The engineer of Egyptian modernity was not Egyptian – he was Ottoman. Muhammed Ali is a prolific name, one potent in political and scholarly circles. Some would argue for good reason: here was a man who attempted ripping Egypt from the fabric of an oppressive Ottoman Empire in a move for the throne. Muhammed Ali was not only the father of Egyptian modernity, but became a central artery of its history to this day. He granted the state its first illusion of autonomy after several millennia, and strove to redevelop Egypt through newfound, localized modernity. From a dilapidated intellectualism and rampant poverty, the Ottoman and Mamluk reigns had done little but ensure stagnation; the mission at hand was labor intensive, but through exhaustive – arguably absolutist – means, Muhammed Ali brought Egypt to the forefront of the 19th century and “put an end to Egypt’s traditional society.” Birth of A Viceroy Not much is known about Muhammed Ali’s youth, and it is this elusive, obscure youth that has helped his history interweave well with Egyptian idolization. What is certain, however, is that Muhammed Ali was born in Kavala, Macedonia to…
