Once sedentary in character, Egyptians are increasing dynamic, as the country changes wholesale, writes Abdel-Moneim Said I have just had the opportunity to attend the National Social and Criminal Research Centre's conference on "The Egyptian Character in a Changing World". Of particular interest to me was the closing session, entitled "A Future Vision for the Egyptian Character", featuring a panel discussion consisting of Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Meselhi, political science professor Alieddin Hilal and Supreme Court Justice Tahani El-Gebali. One has to admit that they had a tough task. Future projections seem to involve more risk than wisdom, more fancy than certainty, more hit-and-miss than precision. Future studies, in general, are referred to as the sociologist's nightmare. Imagine, then, the nightmarish intricacies and intractability of a concept as ambiguous as "the Egyptian character". The subject of Egyptian character immediately calls to mind two great Egyptian scholars. The first is the late Hamed Rabie who first introduced to us the notion that there is such a thing as a national character consisting of a set of attributes and behavioural traits that distinguish one society from another. It is their shared traits and attributes, and the way they perceive themselves and others, that make Egyptians Egyptian, for example, or the French French. But the question is by far not as easy as it looks. National characters are in one way or another composite personalities as the result of various subgroups, subcultures and trends that may sometimes impart a prevailing imprint on the national character. The second great scholar is Gamal Hamdan, author of The Personality of Egypt: A study in the genius of place. Appearing first as a single volume in 1968 and then expanded into four volumes that appeared during the late 1970s, this encyclopaedic work essentially takes geography as the prime determinant of national character. Without delving into excessive detail, the seminar found that the Egyptian character of the future, regardless of what we take to be common Egyptian traits, would be shaped by the diverse influences of a certain set of variables. The first is the relationship between Egyptians and the region, or the place in which they live. Now, for several decades Egypt has experienced extended tides of rural to urban migration, a process that will eventually bring the end of social orders based on the extended family and dominant rural families. Moreover, since the movement is largely towards megacities -- large metropolitan areas with populations in excess of 10 million, such as Cairo and Alexandria -- the Egyptian personality trait will be influenced by such factors as population density, more accessible and increasingly expanding knowledge and information systems, and patterns of social relations in which other modes of affiliation and organisation supersede kinship bonds. But another major demographic shift is in progress: migration from urban areas to suburban areas. A relatively modern phenomenon in Egypt, it involves the move to such newly created satellite cities as New Cairo, May City, Al-Amriya Al-Gadida, Borg Al-Arab Al-Gadida, Minya Al-Gadida, Al-Shorouk, Sheikh Zayed and 6 October governorate. With this development in the demographic and urban contours of Egypt comes the withdrawal of the middle class from the centre of overpopulated metropolitan areas and the creation of new, complete and self-contained communities with customs and lifestyles that have more in common with modern societies in Europe and the developed world. As this new Egyptian person has largely severed his conservative bond with the land and is not, therefore, adverse to picking up stakes again, new cities have sprung up to accommodate him along the Sinai, Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts, such as Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, Marsa Alam, Marina and Marsa Matrouh. Thus, the Egyptian character that was once shaped by its relationship with the Nile and the adjacent desert has expanded its horizons to embrace Egypt's vast stretches of shoreline, with all this implies with regards to the development of the spirit of initiative and adventure. But his horizons extend even further. The modern Egyptian is more prepared to emigrate. More than seven million Egyptians currently reside abroad, while maintaining their ties with Egypt, sending back money to their families and, often, keeping residences in their home towns. This Egyptian is more closely connected to the world, more determined to earn a better living, and more thirsty for democracy and modernity. The second variable is the relationship between Egyptians and time, which is moving exponentially faster than it had during Egypt's first six millennia. The pace of life increased remarkably with the introduction of the railway, the newspaper and the telegraph in the 19th century, and continued to pick up pace with the 20th century inventions of radio, television and telephone, the automobile and the aeroplane. People were moving faster, communicating faster, moving their products from source to market faster, and in greater quantities, and getting things done faster. The pace of life then took another quantum leap with the IT revolution, which began to change the entire relationship between Egyptians and their environment. When 56 million Egyptians own a mobile phone and 15 million have access to the Internet, we have a critical demographic mass that is propelling the national character to change towards one that is more active, more informed and more in touch with the world. The first two variables have an immediate bearing on the third: the relationship between the Egyptian individual and authority. This relationship, too, must inevitably change. It is impossible to separate the huge expansion in Egyptian urban society and the increasing trend to find employment in the private sector (14 million Egyptians are now employed in this sector as opposed to seven million in the public sector) from the relationship between the citizen and the state. These, among other social and economic developments, herald the end of Egypt's manifold dependency upon a caretaker state. This, in turn, leads us to a fourth variable, the relationship between the individual and society. Whereas in the remote traditional past, the individual was subsumed beneath organic groups such as clan or tribe, with the Egyptian independence movement, the "nation" became the overarching bond and the individual became a constituent element of "the people" and, below this, of classes such as workers and peasants. More recently, a new type of individuality has evolved, the very type that makes one more prepared to migrate within the country or to emigrate abroad, and more willing to change jobs and careers. Among the side effects of this breakdown in conventional social bonds or familiar social safety networks are alienation and confusion. In order to cope, many develop a deeper bond with religion, through which they strive to maintain their freedom at the same time. Four mechanisms constantly sustain the foregoing variables and give them increasing impetus. Undoubtedly, the first is technological progress which not only creates new goods and services, but simultaneously changes lifestyles, alters conceptions of wealth, creates wants and fires acquisitiveness. Its chief partner is the media, which has become a major political and economic player in the process of shaping public awareness and attitudes. The media is no longer "sedentary" requiring people to come to it in their homes, clubs or other places. It is now as mobile as people are themselves; it is accessible from wherever they may be through their "smart phones" and iPads and, soon, more mobile technology to come. The third and fourth mechanisms are also interrelated. They are the economic transformations stemming from the transition to a market economy, which has stimulated the growth of the middle class and its aspirations for greater wealth and cognitive progress; and the political transformations that have led to the loosening of the iron grip of the state and that have generated greater space for difference of opinion, freedom of expression and diversity in social bonds and networks. All the factors above have combined to create major changes in the Egyptian character. The Egyptian that was once rooted in place has become a traveller and a career adventurer. The easygoing dawdler who had no heed for time is now on the move and increasingly enterprising. The person who had once relied so heavily on government and the authorities now wants them to loosen their reins, and the Egyptian who had once subordinated his individuality to the group has become more independent and more individualistic. In sum, Egyptian traits are moving from being static to increasingly dynamic.
