Egypt and Iran in the Late 19th Century - Essay Example

Chapter 6 Focus on Iran al Affiliation] Chapter 6 -Focus on Iran Introduction The British have had a great amount of influence over much of the world. In regards to the Middle East, the British especially affected Egypt and Iran’s futures. Through religious and political abuse and distortion they attempted to gain control and manipulate the peoples of the region. The reach of British influence was not always direct, but quite often was from a chain reaction from one state to the next. Section 1 Egypt and Iran; the Late 19th Century History of Egypt is highly dominated by the British influence which was the main colonial power with the biggest influence on the land that impacted both economically and politically on Egypt. The main reason for the occupation of Egypt by the British was to safeguard the Suez Canal which was a major transport route but British did not have any defined relationship with Egypt but a protectorate till the advent of the First World War. Egypt was particularly under the authority of Evelyn Barin early 19th century and later Lord Cromer. Cromer was highly opposed to local industrial development that would overthrow British textile industry but developed high level agricultural production to grow Egypt’s economy. Cromer however, also created tangible advantages to locals particularly in the education sector via restrictive policies. The political climate was also strained when Mahdi began a rebellion against Egyptian occupation in Sudan in 1881 but was overcome. British influence was marred by local resistance until calls were made by Kamil for forcible evacuation of British rule in Egypt but the World War II reversed these forces by British declaring Egypt its protectorate after the war. On the other hand, Iran did not experience rigorous colonial impact due to the stringent impact of decentralization that had been established in Iran. Besides, the colonial influence came later relative to Egypt. Iran had suffered strenuous strains between the fall of Safavid and the Qatar dynasty. Decentralization by coercion on state authority was perpetrated by the introduction of Shi‘a religion in Iran. High recognition of their religion by the Iranian society propagated the resistance against inversion. Society members with strong religious values were also vindicated into performing state functions such as legal practices. Safavid’s fall however saw the end to religious / Shi‘a functionality as a ruling group and the government assumed responsibility with both Russia and British expressing high interest. This saw the inception of the reign of Nasir al-Din Shah. His reign initially targeted military reforms by increasing its size lead by Russian officers. The Shi‘a however, maintained high influence on major sectors such as education but also interpretation of political issues. In the 19th century, many Middle Eastern economies were highly restructured to fit the diverse western influence owing to their ample endowment with resources an aspect that did not only fuel growth but also conflicts. During the last period of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Islam started to become weaker. The Europeans were occupying most of the counties that used to belong to Ottoman Empire. However, there were some individuals who established their own Islamic movements. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab started the Wahhabi Movement in the Arab culture. He was born in Najd, which is known now as a part of Saudi Arabia. He got his education from the holy cities Mecca and Medina. The reason for his movement was to educate the people in the Arab peninsula about Islam due to the blindness that was upon them. Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi established the “Sanusi (1787-1859) movement in Cyrenaica which is now known as Libya” (William & Martin, 2012, p.155). Jamal al -Din al-Afghani “has been described as a man whose life touched and deeply affected the whole Islamic world in the last quarter of nineteenth century” (William & Martin, 2012, p155). Section 2 The Ottoman state and the Arab primary bond is Islam, and Abdul Hamid’s stress was the recognition of the importance of that role. Arab Muslims distinguished the ties between Islam and the loyalty to the Ottoman empire, and the Arab Muslims accepted that. Syrian reformer Abd al-Rahman al-Kawkabi said that the Ottomans corrupted Islam. Abd al-Rahman Alkawkabi is a journalist who emigrated from Syria to Egypt, and he always had a conflict with Abdul Hamid. He was an important figure in the intellectual circles of Cairo in his famous works which contained a lot of criticism to Abdul Hamid’s rules. The missionaries of the US Protestant, French Catholic, and Russian Orthodox increased dramatically at the beginning of the time when Egypt occupied Syria (1831-1840). Local Christians had an impulse to convert them to mainstream Christians through education. In Lebanon and Syria, there was a lot of effort put in education, especially to be in Arabic Language. Al-Bostani was recognized as the man who shared his interest of blending political and scientific thinking with the Arabic culture. The rule of Abdul Hamid made people think of the future of Christians, with the action of journalists and the command of Hamidian causing what was called Alnahdah. The 1908 Young Turk revolution, which restored the Ottoman constitution and conveyed to power the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) introduced another and dumbfounding period of governmental issues on the eve of World War I in the Ottoman Empire. For one thing, the CUP was the steward of radicalism, mainstream governmental issues, and Ottomanism in the domain that looked to put an end to the political ill-uses of the Hamidian period. On the other hand, it advanced a brand of ethnic Turkish patriotism and is regularly associated with its part in different demonstrations of abuse amid World War I that incorporated the wholesale expelling and slaughter of Ottoman Armenians and heartless crackdowns on dispute in the Arab provinces. After the evisceration of the greater part of the European parts of the Ottoman Empire mainstream Ottomanism was outdated according to the Young Turks, both in light of the fact that it had neglected to tie the Christian European subjects of the Empire and on the grounds that after the allotment of those parts the Empire comprised mostly of Muslim people groups. Hence, an Islamist Ottomanism was embraced, which defused any potential for Turkish or Arab patriotism. So, Turkish patriotism as being what is indicated was non-existing as a political and open thought process until the end of the First World War and Arab patriotism was an excessively misrepresented elitist marvel, not received by most of the Arab individuals. Conclusion Europeans occupied the areas that belonged Ottaman Empire, but the British had a greater influence in Egypt and Iran. By spreading Christianity through education system, they strived to gain control. Egypt, although showed local resistance to the British rule, experienced a greater impact from colonial rule than Iran. Iran witnessed the influence of Shi’a religion and its control over its education and political systems. There was also the rise of various religious and political movements that either emphasized Islam or ethnic patriotism in the regions. All in all, a combination of political and religious influences: the Ottaman, European, Christianity and Islam, shaped the Middle East. Reference William, C. L., & Martin, B. (2012). A History of the Modern Middle East (5th ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Read More