current affairs

Passion For Islam is a great book for anyone interested in learning something about the rise of various Islamic movements in Egypt over the years. One of the books strengths is its focus on the specific experience of Egypt, where the author lived and worked as a journalist for several years during the 1990's. Murphy doesn't attempt to assess or explain what's happening in the Islamic world in general, or to draw broad conclusions on matters beyond the specific scope of the book, i.e. the Egyptian experience.

Murphy works in historical details in a very clear fashion, mixing them with current-day journalism and interviews with people from all levels of the Egyptian social and political scenes. You get to hear from people inside or aligned with various movements, people in the Egyptian government, and most importantly, the ordinary people in the middle whose lives are affected by these forces. She shows in great detail the complexity and diversity of thought and feelings at work, and how what's happening cannot be understood in simple black-or-white interpretations.

I found that my own understanding of the situation was greatly enhanced by reading this book. Murphy's book does not provide solutions as much as a look at what is happening and a warning. These rising movements are not monolithic in their beliefs or in their goals, and should not be treated as such. And they do not occur in a vacuum. Unless the climate in which they have sprung up -- a poor country under a corrupt, inept faux-democratic government that suppresses all discussion and dissent -- is changed, they will only continue to grow as the only alternative available.

I have long been secrety embarrassed by my lack of knowledge about Egypt beyond the usual touristy stuff -- even though I spent some weeks there once seeing the sights and even though, more recently, I've recognized in sidelong ways that Egypt's modern history and in particular its struggle to cope with repeated waves of Islamicist extremism within its borders offers a lesson very relevant for those of us now trying to understand the Post-9/11 world. Murphy cured me of my ignorance with her compelling descriptions and analyses of the forces -- political, religious, cultural -- that have shaped that land.She does so in part with smart use of colorful characters she got to know during her time covering the region as a Washington Post reporter, and from scads of research... Cleanly organized, thorough, insightful. A very helpful and yet enjoyable read.

Murphy talks about the past glories of Islam. When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 he found a subsistence society of 2.5 million living in the ruins of past civilizations. He landed on a beach that had once been the city of Alexandria. Napoleon defeated the slave soldiers, the Mamelukes, who had ruled Egypt for over 500 years. The Pharaoh's ruled a splendid civilization with a population of 5 million. The Ptolemaic Greeks added to Egypt's greatness with beautiful cities, libraries, and art. Between the Moslem conquest of Egypt in 641 and Napoleon's invasion Islam contributed 1,157 years of history unencumbered with progress. Worse, they destroyed and defaced the monuments left by superior civilizations. Egyptians were ignorant of their past glories and couldn't read the old hieroglyphics. As V.S. Naipaul says, "Islam seeks as an article of faith to erase the past; the believers in the end honor Arabia alone... Islam requires the convert to accept that his land is of no religious or historical importance; its relics were of no account; only the sands of Arabia are sacred."

Murphy sees four forces contending in Egypt today; pious Islam, political Islam, cultural Islam and thinking Islam. Murphy admits that the intolerant Wahhabi interpretation of Islam is very influential. They want to remove all vestiges of the West and destroy all secular and liberal Moslems. She cites the murder of the writer Farag Foda and the attempted murder of Novelist Naguib Mahfouz as examples along with murders of Coptic Christians and foreign tourists. The "pious" intention is to install an Islamic state and implement shar'ia - the primitive Islamic legal code. Murphy hopes that "thinking Islam" will lead an Islamic reformation. Not a chance. The complexity of the infighting is exceeded only by its irrelevance. The fanatics will win. In Islam they always win.

Murphy observes that the Egyptian population is growing rapidly. One third of the population is under 15 years old. The combination of Western medicine with the Islamic policy of keeping women ignorant and pregnant has resulted in a population explosion. The economy can't keep up and there is increasing poverty which fuels the growth of intolerant Islamic fundamentalism. Anwar Sadat supported radical Islamic groups like the Muslim Brotherhood until they killed him. The Egyptian government is made up of old men holding on to power. They alternately try to placate the terrorists or repress them. These tactics will fail. Osama Bin Laden's chief deputy is Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahari. Egypt, like the rest of the Moslem world, is headed back to the good old days of the Mamelukes.