[Sphinx]

I have just finished the book "Purification of Gold, in summarizing Paris". The book was written by the Egyptian scholar El-Tahtawy (early 19th century) who was sent by the Sultan Muhammad Ali to Paris among a group of scholars to get exposed to the western civilization, get educated in Paris' schools, and bring back the knowledge that they acquire to Egypt. It was part of Muhammed Ali's plan to "modernize" Egypt.

At that time, Egypt wasn't globalized or colonized. Egypt lived a very different life than the West, and maintained its traditional Arabic and Islamic culture. The book is so precious as it shows the first impressions that someone from the Middle East, having pure Arabic and Islamic culture, got when he was exposed to the Western life.

El-Tahtawy couldn't be more fascinated by the French advanced industries, the French constitution, and the wide-spread of general knowledge among their citizens. Besides, he points out several observations that caught his eyes: their men dance and they don't consider dancing a shame, they love to be praised a lot, they change the style of their clothes frequently, they treat women better than they treat men, they love to travel, they don't treat their horses well, they are honest hard-workers, they don't believe in destiny, they don't abide by their religion, they have a lot of sexual relationships outside marriage, they are very thirsty for knowledge, they consider logic and science more truthful than religion, they don't get married to dark-skinned people and they consider black people dirty, etc.

He also points out that the French don't give money generously to poor people. He says: "they claim that giving money to the poor will discourage them from working hard". He points out that it is possible to see a poor man dying of hunger in the street and no body is helping him. At that time, the Islamic world used to have "Takaya", places where food is offered for free to whoever need.

It is a very interesting book, and I think El-Tahtawy presented a good, neutral comparison. He left me puzzled, though, over whether it was better to live in Egypt or France, in the early 19th century.

[Beirut]

I have a paper that also quote him saying " the parisians are distinguished among the people of Christendom by the sharpness of their intellects, the precision of their understanding, and the immersion of their minds in deep matters...they are not prisoners of tradition, but always love to know the origin of things and the proofs of them. Even the common people know how to read and write, and enter like others into important subjects, every man according to his capacity.... it is of the nature of the French that they are curious and enthusiastic about what is new, and love change and alteration in things, particuality in clothes.... Change and caprice also are of their nature; they will change immediately from joy to sadness, or from seriousness to joking or vice versa, so that in one day a man will do all manners of contradictory things. But all this is found in small matters; in great things their views of politics do not change; every man remains in his beliefs and opinions... they are nearer to miserliness than generosity... they deny miracles, and believe it is not possible to infringe natural laws, and that religious came to point men to good works... But among their ugly beliefs is this, that the intellect and virtue of their wise men are greater than the intelligence of the prophets."Ahmad Shawki praised them too.
Here's some of Hafiz Ibrahim's surpassing poems that also give an insight on our situation: 1, 2, 3.