Table Of ContentTHE AGE OF THE EFENDIYYA
OXFORD HISTORICAL MONOGRAPHS
The Oxford Historical Monographs series publishes some of the best
Oxford University doctoral theses on historical topics, especially
those likely to engage the interest of a broad academic readership.
Editors
p. clavin j. darwin l. goldman
j. innes d. parrott s. smith
b. ward-perkins j. l. watts
The Age of the
Efendiyya
Passages to Modernity
in National-Colonial Egypt
LUCIE RYZOVA
1
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Lucie Ryzova 2014
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First Edition published in 2014
Impression: 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by licence, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics
rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013941643
ISBN 978–0–19–968177–8
As printed and bound by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and
for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
This is Walter’s book
Acknowledgments
Back in 2001, when not everybody thought that ‘the efendi’ was a meaningful
concept, and even less so a subject for a dissertation, my work was enthu-
siastically supported by Eugene Rogan and Walter Armbrust. My deepest
thanks go to them. Walter taught me everything I know. He remains
instrumental to my work in ways that cannot be expressed in words, and
provides inspiration as well as critical feedback at every stage.
This work was made possible by the following financial support, in
chronological order: a Chevening scholarship first brought me to Oxford as
a visiting student in 2000; the next year, my mother’s savings, together with
an Overseas Research Student grant, got me through my first doctoral year
at Oxford. My subsequent years were funded by the St Antony’s College
Middle East Centre’s Pachachi Scholarship (2002), and the Faculty of
Modern History’s Bryce, Amy Preston and Marquis of Lothian Studentship
(2003). My three years of fieldwork in Egypt were funded by a Beit Fund
grant at Oxford (2003), two short-term grants offered by the CEDEJ in
Cairo, and eventually their full-time doctoral scholarship (Bourse d’aide à
la recherche MAE, 2004). In 2005, I became a Junior Research Fellow at St
John’s College, Oxford, where ‘the best post-doc in the world’, as I like to
call it, generously sponsored the manifold rewritings of this book.
In Egypt, my thanks go to the ‘old paper’ merchants, Muhammad Sadeq
and his family, Makram Salama, and al-Hagg Mustafa Sadeq, who supplied
the bulk of my source material and much more. The invaluable advice,
encouragement, and encyclopedic knowledge of Bashir al-Siba‘i and Dr. Taw-
fiq Aclimandos of the CEDEJ advanced my project immensely. I thank my
circle of friends, efendis and sons of efendis like myself, whose knowledge,
expertise, and critical thinking really made this project possible, and who put
up with, or even seemed to enjoy, endless nights of discussing the efendiyya,
which really were monologues about myself. They include Prof. Muhammad
Badawi of ‘Ain Shams University, Hamada Sharaf, Dr. ‘Essam Fawzi, Jo
Rizq, and Prof. Muhammad ‘Afifi of Cairo University. This work would also
have been unthinkable without the presence of Wessam Soliman, Lady
‘Aziza ‘Abd al-Gawwad Mustafa, Dr. Hosna ‘Abd al-Sami‘, and Jiri Riha
and his family.
Randi Deguilhem and Marilyn Booth offered crucial help and support
during my dissertation’s various stages. Like Jessica Winegar at a later
stage, they never cease to inspire me. Israel Gershoni’s work was an early
viii Acknowledgments
inspiration for this project, and he became its enthusiastic supporter and
advocate. Like James Jankowski, Yoav Di Capua, and Liat Kozma, all of
them writing on very similar topics, never believed the efendi to be only
‘their territory’, and warmly encouraged this project from its earliest
stages. To all of them go my deepest thanks.
I also wish to thank those who helped this book through the various
stages of its production: my examiners, Paul Dresh and John Chalcraft,
who recommended my doctoral dissertation for publication; Eugene
Rogan as guest editor and Joanna Innes as series editor, who patiently sup-
ported the dissertation’s transformation into book form; and Stephanie
Ireland, Cathryn Steele, and Emma Slaughter of Oxford University Press,
whose expert advice and kindness made the publication process a most
enjoyable experience.
Contents
List of Illustrations xi
Note on Transliteration xii
1. Introduction 1
The Saint’s Lamp 1
The Age of the Efendiyya 4
History from the Middle 10
Efendi Culture, Efendi State 18
A Note on Sources: Junk as Archive 26
Overview of Chapters 31
2. Recognizing the Efendi 38
Recognizing the Efendi 38
The Practice of Everyday Efendihood 43
What is the Efendi? 43
The Discreet Charms of a New Bourgeoisie and the Hilarious
Vulgarity of Imposters 52
Performing Modernity in Everyday Practice 58
Structuring the Efendi Social Landscape 68
The Blacksmith’s Son: Building Modern Egypt 68
The Doctor: Recipe for Modernity 78
Conclusion: The Productivity of Borders 85
3. Hearts Full of Hope 88
Becoming Efendi 88
First Generation Efendification: Choices and Strategies 93
Tales of the First Suit 93
Combining and Switching Curricula 99
Oldest Brothers’ Role and Sacrifice 102
From Austerity (al-takashshuf ) to Refinement (al-taraqqi ) 105
Educational Dilemmas, Educational Economies 110
Interpreting Educational Dilemmas 110
Tropes of Struggle, Tropes of Luck 115
The Economies of Education 118
The Culture of Social Mobility 122
Negotiating the Bottom Boundary 122
Sitt Umm Efendi: Mothers’ Struggles for efendification 125
The Instincts of the Elders 128
