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06-17-2007, 07:19 AM
Three little-known chronicles of an invasion
Quantum note
By Dr Muzaffar Iqbal
For the Muslim world, June 28, 2007 will mark the
209th anniversary of the "mother of all invasions",
but hardly anyone will remember that fateful day of
1798 when a terrifying armada appeared off the coast
of Alexandria under the command of a 28-year-old man
destined to leave his mark on history. An eyewitness,
Nicholas the Turk, claimed that when the people looked
at the water they could see only sky and ships and
"were terrified by unimaginable terrors."
The French armada consisted of 400 ships carrying
36,000 men. These men were to establish a prototype of
invasion of Muslim lands by Western armies that was to
become a model for all subsequent invasions. Its most
recent, and perhaps the most brutal manifestations,
are being enacted in Afghanistan and Iraq. The French
occupation of Egypt lasted for the brief period of
three years (1798-1801), but it remains a watershed
between that old, pre-modern world of an ancient and
ritual-filled lifestyle that had been the most obvious
characteristic of the general pattern of life in the
Muslim world until its encounter with modernity and
the frenzy of modern-day life that has now gripped the
entire Muslim world save a few isolated places.
Napoleon's invasion of Egypt is also a landmark in the
relationship between Muslims and the West. Although,
it was not the first invasion and occupation of a
Muslim land by a European power, its impact on
subsequent history has been far more important than
the earlier Portuguese and British invasions and the
pattern of administration set by Napoleon during the
post-invasion phase is certainly far more
sophisticated than anything the Portuguese and the
British could dream of.
The French invaders have left abundant records of
their invasion of Ottoman Egypt, the most impressive
being the multi-volume Description de l'Egypte, which
is unsurpassable in its exactitude because it was the
work of the large contingent of scholars whom Napoleon
had recruited for his invasion. They may be called
"embedded scholars", the counterpart of modern-day
embedded journalists, with the provision that they
were better equipped to deal with the situation which
they witnessed first hand. The French records have
supplied ample material to historians over the last
two centuries and there exists a very large collection
of scholarly works on the subject, almost all of which
draw from the French sources. This "scholarly
research" is also the mainstay of textbooks taught in
the Western world, and sadly, increasingly in the
Muslim world as well.
These works describe the French invasion of Egypt as
the harbinger of enlightenment, education, scientific
research, and modernisation of that backward land.
They eulogise the role of French scientists who had
accompanied Napoleon, and highlight their effort in
decoding ancient hieroglyphs. They describe the Mamluk
warriors who to met the invaders in the worst possible
manner. They describe the filth and chaos of Cairo
streets and the unruly behaviour of the Egyptian mobs,
and they present to the world a picture of Egypt that
evokes nothing but disgust.
This record of invasion by the invaders has now been
the mainstay of Western scholarship for over two
centuries. The mechanisms of control and coercion used
by Napoleon have entered the secret chambers of those
who send out Marines to Kabul and Baghdad, for they
provide practical details for post-invasion
strategies. But there is hardly any attention given to
the voice of the invaded, neither in the West nor in
the East. Those who were invaded, whose freedom,
rights, and honour was spoiled, and whose land and
property were destroyed are almost always seen through
the eyes of the invaders.
This is not merely an academic issue. It is a matter
of life and death for those who are still suffering
invasions. Their voices emerging from pulverized
neighbourhoods and from under the rubble of buildings,
deserve to be heard. Fortunately, we have one such
voice which has preserved for us a record of that
"mother of all invasions." This voice is that of Abd
al-Rahman al-Jabarti, the last of the great Muslim
historians who wrote in the grand tradition of Ibn
Khaldun.
Al-Jabarti was born into a distinguished family of
Ulama in 1753 and he died in 1825 (or 1826). At the
time of Napoleon's invasion, he was in Cairo. His
first-hand accounts of the French invasion have been
preserved in three works: Tarikh muddat al-Fanasis bi
Misr, Mazhar al-Taqdis bi-zawal dawlat al-Faransis,
and his history of Egypt from 1688 to 1821, called
Aja'ib al-Athar fil-Tarajim wal-Ahbar.
Out of these three books, Muddat provides the most
direct evidence of what Napoleon and his troops did in
the early days of invasion. It is a record of infamy
in which one witnesses the burning of villages, the
stripping of men, random mid-night searches,
imprisonment of women and children, and, sadly, the
details of the behaviour of an enlisted and
subservient Ulama. Above all, these three works are
eye-openers for those interested in understanding the
mechanisms of invasion and occupation now in vogue.
The writer is a freelance columnist.
Email: [email protected] (quantumnotes%40gmail.com)
Quantum note
By Dr Muzaffar Iqbal
For the Muslim world, June 28, 2007 will mark the
209th anniversary of the "mother of all invasions",
but hardly anyone will remember that fateful day of
1798 when a terrifying armada appeared off the coast
of Alexandria under the command of a 28-year-old man
destined to leave his mark on history. An eyewitness,
Nicholas the Turk, claimed that when the people looked
at the water they could see only sky and ships and
"were terrified by unimaginable terrors."
The French armada consisted of 400 ships carrying
36,000 men. These men were to establish a prototype of
invasion of Muslim lands by Western armies that was to
become a model for all subsequent invasions. Its most
recent, and perhaps the most brutal manifestations,
are being enacted in Afghanistan and Iraq. The French
occupation of Egypt lasted for the brief period of
three years (1798-1801), but it remains a watershed
between that old, pre-modern world of an ancient and
ritual-filled lifestyle that had been the most obvious
characteristic of the general pattern of life in the
Muslim world until its encounter with modernity and
the frenzy of modern-day life that has now gripped the
entire Muslim world save a few isolated places.
Napoleon's invasion of Egypt is also a landmark in the
relationship between Muslims and the West. Although,
it was not the first invasion and occupation of a
Muslim land by a European power, its impact on
subsequent history has been far more important than
the earlier Portuguese and British invasions and the
pattern of administration set by Napoleon during the
post-invasion phase is certainly far more
sophisticated than anything the Portuguese and the
British could dream of.
The French invaders have left abundant records of
their invasion of Ottoman Egypt, the most impressive
being the multi-volume Description de l'Egypte, which
is unsurpassable in its exactitude because it was the
work of the large contingent of scholars whom Napoleon
had recruited for his invasion. They may be called
"embedded scholars", the counterpart of modern-day
embedded journalists, with the provision that they
were better equipped to deal with the situation which
they witnessed first hand. The French records have
supplied ample material to historians over the last
two centuries and there exists a very large collection
of scholarly works on the subject, almost all of which
draw from the French sources. This "scholarly
research" is also the mainstay of textbooks taught in
the Western world, and sadly, increasingly in the
Muslim world as well.
These works describe the French invasion of Egypt as
the harbinger of enlightenment, education, scientific
research, and modernisation of that backward land.
They eulogise the role of French scientists who had
accompanied Napoleon, and highlight their effort in
decoding ancient hieroglyphs. They describe the Mamluk
warriors who to met the invaders in the worst possible
manner. They describe the filth and chaos of Cairo
streets and the unruly behaviour of the Egyptian mobs,
and they present to the world a picture of Egypt that
evokes nothing but disgust.
This record of invasion by the invaders has now been
the mainstay of Western scholarship for over two
centuries. The mechanisms of control and coercion used
by Napoleon have entered the secret chambers of those
who send out Marines to Kabul and Baghdad, for they
provide practical details for post-invasion
strategies. But there is hardly any attention given to
the voice of the invaded, neither in the West nor in
the East. Those who were invaded, whose freedom,
rights, and honour was spoiled, and whose land and
property were destroyed are almost always seen through
the eyes of the invaders.
This is not merely an academic issue. It is a matter
of life and death for those who are still suffering
invasions. Their voices emerging from pulverized
neighbourhoods and from under the rubble of buildings,
deserve to be heard. Fortunately, we have one such
voice which has preserved for us a record of that
"mother of all invasions." This voice is that of Abd
al-Rahman al-Jabarti, the last of the great Muslim
historians who wrote in the grand tradition of Ibn
Khaldun.
Al-Jabarti was born into a distinguished family of
Ulama in 1753 and he died in 1825 (or 1826). At the
time of Napoleon's invasion, he was in Cairo. His
first-hand accounts of the French invasion have been
preserved in three works: Tarikh muddat al-Fanasis bi
Misr, Mazhar al-Taqdis bi-zawal dawlat al-Faransis,
and his history of Egypt from 1688 to 1821, called
Aja'ib al-Athar fil-Tarajim wal-Ahbar.
Out of these three books, Muddat provides the most
direct evidence of what Napoleon and his troops did in
the early days of invasion. It is a record of infamy
in which one witnesses the burning of villages, the
stripping of men, random mid-night searches,
imprisonment of women and children, and, sadly, the
details of the behaviour of an enlisted and
subservient Ulama. Above all, these three works are
eye-openers for those interested in understanding the
mechanisms of invasion and occupation now in vogue.
The writer is a freelance columnist.
Email: [email protected] (quantumnotes%40gmail.com)