Revolutionary Emotions in Cold War Egypt: Islam, Communism, and Anti-Colonial Protest (History of Emotions)

In autumn 1951, a diverse array of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish students from clubs like the Muslim Brotherhood and the Worker’s Vanguard launched a guerrilla struggle against British occupation of the Suez Canal Zone. Revolutionary Emotions in Cold War Egypt recovers this overshadowed revolution of 1951, and the part played by the “Canal struggle” in the overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy. In a study spanning a half-dozen international archives, the book delves into the divisive court cases and rousing club newspapers, intimate memoirs and personal poetry of Egyptian activists. These documents reveal that in the early years of the Cold War, morality tales and moral emotions were at the heart of the methods and the successes of Egyptian activists. What stories did activists tell, and how did the emotional appeals and “moral talk” of Islamist and communist clubs compare? How did Arabic-speaking populations negotiate moral norms, and what role did emotions like love, anger, and disgust play in political campaigns? Taking a journey through Islamic parables about perilous beaches, communist adaptations of Greek myths, and popular stories about Juha’s Nail and Paul Revere’s Ride through the Suez Canal, this book uncovers a rich history of activist storytelling. These practices uncover the mechanics of morality tales, and reveal how activists used narratives to convert emotion to motion and drive social change. Still vitally important for readers today, such findings shed light on how paramilitary groups and protest movements use moral appeals to attract support—and why activist campaigns become the controversial epicentre of polarizing emotional battles. Cover Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments Note on Translation and Transliteration 1 Over-Emotional Students?: Reconceptualizing “Arab Emotions” in Cold War Egypt 2 Virtue and Vice in Twentieth-Century Egypt: Emotions and the Moral Marketplace 3 The Ballad of King Faruq: Egyptian Experiences of the Second World War 4 The Muslim Brotherhood and Young Egypt on Trial: Conversion, Competition, and Compromise 5 “Allahu Akhbar, Long Live the Workers!”: Communist Clubs and the Islam Question 6 “Shaykh in a Dance Club!” and Other Shocking Tales 7 Paul Revere’s Ride through the Suez Canal: The 1951 Revolution 8 “Those Who Jest in a Time of Gravity”: Emotional Appeals and the Cairo Fire 9 Conclusion: Emotions and Protest in the Cold War Middle East Notes Bibliography Index