Anarchism in Egypt refers both to the historical
Egyptian anarchist movement which emerged
in the 1860s and lasted until the 1940s, and
to the anarchist movement as it has re-emerged
in the early 2000s.
== History ==
=== Emergence: 1860s–1910s ===
Anarchism was first introduced to Egypt by
Italian immigrant workers and political exiles
in the 1860s.
The Italian community in Egypt was one of
numerous such communities of expatriate workers
whose presence in Egypt dated to the modernisation
programme of Muhammad Ali, Wāli (or Governor)
of Egypt from 1805 to 1849, as part of which
the immigration of foreigners with useful
skills was encouraged.
This process was accelerated under Ali's successors,
in particular with the construction of the
Suez Canal in the 1850s.The Italian Workers
Society (Italian: Società Operaia Italiana),
established in Alexandria in the early 1860s,
was the first organisation among the Italian
expatriate community which began to move towards
anarchism.
By the middle of the 1870s, the arrival of
veterans of Giuseppe Garibaldi's campaigns
and other radicals lead to the establishment
of Thought and Action (Italian: Pensiero ed
Azione), a political association along Mazzinian
lines.
In 1876, a more radical grouping split from
this and was recognised as the official Alexandrine
section of the anarchist First International.
Additional sections were formed in Cairo,
Port Said and Ismailia over the next year,
and the Egyptian sections presented their
first report to the International at its Verviers
Congress in September 1877.
Although at this early stage the movement
was strongly Italian in character, the published
proceedings of the Verviers Congress demonstrate
that the Alexandrine section, with the support
of the one in Cairo, and the Greek Federation,
successfully sponsored a proposal calling
for the dissemination throughout the eastern
Mediterranean of anarchist literature "in
Italian, Illyrian, Greek, Turkish and Arabic".
The International dissolved shortly after
and the resolution came to nothing, but it
clearly demonstrated the aspiration of the
fledgling Egyptian anarchist movement to expand
beyond its initial exclusively Italian base.Many
leading figures of the global anarchist movement,
including Errico Malatesta, Amilcare Cipriani,
Élisée Reclus, Luigi Galleani and Pietro
Gori passed through Egypt at various points
and for various reasons, owing to its position
as a relative safe haven for political dissidents
and close proximity to Europe.
In July 1881 when anarchist delegates convened
in London to establish the International Working
People's Association (or "Black International"),
the Egyptian sections – in federation with
anarchists in Istanbul – were represented
by Malatesta, then resident in Egypt.
By this time, the Alexandrine anarchists had
established a European Social Studies Circle
(Italian: Circolo europeo di studii sociali),
in which they held discussions on social questions,
and had set up a clandestine press for the
printing of posters.
Later in the same year a conference was convened
at Sidi Gaber and attended by approximately
100 delegates from anarchist groups across
Egypt.During much of this period, Egypt had
been in a sustained political crisis.
Egypt fell into heavy debt, incurred to fund
extensive infrastructure development and the
lavish lifestyle of the Khedive (or Viceroy),
Isma'il Pasha.
Unable to repay, Egypt had been forced in
1876 to accept European control over its treasury.
In 1879, under British and French pressure,
Isma'il had been deposed by the Sultan and
succeeded by his son Tewfik Pasha who moved
to appease European creditors.
A power struggle developed between elements
of the Turko-Circassian elite on the one hand
and nationalist officers led by Ahmed Urabi
on the other who wanted a constitutional government.
By the beginning of 1882 Urabi was War Minister,
and was confronted by hostile British and
French governments wanting to defend European
investments from his perceived anti-foreigner
stance.
Despite his characterisation as anti-foreign,
however, Urabi in fact did receive support
from elements of the foreign community, including
Italian workers and a sizeable number of anarchists.
In June that year British forces bombarded
Alexandria before landing and marching against
Urabi.
Following his defeat at the Battle of Tel
el-Kebir, British occupation of the rest of
the country followed shortly.
=== Re-emergence: early 2010s–present ===
The movement re-entered global view when a
number of anarchist groups took part in the
2011 Egyptian revolution, namely the Egyptian
Libertarian Socialist Movement and Black Flag.
The Egyptian anarchists have come under attack
from the military regime and the Muslim Brotherhood.
On October 7, 2011, the Egyptian Libertarian
Socialist Movement held their first conference
in Cairo.
== Organisations ==
Black Flag (2010s–)
Libertarian Socialist Movement (2011–)
== See also ==
Anarchism in Africa
== References ==
== Further reading ==
