CAIRO – One hundred years have passed since the death of Egyptian leader Ahmed Orabi, the Egyptian Army officer who led the first Egyptian revolution in 1880 against the rule of the Khedive Tawfik. Some historians think of Orabi as a national hero, while others criticise him because of all the problems facing the country since the first revolution. But there is no doubt that his soul now rests in peace, after millions of Egyptians came out in January of this year to fulfill the oath he swore one day: “There is no god but He, no inheritance, no enslavement anymore.” Orabi, the son of an Egyptian farmer, was born in 1840 in el-Sharqiya Governorate. After receiving a traditional religious education at Al-Azhar, he joined the Egyptian Army and rapidly rose through the ranks. He and his Army friends joined the reformers, and, with the support of the peasants, launched a broader effort to try to wrest Egypt from foreign control, and also to end the absolutist regime of the Khedive. The Orabi revolution of 1880, launched by the Army officers, demanded improvements in their conditions. But it soon turned into a public revolution, demanding improvements in every sphere of Egyptian life. He was first promoted to Bey, then made Undersecretary of War, and ultimately a member of the Cabinet. Meanwhile, plans were begun to create a parliamentary assembly. During the last months of the revolt (July to September 1882), it was claimed that Orabi held the office of Prime Minister. Orabi's told the Khedive Tawfik in Abdeen Palace: "How can you enslave people when their mothers bore them free? God created us free." His words were seared into the Egyptian national memory. However, these words made him an enemy not only of the Khedive, but also of the country's foreign enemies who had ambitions in Egypt. And, as always, where you found heroes, there you found traitors. Because of the traitors, the British Army was able to occupy Egypt after defeating Orabi's Army. Orabi was tried by the restored Khedive for rebellion on December 3, 1882. In accordance with an understanding made with the British representative, Orabi pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death, but the sentence was immediately commuted to one of banishment for life. He left Egypt on December 28 for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where he lived in Orabi House in Halloluwa Road, Kandy. It is now the Orabi Pasha Museum and Cultural Centre. Nearly two decades later, in May 1901, Khedive Abbas II permitted Orabi to return to Egypt. He returned on October 1, 1901, and stayed until his death on September 21, 1911. Although his revolution was destined to fail, Orabi and his words inspired the Egyptian revolutions that followed, especially the 1952 Revolution, when the Free Officers gained the support of the people and ended the Egyptian monarchy. Today, in 2011, the Army and the people are once again working together with their revolution. But they are facing the same challenges, enemies outside and perhaps some traitors inside, some people who may put their self-interest over the country's interest. They must all bear in mind Orabi's principle: "We say no to inheritance and we will not be enslaved.”
