Egypt

[[File:Egypt - Location Map (2013) - EGY - UNOCHA.svg|thumb|right|195px|Map of Egypt.]]
{{countrybox|Egypt
|flag = Flag_of_Egypt.svg
|pop =101,249,292	
|GDP =361,875
|GDPPC = 3,561
|life =68.8	
|dev =0.700	
|dem =3.06	
|cor =35
|edu =0.601	
|rel =97
}}

'''The Arab Republic of Egypt''' (Egyptian Arabic: جمهورية مصر العربية ''Ǧumhūriyyat Miṣr al-ʿArabiyyah'') is a [[state]] in northeast [[Africa]]. Its capital, Cairo, is home to the [[Giza pyramids|Pyramids of Giza]]. While geographically located in Africa, culturally and politically, Egypt is considered to be part of the [[Middle East]], in part because of its proximity and in part because of its large [[Muslim]], Arabic-speaking population. In 1967 Egypt went to war with [[Israel]]; in 1978, it became the first state in the region to make peace with Israel and acknowledge its existence with the signing of the Camp David Accords.

The former "president" of Egypt (or, more accurately, the head of a military [[junta]]), {{wpl|Hosni Mubarak||,}} was seen by the West as a fairly benign [[autocrat]]. However, he did have the rather nasty habit of locking up political rivals, repressing [[civil rights]], allowing corruption, turning a blind eye to police brutality and [[torture]], and neglecting the poor, the middle classes, the educated professionals, in short, anyone who didn't actively support Hosni Mubarak.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/feb/17/what-caused-egyptian-revolution What caused the revolution in Egypt?</ref> The [[United States]] tended to turn a blind eye to this behavior since said rivals were either Islamists, organizations Mubarak painted as Islamists, or unimportant to United States interests.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/9394068.stm 16:39, Egypt unrest: Day 17 as it happened</ref> Egypt receives a great deal of [[American]] aid, mainly because the Americans saw Mubarak as a "moderate" in a region full of extremists and because Egypt is one of the few Middle Eastern nations to have recognized Israel's right to exist (though the main journalists' organization, as well as the Egyptian Writers' Guild and Actors' Guild, have forbidden their members to work in Israel). Moreover, the aid is the price of Egypt's continued recognition of and peace with Israel.

==Ancient history==
{{Main|Ancient Egypt}}
[[File:Tutmask.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The funerary mask of Tutankhamun, a minor pharaoh whose mostly undespoiled tomb was a major archaeological find.]]
Egypt is the birthplace of one of the oldest civilizations and houses the only surviving "Wonder of the Classical World," the Great [[Giza pyramids|Pyramid]] at Giza.  The [[Sphinx of Giza]] forms a part of the same complex.  The desert climate surrounding Egypt means that many early documents and monuments from its ancient civilization have been preserved.  One of the world's earliest writing systems, Egyptian hieroglyphics, was created there.  A Proto-Sinaitic script derived from or inspired by Egyptian hieroglyphics is a likely candidate for the origin of the Phoenician [[alphabet]], and as such Egyptian hieroglyphics would represent the ultimate ancestor of all the major alphabetic scripts currently in use, including the [[Latin]], [[Greek]], Cyrillic, Arabic, and Brahmi-derived scripts of South Asia.<ref>John F. Healey, ''The early alphabet''; (University of California Press, 1990, ISBN 978-0-520-07309-8), p. 18.</ref>

Females married around their first menses, with males usually between 16-20; premarital sex was allowed, though, as was no-fault divorce (which was uncommon in many cultures). Both genders inherited wealth equally and separately from each parent, while the end of childhood was marked by the first menses in girls and [[circumcision]] in boys at 13. Careers in ancient Egypt were hereditary; only the male children of scribes could expect classroom education; scribes also did not have to pay taxes. All professions were paid in grain, as proper money would not be invented for some time; the ancient Egyptians' favorite thing to drink was [[beer]] (albeit warm and with much lower alcohol content than most modern brews), while their favorite board game, senet, invoked the journey into the underworld.<ref>http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/2/21701778/ </ref>

==Medieval history==
In 621, Lower Egypt was conquered by the [[Muslim]] armies of Amr ibn al `Aas on behalf of the Rashidun [[caliphate]] of {{wpl|Omar||.}}

===The fate of the Library of Alexandria===
The Library of Alexandria was a famous library and institution of [[Hellenistic]] learning in Alexandria, Egypt. It was constructed by the Hellenistic Pharaoh {{wpl|Ptolemy I Soter||,}} or his son, during the third century BCE.

An often-repeated folktale blames the loss of this storehouse of ancient learning on the Caliph Omar, who is claimed to have remarked that "if those books are in agreement with the Quran, we have no need of them; and if these are opposed to the Quran, destroy them." This tale appears first in the  Syriac Christian author Bar-Hebraeus, quoting a [[Latin]] writer otherwise unknown called {{wpl|John the Grammarian||.}}<ref>Bar Hebraeus: ''Historia Compendiosa Dynastiarum'', (Oxford, 1663). ''Quod ad libros quorum mentionem fecisti: si in illis contineatur, quod cum libro Dei conveniat, in libro Dei [est] quod sufficiat absque illo; quod si in illis fuerit quod libro Dei repugnet, neutiquam est eo [nobis] opus, jube igitur e medio tolli.” Jussit ergo Amrus Ebno’lAs dispergi eos per balnea Alexandriae, atque illis calefaciendis comburi; ita spatio semestri consumpti sunt. Audi quid factum fuerit et mirare''</ref>

In fact, there wasn't much left of this library when the Caliph conquered Egypt. A major fire destroyed much of the collection during Julius Caesar's campaigns in Egypt in 48 BCE.  The remaining collection was moved to a Hellenistic temple of Serapis/Osiris, the Serapeum of Alexandria. Further depredations occurred to the remaining collection when  Aurelian warred with {{wpl|Zenobia}} around 270. But the final death blow to the library was struck by the [[Christian]] [[Roman emperor|emperor]] {{wpl|Theodosius||,}} who ordered the destruction of the Serapeum in 391 CE.<ref>Socrates of Constantinople, ''[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Nicene_and_Post-Nicene_Fathers:_Series_II/Volume_II/Socrates/Book_V/Chapter_16  Ecclesiastical History]'', lib. V ss. 16</ref>  There wasn't a Library of Alexandria for Omar and his commanders to put to the torch anymore.

==Contemporary history==
[[File:Tanks Destroyed Sinai.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Smashed Egyptian tanks during the Sinai War, 1956.]]
===20th century===
After gaining independence from the [[British Empire]] in 1922 as a puppet state, nothing of interest happened for a while. Then in 1952, a group of officers kicked out the monarchy and the British and gave [[Sudan]] independence. After the coup, [[Nasser]] effectively became the dictator. The country greatly modernized under the new regime, and following a victory in nationalizing the {{wpl|Suez Canal||,}} the ideology of [[Arab nationalism]] exploded throughout the Arab world. After a brief period of Egypt and Syria being united under one government, Syria regained independence, and the spread of Nasser's ideology began to decline. After Egypt was humiliated in the Six-Day War, Nasser briefly resigned before protests put him back in power, and he ruled until he died in 1970.

{{wpl|Anwar Sadat}} would succeed him; he established a multi-party system and ended the Arab-centric form of socialism Nasser implemented. He regained the land lost to Israel in the Six-Day War and signed a peace treaty with Israel. He was criticized for this by other Arab states and the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], an extremist member of which assassinated him. He was succeeded by Hosni Mubarak, who was yet another dictator and ended the warming relations with Israel. He would rule the country for nearly thirty years.

===The 2011 revolution===
[[File:Tahrir Square during 8 February 2011.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Tahrir Square in February 2011.]]
{{main|Egyptian revolution of 2011}}
Following and inspired by the {{wpl|Jasmine Revolution||,}} or more properly the Sidi Bouzid revolt, in {{wpl|Tunisia|Tunisia}}, on 25 January 2011, Egypt experienced the first moments of the revolution that would see Mubarak removed from power. On the "Day of Anger" or "Day of Revolt", protests broke out in {{wpl|Cairo||,}} {{wpl|Alexandria||,}} {{wpl|El-Mahalla El-Kubra|,}} {{wpl|Aswan||,}} and {{wpl|Ismaïlia||.}}<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/18/mohamed-elbaradei-tunisia-egypt Mohamed ElBaradei warns of 'Tunisia-style explosion' in Egypt</ref><ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/blog/2011/jan/25/middleeast-tunisia Protests in Egypt and unrest in Middle East – as it happened</ref> Organized through social networking groups and by word-of-mouth, tens of thousands of people took to the streets, with most of the protesters concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/jan/28/egypt-protests-live-updates 12:29, Protests in Egypt - as they happened</ref> The size of the protest in Cairo was much larger than the {{wpl|police|police}} expected it to be. So, as a result of this, the protesters were able to break out of the cordon that the police had placed them in and head to {{wpl|Tahrir Square|Tahrir Square}}, which, in the days to come, would become the focal point for a protest movement seeking democratic reform in Egypt.  Although the police deployed {{wpl|tear gas}} and {{wpl|water cannon||s}} and initially dispersed the protesters, this tactic ultimately failed. The police were eventually forced to retreat from the protesters as they came under bombardment from stones.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/blog/2011/jan/25/middleeast-tunisia Protests in Egypt and unrest in Middle East – as it happened</ref>

With the shock of Mubarak's non-resignation still a raw wound to the pro-democracy protesters, 11 February saw an increase in the number of protesters from the day before. The organizers called this day "Farewell Friday", presumably hoping that if they kept on hitting the government over the head with the same message repeatedly, the message would sink in. In addition to the crowds in {{wpl|Tahrir Square||,}} thousands of protesters continued to surround the {{wpl|Parliament of Egypt|Parliament}} and the {{wpl|Heliopolis Palace|Presidential Palace}}, and crowds also blockaded the state TV building. Something had to give, and at about 16:02 GMT / 18:02 Cairo Local Time, it did, when Vice-President Suleiman announced that the office of President had been vacated and that the military council would take over the running of Egypt.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/feb/11/egypt-hosni-mubarak-left-cairo 16:02, Mubarak resigns - Friday 11 February</ref> Quite unsurprisingly, this announcement triggered wild celebrations throughout Egypt, celebrations that would be continued on the following Friday as a reminder to the Egyptian Military Council that the pro-democracy supporters still had their eye on them and expected real change. On 15 February, the {{wpl|Politics of Egypt|Military Council}} announced that a new constitution would be adopted within 10 days.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12466893 Egypt crisis: Army sets constitution reform deadline</ref>

===1848 all over again===
[[Muslim Brotherhood]] candidate Mohamed Morsi{{efn|Sometimes "Morsy," or a variety of other transliterations.}} won the 2012 presidential election with 51.73% of the vote. Initially characterized as a bully and a tyrant after he attempted to take broad [[constitutional]] powers for himself that year,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120821042911/https://arabist.net/blog/2012/8/16/monopolizing-power-in-egypt.html Monopolizing Power in Egypt], 16 August 2012.</ref> in mid-2013, he was revealed to be a paper tiger after being deposed by the military in a coup.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/03/world/meast/egypt-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 Coup topples Egypt's Morsy; deposed president under 'house arrest'], CNN, July 4 2013.</ref> While officially the acting president was a judge named Adly Mansour, minister of defense General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is widely considered to be in ''de facto'' control of the country. A crackdown on the Brotherhood has followed the coup, and while the situation has been compared to the rise of [[fascism]] in Europe, the events of 1848 in France are perhaps a better parallel.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131015154733/http://arabist.net/blog/2013/10/15/the-f-word Egypt and the f-word], Bilal Ahmed, 15 October 2013.</ref>

Accordingly, Egyptian politics have changed for the absurd &mdash; by early 2014, people were accusing puppets of terrorism<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140107070640/http://paper-bird.net/2014/01/04/puppet-regime-a-few-more-notes-on-egypt-and-paranoia/ Puppet regime: A few more notes on Egypt and paranoia]</ref> and photographers of killing protesters.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140104201325/http://arabist.net/blog/2014/1/4/egypt-in-tv Egypt in TV], Nour Youssef.</ref> Presumably, all this will settle down at some point, but in the meantime, a variety of countries are warning their citizens that Egypt is just a tad dangerous at the moment, for some reason.<ref>[http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_6240.html Egypt travel alert] (US, January 06 2014).</ref>

===Trouble in the Sinai===
Since 2011, there has been a particularly vicious [[insurgency]] being waged by Islamist militants in the {{wpl|Sinai peninsula||.}} At first the insurgency was waged by {{wpl|Bedouin}} tribes taking advantage of the chaos to launch attacks on the government, but soon after Islamist militants started pouring out of the woodwork from all over. [[DAESH]] in particular has taken root in the Sinai, and has proven particularly stubborn to root out. The Sinai militants have links to militant groups in Libya and Gaza, and are suspected to get their weapons from {{wpl|black market}} connections to groups in Libya.<ref>"[https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/ISIS-in-Sinai-the-Libyan-connection-482149 ISIS in Sinai - the Libyan connection"] - ''The Jerusalem Post''. Published February 21<sup>st</sup>, 2017.</ref><ref name="ahram">"[https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/125077/Egypt/Politics-/Sinai-population-still-striving-for-basic-rights-a.aspx Sinai population still striving for basic rights as unrest continues: Report"] - ''Ahram Online''. Written by Ahmed Eleiba. Published March 12<sup>th</sup>, 2015.</ref> DAESH in the Sinai have also seen members of other militant groups join their ranks, including members of the elite [[Hamas]] naval commando unit {{wpl|Nukhba (Hamas)|Nukhba.}}<ref>{{cws|https://www.timesofisrael.com/elite-hamas-fighters-defecting-to-islamic-state/|Elite Hamas fighters defecting to Islamic State|Times of Israel}}</ref>

Both sides are guilty of [[war crimes]] and [[crimes against humanity]]. The crackdown by the Egyptian government has been particularly harsh, with Egypt taking a cue from Israel and demolishing the homes of hundreds of Sinai residents and forcibly displacing thousands more to build a security corridor to prevent the trafficking of [[guns]] and militants to and from Gaza. The Sinai suffers from crippling poverty compared to the rest of Egypt, with poor sanitation services and high unemployment rates exacerbating an already volatile situation.<ref name="ahram" /> 

In April 2017 DAESH bombed several Christian churches, killing 40.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/least-4-killed-20-injured-blast-near-church-081051661.html|title=Palm Sunday bombings of Egyptian Coptic churches kill 44|website=yahoo.com|access-date=26 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523014953/https://www.yahoo.com/news/least-4-killed-20-injured-blast-near-church-081051661.html|archive-date=23 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2021 DAESH militants released a video of them murdering a Christian and two others in an apparent warning to the indigenous Christian community of Egypt.<ref>"[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/19/isil-linked-group-in-egypt-claims-execution-of-copt-2-others ISIL-linked group in Egypt claims execution of Copt, 2 tribesmen"] - ''Al Jazeera''. Published April 19<sup>th</sup>, 2021.</ref>

On the other side of the aisle, DAESH has targeted Muslims they view as [[heresy|insufficiently orthodox]]. One attack in November of 2017 was particularly deadly. DAESH stormed a mosque where over 300 [[Sufi]]s were killed and a hundred more were wounded. Among the dead were 27 children. This marked a change in insurgent tactics, as before this attacks on Friday prayer services were unheard of.<ref>"[https://www.theage.com.au/world/egypt-launches-airstrikes-after-deadly-mosque-attack-20171125-gzstmg.html Egypt launches air strikes after deadly mosque attack]" - ''The Age''. Written by Farid Farid. Published on November 26<sup>th</sup>, 2017.</ref>

In August 2022 a video was released of the Egyptian Army [[extrajudicial punishment|extrajudicially]] executing three wounded Sinai militants in their custody.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/30/egypt-new-videos-north-sinai-executions|title=Egypt: New Videos of North Sinai Executions|access-date=March 8<sup>th</sup>, 2023|website=Human Rights Watch|date=August 30<sup>th</sup>, 2022 }}</ref> The Egyptian government has also taken to forced disappearances, including of children, torture, and general collective punishment, in addition to the aforementioned population displacement.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/05/28/if-you-are-afraid-your-lives-leave-sinai/egyptian-security-forces-and-isis "If you are afraid for your lives, leave Sinai!"] - [[Human Rights Watch]]. Published May 28th, 2019.</ref>

===2023 Gaza conflict===
In 2023 [[Hamas]] launched an attack on Israel which incurred casualties of over a thousand people. Israel in turn has launched a sustained siege of Gaza in retaliation, creating a veritable humanitarian catastrophe that has been called "[[genocidal]]" in its scope.<ref>https://jewishcurrents.org/a-textbook-case-of-genocide</ref> This has launched in turn a massive refugee crisis that many fear is a rerun of the {{wpl|Naqba}} catastrophe, wherein Zionist forces cleansed Jewish Palestine of over seven hundred thousand people and denied them the right of return. This event is seminal to the Palestinian national consciousness just as the Holocaust is to global Jewry.<ref>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44114385</ref>

Official documents from the Israeli government have been leaked, showcasing official suggestions for a policy of [[ethnic cleansing]] in Gaza, displacing two million Gazans into Egypt.<ref name="democracynow">https://www.democracynow.org/2023/11/3/israel_leak_gaza_expulsion_egypt</ref> While Israel officially claims this to just be a mere "concept paper," the fact remains that this is an official document from the Israeli government sanctioning a policy of ethnic cleansing, specifically relocating over two million Gazans from Gaza into the Sinai pensinsula. Egypt is understandably nervous about this, and as such has only allowed a trinkle of refugees through the Rafah crossing, which is the sole remaining exfiltration route for refugees from Gaza.<ref>https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/13/middleeast/egypt-rafah-crossing-gaza-palestinians-mime-intl/index.html</ref> Most of the refugees that have been allowed through are dual or foreign nationals, with the only Palestinians with sole Palestinian citizenship being allowed through being the severely injured.<ref>https://archive.ph/nd9MI</ref><ref>https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/21/we-went-through-hell-palestinian-dual-citizens-remain-stuck-in-gaza</ref>

===Modern religion===
Although there is ostensibly [[freedom of religion]] in Egypt, legal blasphemy charges are frequently used against religious minorities and [[atheist]]s on the slightest of pretexts.<ref>[https://archive.ph/WcZ4g Egypt’s War on Atheism]</ref>  Apostasy can also lead to a prison sentence.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160706142851/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/07/03/egyptian-atheist-currently-in-hiding-makes-video-urging-viewers-to-rethink-their-belief-in-god/ Egyptian Atheist Currently in Hiding Makes Video Urging Viewers to Rethink Their Belief in God]</ref> The Christian minority is constantly threatened, while the Jewish minority has all but disappeared.

==Gallery==
<center><gallery widths=225px heights=225px>
File:View of the Nile from Hilton.jpg|Cairo skyline.
File:Egyptian food Koshary.jpg|Kushari, a common mixed-rice dish.
File:Crowd in Cairo Stadium.jpg|Crowd in Cairo stadium watches a football match.
File:Abu el-Abbas el-Mursi Mosque in Alexandria.jpg|Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque in Alexandria.
File:USS America (CV-66) in the Suez canal 1981.jpg|US aircraft carrier travels the Suez Canal.
File:Giza-pyramids.JPG|The Giza Pyramids, showing their close proximity to Cairo.
</gallery></center>

==See also==
*[[Ancient Egyptian race controversy]]
*[[Arab Spring]]
*[[Gary Greenberg]]
*[[Joseph was Imhotep]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
{{nationbox}}

[[Category:African countries]]
[[Category:Ancient Egypt]]
[[Category:Ancient history]]
[[Category:Anti-Christian bigotry]]
[[Category:Authoritarian regimes]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern countries]]

Categories: African countries, Ancient Egypt, Ancient history, Anti-Christian bigotry, Authoritarian regimes, Middle Eastern countries