Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Expanded contents list
- List of maps, figures, and tables
- List of abbreviations
- Transcription, glosses, and transliterations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: language and identity in modern Egypt
- 1 Identity and beyond: setting the framework of analysis
- 2 A historical overview of the development of national identity in modern Egypt with reference to language: the formative period
- 3 “Arabic” indexes amidst a nation and a nation-state: ideologies, attitudes, and linguistic realities
- 4 Social attributes of Egyptian identity
- 5 Identity and narration in Egypt
- 6 The politics of identity and linguistic unrest: the case of the Egyptian Revolution
- 7 Conclusions
- Appendix: chronological list of songs examined
- Bibliography
- Index
6 - The politics of identity and linguistic unrest: the case of the Egyptian Revolution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Expanded contents list
- List of maps, figures, and tables
- List of abbreviations
- Transcription, glosses, and transliterations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: language and identity in modern Egypt
- 1 Identity and beyond: setting the framework of analysis
- 2 A historical overview of the development of national identity in modern Egypt with reference to language: the formative period
- 3 “Arabic” indexes amidst a nation and a nation-state: ideologies, attitudes, and linguistic realities
- 4 Social attributes of Egyptian identity
- 5 Identity and narration in Egypt
- 6 The politics of identity and linguistic unrest: the case of the Egyptian Revolution
- 7 Conclusions
- Appendix: chronological list of songs examined
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
(Scene: Cairo, Egypt, 1259 CE)
Mongol messenger: “Where is the woman who rules Egypt?”
Prince Qutuz: “Do you mean to say you are not up to date with the news? You missed one of your spy's messages? The great queen is dead.”
MM: “And where is prince Aybak?”
PQ: “He is also dead.”
[silence]
MM: “Where is prince Aqtāy?”
PQ: “Is that why you are here? Because all of these people are dead?”
MM: “You mean to say they have all been murdered.”
PQ: “The information you received about Egypt's late rulers is correct.”
MM: “So who should I speak to if I want to address the Egyptian people?”
[long silence]
PQ: “You can speak to me.”
MM: “But who are you?”
PQ: “I am a citizen of Egypt. Talk.”
MM [starts reading]: “From the master of armies and the destroyer of nations, the victorious chief commander Hulagu. We know how weak your country is …”
(From the film Wā Islāmāh (“Woe to Islam”) (1961), which deals with Egypt's fight against the Mongol invasion in 1259 CE)The quote above is one of the most famous quotes in Egyptian cinema. The MM implies to Qutuz, the Mamluk leader, that Egypt has lost all its leaders and is in a very weak position. He challenges him with the famous sentence: “So who should I speak to if I want to address the Egyptian people?”
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- Chapter
- Information
- Language and Identity in Modern Egypt , pp. 294 - 340Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2014