Abdallah al-Nadim's political program

Abstract

After defining the constituents of Egypts national identity: common descent, Arabic language, and Islam, 'Abdallah Al-Nadim, in the first part of this article, acknowledged the fact that Egypt was a backward society which needed to move forward by modeling itself on some other dynamic society1. His choice fell first on Europe and secondly on Egypt itself in past times. Al-Nadim believed, without any doubt, that Europe was the enemy; paradoxically it was the teacher as well. This relationship described by some as a "Janus-headed love/hate relationship" was a key element in his political thought; it was systematically manifested in all his works. In every solution he suggested he was proposing to adopt European methods but at the same time suggesting how to fight European domination.