Egypt for the Egyptians: Abou Naddara’s Political Commentary in Translation Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

Abou Naddara Zarqa (the Man with the Blue Glasses) is the nom de plume of 19^th-century Egyptian satirist Yaqub Sanua, whose journalistic outlet was a magazine of the same name. From 1877 to 1910, Sanua issued hundreds of pamphlets, most of which were published from his exile in Paris and almost all of which criticized Egypt’s Ottoman-backed government for its corrupt policies and collusion with the intruding Britain. This thesis explores the use of political satire as a method of confronting khedival government corruption and British colonialism in Ottoman Egypt. This project includes translations of select publications from Abou Naddara’s archives, which will be available for the first time in English full text and will be accompanied by linguistic and rhetorical analysis of Sanua’s confrontation of the Ottoman khedives and the officials of the British Protectorate.

Table of Contents

Introduction ………………………………………………………………… 9

Literary precedent and contribution ………………………………. 10

Methodology ……………………………………………………… 13

Chapter 1: A Background to Sanua’s Egypt ……………………………...... 16

Ottoman Egypt ……………………………………………………. 16

The French Occupation …………………………………………… 16

Muhammad Ali, his reforms, and the beginning of hereditary rule .……………………….……... 18

Muhammed Ali’s successors, the cost of reforms, and foreign debt ……………………………… 23

Ismail Pasha, Ahmad Urabi, and bankruptcy ……………………... 26

Tawfiq, the Urabi Rebellion, and the British Protectorate ………... 29

Chapter 2: Structural Analysis of Abou Naddara ………………………….. 32

Yaqub Sanua: his upbringing and training ………………………... 32

The beginnings of Abou Naddara, the title name, and Egypt’s literary scene……………. 34

Abou Naddara in exile …………………………………………….. 36

Visual elements of Abou Naddara ………………………...………. 38

Organization and content forms in Abou Naddara ……...………… 40

Linguistic characteristics of Abou Naddara ……………………….. 42

Chapter 3: Rhetorical Analysis of Abou Naddara …………………………... 45

Nationalistic rhetoric ………………………………………………. 45

Framing of the Khedival administration …………………………... 48

Framing of British forces in Egypt …………………………...…… 52

Sanua’s self-perceived role as an enlightener, and his Francophile attitudes ………..……. 56

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 59

Appendix ………………………………………………………………….. 63

August 4^th, 1882 ………………………………………………….. 63

October 6^th, 1882 ………………………………………………… 73

April 14^th, 1883 …………………………………………………... 81

Bibliography ………………………………………………………………. 97

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	History, Middle Eastern North African Studies Literature, Middle Eastern
Keyword	Exile journalism Egyptian nationalism Yaqub Sanua Egyptian journalism Abou Naddara Colonial resistance
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Roxani Margariti, Emory University
Committee Members	Salmon Shomade, Emory University Devin Stewart, Emory University

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