Egypt: This nation is more than just Islam

last updated 8 January 2015

Tarek Heggy

Al-Ahram Weekly

Egypt is in danger of losing its identity to Islamism, said Tarek Heggy. Our culture is a many-layered construct that incorporates theancient civilization of the pharaohs, influences from the Coptic age—“when Egypt in its entirety was an Eastern Christian society”—and the Islamic traditions of the Arabic-speaking age. Since the revolution, though, we have seen a “trend of fostering a one-dimensional identity” based only on Islam. All Egyptian history and culture that is not overtly Islamic is now suspect. “We are already hearing ominous mutterings about the ungodliness of relics of ancient Egypt, one of the most glorious civilizations in human history.” And thanks to the prevalence of Islamist lawmakers on the Education Committee, Arabic literature courses are being purged of all authors who aren’t pious Muslims. Some say the new Islamization represents the will of the people, who are eager to live their faith more openly after decades of enforced secularism under Hosni Mubarak. But the will of the people is not always right. Egypt’s newfound democracy would do better to foster “the values of pluralism, diversity, acceptance of the Other.” Otherwise we will become one-dimensional, “like the desert societies surrounding us.” Egypt has always been more.