Inside Egypt: The Land of The Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution [Paperback]

This is an excellent book on the current state of affairs in Egypt. Egypt has been under a military dictatorship since the early 1950s - its latest living embodiment, Hosni Mabarak, who took power in 1981 after the assassination of Anwar Sadat, is in charge of an increasingly corrupt, violent regime, beset by significant economic and social problems, and facing a possible succession crisis - the author is sceptical of Hosni`s son, Gamal`s, chances of inheriting power although he doesn`t rule it out entirely.
The author also addresses the possible main contender for power, the Muslim Brotherhood. He delves into their beliefs and aims, and interviews one of their leading spokesmen - there is little there to reassure outside observers of a 'happy ending' as per the Turkish model. In fact, one is more struck with the unerring parallels with Pakistan - longlasting military involvement in running the country (down), squeezing out of moderates and secularists from involvement in parliament and civil society, the use of alliances with Islamic extremists to send "signals' to the American government not to take the current leadership for granted, stay away from trying to promote human rights and keep the financial support coming - the author reckons the latter at over US $ 2 billion per annum. (One other common item - ownership of nuclear arms, is missing now). Mubarak has been adept at sending the US government the right signals - when the US wanted to push for more transparency and accountability in Egypt, Mubarak, as dictator and in whose power it lies, "awarded" the Muslim Brotherhood 20 % of the seats in the new parliament in 2005. The author states that this was a reminder to the US of along the lines "apres moi, la deluge" and accordingly the US backed off. The author states the turnout was around 25 % - giving an indicator of the population`s disenchantment with the regime. The author concludes that there is a real danger that by his actions of support, Mubarak may yet end up creating the Brothers as the only viable political force in the country apart from the military. If the military choose to disengage, they will emerge as the party of power with all the consequences.
The chapter on "Torture" in the book is not for the sqeamish.
The chapters on social issues - religion - the influence of Shiism on certain rites, the pressures faced by Coptic Christians as well as the effects of tourism ie foreigners buying land and marrying locals and the consequences for the local inhabitants, are also of great interest.
The author has provided a thought provoking and highly readable book on this country and its future prospects.

"Inside Egypt" is a pleasure to read for the quality of the writing and the insights shared, but at the same time it is truly disturbing.

I started visiting Egypt in the mid 1990s and have been visiting twice a year for work reasons for several weeks at a time since 2002. But I don't speak Arabic which means that I have no real contact with Egyptian people and their lives. N do I have the chance to hear their ideas about political and social issues. This book has helped me to find a bridge between the current state of affairs in Egypt and my own unfortunate ignorance.

"Inside Egypt" opens with the author's meeting with "The Yakoubian Building" author Al-Aswani in a cafe frequented by intellectuals and hangers-on in downtown Cairo. As well as snippets from the discussions between those at the cafe and quotes from the interview with Al-Aswani, Bradley observes the world around him and shares his observations about what he sees and hears, interpreting those observations with the reader. This is very typical of the book as a whole. Bradley, a journalist who speaks fluent Egyptian Arabic, draws on his own experiences, his meetings with people at all levels of society, and chance encounters, to provide the reader with an informed and articulate view of a country in substantial crisis.

Before delving into some of the more troublesome issues in Egypt, Bradley tackles the historical context which has led to Egypt being in the situation it is in today.

Handling subjects like corruption, torture, religious dispute, religion in politics, poverty, the impacts of the absence of a middle class and the political future, Bradley never shies away from the unpleasant or the frankly horrifying. It is unsurprising that when his book was published in 2008 it was, at first, banned by the Egyptian government. For example the chapter on torture talks about political prisoners and writers unwise enough to question the Egyptian leadership. But the more shocking accounts are the parts of the book that deal with the routine brutality of the police to ordinary Egyptians, even children. As Bradley describes it the systematic contempt and brutality displayed by many of the police makes them often more of a weapon of fear than of justice.

To me, the most fundamentally miserable chapter was "Lost Dignity". The analysis of Luxor, a place for which I have considerable affection, was abysmally distressing. According to Bradley young men are selling themselves for money to both genders of wealthy westerners for sex and/or marriage, and dramatic negative changes are happening in the local culture as a result.

The book reveals the impacts of a political system that supports an elite but abandons the lower echelons of society. In Egypt' with a middle class more or less completely eroded (restricting many educated families to low standards of living or actual poverty), there are few avenues for self improvement without recourse to minor (or major) crime, corruption and the abandonment of self respect.

Bradley suggests that the current situation of stagnation in Egypt at political level, corruption at all levels, and apathy amongst most ordinary Egyptians is reinforced by the annual $2 billion US which is intended to support stability in Egyptian politics (the mind boggles) as opposed to political and economic reform. Bradley argues that the reasons for this have much to do with the US fear of the rising power of Islam.

The overall sense with which I was left is that even if political reform should arrive it will be many decades, even generations, before the deeply ingrained attitudes that are keeping Egypt firmly in the quagmire, at both political/organizational and local levels, are diluted and eventually dissolved. The problems seem to be so deeply embedded.

Bradley's tone is almost conversational. Although his perspective is personal and involved, it is also well argued. Bradley doesn't expect the reader to take everything on trust - he offers hard facts and provides accounts from Egyptian residents to illustrate and support his points. The lack of hyperbole allows the reader to assess the details rather than being swept away on an emotional tide.

I would recommend "Inside Egypt" to anyone with an interest in modern Egypt. You will certainly find it disturbing but you will learn an awful lot about the past, present and even the possible future of a very troubled country.

I would recommend that if you are unfamiliar with the much bigger picture of Egypt's socioeconomic, geographic and religious background you might do well to start with Ibrahim and Ibrahim's "Egypt: An Economic Geography" which is also available on Amazon. It offers both information and commentary and takes in many other problems, including the after-effects of the Aswan Dam.

Having lived, studied and spent over 5 years in Egypt from 1975 to 1981 I can feel, touch, smell, hold in my vision everything John R. Bradley described in this book. History WILL repeat itself and mankind will not have learned a thing. So sad. A must reading for anyone with a consciousness for humanity.