The authors examine the emergence of nationalism among the Egyptian middle class during the 1930s and 1940s, and its growing awareness of an Arab and Muslim identity. Previously Egypt did not define itself in these terms, but adopted a territorial and isolationist outlook. It is the revolutionary transformation in Egyptian self-understanding which took place during this period that provides the focus of this study. The authors demonstrate how the growth of an urban middle class, combined with economic and political failures in the 1930s, eroded the foundations of the earlier order. Alongside domestic events, the momentum of Arabism abroad and the impact of events in Palestine, necessitated Egyptian regional involvement. Egypt's present position as a major player in Arab, Muslim and Third World affairs has its roots in the fundamental transition of Egyptian national identity at this time.

The conflict between the Islamic groups and secularists taking place now in Egypt has its roots in the nineteenth century. This happened after the people became aware of their Egyptian identity as a result of their encounter with the West, represented in the French Campaign in Egypt (1798-1801) led by Napoleon Bonaparte, and the British Occupation of Egypt in 1882. These encounters were the cultural shocks that awakened Egypt from a 300-year lethargy under the Ottoman Empire rule, and led to a dichotomy in the identity of Egypt, resulting in a conflict between the Islamic and newly evolved secular characters of Egypt. The conflict continued throughout the twentieth century, where successive regimes suppressed the Islamic trend. That Islamic trend had been latent until it came to a climax after the January 25 revolution. This book gives a panoramic view of the evolution of this dichotomy and analyzes the causes that conducted to it. Shawki AbdelRehim is a freelance translator in Giza, Egypt. He lives beside the pyramids and near the River Nile, the site of fifty centuries of history. "This is my thesis for the master's degree in social science, which I obtained from Syracuse University. It tackles the split of the Egyptian identity to two Islamic and secular characters. I wrote this book in 1992. The recent developments in Egypt support the analyses contained in the book. The topic has haunted me for a long time, especially since I have seen the developments of the Islamic groups' movements and actions in the twentieth century." Publisher's website: http: //sbpra.com/ShawkiAbdelRehim