Imagine picking up a newspaper with your morning coffee, and then imagine that you are in 1912. Samir Sobhi tells us about what he read in Egyptian press a century ago The year starts with an ominous prediction by Al-Ahram 's editor. Writing on 2 January 1912, the editor warns the readers that their countries are not just falling behind, but falling prey: "It seems that the West, strong, young, active, and rich, is determined to swallow up the weak, ignorant, poor, lethargic and ageing East. If the West is moving slowly towards its target, it is only because it is busy dividing the loot. Last year, Morocco, Congo, Iran, and Tripoli were taken. This year, we dread what is to come. So far, we have done our best to get by. We imitate them, embrace constitutional government, and generally copy their ways... Putting science to good use, (Westerners) soared to new heights, traversed mountains, tamed the air waves, and harnessed the sunlight. Their land is chockfull with schools, there is hardly any illiteracy left. Their societies have eliminated all distinctions and barriers. What are we going to do about that?" Moving on to education, the newspaper publishes a financial report by the government's financial adviser: "To meet demands for increased agricultural and industrial education, the government allocated LE8,466 to the creation of two new schools plus an accounting school, the first in Egypt. The government spent LE700 on the enlargement of Bulak and Assiut workshops. It created a department for lead manufacturing and another for automobiles in order to train Egyptian workers... Allocations have also been made to create a girls school in Alexandria and another in Cairo. The teachers' school in Bulak will be enlarged, and there are plans to rebuild Al-Husseiniya Primary School in Cairo." Few are aware that several Copts studied in Al-Azhar in a special ruwaq or corner specialised in science and law. Among those are the El-Assal family, the future owner of Al-Watan Mikhail Abdel-Sayed, and Wahbi Bey Tadres. The Copts were eager to emulate the ways of Western education, especially with regard to girls' education. The American Girls College opened up on what is now Ramsis Street in 1908. This prompted the Coptic community to think of creating a Coptic Orthodox Girls College in Abbasiya. The effort to build the school lasted for eight years and cost nearly LE20,000. This was a princely sum, and hard to collect by donations alone. But Coptic writers were very critical of their community for taking so many years to raise the fund. At the time, the Coptic community was considered affluent. The Copts owned 1.5 million feddans and about 300,000 houses. The country was going through an economic boom, but this wasn't always a good thing. As money were made fast, gamblers and speculators didn't want to miss their chance. Lord Cromer disapproved of the widespread speculation in Cairo and Alexandria, mentioning that "it wrecked many homes." Some of the most successful urban additions to Cairo were made in the midst of this surge of speculation. Both Heliopolis and Maadi, projects that started around 1906, were just about to turn into lively suburbs in 1912. Commenting on Heliopolis, El-Moqattam says: "The new city of Heliopolis is coming on its own, just as its ancient namesake did. Signs advertising flats for rent are everywhere, and the Mosque of Heliopolis has been inaugurated by Prince Hussein Kamel, acting on behalf of Khedive Abbas, and a number of officials led by Ismail Sirri Pasha, the minister of works and war." Other press reports cited prime minister Nubar praising the new city for its "healthy climate" and "clean air". Reporters described in detail the Luna Park of Heliopolis, complete with a merry-go-around and a Ferris wheel. Maadi, Al-Moqattam says, was "created in the European fashion, with beautiful buildings and great mansions modelled in the British style, with wide clean streets and parks filled with flowers. All its houses are lit with electricity. A motor draws the water from the Nile to the houses, thus adding to the convenience of the inhabitants." The first attempt at socialism EGYPT'S first attempt at forming a socialist party took place in March 1908. According to the newspaper Al-Iqdam, a socialist party was formed under the chairmanship of Shebli Shamil, and with Sami Effendi Jeridini, Tawfiq Habib, and Naguib Effendi Ebkarius as members. The aim of the new party was to "stop the unwieldy rich in their tracks and stop them from trampling the poor underfoot," the paper said. In fact, the party was never formed, but from then on Salama Moussa, Shamil and Nicola Abdel-Ahad began publishing long articles propagating socialism and arguing that it improved the conditions for workers in Europe. "England and Germany are the most refined nations of today because they are more socialist than the rest," Moussa wrote. "We must keep in mind that socialism and bribery don't go together. If socialism is a blessing in England, this is because bribery is non-existent, unthinkable even. Before talking about socialism in Egypt, we must clear the Egyptian administration from this disease. By way of paving the way to socialism, I propose that we set up a society for combating bribery," Moussa added. Abbas or Cromer? AS THE NATIONALIST movement picked up pace, a rift emerged between two factions: those who support the Ottoman Sultan Abdel-Hamid; and those who support the British occupation. Those who supported the sultan and his viceroy, Khedive Abbas, wrote poems praising both. Their opponents answered with poems praising the British king and his representative in Egypt, Lord Cromer. Eventually, many Egyptians started making a big deal about the anniversary of the enthronement of Sultan Abdel-Hamid, mainly to spite the pro-British faction. What's next? NOW is the time to act on all those reforms we've been dreaming of. For example, let's: - Form an anti-bribery society, just as Salama Moussa suggested 100 years ago. - Create cleaning societies for our streets. - Establish housing and economic societies, to provide jobs for the unemployed and houses for the young. - Forget about emigration, whether legally or illegally; we need all the help we can get here. - Address the traffic problem, for we cannot afford to waste our time and energy so meaninglessly. In the headlines ON 25 JANUARY 1912, the following stories appeared in Al-Ahram: - The Chinese crisis escalates and the ruling family abdicates power. Fears of chaos in Peking. - Khedive Abbas returned yesterday from Ismailia to Al-Qubba Palace. He will perform the Friday prayer tomorrow in Al-Qubba Mosque. -The government is lowering the state of alert in order to boost business. - Prime Minister Mohamed Said Pasha visited Lord Kitchener yesterday at the latter's office.
