Egypt’s Minister of Public Instruction, Taha Hussein (wearing dark glasses) and his wife Suzanne, arriving in Madrid on November 7, 1950 to inaugurate Farouk I Institute for Islamic Studies
Thursday, March 12, 2020 - 18:00
Room 1.33, First Floor, Iontas Building, MU North Campus
Speaker:
Dr Hussam R. Ahmed, MU Department of History
Synopsis:
This paper tells the story of Egypt’s attempts to situate itself as the guardian of Arabic and Islamic studies in Europe and French-controlled North Africa after signing the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty. Using Egyptian and French archival material, Dr Ahmed shows that for Egyptian negotiators, downplaying the “political” implications of these proposed academic institutes while stressing their “cultural” nature was a supremely political strategy forcing European governments to engage seriously with these requests despite fear of Egypt’s influence on various colonies and protectorates.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED