{"id":230381,"date":"2025-10-17T00:14:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arabtelegraph.com\/?p=230381"},"modified":"2025-10-19T17:06:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T14:06:51","slug":"egypt-and-arab-identity-when-the-heart-is-targeted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabtelegraph.com\/?p=230381","title":{"rendered":"When Egypt\u2019s Identity Is Touched, the Heart of Arabism Trembles"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By\u00a0Ali Khalil<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief,\u00a0The Egyptian Gazette<\/em>; Editor-in-Chief,\u00a0Arab Telegraph<\/em><\/h5>\n
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Published: October 2025 \u00b7 Section: Opinion \/ Analysis \u00b7 Keywords: Egypt, Arab Identity, Education, National Security<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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Amid calls to remove the word \u201cArab\u201d from Egypt\u2019s official name, Ali Khalil warns that identity cannot be redefined without consequence. Egypt\u2019s Arab belonging is not a title of the past \u2014 it is the cornerstone of its national security and future stability.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Education: The Battlefield of Identity and the Frontline of Awareness<\/h2>\n

When a nation\u2019s identity is targeted, the war never starts at its borders\u2014it begins in its classrooms. Education is the most critical front in the battle for national consciousness, for it determines\u00a0what kind of Egypt will exist one or two generations from now<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Those seeking to detach Egypt from its Arab identity have long realized that this cannot be done through rhetoric alone, but through the\u00a0reprogramming of collective memory<\/em>, beginning with curricula and cultural exposure. If Egyptian students grow up disconnected from their Arab context\u2014seeing themselves as isolated rather than organically tied to their linguistic and cultural kin\u2014then the project of \u201cidentity reengineering\u201d has already succeeded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIdentity is not preserved in constitutions; it is preserved in young minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is why Egyptian education must be rooted in the understanding that Arabism is not a political slogan but\u00a0an existential truth<\/strong>\u00a0that defines Egypt\u2019s strength and global role.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:<\/p>\n

National Security Cannot Be Managed Outside National Identity<\/h2>\n

National security cannot exist in a vacuum, detached from identity.\u00a0Egypt\u2019s national interests and security are organically intertwined with the Arab world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has repeatedly affirmed that \u201cEgypt\u2019s national security is inseparable from Arab national security,\u201d a statement that aligns with the Egyptian Constitution, which places Arab affiliation at the core of the state\u2019s foreign policy doctrine.<\/p>\n

It would be na\u00efve to believe that Egypt could safeguard its interests or sovereignty in isolation, especially in a world increasingly defined by alliances and regional power blocs. The moment Egypt detaches itself from its Arab identity, it risks losing the strategic depth that has long amplified its influence and protected its security.<\/p>\n

Identity Is Not a Slogan \u2014 It Is a Project of Survival<\/h2>\n

Efforts to \u201cneutralize\u201d Egypt\u2019s Arab identity rarely come suddenly; they unfold in gradual and calculated phases. First, the word\u00a0Arab<\/em>\u00a0is removed from the name. Then, Arabism is reframed as a \u201chistorical phase.\u201d Finally, Egypt\u2019s narrative is rewritten as that of a neutral regional state\u2014disconnected from its civilizational roots.<\/p>\n

This ideological progression is part of a broader project aimed at fragmenting Arab consciousness and transforming a unified region into isolated entities. Yet history has shown that Egypt\u2019s strength and leadership have always grown in proportion to its Arab connection\u2014and declined whenever that bond weakened.<\/p>\n

Conclusion: To Defend Arabism Is to Defend Egypt Itself<\/h2>\n

The current calls to remove the word \u201cArab\u201d from Egypt\u2019s identity are not a harmless semantic exercise; they are part of a larger existential confrontation over the meaning of being Egyptian in the 21st century.<\/p>\n

Egypt was never strong except when it was\u00a0Arab in heart, spirit, and purpose<\/strong>. To protect this identity is not to cling to nostalgia\u2014it is to invest in stability and sovereignty. When Egypt safeguards its Arab identity, it safeguards itself.<\/p>\n

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References<\/h3>\n
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  1. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi,\u00a0Speeches at the Arab League Summit (Riyadh, March 2023); Armed Forces Day Address (April 2024)<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  2. Gamal Hamdan,\u00a0The Character of Egypt: A Study in the Genius of Place<\/em>, Cairo: Egyptian General Book Organization, 1980.<\/li>\n
  3. Mohamed Hassanein Heikal,\u00a0The Arabs and the Challenge<\/em>, Cairo: Al Shorouk, 1992.<\/li>\n
  4. Azmi Bishara,\u00a0On the Arab Question: A Democratic Manifesto<\/em>, Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies, 2012.<\/li>\n
  5. Gamal Abdel Nasser,\u00a0The Philosophy of the Revolution<\/em>, Information Authority, Cairo, 1955.<\/li>\n
  6. Raymond Hinnebusch,\u00a0The International Politics of the Middle East<\/em>, Manchester University Press, 2015.<\/li>\n
  7. Anthony Nutting,\u00a0Nasser<\/em>, Dutton, New York, 1972.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n