M. Alan Edwards

Distingues members de l’Alliance Française .

Mesdames et Messieurs, chers amis,

C’est avec beaucoup de plaisir que je me trouve parmi vous ce soir, et j’aimerai remercier M. Alan Edwards et la direction de l’Alliance Française à Canberra de m’avoir donner l’occasion de m’exprimer devant vous sur les liens étroites et profondes entre L’Egypte et le monde Francophone.

En effet, je suis persuadé que, dans la période qui s’ouvre aujourd’hui devant nous, la Francophonie porte en elle un message essentiel de diversité, un moyen d’exprimer et de célébrer la richesse des cultures humaines.

La Francophonie est, pour nous tous, une maniére de dire que l’universalité culturelle n’est pas la banalisation. C’est aussi une incitation pour une cooperation plus approfondie avec d’autres communautés partout dans le monde - je pense notamment au monde hispanique, au monde lusophone, au monde arabe, qui tiennent elles aussi a affirmer leur spécifité dans la culture  internationale.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There is a reason why I chose to start with a presentation on the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the international library inaugurated at the beginning of the 21st century as a revival of its ancient namesake. This is not only because the library of Alexandria was for many centuries, a major center for learning and research in the ancient world, and not only because it has remained throughout the years a symbol of humanity’s quest for knowledge and understanding, but essentially because this ambitious project provides a concrete example of the interplay between change and continuity, which has been and remains a prevailing theme in Egyptian culture.

Ours is a land where the old and the new merge into a profound human vision. A civilization that has both influenced others and benefited from their intellectual and cultural achievements, and cooperated in the spirit of respect and tolerance between cultures. What the presentation about the library of Alexandria did not mention is why the best minds at the time came to Alexandria in particular and the answer of course is their thirst to rediscover and build upon the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians.  

Egypt having established a strong centralized State very early on, has been both harbinger of innovation and a bastion of stability. Khufu’s great pyramid was humanity’s first feat of cooperation that involved the collective efforts of hundreds of thousands of people over many years. But it also represented a conceptual and technological revolution. It was for centuries and millennia the most innovative building on the planet. Yet this was an innovation that was designed to last, it was modernity put in the service of stability, change bent to the requirements of continuity.  

The pyramids and other great monuments, as well as the economic, technological, social and cultural infrastructure that enabled their construction,  demonstrated the possibilities for advancement of societies during prolonged periods of peace. The lesson was not lost, even at times of empire, the emphasis was laid on establishing steady supplies of resources rather than territorial expansion. Ramses II, the empire builder, was also party to the first peace treaty in recorded history with King Hattusil III of the Hittites.

This interplay between change and continuity is key to understanding the most intense and violent encounter between Egyptian and French cultures when Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798. The major battle in that campaign was the battle of the pyramids. It must have been quite spectacular with the pyramids in the background. On one hand you had Mamluk knights in bright colours and fantastic turbans. On the other, modern artillery. The balance between continuity and change had been violently upset. 

Napoleon compared himself to Alexander the Great and noted that when the latter conquered Egypt he brought with him a contingent of philosophers and men of learning. So along with his army of thirty five thousand troupes he brought the ‘Commission des Sciences et des Arts’ which was composed of 154 of France’s leading scholars: mathematicians, astronomers, naturalists, engineers, architects, draftsmen and men of letters. Their task was to study the country in all its aspects. The main legacy of the expedition was scientific and cultural rather than military. 

Only ten days after Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt, Lord Nelson attacked and destroyed the French fleet in Abou Kir (the Battle of the Nile). From a military perspective, the French were trapped. After a few months Napoleon returns to Paris. In March 1801 after less than three years, the French were defeated by a British-Ottoman force.

Yet during this period, the scientists proceeded with their task with enthusiasm. Less than two months after arrival in Egypt, l’Institut d’Egypte was created in Cairo modeled after the l’Institut de France --- to disseminate progress and culture. Only seven days later, the periodical Courrier de L’Egypte – the first to ever to be printed in Egypt came out. “La Decade egyptienne,” a scientific review came out a few months later.   

Of course this was a war situation, a foreign conquest, and the need to protect the scientists was a major concern. A famous military rule that later became the expedition’s joke is still remembered today: “ donkeys and scholars in the middle.”

One of the moments that stand out in history is when the French troops reached the ancient Thebes (Luxor). The soldiers froze in their steps before the great Temple of Karnak and spontaneously started to applaud.

The campaign’s most important archeological find was the Rosetta stone discovered by Pierre Bouchard, a French officer, one year after the campaign’s arrival. It dates from the Ptolemaic era (196 BCT) an incomplete text was carved in three scripts, hieroglyphic, demotic and ancient Greek. Although the actual Rosetta stone was captured by the British when they defeated the French and is now displayed at the British Museum, it was Jean-Francois Champoleon who deciphered hieroglyphic text in 1822.

The collective work of all of the these scientists was finally published in Paris between 1809 and 1828. It resulted in one of the most ambitious works ever published: Description de l’Egypte. It includes 10 volumes of text, thirteen volumes of illustrations, 974 copperplate engravings and over 3000 drawings. It was divided into antiquite (5 volumes) etat moderne ( two volumes) and (histoire naturelle) and an atlas. Written by about 50 scholars the work involved almost 2000 people and took 20 years to complete. 

So after less than three years of French occupation, everything in Egypt returned back to normal. But that was no longer possible. In 1805  Mohamed Ali – an officer of the Ottoman army- seized power with the support of the Egyptian people.

Mohammed Ali who ruled Egypt until he died in 1849 embarked on a quest to modernize Egypt. He is considered to be the founder of the modern Egyptian state. He understood that strengthening the state involved adopting modern structures and methods, while preserving the basic tenets of Egypt’s culture.  Naturally, he turned to France. Technicians and experts were invited to Egypt to train the Army, reorganize the Navy, set up a public health system and design dams.  More importantly, the consecutive missions of students and intellectuals were dispatched to France for a technical and professional education.

Upon their return, these scholars lay the foundation of the modern Egyptian state by developing a well structured educational system, transferring know-how in the agricultural sector, setting up industrial plants and arsenals. In addition they founded several vocational and technical schools that focused on civil engineering, medicine, chemistry, agriculture, commerce and the Military College.

The French influence was not solely technical.  Observing French society, participants in the missions came back with a wealth of adaptable ideas.  Al-Tahtawi, the most famous of these, published an enlightening travel account. In 1835, he founded the School of Languages and, in 1841, the office of Translation, in order to make available up-to-date knowledge in Arabic.

Thanks to the opening of a government printing press in Cairo in 1822, the first Arabic newspaper was published in 1828. Another participant in the French missions, Ali Mubarak, became Minister of Education in 1868.  Under his stewardship, the school system was reorganized and a teachers’ college set-up.

Another important link is the Suez canal which was designed by Ferdinand Delisepps. The opening celebration of the canal was an international event. Palaces, public buildings, roads even Cairo’s opera house were built for this occasion. The empress Eugeunie, wife of napoleon the third was among the dignitaries who attended.   

During this era, the Egyptian judicial system was inspired by the Napoleonic Civil Code.  This tradition continues today. In fact the current Egyptian constitution was strongly influenced by the constitution of the French Fifth Republic. Naturally, there is an ongoing cooperation between institutions in the two countries in the study of law.

A glimpse on how Egyptians perceived French culture is provided by looking at some aspects of the women’s movement. The first woman’s journal in the Arab world was - Al-Fataa- established by Hind Nawfal in 1892. Its objectives were to express women’s thoughts, disclose their inner minds and fight for their rights. From that moment on, the women’s movement grew quickly. It reached its height in the 1919 revolt against the British when women where in the forefront of the demonstrations.

In the 1920’s under the leadership of Huda Sharawi women started to assert themselves in society. What is interesting in our context was that Huda Sharawi’s magazine entitled l’Egyptienne was written in French, although the woman’s movement was entirely homegrown.  

Also, the first Arab woman to ever write a novel was kout el koloub eldemerdashia( 1892-1968 – her last novel was ramza – 1958). In the early twentieth century, she chose French to describe a purely Egyptian experience.  

Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that French policy towards Egypt was fundamentally that of an imperial power, and that Egypt was involved in a bitter struggle against foreign oppression. Which means that the attraction in the relationship was counterbalanced by an equally strong repulsion. This reached the stage of open warfare in 1956, and a low intensity struggle for at least the following decade. However, Egyptians’ appreciation of French culture enabled these links to remain strong over the years. 

Today, there are more than 2 million Egyptians who speak French fluently, and more than 43 thousand students who are enrolled in French laguage schools every year, and even more who are great admirers of French culture. This trend has been supported by the interest of Egyptians to be fluent in foreign languages. A French university has been established in Cairo along with the German, British and American Universities. 

As you can see, Egyptians perceived French culture in an idealized form. At heart, this vision, that emphasizes the most positive aspects in French culture and includes important contributions from other cultures, lies at the heart of the Francophonie. Indeed, the 63 member states of the Francophonie, home to 500 million people, put special emphasis on dialogue and cooperation among civilizations and cultures.

The establishment of the Senghor University in 1990 in Alexandria as an International French-speaking University in the service of African development, and the election of the Egyptian Boutros Boutros Ghali as Secretary General of the Francophonie, demonstrate the prominent role that Egypt plays in this grouping.

This takes me to the final question I’d like to briefly explore, namely how does this francophone link fit in with overall Egyptian culture. Egypt, after all, lies at the intersection of three continents.  The great Nile is the umbilical cord that links Egypt to the heart of Africa. The Mediterranean is the historic highway that ties Egypt to Europe. The Red sea, the mysterious route to faraway lands, Punt, Serendib, the lands of East Asia. The Sinai peninsula remains the bridge to the Middle East, and the Sahara, provides a network of routes to both Northern and sub-Saharan Africa.

With roots embedded in Ancient Egyptian, Coptic Christian, Islamic, Arab, African and Mediterranean cultures, our society provides living proof of the civilizational impact of this interaction between change and continuity. In this context, it seems perfectly natural that Egyptians would spot and make use of the best aspects of other cultures and in doing so enrich their own without losing any of their fundamental values. This spirit of openness to others exposes the fallacy of the arguments of those who preach hate on religious and cultural grounds.

As Egyptians we pride ourselves in being the birthplace of Akhnaton’s monotheistic creed, the first voice proclaiming the oneness of God, which appeared in the 14th century B.C. Moses and Jesus lived in this same land. Later, Islam entered without conflict. Today, Egypt is home to two of the world’s leading religious institutions, Al-Azhar, the world’s oldest university and a center for learning the tolerant values of Islam, and the Coptic Church of St. Mark, the second church to be established after the church of Jerusalem and one of the world’s oldest continuously functioning institutions.    

Ours is a land where the old and new merge into a profound human vision.  A civilisation that has both influenced others and benefited from their intellectual and cultural achievements, and cooperated in the spirit of respect and tolerance between cultures and religions.

It is not without significance that we are talking about Egypt and the Francophonie here in Australia, a champion of multiculturalism, a nation that is deeply committed to promote understanding among all people. It is not without significance that we talk about the interaction between cultures at a time when the shrill calls of intolerance can be heard in every culture. Maybe we need to remind ourselves that civilization does not belong to any one culture or group but that it is the outcome of human endeavor everywhere ever since our race walked the earth.