Redefining the Egyptian Nation, 1930–1945

The authors examine the emergence of nationalism among the Egyptian middle class during the l930s and l940s, and its growing awareness of an Arab and Muslim identity. The authors demonstrate how the growth of an urban middle class, combined with economic and political failures in the l930s, eroded the foundations of the earlier order. Egypt's present position as a major player in Arab, Muslim and Third World affairs has its roots in the fundamental transition of Egyptian national identity at this time.