Liam Was Right

When Will The Rest Will Get It

For The Sake of Egyptians?

Walk LIke An Eyptian Now!

“Walk Like An Egyptian” is a song by The Bengals once banned by radio stations for being “too insensitive.” Yet, it is widely known that music soothes the soul and differs from culture to culture. Justifying “banning” under these circumstances is nothing more than ignorance if malice is not considered. What may be too insensitive to one may be what the doctor exactly ordered for others. Only someone with no culture or maturity can disagree with this assessment, especially nowadays when ignorance is most fashionable.

Reportedly, reference to “Egyptian” in the song is not based on The Bangles having any particular affinity for Egypt. Rather the track’s writer, Liam Sternberg, penned it after observing how people were walking uneasily on a ferry in Egypt. Apparently, they were trying to keep their balance. Like Egypt has been trying to do as a state since Arabs introduced the region to the Muslim faith. Liam somehow arrived at the same conclusion when she noted the precarious state of the Egyptians observing a moment. She correlated them with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Liam was right. One, Egyptian hieroglyphics represent the origin of the culture. Two, Egyptians, today, reflect a similar image depicted in these hieroglyphics. In other words, walking like an Egyptian or wobbling like one is the right way to summarize modern Egypt. Irrespective of the fact, that became the unintended consequence of the lyrics.

Simply put, “wobbling” Egypt, nowadays, has to make up its mind between two camps. One is to continue to remain a vacillating vassal state for Turks. The other is to remain as an eternal proxy for the Western powers. Until then, no one should complain why walking like an Egyptian is nothing but telling because it is so obvious to almost everybody.

Egypt:

A Vacillating Vassal State for Turks

or Proxy for the Western Powers

Under the Ottomans, Egypt was only a vassal state. It enjoyed a great journey when the Muslim ummah was united and cherished a way of life of its choice. After that, in modern times, Egypt, unfortunately, existed solely as a proxy to Western civilization. A century later, it has nothing to show for as far as leadership or legacy.

In modern times, Egypt first joined forces with Syria and militarily attacked to destroy fledgling Israel. Then, it won the Nobel Prize for Peace together with Israel for promising not to attack Israel again. Otherwise, it sided with Russia and confronted the UK and France for a little while. Then, it decided to side with the US, France and cohorts only to confront New Turkey on the rise.

Egypt has become a vacillating state since it was introduced to the Muslim faith. Turkish horsemen arrived in the region four centuries later and for a thousand years dominated life in Egypt. Today, Egyptians continue to live under the shadow of New Turkey that inherited the Ottoman Empire that kept Egypt as a vassal state for four centuries.

In the 21st century, Egypt does not need to be a vacillating vassal state again. It does not have to be a proxy to the West either. It can now go back to have rich life like it used to have in early medieval times and prosper again in its own bubble. Egypt can do that now because the new world order in the making provides the opportunity. Yet, it is up to the Egyptians to seize the moment now.

Walk Like an Egyptian:

Logic and History Say

Egyptians have never been like Persians or Turks. In fact, Egyptians have never been like the rest of the Arabs either. All three races have had turbulent early histories, marauding and pulverizing.

Whereas Egyptians had an altogether isolated and different life cycle, turbulence within, all throughout. After that, they began living under Turkish rules for a thousand years, until the last century when Christianity, in a sense, ruled them.

In the 21st century, with the new world order, Egyptians have a chance for a new beginning. They can for the first time act as an equal partner in the region. They do not have to live in oblivion or under tutelage or dominion. The conditions are ripe. Egypt is projected to become one of the half dozen leading members of the Muslim ummah as an economic and military power.

Like Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, and Nigeria, Egypt will soon have the population, landmass, natural resources and geo-strategic role. It will be able to leverage them into a better life. Together with S. Arabia, it will also become the other potential leader of the Arab world. More importantly, Egypt will become one of the elite dozen in the Muslim ummah. By then, Islam will make up one third of the world population. In that rich environ, Egypt can easily excel while walking like an Egyptian. It can cherish the Muslim ummah and the Western civilization, all the same.  

Walk Like an Egyptian Quintessentially

On the other hand, in reality, there is no alternative for Egypt, but to “walk like an Egyptian” but also quintessentially. That means more than one thing though. First, Egypt can and must find its rightful place in the Muslim ummah. After all, it is part of it, by faith, ever since the 6th century. That is when Muslim Arabs invaded Egypt and took it away from the Byzantines for good.

Second, Egypt is a civilization dating back to thousands of years before Christ. It coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first king of the First DynastyNarmer. These are matters of fact solely unique to Egypt as well as being an Arab state and part of the Muslim ummah.

In short, walking like an Egyptian really means wobbling, better yet, living in a quandary between two civilizations. One has to do with religion while the other is not. In that regard, Egypt is reflective of the very divide that the planet currently is face to face like the Globalists versus Nationalists.

In other words, Egypt today wobbles not only between the rising Muslim powers in the East and the decaying Western powers. Its heritage is also pulling the ruling elite in the country apart which direction to go among believers and non-believers.

Walk Like an Egyptian

For Egypt, there is a lot to decipher, considering it is pulled from all corners. In a sense, there is no alternative to wobbling until Egypt crosses the turbulent seas. That also means until Dajjal comes!  Since no one knows exactly when that is, Egypt must either continue to wobble between Turks-led Muslim ummah and the Christian-dominated West. All the while, the latter continues to struggle unabated between believers and non-believers.

Until Dajjal Comes

Britannica explains it best. Al-Dajjāl, (Arabic: “The Deceiver”), in Islamic eschatology, a false messianic figure will come forth before the end of time. After a reign of 40 days or 40 years, he will be destroyed by Christ or the mahdī (“rightly guided one”) or both, and the world will submit to God. Al-Dajjāl first appeared as the Antichrist in pseudo-apocalyptic Christian literature and is reworked in adīth (sayings) ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad.

There he is described as a plump, one-eyed man with a ruddy face and curling hair and the Arabic letters k-f-r (“unbelief”) on his forehead. Al-Dajjāl will appear during a period of the great tribulation; he will be followed by the Jews and will claim to be God in Jerusalem. He will work false miracles, and most people will be deceived. At this moment will occur the Second Coming of Christ.

Since what Dajjal represents is depicted exactly what the early Egyptian civilization was, it is fitting. Egypt has no choice but to continue to live with this burden. It has no choice but to continue to struggle between a wind blowing from the West and then from the East but also between non-believers and believers.

Choice Between East and West

In the meantime, Egypt has to make a choice between the East and the West, until Dajjal comes, so to speak. Which way Egypt will go will also determine whether Egypt will exist as free and independent. In the Muslim ummah, being under the influence or quasi dominion of the modern day Turks is a clear choice. In the divided and decaying West, the future looks bleak, maligned with many inconsistencies.

Face Harsh Realities of Today

Egypt will surely feel helpless and tossed away if it stays under the total dominion of the West. The past 100 years, in the 20th century, is a good track record to take into account. In the 21st century, the West will continue to seek and then rely more and more on a lonely and vulnerable Egypt.

The US, for example, maintains 60 percent of its military power in the Pacific against the rising East. It has to have a proxy in the Eastern Mediterranean to keep the void filled in its absence. Egypt fits the billing.

When China soon starts looking for the same in the Eastern Mediterranean, it will not be a competition for Egypt to exploit. Rather it will be a tug of war by the two biggest economies in the world, taking advantage of the vulnerable Egypt even more.

Walking the Walk with the Turks Again

In that respect, Egypt has no better option in the short term, but to walk the walk with Turks again. On the other hand, New Turkey is not the Ottoman Empire so Egypt does not need to be a vassal state again. Rather, Egypt will exist as one of the cluster states around the Republic of Turkey marching into its second century as a domineering economic and military power of the region.

Walking the walk with New Turkey is not only essential but also the best and only alternative for Egypt. For example, ignoring Turkish market is suicide for Egypt. At a time when the Russian Federation and the United States of America seek to increase bilateral trade with Turkey to 100 billion dollar a year, Egypt cannot remain at 10 billion.

France also presents another good example for Egypt. In the second half of the 20th century, that is. Second best economy in the continental Europe kept its superiority and competitiveness against the rest in the Western Alliance solely because it traded more with Germany.

When the latter has become the engine of the European Community the logic was simple. When Turkey is the same for the region, Egypt cannot ignore economic cooperation with Turkey, not to mention exploring it to the fullest.

Simply put, for Egypt there is no other choice but to walk like an Egyptian, but with Turks, until Dajjal comes! The rest is music to the ears. Only if most of the Egyptians realize this reality and soon!