid, cited C*sayn 9a+?i 3a//ar, +h&ad Lutfi al'0ayyid@ ustadh al'6il 6Cairo: al: M*8assasa al:Misriyya al:2mma, 19'%7, p. 8'. '&. 2l!ert Metin, La transfor&ation de l'Egypte , cited in Cenri PMrPs, 8Aes ori"ines d8*n roman cMlP!re de la littMrat*re ara!e moderne: 88Cadith S1sa i!n Cisham88 de M*hammad al:M*+ailihi8, Bulletin des 7tudes orientales 1$ 619007: 1$1:18. '8. Casan Ta+fi- al'-i6wi, al'Tar(iya al'haditha . '9. Cromer, Modern Egypt , (: %#8:9. &$. >n the transformation of +omen8s lives in nineteenth:cent*ry )"ypt, see 5*dith T*cker, 9o&en in 3ineteenth'Century Egypt . >n the +ritin"s on this s*!/ect at the t*rn of the cent*ry, see 5*an 4icardo Cole, 89eminism, class and 1slam in t*rn:of:the:cent*ry )"ypt8, "nternational .ournal of Middle East 0tudies 1# 619817: #8&:0$&. &1. Carry Boyle, 8Memorand*m on the British >cc*pation of )"ypt8 619$%7, in Clara Boyle, Boyle of Cairo@ + -iplo&atist's +d*entures in the Middle East 6Gendal: Tit*s ,ilson and <on, 19'%7, p. %'. &(. Hasim 2min, al'Mar'a al'6adida , p. 11. &#. Hasim 2min, Les 7gyptiens 6Cairo: 5*les Bar!ier, 18907F B*c d8Carco*rt, L'Egypte et les 7gyptiens 6Paris: Plon, 189#7. &0. Carco*rt, L'Egypt , pp. 1, #:', (18, (0&:8, ('(. &%. Hasim 2min, Les 7gyptiens , pp. 0%:&, (0#. &'. i(id . pp. 1$$:1$. &%. Hasim 2min, Les 7gyptiens , pp. 0%:&, (0#. &'. i(id . pp. 1$$:1$. &&. Cited ,alter Ben/amin, 8>n some motifs in Ba*delaire8, "llu&inations , ed. Cannah 2rendt 63e+ Dork: Carco*rt Brace and ,orld, 19'87, p. 1'&. &8. i(id .

141

&&. Cited ,alter Ben/amin, 8>n some motifs in Ba*delaire8, "llu&inations , ed. Cannah 2rendt 63e+ Dork: Carco*rt Brace and ,orld, 19'87, p. 1'&. &8. i(id . &9. M*hammad al:M*+ailihi, 1adith "sa i(n 1isha&, aw fatra &in al'%a&an , (nd ed. 6Cairo: al:Makta!a al:2?hariyya, 19117, pp. 1%:($. 8$. i(id . p. #10. 81. i(id . pp. #89, 0#0:%. &9. M*hammad al:M*+ailihi, 1adith "sa i(n 1isha&, aw fatra &in al'%a&an , (nd ed. 6Cairo: al:Makta!a al:2?hariyya, 19117, pp. 1%:($. 8$. i(id . p. #10. 81. i(id . pp. #89, 0#0:%. &9. M*hammad al:M*+ailihi, 1adith "sa i(n 1isha&, aw fatra &in al'%a&an , (nd ed. 6Cairo: al:Makta!a al:2?hariyya, 19117, pp. 1%:($. 8$. i(id . p. #10. 81. i(id . pp. #89, 0#0:%. 8(. 9or e.ample !y the novelist Mahm*d Taym*r. <ee Cenri PMrPs, 8Aes ori"ines d8*n roman cMlP!re de la littMrat*re ara!e moderne: UCadith S1sa i!n CishamU de M*hammad al:M*+ailihi8, Bulleitin des 7tudes orientales 1$ 619007: 1$1. 8#. 9or the !ook8s p*!lishin" history and the e.p*r"ated parts, see 4o"er 2llen, 8Cadith S1sa i!n Cisham: the e.cl*ded passa"es8, -ie 9elt des "sla&s 1( 619'97: &0:89, 1'#:81. 80. 4o"er 2llen, + 0tudy of '1adith 8"sa i(n 1isha&'@ Muha&&ad al'Muwaylihi's 4iew of Egyptian 0ociety -uring the British Occupation 63e+ Dork: <tate University of 3e+ Dork Press, 19&07, p. 1'%. 8%. 2le.ander <chKlche, Egypt for the Egyptians@ The 0ocio'$olitical Crisis in Egypt, 1 ! '1 B , p. #(&, n. %#. 2faf A*tfi al:<ayyid Marsot, Egypt in the :eign of Muha&&ad +li , pp. 0%, '$F Ber-*e, Egypt , pp. 11':1&. 8'. Hasim 2min, Les 7gyptiens , p. 0%F 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l, 0irr ta2addu& al'in/li% al'sa/suniyyin , p. &%. 8&. 4o"er 2llen, 8,ritin"s of mem!ers of the 3a?li circle8, .ournal of the +&erican :esearch Center in Egypt , 8 619'9:&$7: &9:80. 88. Cenri PMrPs, 8Aes ori"ins d8*n roman cMlP!re, p. 1$%F for the precedin" decade M*!arak "ives the fi"*res of 1,$'& cafMs and 0'& !ars, a total of 1,%0# esta!lishments 62li M*!arak, al'=hitat al'6adida li'Misr al' 2ahira wa'&uduniha wa'(iladiha al'2adi&a wa'l'shahira , 1: (#87. 89. 2li M*!arak, +la& al'-in , pp. 0%#:0. 9$. M*hammad Umar, 1adir al'&isriyyin aw sir ta' a/h/hurihi& 6Cario: Mat!aSat al:M*-tataf, 19$(7. )n"lish translation of the title "iven on the 2ra!ic title pa"e. 91. i(id . p. (#$. 9(. i(id . pp. ('&:9 9#. i(id . pp. (#%, 110:1%. 9$. M*hammad Umar, 1adir al'&isriyyin aw sir ta' a/h/hurihi& 6Cario: Mat!aSat al:M*-tataf, 19$(7. )n"lish translation of the title "iven on the 2ra!ic title pa"e. 91. i(id . p. (#$. 9(. i(id . pp. ('&:9 9#. i(id . pp. (#%, 110:1%. 9$. M*hammad Umar, 1adir al'&isriyyin aw sir ta' a/h/hurihi& 6Cario: Mat!aSat al:M*-tataf, 19$(7. )n"lish translation of the title "iven on the 2ra!ic title pa"e. 91. i(id . p. (#$. 9(. i(id . pp. ('&:9 9#. i(id . pp. (#%, 110:1%. 9$. M*hammad Umar, 1adir al'&isriyyin aw sir ta' a/h/hurihi& 6Cario: Mat!aSat al:M*-tataf, 19$(7. )n"lish translation of the title "iven on the 2ra!ic title pa"e. 91. i(id . p. (#$. 9(. i(id . pp. ('&:9 9#. i(id . pp. (#%, 110:1%. 90. 2!d al:Camid al:Tahra+i, al'.arida , (nd 5*ly 19$&F for his !io"raphy see Umar 4ida Gahhala, Mu86a& al'&u'allifin@ tara6i& &usannifi al'/utu( al : ara(iyya , 1% vols. 6Bamasc*s: Mat!aSat al:Tara--i, 19%&:'17, %: 1$0, and @eor"e 2ntoni*s, The +ra( +wa/ening@ the 0tory of the +ra( 3ational Mo*e&ent 6Philadelphia: Aippincott, 19#97, pp. 11&, 189. ,hy +ealthy *r!an:!ased lando+ners in the >ttoman:r*led parts of the 2ra! +orld t*rned from >ttomanism to 2ra! nationalism in this period is e.plored in Philip <. Gho*ry, )r(an 3ata(les and +ra( 3ationalis&@ the $olitics of -a&ascus, 1 EC'1JBC 6Cam!rid"e: Cam!rid"e University Press, 198#7. 9%. Umar, 1adir al'&isriyyin , pp. 11&:(0. 9'. i(id . pp. 0#:0. 9&. i(id . pp. 1'':&. 9%. Umar, 1adir al'&isriyyin , pp. 11&:(0. 9'. i(id . pp. 0#:0. 9&. i(id . pp. 1'':&. 9%. Umar, 1adir al'&isriyyin , pp. 11&:(0. 9'. i(id . pp. 0#:0. 9&. i(id . pp. 1'':&. 98. Cf. Benedict 2nderson, "&agined Co&&unities@ :eflections on the Origins and 0pread of 3ationalis& 6Aondon: Lerso, 198#7, for a critical e.ploration of the themes disc*ssed in this section. 99. >n the intellect*al formation of )"yptian nationalism, incl*din" the central theme of 8political ed*cation8, see 2l!ert Co*rani, +ra(ic Thought in the Li(eral +ge, 1!J '1JHJ , pp. 1$#:((1.

142

1$$. Tahta+i, Manahi6 al'al(a( , p. '. 1$1. Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , 1: %1'. 1$(. i(id . 1: %19. 1$1. Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , 1: %1'. 1$(. i(id . 1: %19. 1$#. al:M*+ailihi, 1adith "sa i(n 1isha& , p. (9. 1$0. i(id . p. #$. 1$#. al:M*+ailihi, 1adith "sa i(n 1isha& , p. (9. 1$0. i(id . p. #$. 1$%. B*rkheim, The :ules of 0ociological Method , p. %. 1$'. 9or this criti-*e of li!eralism, see Uday Mehta, 8The an.iety of freedom: 5ohn Aocke and the emer"ence of political s*!/ectivity 6Ph. B. dissertation, Princeton University, 19807. 1$&. )mile B*rkheim, Education and 0ociology , trans. <. B. 9o., +ith an 1ntrod*ction !y Talcott Parsons 6@lencoe: The 9ree Press, 19%'7, p. 1(#. 1$8. Cited <teven A*kes, E&ile -ur/hei&, 1is Life and 9or/@ + 1istorical and Critical 0tudy 6Carmonds+orth: Pen"*in Books, 19&#7, pp. 11(, 11&, 1(#. 1$9. al'Mu'ayyad , 18th Becem!er 191$, !y the anonymo*s a*thor of the paper8s 8Da+miyyat al:ahad8 col*mn. 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l, :uh al'i6ti&a S 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:<haS!, 19$97, a translation of @*stave Ae Bon, $sychologie des foules 6Paris: 9eli. 2lcan, 189%7F translated into )n"lish as The Crowd@ + 0tudy of the $opular Mind 63e+ Dork: Macmillan, 189'7. 11$. >n the Binsha+ai incident see 2faf A*tfi al:<ayyid, Egypt and Cro&er@ + 0tudy in +nglo'Egyptian :elations 6Aondon: 5ohn M*rray, 19'87, pp. 1'9:&#. 111. 2hmad A*tfi al:<ayyid, al'.arida , 1#th 2pril 191#, reprinted in his Ta'a&&ulat fi al'falsafa wa'al' ada( wa'al'siyasa wa'al'i6ti&a8 , (nd ed. 6Cairo: Bar al:MaSarif, 19'%7, pp. 80:%. 2ccordin" to A*tfi al:<ayyid, 9athi Ta"hl*l8s translations of Ae Bon, and also of Bemolins, Bentham, <pencer and 4o*ssea*, 8+ere the start of )"ypt8s intellect*al renaissance alon" political lines8 62faf A*tfi al:<ayyid, Egypt and Cro&er , p. 1%(7. 11(. 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l, 0irr tatawwur al'u&a& 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:MaSarif, 191#7, a translation of Ae Bon8s Lois psychologi2ues de l'7*olution des peuples , 1(th ed. 6Paris: 2lcan, 191'7, translated into )n"lish as The $sychology of $eoples 63e+ Dork: Macmillan, 18987F Taha C*sayn, :uh al'tar(iya 6Cairo: Bar al:Cilal, 19((7, a translation of Ae Bon8s $sychologie de l'7ducation 6Paris: 9lammarion, 19$0F no*velle edition, 191(, 8a*"mentM de pl*sie*rs chapitres s*r les mMthodes d8Md*cation en 2mMri-*e et s*r l8ensei"nement donnM a*. indi"Pnes des colonies87F 2hmad 9athi Ta"hl*l also translated Ae Bon8s +phoris&s du te&ps pr7sent 6Paris: 9lammarion, 191#7, p*!lished posth*mo*sly as 6awa&i8 al'/ali& 6Cairo: al:Mat!aSa al:4ahmaniyya, 19((7. Cf. Carl Brockelmann, #eschichte der ara(ischen Literatur , s*pplement #: (8&, #('. 11#. @*stave Ae Bon, La ci*ilisation des +ra(es 6Paris: 9irmin:Bidot, 18807, translated in installments in al'Mufid 6see 4ashid Ghalidi, 8S2!d al:@hani al:Uraisi and al'Mufid F the press and 2ra! nationalism !efore 19108, in Martin 4. B*heiry, ed., "ntellectual Life in the +ra( East, 1 JC'1JHJ 6Beir*t: 2merican University of Beir*t Press, 19817, p. 017F and Les pre&i;res ci*ilisations 6Paris: Marpon et 9lammarion, 18897, trans. M*hammad <adi- 4*st*m, al'1adara al'&isriyya 6Cairo: al:Mat!aSa al:2sriyya, n.d.7. 110. @ordon 2llport, The 1and(oo/ of 0ocial $sychology , ed. @ardner Aind?ey and )lliot 2ronson, (nd ed. 64eadin", Mass: 2ddison:,esley, 19'87, 1: 01F for 9re*d8s *se of 8Ae Bon8s deservedly famo*s +ork8 see #roup $sychology and the +nalysis of the Ego 63e+ Dork: 3orton, 19%97, ch. (F see also @eor"e 4*dM, The Crowd in 1istory 63e+ Dork: ,iley, 19'07 and @eor"es Aefe!vre, La #rande peur de 1! J 6Paris: Colin, 19#(7. >n the +ork of Ae Bon in "eneral see <*sanna Barro+s, -istorting Mirrors@ 4isions of the Crowd in Late 3ineteenth' Century France 63e+ Caven: Dale University Press, 19817. 11%. Barro+s, -istorting Mirrors . <ee also 2lice ,idener, #usta*e Le Bon@ The Man and 1is 9or/s 61ndianapolis: Ai!erty Press, 19&97, pp. (#, 0$. 11'. )mile B*rkheim, The -i*ision of La(our in 0ociety , trans. ,. B. Calls, Contemporary <ocial Theory series 6Aondon: Macmillan, 19807, pp. 18, 19, 89. 11&. Barro+s, -istorting Mirrors , p. 1'0. 118. Ae Bon, The $sychology of $eoples , pp. 0:%, 1#. 119. >n Ae Bon8s infl*ence on B*rkheim, see Mary Bo*"las, $urity and -anger@ +n +nalysis of the Concepts of $ollution and Ta(oo 63e+ Dork: Prae"er, 19''7, p. ($. 1($. Ae Bon, The $sychology of $eoples , pp. .i., ', #&. 1(1. i(id . pp. 199:($$, (#1. 1((. i(id . pp. (11:1(. 1($. Ae Bon, The $sychology of $eoples , pp. .i., ', #&. 1(1. i(id . pp. 199:($$, (#1. 1((. i(id . pp. (11:1(. 1($. Ae Bon, The $sychology of $eoples , pp. .i., ', #&. 1(1. i(id . pp. 199:($$, (#1. 1((. i(id . pp. (11:1(. 1(#. The translation +as p*!lished in instalments in al'Mufid , one of the most infl*ential daily ne+spapers in the entire 2ra! east in this period. <ee Ghalidi, 8S2!d al:@hani al:Uraisi8, p. 01. 1(0. Ae Bon +as a+ay, so 2!d*h left his card and a small, amica!le correspondence ens*ed 62no*ar Ao*ca, 4oyageurs et 7cri*ains 7gyptiens en France au G"Ge si;cle , p. 10(7. >n 2!d*h, the infl*ence of 9rench social science, and his infl*ence in t*rn on 2ra! political tho*"ht, see 2l!ert Co*rani, +ra(ic Thought in the Li(eral +ge, 1! J'1JHJ , especially pp. 1#9:0$. 1(%. Cf. Barro+s, -istorting Mirrors , p. &(. 1('. Ae Bon, The Crowd , p. #'F 9re*d, #roup $sychology , ch. (.

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1(&. B*rkheim, :ules , pp. 8, #$.

Ch%pte$ 0 The M%chine$y o" T$9th

1. Baron de G*sel, +n English&an's :ecollections of Egypt, 1 EH to 1 ! 6Aondon: 5ohn Aane, The Bodley Cead, 191%7, p. 199. (. The )arl of Cromer, Modern Egypt , 1: (9':8. #. Col. 5. 9. Ma*rice, Military 1istory of the Ca&paign of 1 B in Egypt , prepared in the intelli"ence !ranch of the ,ar >ffice 6Aondon: CM<>, 188&7, p. 9'. 0. Ma*rice, Military 1istory , p. 1$%. %. i(id . p. '. 0. Ma*rice, Military 1istory , p. 1$%. %. i(id . p. '. '. C*sayn al:Marsafi, :isalat al'/ali& al'tha&an 618817. The ei"ht 2ra!ic terms are: u&&a, watan, hu/u&a, adl, %ul&, siyasa, hurriyya, tar(iya . There is only a passin" reference to the !ook in the ma/or +ork of the Ura!i 4evol*tion: 2le.ander <chKlch, +gypten der +gypternQ -ie politische und gesellschaftliche =rise der 6ahre 1 ! '1 B in +gypten 69rei!*r": 2tlantis, 19&(7, p. #'1F the reference is omitted from the )n"lish translation. >n Marsafi and his relationship +ith the nationalists see M*hammad 2!d al:5a+ad, +l'0hay/h al' 1usayn i(n +h&ad al'Marsafi@ al'ustadh al'awwal li'l'ulu& al'ada(iyya (i'-ar al')lu& 6Cario: al:MaSarif, 19%(7, pp. 0$:(, and 2hmad Takariya al:<hil-, :u'ya fi tahdith al'fi/r al'&isri@ al'shay/h 1usayn al'Marsafi wa'/ita(uhu ':isalat al/ali& al'tha&an' 6Cairo: al:Cay8a al:Misriyya al:2mma li:l:G*t*!, 19807, p. (%. &. 82ra!i8s acco*nt of his life and of the events of 1881:188(8 in ,ilfred <ca+en Bl*nt, 0ecret 1istory of the English Occupation of Egypt, Being a personal narrati*e of e*ents , (nd ed. 6Aondon: T. 9isher Un+in, 19$&7, appendi. 1, p. 08(F 8Pro"ramme of the 3ational Party8, in Bl*nt, 0ecret 1istory , appendi. %, p. %%8. 8. 2le.ander <chKlch, Egypt for the Egyptians@ The 0ocio'$olitical Crisis in Egypt 1 ! '1 B , pp. 181:(. 9. 2!d al:4ahman al:5a!arti, Ta'ri/h &uddat al'faransis (i'Misr , pp. &:1&. 1$. 2!* al:9*t*h 4ad+an, Ta'ri/h Mat(a8at Bula2 6Cairo: al:Mat!aSa al:2miriyya, 19%#7, pp. 00':&9. 11. 4ad+an, Ta'ri/h , pp. %':&0. 1(. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , pp. #1:(. 1#. Tahta+i, Manahi6 al'al(a( al'&isriyya, fi &a(ahi6 al'ada( al'asriyya , p. (#1. 9or the same theme in >ttoman political +ritin", see <erif Mardin, The #enesis of Moung Otto&an Thought 6Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19'(7, pp. 9%:1$(. 10. 2!d al:4ahman 1!n Ghald*n, Mu2addi&at "(n =haldun , ed. ). H*atremPre, 1: '%F cf. The Mu2addi&ah@ +n "ntroduction to 1istory , trans. 9ran? 4osenthal, 1: 81:(. 1%. 1!n Ghald*n, =ita( al'i(ar wa'diwan al'&u(tada' wa'l'/ha(ar etc., ed. 3asr al:C*rini, & vols. 6B*la-, 18'&7. Lol*me 1 68The M*-addima87 and vol*mes ' and & 6dealin" +ith the history of 3orth 2frica7 had appeared in print sli"htly earlier, in editions p*!lished !y 9rench scholars in the 18%$s. Lol*me 1 is translated into )n"lish in three vol*mes !y 9ran? 4osenthal as The Mu22adi&ah@ +n "ntroduction to 1istory . 1'. 2hmad Taym*r, Tara6i& a8yan al'2arn al'thalith ashar wa'awa'il al'ra(i8 ashar 6Cairo: Mat!aSat 2!d al:Camid 2hmad Canafi, 190$7, p. 108F 2no*ar 2!del:Malek, "d7ologie et renaissance nationale@ l'Egypte &oderne , p. #88. 1&. 1!n Ghald*n, Mu2addi&at "(n =haldun , ed. ). H*atremPre, p. '%. 18. Cis st*dents +rote the te.t!ooks of 2ra!ic literat*re and "rammar that +ere to !e *sed in "overnment schools for more than a "enerationF his lect*res +ere compiled into t+o m*lti:vol*me +orks, al'9asila al' ada(iyya ila al'ulu& al'ara(iyya , ( vols. 6Cairo: vol. 1, Mat!aSat al:Madaris al:Malikiyya, 18&(:&%F vol. (, Mat!aSat ,adi al:3il, 18&%:&97, and 8Balil al:m*starshid fi fann al:insha88 6Cairo, 189$7, the man*script of +hich +as completed /*st !efore the a*thor8s death !*t never p*!lishedF and he +as an important infl*ence on the +riter 2!d*llah 9ikri 6+ho +as later Minister of )d*cation and dele"ate to the <tockholm >rientalist Con"ress7 and on a n*m!er of ma/or )"yptian poets, incl*din" al:Bar*di, 2hmad <ha+-i and Cafi? 1!rahim 62!d al:5a+ad, Marsafi , pp. 8(:91, 11&:19F Carl Brockelmann, #eschichte der +ra(ischen Literatur 6Aeiden, 190#:097, s*pplement (: &(&7. 19. <ee Charles Pellat, 8Lariations s*r le thPme de l8ada!8, in his Etudes sur l'histoire socio'culturelle de l'"sla& 6Aondon: Larior*m 4eprints, 19&'7. ($. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 10$. (1. i(id . p. #. ((. i(id . pp. 8%:', 1#1, for references to 9rench a*thors. (#. i(id . pp. &%:9. (0. i(id . pp. 1', 11(, 11', 1(', 10$. (%. i(id . pp. 11(:1#, 10(, 1((:#. ('. i(id . pp. 1(%:8. ($. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 10$. (1. i(id . p. #. ((. i(id . pp. 8%:', 1#1, for references to 9rench a*thors. (#. i(id . pp. &%:9. (0. i(id . pp. 1', 11(, 11', 1(', 10$. (%. i(id . pp. 11(:1#, 10(, 1((:#. ('. i(id . pp. 1(%:8. ($. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 10$. (1. i(id . p. #.

144

((. i(id . pp. 8%:', 1#1, for references to 9rench a*thors. (#. i(id . pp. &%:9. (0. i(id . pp. 1', 11(, 11', 1(', 10$. (%. i(id . pp. 11(:1#, 10(, 1((:#. ('. i(id . pp. 1(%:8. ($. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 10$. (1. i(id . p. #. ((. i(id . pp. 8%:', 1#1, for references to 9rench a*thors. (#. i(id . pp. &%:9. (0. i(id . pp. 1', 11(, 11', 1(', 10$. (%. i(id . pp. 11(:1#, 10(, 1((:#. ('. i(id . pp. 1(%:8. ($. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 10$. (1. i(id . p. #. ((. i(id . pp. 8%:', 1#1, for references to 9rench a*thors. (#. i(id . pp. &%:9. (0. i(id . pp. 1', 11(, 11', 1(', 10$. (%. i(id . pp. 11(:1#, 10(, 1((:#. ('. i(id . pp. 1(%:8. ($. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 10$. (1. i(id . p. #. ((. i(id . pp. 8%:', 1#1, for references to 9rench a*thors. (#. i(id . pp. &%:9. (0. i(id . pp. 1', 11(, 11', 1(', 10$. (%. i(id . pp. 11(:1#, 10(, 1((:#. ('. i(id . pp. 1(%:8. ($. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 10$. (1. i(id . p. #. ((. i(id . pp. 8%:', 1#1, for references to 9rench a*thors. (#. i(id . pp. &%:9. (0. i(id . pp. 1', 11(, 11', 1(', 10$. (%. i(id . pp. 11(:1#, 10(, 1((:#. ('. i(id . pp. 1(%:8. (&. <alim Ghalil al:3a--ash, Misr li'l'&isriyyin , 9 vols. 6vols. 1 to # never p*!lished7 62le.andria: Mat!aSat 5aridat al:Mahr*sa, 18807, &: 000:%. (8. Encyclopaedia of "sla& , ne+ edition, % vols., prepared !y a n*m!er of leadin" >rientalists 6Aeiden: ). 5. Brill, Aondon: A*?ac and Co., 19'$: 7, #: %10. (9. Michel 9o*ca*lt, The Order of Things@ +n +rchaeology of the 1u&an 0ciences , pp. (1&:#0#. #$. 9riedrich Ma. MIller, Lectures on the 0cience of Language 6Aondon: Aon"man, 18'17, pp. (%:'. #1. )rnest 4enan, 8Be l8ori"ine d* lan"a"e8 618087, Oeu*res co&pl;tes , 8: 11. #(. ,illiam B+i"ht ,hitney, Oriental and Linguistic 0tudies , ( vols. 63e+ Dork: <cri!ner, 2rmstron" and Co., 18&#7, (: #0&. ##. 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, Transactions of the 3inth Congress, LondonP I'1B 0epte&(er 1 JB , ed. ). Belmar Mor"an, 1: 9. #0. 4enan, Oeu*res co&pl;tes , 8: #&:8. #%. Michel BrMal, Essai de s7&anti2ueA 0cience des significations 6Paris: Cachette, 1899F 1st ed. 189&7 p. (&9F cf. Cans 2arsleff, 8BrMal vs. <chleicher: 4eorientations in lin"*istics in the latter half of the nineteenth cent*ry8 in Fro& Loc/e to 0aussure@ Essays on the 0tudy of Language and "ntellectual 1istory 6Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 198(7, p. (9'. #'. Michel BrMal, 8Aes idMes latentes d* lan"a"e8 618'87, in M7langes de &ythologie et de linguisti2ue 6Paris: Cachette, 18&&7, p. #(1F cf. 2arsleff, 8BrMal vs. <chleicher8, pp. #$':&. #&. Michel BrMal, 8Be la forme et fonction des mots8, in M7langes , p. (09, cited 2arsleff, 8BrMal vs. <chleicher8, p. (9&. #8. Cf. 2arsleff, 8BrMal vs. <chleicher8. #9. Michel BrMal, 8Aa lan"a"e et les nationalitMs8, :e*ue des deux &ondes 1$8 61st Becem!er 18917: '19, cited 2arsleff, 8BrMal vs. <chleicher8, p. #80. 0$. BrMal, 8Aes idMes latentes8, in M7langes , p. #((. 01. @il!ert Belano*e, Moralistes et politi2ues &usul&ans dans l'Egypte du G"Ge si7cle O1!J '1 BP , (: #&1. 0(. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 0. 9or the follo+in" disc*ssion, see MonJef Chelli, La parole ara(e@ une th7orie de la relati*it7 des cultures , pp. 0':'&. 0#. @eoffrey Cartman, 0a*ing the Text@ Literature>-errida>$hilosophy 6Baltimore: 5ohns Copkins University Press, 19817, p. ..i. 00. 9erdinand de <a*ss*re, Course in #eneral Linguistics , trans. ,ade Baskin 63e+ Dork: Philosophical Ai!riary, 19%97, pp. '':&. 0%. 5ac-*es Berrida, Of #ra&&atology , trans. @ayatri Chakravorty <pivak 6Baltimore: The 5ohns Copkins University Press, 19&07. 0'. 5ac-*es Berrida, 0peech and $heno&ena, and other essays of 1usserl's Theory of 0igns F Terry )a"leton, Literary Theory 6>.ford: Basil Black+ell, 198#7, pp. 1(&:8. 0&. Berrida, 0peech and $heno&ena , p. %$F and 8Bifferance8, in Margins of $hilosophy , pp. 1:(&. 08. Berrida, 0peech and $heno&ena , p. %(.

145

09. Chelli, La parole ara(e , pp. #%:0%. %$. Cf. 5ac-*es Berrida, 8<i"nat*re event conte.t8, in Margins of $hilosophy , pp. #$&:#$. %1. 1!n Ghald*n, Mu2addi&ah , trans. 4osenthal, (: #%'. %(. Cf. 1!n Ghald*n, Mu2addi&at "(n =haldun , ed. H*atremPre, #: (0( line %, (0# lines #:0. %#. Cf. 1!n Ghald*n, Mu2addi&ah , trans. 4osenthal, #: %%:&%. %0. i(id . #: #1'. %%. i(id . #: #1'. %'. i(id . #: (9(. %#. Cf. 1!n Ghald*n, Mu2addi&ah , trans. 4osenthal, #: %%:&%. %0. i(id . #: #1'. %%. i(id . #: #1'. %'. i(id . #: (9(. %#. Cf. 1!n Ghald*n, Mu2addi&ah , trans. 4osenthal, #: %%:&%. %0. i(id . #: #1'. %%. i(id . #: #1'. %'. i(id . #: (9(. %#. Cf. 1!n Ghald*n, Mu2addi&ah , trans. 4osenthal, #: %%:&%. %0. i(id . #: #1'. %%. i(id . #: #1'. %'. i(id . #: (9(. %&. cf. 4ichard ,. B*lliet, The $atricians of 3ishapur. + 0tudy in Medie*al "sla&ic 0ocial 1istory 6Cam!rid"e: Cam!rid"e University Press, 19&(7, pp. 09, %&. %8. M*hsin Mahdi, "(n =haldun's $hilosophy of 1istory 6Chica"o: University of Chica"o Press, 19%&F Phoeni. ed., 19'07. %9. <chKlch, Egypt for the Egyptians , pp. 181, #08. '$. The )arl of Cromer, in @reat Britain, 9orei"n >ffice, Further Correspondence :especting the +ffairs of Egypt no. #%, >cto!er:Becem!er 189$ 6Aondon: 9orei"n >ffice, 18917, p. ((. '1. Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , 1: (0&F see also 1: %($. '(. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , pp. 11, 9#, 10(. '#. 4ashid 4ida, Ta'ri/h al'ustadh al'i&a& Muha&&ad +(duh , 1: #$:1. '0. Coma Pakdaman, -6a&al ed'-in +ssad +(adi dit +fghani 6Paris: Maisonne*ve et Aarose, 19'97, pp. 0':&, 09. '%. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 9#. ''. <ee for e.ample al:2f"hani, cited in Pakdaman, -6a&al ed'-in , p. 0&. '&. <ee for e.ample Tahta+i, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , 1: (0&. '8. Marsafi, al'=ali& al'tha&an , p. 9#. '9. M*hammad Ma/di, Tha&aniyata ashar yaw&an (i'sa8id Misr, sanat 1H1C 6Cairo: Mat!aSt al: Ma+s*Sat, 1#19h7, p. 0(. &$. i(id . p. %$. '9. M*hammad Ma/di, Tha&aniyata ashar yaw&an (i'sa8id Misr, sanat 1H1C 6Cairo: Mat!aSt al: Ma+s*Sat, 1#19h7, p. 0(. &$. i(id . p. %$. &1. Cromer, Modern Egypt , (: (%&, ('$. &(. i(id . (: 1#1. &#. i(id . (: #(1, emphasis added. &1. Cromer, Modern Egypt , (: (%&, ('$. &(. i(id . (: 1#1. &#. i(id . (: #(1, emphasis added. &1. Cromer, Modern Egypt , (: (%&, ('$. &(. i(id . (: 1#1. &#. i(id . (: #(1, emphasis added.

Ch%pte$ 1 The Philosophy o" the Thing

1. 2ndrM Ma*rois, Lyautey , pp. #19:($. (. 5anet A. 2!*:A*"hod, :a(at@ )r(an +partheid in Morocco 6Princeton: Princeton University Press, 198$7, p. 1%(. #. <teven T. 4osenthal, 8M*nicipal reform in 1stan!*l 18%$:18&$: the impact of tan?imat on >ttoman affairs8 6Ph.B. dissertation, Dale University, 19&07, pp. %(:''. 0. M*hammad 9arid ,a/di, al'"sla& wa'"'&adaniyya, aw, tat(i2 al'diyana al'isl&niffa ala nawa&is al' &adaniyya 6Cairo: (nd ed., n.p., 19$0F 1st ed., al:Mat!aSa al:Uthmaniyya, 18987, p. 0. %. Ma*rois, Lyautey , pp. (%(:#. '. i(id . p. #1'. %. Ma*rois, Lyautey , pp. (%(:#. '. i(id . p. #1'. &. Cenri Pieron, 8Ae Caire: <on esthMti-*e dans la ville ara!e et dans la ville moderne8, L'Egypte Conte&poraine % 65an*ary 19117: %1(. 8. <ee the disc*ssion of this theme in Michael @ilsenan, :ecogni%ing "sla&@ :eligion and 0ociety in the Modern +ra( 9orld , pp. 19(:(10, and in 2!*:A*"hod, :a(at , pp. 1#1:9%.

146

9. 2ccordin" to 5anet 2!*:A*"hod, d*rin" the first decade of the t+entieth cent*ry only a!o*t thirty per cent of Cairo8s "ro+th +as d*e to nat*ral increase. >f the remainder, more than a third +as d*e to r*ral in: mi"ration and almost t+o:thirds to the infl*. of )*ropeans 6 Cairo@ 1CC1 Mears of the City 4ictorious , pp. 111: 1%7F cf. 5*stin McCarthy, 83ineteenth:cent*ry )"yptian pop*lation8, Middle East .ournal 1( 619&'7: #1. 1$. Cited in Bent Cansen, 8Prices, +a"es, and land rents: )"ypt 189%:191#8, S 9or/ing $apers in Econo&ics , no. 1#1, Bepartment of )conomics, University of California, Berkeley, >cto!er 19&9, pp. #0:%. 11. 9rant? 9anon, The 9retched of the Earth , trans. Constance 9arrin"ton 6Carmonds+orth: Pen"*in Books, 19&97 pp. (9:#$. 1(. <ee )d+ard ,. <aid, Orientalis& . 1#. 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, Transactions of the 3inth Congress, London, I'1B 0epte&(er 1 JB , ed. ). Belmar Mor"an, 1: 8. 10. i(id . (: 8$%. 1#. 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, Transactions of the 3inth Congress, London, I'1B 0epte&(er 1 JB , ed. ). Belmar Mor"an, 1: 8. 10. i(id . (: 8$%. 1%. Mu2tataf 1& 6189#7: 88, cited 3adia 9ara", 8al:M*-tataf 18&':19$$: a st*dy of the infl*ence of Lictorian tho*"ht on modern 2ra!ic tho*"ht8, p. (0#. 1'. 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, Transactions of the 3inth Congress , 1: #%. 1&. i(id . 1: #':&. 1'. 1nternational Con"ress of >rientalists, Transactions of the 3inth Congress , 1: #%. 1&. i(id . 1: #':&. 18. 2s in chapter %, these ar"*ments are inde!ted to the +ork of 5ac-*es Berrida. 19. al'Mu2tataf 1( 618887: #1', cited 9ara", 8al:M*-tataf8, p. (0#. ($. al'Mu2tataf 1& 6189#7: 88F cf. <adik 5alal al:S2?m, 8>rientalism and >rientalism in reverse8, =ha&sin 8 6Aondon: 1thaca Press, 19817, pp. %:('. (1. 5*r/i Taydan, Ta'ri/h Misr al'hadith 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:M*-tataf, 18897F and al'Ta'ri/h al'a&& 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:M*-tataf, 189$7, of +hich only the first vol*me, the ancient and modern history of 2sia and 2frica 6dealin" for all e.cept t+o pa"es +ith )"ypt7 +as ever p*!lished. ((. 5*r/i Taydan, Ta'ri/h al'ta&addun al'isla&i , % vols. 6Cairo: Bar al:Cilal, 19$1:'F reprint ed., 19%87, 1: 1(, 1#:10. <ee also Ae+is ,are, 85*r/i Taydan: the role of pop*lar history in the formation of a ne+ 2ra! +orld vie+8 6Ph.B. dissertation, Princeton University, 19&#7, pp. 181:9(, 19&:($0. (#. al'1ilal ': 1$9, 1%: 18, cited ,are, 85*r/i Taydan8, pp. 1$9, 1%9. (0. Critical essays +ere collected and p*!lished !y 4ashid 4ida in "nti2ad /ita( ta'ri/h al'ta&addun al' isla&i 6Cairo: Mat!aSat al:Manar, 191(7. (%. <ee for e.ample the revie+ of his +ork !y de @oe/e in .ournal asiati2ue 1$: # 619$07. 2mon" his friends and ac-*aintances +ere the >rientalists 3oldecke, ,ellha*sen, @old?ieher, ,ri"ht, MacBonald and Mar"olio*th. <ee Taydan, Ta'ri/h al'ta&uddun , 1: 9, and B. <. Mar"olio*th, trans., )&ayyads and 8+((asids , !ein" the 0th part of 5*r/i Taydan8s history of 1slamic civilisation 6Aeiden: ). 5. Brill, 19$&7, p. .iv. ('. The only serio*s "eneral history of 1slam +ritten !y then in )*rope +as 2*"*st MIler8s -er "sla& in Morgen'und +(endland 6Berlin: @rote, 188%:8&7F 2lfred von Gremer8s Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen 6Lienna: ,. Bra*mIller, 18&%:&&7 had !een *sed as a so*rce !y Taydan !*t +as not availa!le in )n"lish. <erio*s +orks in )n"lish on 1slamic history dealt only +ith the lives of M*hammad and the first fo*r caliphs: B. <. Mar"olio*th, Muha&&ad and the :ise of "sla& 619$%7F and <ir ,illiam M*ir, Life of Muha&&ad 618'17 and +nnals of the Early Caliphate 6Aondon: <mith, )lder and Co., 188#7. (&. Ta'ri/h ada( al'lugha al'ara(iyya . <ee M*hammad 2!d al:5a+ad, +l'0hay/h al'1usayn i(n +h&ad al' Marsafi@ al'ustadh al'awwal li'l'ulu& al'ada(iyya (i'-ar al')lu& 6Cairo: Bar al:MaSarif, 19%(7, p. 81. (8. 5*r/i Taydan, Ta'ri/h ada( al'lugha al'ara(iyya , 1: 8. (9. Thomas Philipp, #urgi Laydan@ 1is Life and 9or/ 6Beir*t: >rient:1nstit*t der Be*tshe Mor"enl\nd @esellschaft, 19&97, p. 00. #$. Bernard Cohen disc*sses a similar process of penetration in colonial 1ndia, and relates it in a similar +ay to the lar"er process of or"anisin" an e.hi!ition of colonial a*thority: 84epresentin" a*thority in Lictorian 1ndia8 in )ric Co!s!a+m and Terence 4an"er, eds., The "n*ention of Tradition 6Cam!rid"e: Cam!rid"e University Press, 198#7, pp. 1'%:($9. #1. >n insane asyl*ms see the thesis !y Marilyn Mayers, 82 cent*ry of psychiatry: the )"yptian mental hospital8 6Ph.B. dissertation, Princeton University, 198(7. #(. The )arl of Cromer, Modern Egypt , (: %%':&. 8The schoolmaster is a!road8 +as the famo*s phrase of the Benthamite reformer Aord Bro*"ham, +hose pro/ects 8for the diff*sion of *sef*l kno+led"e8 1 have referred to in earlier chapters. ##. Cromer, Modern Egypt , (: (8$. #0. Michel 9o*ca*lt, 8T+o Aect*res8 in $ower>=nowledge@ 0elected "nter*iews and Other 9ritings, 1J!B' 1J!! , pp. 1$0:%. #%. Ma*rois, Lyautey , p. #($. #'. 9or the follo+in" disc*ssion, see 4ichard 4orty, $hilosophy and the Mirror of 3ature . #&. Cf. 1!n Ghald*n, Mu2addi&at "(n =haldun , ed. ). H*atremPre. #8. 8Bisco*rse on the method8, in Bescartes, $hilosophical 9ritings , trans. and ed. )li?a!eth 2nscom!e and Peter Thomas @each, rev. ed. 6Aondon: Thomas 3elson, 19&$7, pp. 1%:1'.

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4aymond, 2ndrM, +rtisans et co&&er<ants au Caire au G4"""e si;cle , ( vols. Bamasc*s: 1nstit*t franJais de Bamas, 19&#. #randes *illes ara(es D l'7po2ue otto&ane . Paris: <ind!ad, 198%. 4enan, )rnest, 8Be l8ori"ine d* lan"a"e8 618087, Oeu*res co&pl7tes , ed. Cenriette Psichari, 1$ vols. Paris: Calmann:AMvy, 190&R . 4ida, 4ashid, Ta'ri/h al'ustadh al'i&a& Muha&&ad 8+(duh , # vols. Cairo: Mat!a8at al:Manar, 1#(0R%$h 619$'R#17. 4ivlin, Celen, The +gricultural $olicy of Muha&&ad +li in Egypt . Cam!rid"e: Carvard University Press, 19'1. 4orty, 4ichard, $hilosophy and the Mirror of 3ature . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19&9. <aid, )d+ard, Orientalis& . 3e+ Dork: Pantheon, 19&8. <t 5ohn, Bayle, 4illage Life in Egypt , ( vols. Aondon: Chapman and Call, 18%(F reprint ed., 3e+ Dork: 2rno Press, 19&#. <ami, 2min, al'Ta8li& fi Misr fi sanatay 1J1KR1J1I, wa'(ayan tafsili li'nashr al' ta8li& al'awwali wa'l'i(tida'i (i'anhaS al'diyar al'&isriyya . Cairo: Mat!aSat al:MaSarif, 191'. Ta2wi& al'3il, wa'as&a' &an tawallaw a&r Misr &a8a &uddat hu/&ihi& 8alayha wa &ulaha%at ta'ri/hiyya 8an ahwal al'/hilafa al8a&&a wa shu'un Misr al' /hassa . Cairo: Mat!aSat Bar al:G*t*! al:Misriyya, 19#'. <ammarco, 2n"elo, 1istoire de l'Egypte &oderne depuis Moha&&ad +li 6us2u'D l'occupation (ritanni2ue O1 C1R1 BP , vol. #: Le r;gne du /h7di*e "s&a,l de 1 EH D 1 !I . Cairo: <ociMtM 4oyale de @Mo"raphie d8)"ypte, 19#&. <an*si al:T*nisi, M*hammad al:, al'"stitla8at al'(arisiyya fi &a8rad sanat 1 T*nis, 1#$9h. J.

<arr*f, DaS-*!, 0irr al'na6ah . Beir*t, 188$. 2 translation of <am*el <miles, 0elf' 1elp, with "llustrations of Conduct and $erse*erence , &(nd impression, +ith an 1ntrod*ction !y 2sa Bri""s. Aondon: 5ohn M*rray, 19%8F 1st ed. 18%9. <a*ss*re, 9erdinand de, Course in #eneral Linguistics , trans. ,ade Baskin. 3e+ Dork: Philosophical Ai!rary, 19%9. <chKlch, 2le.ander, Egypt for the Egyptians@ The 0ocio'$olitical Crisis in Egypt 1 ! R1 B . Aondon: 1thaca, 1981. 2 translation of +gypten der +gypternQ -ie politische und gesellschaftliche =rise der .ahre 1 ! R1 B in +gypten , 9rei!*r": 2tlantis, n.d. 619&(7. Taha C*sayn, :uh al'Tar(iya . Cairo: Bar al:Cilal, 19((. 2 translation of @*stave Ae Bon, $sychologie de l'7ducation , 1st ed., 19$0F (nd ed., 8a*"mentM de pl*sie*rs

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chapitres s*r les mMthodes d8Md*cation en 2mMri-*e et s*r l8ensei"nement donnM a*. indi"Pnes des colonies8. Paris: 9lammarion, 191(. Tahta+i, 4ifaSa 4afiS al:, al'+8&al al'/a&ila , 0 vols., vol. 1: al'Ta&addun wa'l' hadara wa'l'8u&ran , vol. (: al'0iyasa wa'l'wataniyya wa'l'tar(iya . Beir*t: al: M*8assasa al:S2ra!iyya li:l:Birasat +a:l:3ashr, 19&#. Mawa2i8 al'afla/ fi wa2a'a'i8 Tili&a/ . Beir*t: al:Mat!aSa al:<*riyya, 18'&. ; (1# ; Manahi6 al'al(a( al'&isriyya, fi &a(ahi6 al'ada( al'8asriyya , (nd printin". Cairo: Mat!aSat <hirkat al:4a"ha8i!, 191(. al'Murshid al'a&in li'l'(anat wa'l'(anin . Cairo: 1(89h 618&( #7. ?ala'id al'&afa/hir fi ghari( 8awa'id al'awa'il wa'l'awa/hir . B*la-: Bar al: Ta!aSa, 18##. 2 translation of @eor" Bernhard Beppin", +per<u histori2ue sur les &oeurs et coutu&es des nations . Contenant le ta!lea* comparM che? les divers pe*ples anciens et modernes, des *sa"es et des cMrMmonies concernant 18ha!itation, la no*rrit*re, 18ha!illement, les marria"es, les f*nMrailles, les /e*., les f]tes, les "*erres, les s*perstitions, les castes, etc., etc. Paris: A8)ncyclopedie Portative, 18('. Toc-*eville, 2le.is de, 83otes d* voya"e en 2l"Mrie de 18018, Oeu*res co&pl7tes , "en. ed. 5. P. Mayer, vol. %, 4oyages en +ngleterre, "rlande, 0uisse et +lg7rie , ed. 5. P. Mayer and 2ndrM 5ardin. Paris: @allimard, 19%8. T*cker, 5*dith )., 9o&en in 3ineteenth'Century Egypt . Cam!rid"e: Cam!rid"e University Press, 198%. T*s*n, SUmar, al'Bi8that al'8il&iyya fi 8ahd Muha&&ad +li thu&&a fi 8ahday 8+((as al'awwal wa'0a8id . 2le.andria: Mat!aSat <alah al:Bin, 19#0. SUmar, M*hammad, 1adir al'&isriyyin aw sirr ta'a/h/hurihi& . Cairo: Mat!aSat al: M*-tataf, 19$(. ,e!er, Ma., 8 U>!/ectivityU in social science and social policy8, in The Methodology of the 0ocial 0ciences , trans. and ed. )d+ard 2. <hils and Cenry 2. 9inch. 3e+ Dork: The 9ree Press, 1909, pp. 09R11(. Ta"hl*l, 2hmad 9athi, :uh al'i6ti&a8 . Cairo: Mat!aSat al:<haS!, 19$9. 2 translation of @*stave Ae Bon, $sychologie des foules . Paris: 9eli. 2lcan, 189%. 0irr ta2addun al'in/li% al'sa/suniyyin . Cairo: Mat!aSat al:MaSarif, 1899. 2 translation of )dmond Bemolins, + 2uoi tient la sup7riorit7 des +nglo'0axons . Paris: Ai!raire de Paris, 189&. 0irr tatawwur al'u&a& . Cairo: Mat!aSat al:MaSrif, 191#. 2 translation of @*stave Ae Bon, Lois psychologi2ues de l'7*olution des peuples , 1(th ed. Paris: 9eli. 2lcan, 191'.

154

Ta+ahiri, 2hmad al:, al'8"l& wa'l'8ula&a' wa'ni%a& al'ta8li& . Tanta: al:Mat!aSa al:SUm*miyya, 19$0. Taydan, 5*r/i, Ta'ri/h ada( al'lugha al'8ara(iyya , 0 vols. Cairo: Bar al:Cilal, 1910. Ta'ri/h al'ta&addun al'isla&i , % vols. Cairo: Bar al:Cilal, 19$1R'F reprint ed. 19%8. ; (10 ;

In(e*
A
2!!as Pasha, &0 2!d*llah 3adim, 1%# +(u al'na%%ara al'%ar2aN , (' ada( , 1#% :' 2dorno, Theodor, & 2f"hani, 5amal al:Bin al:, 1%% , 190 n81 a"ric*lt*re, #0 :%, 0$ :#, &% , 1&% F see also cotton c*ltivation, lando+nership, villa"es 2le.andria, #0 , 1$9 F !om!ardment of, 1(8 2li M*!arak, '# :%, '8 , &1 , &0 , 80 :%, 9# , 1$8 2llo*la, Malek, (' 2merican University in Beir*t, 1$8 :9 army, 10 , #% :0$, 1%# , 1&0 , 18' n(1 a*thor, concept of, 100 , 1%$ :(, 1%0 , 1%% , 1%8 F see also a*thority, +ritin" a*thority: ne+ methods of, 1% , 1$0 , 1(8 :9, 1%0 , 1%8 :'$, 1&1 , 1&9 F

155

in school, &$ , 1&% F te.t*al, 1% , 1#( :#, 1#% , 1%$ :# 2yro*t, Cenry Ca!i!, 9( :# al:2?har, ( , 8$ :%, 1#( :#, 1#%

<
Bar*di, Mahm*d <ami al:, 1#1 Ben/amin, ,alter, 1% , 18 ,110 Bentham, 5eremy, (0 , ## , 0$ Berardi, 4o!erto, %' !ody: notion of, 10 , 19 , 9% , 1$$ :(, 1%0 :9, 1&1 F and e.ercise of po+er, 9# :0, 9% :1$$F see also materiality, mind Boyle, Carry, 11( Bo*rdie*, Pierre, (8 , 08 :%1, %# , %% , '$ :1, 9# , 1'& , 1&# :0, 19% n8& Bo+rin", 5ohn, 0$ , 0( , 0' BrMal, Michel, 10$ :1, 10# Bri"anda"e Commissions, 9& Britain, occ*pation of )"ypt !y, 10 , 1% , 1' , #% , 9% :', 9& :8, 1$$ , 1$0 , 1$9 , 111 :1(, 11' , 11& :18, 1(( , 1(8 :#1, 1#8 , 1%' , 1%& :9, 1'' , 1'8 , 1'9 , 1&% F see also colonialism Brockelmann, Carl, 1&$

C
cafMs, 1 , 1( , 11& , 119 , 1'( , 199 n88 Cairo: attempts to represent, 1 , ' , (& , (9 :#$F pre:modern, %0 :', 1&0 F modern, 1& , '# , '% :8, 11% , 11& :19, 1%' , 1'# :0, ($% n9

156

capitalism, re-*irements of, #0 :%, 0$ :#, &% , 9' :8, 1#% , 1'' F see also commerce, commodity fetishism, cotton c*ltivation, lando+nership Casa!lanca, 1'1 , 1'( , 1'# certainty, & , 1# , 1% , (# , #1 , %1 , 1(9 :#$, 1%$ , 1&1 , 1&% , 1&& :9F see also a*thority, representation, tr*th Cham!er of Bep*ties, &% :', 9$ character, 1$1 :(, 1$0 :10, 1'8 , 1&' , 19' n1#F see also ind*strio*sness, mind, self cities: pre:modern, %# :', 1&8 , 188 n'%F and pro!lem of representation, (& , #( :#, %' :9F and Bescartes, 1&& :8F and colonial order, '# , '% :8, 1'1 :%, 1&1 F see also Cairo, 4a!at Chelli, MonJef, 108 :9 Chevalier, Michel, 1' colonialism: methods of, 1% :1', ## , 1(' :&, 1%& :9, 1'% :&, 1'& :8, 1&1 , 1&% , 1&8 :9F as essence of modern po+er, 1# , 10 , #% , 9% , 1&1 F and e.hi!itions, 8 :9F and li!eralism, 11' F and >rientalism, & , 1#8 :0$F and Toc-*eville, %& :8F see also Britain, capitalism, discipline, order, po+er commerce, transformation of, 1$ :1(, 1% , 98 :9, 11' commodity fetishism, 18 :19 comm*nication: and capitalism, 1' F

157

and imperial po+er, 1(9 :#$, 1#1 F and nat*re of lan"*a"e, 10$ :1, 10# :0, 1%$ :1, 1%8 concept*al realm, effect of, &9 , 1(' , 1&1 , 1&( :#, 1&& :9F in lin"*istic theory, 10# :%$F see also enframin", str*ct*re, materality, mind cotton c*ltivation, promotion of, 1% :1', 1& , 0$ :1, 9' Cromer, )arl of, 9% :', 9& , 1$0 , 111 , 1%& :9, 1&% , 1&' cro+ds, #& :8, 0$ , '0 , 110 :1&, 119 :('F see also disorder c*lt*re, concept of, '1 :(, 1$1 , 1$0 :%F and ; (1% ; pre:colonial society, %# :0, '$ :1, 1&0 F and lin"*istic theory, 1#8 , 10$ :1, 109 F see also mind, society, str*ct*re c*riosity, ( :%

:
Ba"*erre, Ao*is, (0 Bar al:Ul*m, 1#1 , 1#% Bar+inism, 1$8 :9 Bemolins, )dmond, 11$ :11 department stores, 1$ :1( Beppin", @eor" Bernhard, 1$' :& Berrida, 5ac-*es, %$ , 100 :', 108 :9, 181 n(' Bescartes, 4enM, 1&& :8

158

-escription de l'Egypte , #1 , 0' , 1'8 difference: as principle of order, 09 :%$, %% , '$ :1, 1&# :0, 1&& F as possi!ility of lan"*a"e, 100 :', 108 :9F and colonial order, 1'# :&, 1&1 Bi/+i, Casan Ta+fi- al:, 111 Binsha+ai, 1(( discipline: military, #& :0$F school, &$ :1, &# :0, 1$1 :(F as method of po+er, 10 , #0 :%, 0$ :(, 9# :0, 1$0 , 1(% , 1(' :&, 1&% :'F of )*ropeans, 1$ :11, '# :0, '8 , 88 F and 1slamic movements, 1(% , 1&1 F and li!eralism, 11% :1', 1(1 F and Mar., 19 F and nationalism, 119 , 1(1 , 1#( F and +omen8s role, 11( :1# -iscours de la &7thode , 1&& :8 disease, 11& :18F theories of, '% :&, 98 :9, 1$# , 19' n10F see also l*nacy disorder: of *r!an life, 1 , (1 , (& , '0 , '8 , 110 , 11& :18F in co*ntryside, 9& :8F in society, 11$ , 11# F in al:2?har, &9 :8(F in +ritten te.ts, 10( F see also order

159

Bor, L. )do*ard, 1nspector:@eneral of <chools, &9 , 81 , 1$% , 1$8 B* Camp, Ma.ime, (( B*fferin, the Mar-*ess of, 1'' B*rkheim, )mile, 1(1 :(, 1(# , 1(% :&, 101

E
ed*cation: concept of, 8% , 8& :9, 1$1 :(, 1%' :&F military, #9 :0$F ne+ methods of, '# , '0 :%, '8 :9, '9 :&1, &1 :0, &% :9F and traditional learnin", 8( :%, 8% :&F necessity of, 9( :#F as political process, 10 , #% , 119 , 1($ :(, 1(% , 1#( , 1%' :&, 1'8 , 1'9 :&1, 1&% F and lan"*a"e, 1%# F of poor, 11& , 118 F of +omen, 11# F see also al:2?har, Aancaster method, la+, *niversity, +ritin" elite, theory of, 1(# :% Encyclopaedia of "sla& , 1#8 enframin", 00 , %0 :%, %% :', 9( :0, 109 , 1&' , 1&8 :9, 188 n%1F see also frame+ork, str*ct*re Essay on Eight 9ords , 1#1 :(, 1#0 :&, 10( :#, 1%0 , ($( n' ethno"raphy, (# , (' , (& , (8 F as political process, 1$0 :&, 1'% :' e.hi!itions, 1 , 0 , 8 , 1$ , 1' , #1 , '# , 11$ , 110 F 2ra!ic acco*nts of, ' :9, 18$ n10F and capitalism, 1$ , 1% , 1' :1&, 18 F

160

and nat*re of modernity, ( :0, ' :1$, 1$ :1#, ($ , 1&( :#, 1&8 , 1&9 F >rient "rasped as, (( , (& :8, (9 , 1'8 F and colonial order, 1'1 :#, 1'8 , 1&1 F and Cartesian theory, 1&&

F
fairs, s*ppression of, 98 :9 9anon, 9rant?, 1'0 fashion, 1% , 1(' 9Mnelon, 9ranJois de la Mothe:, &% , 1$& festivals, see fairs 9e?, 1'( 9la*!ert, @*stave, (1 :(, (& , #$ 9o*ca*lt, Michel, #% , 0' , 9# , 9% , 1$# , 1&0 , 1&' frame+ork, ne+ effect of, #8 , 00 :', &8 :9, 9# :0F s*pposed a!sence of, ## , %$ , %( :#, 8( :#, 1&0 :%, 1&8 F see also enframin", str*ct*re 9rance, occ*pation of )"ypt !y, (9 , #% , #& , 0' , 1## , 1'8 9re*d, <i"m*nd, 1(% , ($1 n110 fillin", concept of, %1 , %# :0 f*nctionalism, 0% , 09 , %9

7
@atlin" "*n, 1(8 :9 @a*tier, ThMophile, (' , (8 , (9 :#$ "a?e: of )*ropeans, ( :0, 9 , 19 :($, (1 :(, (0 :'F in villa"e life, 8' , 99 :1$$

161

@Mrard de 3erval, (( , (' , (& , (9 :#$, #1 @ilsenan, Michael, 8' , 9% , 188 n%(, ($% n8 @ladstone, ,illiam, 1'' @raves, 4o!ert, #1 "*ide!ooks, 1$ , ($ , (0 , 89 , 1'8

;
Carco*rt, B*c d8, 11( :1# Casan Ta+fi-, 1&$ Ceide""er, Martin, & , 1# , 108 al'1ilal , 1'9 , 1&$ historio"raphy, )"yptian, 1(# , 1'9 :&1 hi%( , 1#& :8

I
1!n Ghald*n, %# :0, %9 , 1#0 :&, 109 :%&, 1&1 1!rahim 2dham, (' , '8 , '9 , &0 1!rahim Pasha, 0 , 00 identity, see self indolence, see ind*strio*sness ind*strio*sness, 10 :1%, 0$ , 0& :8, '0 , 9' , 1$1 :(, 119 , 1&' F a!sence of, 1$% :11, 11' F in Mar., 19 ; (1' ; insanity, see l*nacy inspection: in e.hi!itions, 1' :1&F in schools, &$ :1, &# :0, 1$1 F

162

as political techni-*e, #0 , 0$ :1, '& , 9% :', 1$0 , 1&% instit*tions: 8a!sence8 of, %9 , 189 n&0F ne+ effect of, 1'( :# interior: ne+ effect of, 1'' :&F in pre:colonial society, %$ , %% :', %' :8, 1&0 F political need to penetrate, 0' , '& , 9# , 98 F and concept of person, 1%% :&, 1&' , 1&& :8F and concept of +ritin", 108 1sma8il, Ghedive, 0 , 1& , (' , '% , '8 , &1 , &0 , &% , 11' , 1#0 , 19$ n0 1stan!*l, 1& , #( , #% , 1%% , 1'( , 19$ n0

?
5a!arti, 2!d al:4ahman al:, #& , 1## 5apan, 1$9 :1$ 5a+ish, 2!d al:2?i?, 89 , 1$1

>
Ga!yle ho*se, 08 :%#, %% , 9# , 1'& , 1&# :0 Gafr al:Tayat, 00 Gin"lake, 2le.ander, #$ Gitchener, Colonel Cer!ert, 9&

L
Aam!ert, Charles, ## Aancaster method, '9 :&1, &0 , 89 , 1$1 lando+nership, private, 1' , 0# , 00 , &% , 9' :8 Aane, )d+ard ,illiam, (# , (0 , (' , (& , (8 :9, #1 , 1$% :' lan"*a"e: *se of, '0 , 8( :&, 1#& :8, 10( :0, 10' :9F

163

theories of, 1#8 :0(, 100 :', 10' :9, 1%$ :(F transformation of, 1#1 , 1%# :0 la+: practice of, 8( :%, 19# n'F as code, 1$$ :1, 1(' Ae Bon, @*stave, 1(( :%, 1'8 , 1'9 , 1&$ Aesseps, 9erdinand de, 1& li!eralism, 11% :1', 1(1 al'Liwa' , 89 , 1$9 , 1%' A*!!ert, )mile:T., ## l*nacy, 11& :18, 1(% , 1&% , ($& n#1 Aya*tey, Marshal, 9& , 1'1 :#, 1&( , 1&& , 1&8

M
machine: as ne+ ima"e of political po+er, #& :8, 0& :8, &1 , 9( :#, 9& , 1(' :&, 1#1 , 1%0 , 1%& :9F the person as, 99 :1$$, 1%' :9, 1&8 F +ritin" *nderstood as, 1#1 , 1%# :0, 1%& :8 Mar"olio*th, B. <., 1&$ Marsafi, C*sayn al:, 9$ , 1#1 :&, 10( :0, 1%# , 1%0 , 1&$ , ($# n18 Mar., Garl, 18 :19, (1 materiality: in pre:colonial city, %# , %0 , 188 n'%F ne+ effect of, 9# , 1$$ :1, 1&1 , 1&( :#, 1&' , 1&& :9F in lin"*istic theory, 10# :%$F see also o!/ect, str*ct*re Ma*rois, 2ndrM, 1'1 meanin": and pre:colonial society, %# , %0 , %' :8, '$ :1F ne+ effect of, 1(' :&, 109 :%$, 1%8 :'$, 1'( :#, 1&( :#, 1&9 F

164

in lan"*a"e, 1#8 , 1#9 , 10$ :(, 10( :9F in Ma. ,e!er, '1 :( medical practice, see disease Melville, Cerman, #( :# metaphysical realm, ne+ methods of creatin", 90 , 10' , 109 , 1%& :'$, 1&' F see also materiality, mind, str*ct*re mind: ne+ notion of, 9 , 10 :1%, (1 , 1%8 , 1&& :8F and e.ercise of po+er, 10 :1%, 90 , 9% , 1$$ :1, 1$0 :%, 1$8 :9, 110 , 1(' :&, 1&1 , 1&' , 198 n%#F collective, 1(1 , 1(# :%F as o!/ect of >rientalism, 1#8 :0$F and lin"*istic theory, 10$ :0, 109 F see also !ody, representation, self Modern Egypt , 1%& :9 Morocco, 1'1 :#, 18% n1%, 19# n'% M*hammad 2!d*h, 1(0 :%, 1#% , ($1 n1(0 M*hammad 2li, @overnor of )"ypt, ## , #% , 0( :#, '8 :9, 88 M*hammad 2rif, 9$ , 191 n(% M*hammad Cilmi Tayn al:Bin, 1$$ M*hammad Ma/di, 1%' MIller, 9riedrich Ma., ( , & , 1#9 , 1'% :' al'Mu2addi&a , %# :0 al'Mu2tataf , 1$9 , 1'9 M*slim Brotherhood, 1&1 M*stafa 9adil, 19$ n0 M*stafa Gamil, 1$9

165

M*+ailihi, M*hammad al:, 11'

N
nationalism: emer"ence of, 119 , 1#( F and events of 1881:8(, 11' , 1#1 :(, 1#' :8, 1%' , 1&$ F and historio"raphy, 1(# , 1'9 :&$F and national character, 1$9 :1$, 1(0 F see also nation:state nation:state, 119 F and schoolin", &' , && , 1(1 F a*thority of, 1%0 , 1%& :8, 1&9 F and self:identity, 1'' :& 3e"hileh, 00 ni%a& 6adid, see army, order nostal"ia, disease of, 0( , 0# 3*!ar Pasha, 1$$ , 191 n(%

O
o!/ect, see o!/ect:+orld, thin" o!/ect:+orld: method of settin" *p, % :&, 1% , ($ F >rient "rasped as, (# :8, ## , 1'8 F and pre:colonial +orld, %$ :1, '$ :1F and concept of society, 1($ :1, 1(' F and effect of 8o!/ectivity8, & , 19 :(1, '1 :(F see also materiality, representation, s*!/ect, thin" order: ne+ principle of, 10 , ## , 0$ , '# , '8 , 90 , 118 , 1(' , 1&% , 1&' , 1&8 :9F in army, #' ,

166

; (1& ; #8 , 0$ , 1&0 F in )*rope, 1 , 1( , '# :0, 88 F in model villa"e, 00 :8F in schoolin", '8 , &$ :1, &# :0, &' :9, 1&% F in *r!an plannin", '# , '% :8, 1'# :%F and Ga!yle ho*se, 09 , %1 :(, 1&# :0F and pre:colonial city, %0 :%, %8 :9, 1&0 F and social science, 11$ F of colonial +orld, 1'# :%, 1'' :&, 1&1 F see also disorder, enframin", str*ct*re >rient: representation of, 1 , ' , 8 :9, 1# :10, (1 :#(, %8 :9F definition of, 1'% :8F inferiority of, 11$ :11F need for, 1'# :0 orientalism, 1 :(, ' , & , %8 :9, 1## , 109 F citationary nat*re of, #1 F and colonial order, #( , 1'% :8F and ,estern tho*"ht, #( , 1#8 :0$, 101 F +ithin )"ypt, 11' , 1(( :0, 1'9 :&1F see also lan"*a"e, >rient, representation ori"inality, ne+ concept of, (8 :9, %8 :9, '$ :1, 8# , 100 , 1%1 , 1'& , 1&( :# o*tside: as effect of 8e.ternal reality8, & :1$, 1( , (1 , '1 :(, 1&& :8, 1&9 F and pre:colonial +orld, %$ , %% :', %& :8, 1&0 F and self:identity, 1'# :%, 1'% :&

167

P
Panopticon, (0 , #% person, concept of, see self photo"raphy, (( :0, (& pict*re: +orld set *p as, ' :&F >rient "rasped as, (1 :9, %' :8F and pre:colonial +orld, '$ :1F lan"*a"e as, 10$ :1 plan: as mental order separatin" self from +orld, ($ , (8 , #( , ## , 0% , 08 :%$, %# :0, '$ :1, &8 , 9# , 1&1 , 1&( :#F in Bescartes, 1&8 F in Mar., (1 F see also c*lt*re, mind, str*ct*re policin", or"anisation of, 9' :8, 1&% F see also inspection politics: ne+ notion of, 1$( :0, 1%' :9F science of, 1$( , 119 , 1%& :8F as ethnolo"ical process, 1$% F as interpretive process, 1#' F see also po+er Porter, 4o!ert Ger, (# po+er: methods of, #0 :%, &% :', &9 , 9# :0, 9% 1#$, 1&1 , 1&% :'F as mechanical process, 1%& :9 po+erlessness, idiom of, 8' :& printin": "overnment control of, 9$ :(, 1'8 F re/ection of, 1## :0, 1#& , 1%$ F

168

effect on lan"*a"e of, 1%# F see also +ritin" prisons, 9& , 1&% prod*ction: in Mar., 18 :19F and ne+ methods of po+er, #% , 0$ :#, &% F in Tahta+i, 1$& F see also ind*strio*sness

@
Hasim 2min, 11( :1#, 11' H*ran, st*dy of, 8# , 8' :&, 1$(

R
4a!at, 1'1 :#, 1&( , 1&& rail+ays, 1' , 9& , 98 , 1#$ , 1%# , 1'1 , 1&% :awdat al'&adaris , 9( 4aymond, 2ndrM, %% reality: effect of, & :1$, 1( :1#, #( , '$ :1, 1'8 F of the >rient, (( , (' :&, (8 :9, #$ , #( F in B*rkheim, 1(' F in Mar., 18 :19 4enan, )rnest, 1#9 representation, ' :1$, 1( :1#, 1% , 1& :18, 1&( :#, 1&' :9F of >rient, 1 :(, ' , 9 , (1 :#(, %' :9F and pre:colonial +orld, '$ :1F in colonisin" process, '& , 9( , 1#$ :1, 1%# :0, 1'1 :%, 1'8 , 1&1 , 1&' :9F lan"*a"e as, 9( , 101 :(, 10# :0, 1%# :0F

169

in Cartesian theory, 1&& :8F in B*rkheim, 1(% :&F in Mar., 18 :19 4o!erts, Bavid, (# , (8 4oosevelt, Theodore, 1(# 4*shdi, 2!d al:4ahman, &1

S
<aid, )d+ard, (' , (& , #1 , 1'% , 1'8 <aSid Pasha, &0 , 9$ , 191 n1# <aint <imonists, 1' , 1& , ## <arr*f, Da8-*!, 1$8 :9 <a*ss*re, 9erdinand de, 10# :0, 10' schools, see ed*cation, Aancaster method self, concept of: as s*!/ect set apart from o!/ect:+orld, ( :%, 9 , 1( :1#, 10 :1%, ($ , (# :0, (0 :8, #( :#, %9 :'$, '1 :(, 101 , 1%& , 1%9 , 1'( , 1&( , 1&8 F as political s*!/ect, '8 , 9% , 1$( :0, 1&% :'F as divided into mind and !ody, 10 :1%, 9% , 1$$ :(, 1&( , 1&% :8F and pre:colonial +orld, %$ :1, 1&# :0F and self:sameness, identity, 10% , 1'% , 1'' :&, 1&1 F in Mar., 19 , (1 F in ,e!er, '1 :( si"ns: thin"s as, 1( :1#, 10 , 1& :18, '$ :1, 1&( F 9rench *se of, #& F +ords as, 10$ , 10# :0, 100 :', 109 , 1%# <miles, <am*el, 1$8 :1$ social science: and threat of disorder, 11$ :11, 11# , 1(1 , 1(( F

170

B*rkheim8s, 1($ , 1(' F Ae Bon8s, 1(( :# society, ne+ concept of, 1% , &1 , 81 , 1$$ :1, 119 :(1%, 1(' :&, 10$ :1, 1%8 F see also nation:state <ociety for the Biff*sion of Usef*l Gno+led"e, 9$ , 1$% :' state, see nation:state statistics, ($ , 0% :', 1(' , 1%# str*ct*re, ne+ effect of, 10 , (1 , (( , &9 , 1%# , 1&' F at e.hi!itions, ($ F in Mar., (1 F in military, #& :8F in model villa"es, 00 :'F in to+ns, '% F in schools, &# , &' :9, 8' , 9( :#F ; (18 ; str*ct*re 6cont. 7 in lan"*a"e, 10$ :1F 8a!sence8 of, %$ :1, %8 :9, 8( :#, 1&0 , 188 n'%, 189 n&0F as method of po+er, &9 , 90 , 110 , 1(& , 1&' F and 8society8, 1$$ :1, 110 , 1($ <*e? Canal, 1' , 1& , 9'

T
Taha C*sayn, 1(( , 1&$ Tahta+i, 4ifaSa 4afiS al:, &0 , &% , && , 88 :9, 9( , 1$( :0, 1$& :8, 119 :($, 1#0 , 1%0 , 19' n10 Taine, Cippolyte, 1&

171

The Tale of "sa i(n 1isha& , 110 :1', 1($ Tanta, '& :8, 9& , 98 :9 tar(iya , 88 :9$ tele"raph, &$ , 9' , 1#$ , 10$ :1, 1%# Tell al:Ga!ir, !attle of, 1(8 te.t: colonial +orld to !e read as, ## , 0' F pre:colonial *nderstandin" of, 8( :0, 9( , 1#( :%, 1%$ :#, 1&8 F see also lan"*a"e, representation, +ritin" thin", ne+ notion of, % :&, 10 , '$ :1, 1&( :#, 1&8 F society as, 1($ :1, 1(' F and theory of lan"*a"e, 100 , 109 F see also materiality, o!/ect:+orld time, as a str*ct*re, &# , 1($ Toc-*eville, 2le.is de, %' :8 to*rism, (1 , (0 :', (8 , %& , %8 , 1(' , 1%' , 1'( tr*th, as certainty of representation, ## , %1 , '$ :1, 1(& , 1#$ :1, 109 , 1%9 :'$, 1'8 , 1&1 , 1&% , 1&8 :9

U
Umar, M*hammad, 1$$ , 11& :19 University, )"yptian, #1 , 1$9 , 11# , 1(( , 1(# , 1&$ Ura!i, 2hmad, 118 , 1#1 :(, 1#& :8

V
villa"es, 10 , #0 , 0$ :1, 0# , 00 :8, &' , 9% :8, 99 :1$$, 1&% F and learnin", 8' :&, 9( :#F and teachin" of political science, 1$( F see also a"ric*lt*re, Ga!yle ho*se

172

vo+el, 8a!sence8 of, 108 :9

6
9adi al'3il , 9( al'9a2a'i8 al'&isriyya , 9$ ,e!er, Ma., '( +omen, 09 :%1, %( , %% , '$ F as o!/ect of colonial po+er, 0' , 9# , 1$$ , 111 :1#, 1'8 , 198 n&$ The 9retched of the Earth , 1'0 +ritin": in pre:colonial society, 8( :&, 1%$ :(F theories of, 10( :%(F transformation of, 9$ :(, 1%( :0, 1%% , 1%& :9F see also lan"*a"e, representation, te.t

A
Ta"a?i", &8 , 9' , 1#( Ta"hl*l, 2hmad 9athi, 11$ :11, 11' , 1(( , 1(% Tahra+i, 2!d al:Camid al:, 118 Taydan, 5*r/i, 1'9 :&1

Preferred Citation: Mitchell, Timothy. Colonising Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1988 1988. http: ark.cdli!.or" ark: 1#$#$ ft%8&$$'k(

173