Several sites in the desert between the Nile and the Red Sea, in Egypt and Sudan, as well as in the Nubian Nile Valley have produced the sherds of decorated hand-made cups and bowls, now identified... Show moreSeveral sites in the desert between the Nile and the Red Sea, in Egypt and Sudan, as well as in the Nubian Nile Valley have produced the sherds of decorated hand-made cups and bowls, now identified as Eastern Desert Ware (EDW). Because of their small number and enigmatic origin these sherds have been mostly ignored. For this study, 290 EDW sherds were collected and investigated macroscopically, microscopically and by mass-spectrometry of both the ceramic matrix (ICP/MS) and the preserved organic residues (GC/MS). The results strongly suggest that EDW was made and used by the pastoral nomads living in the desert in the 4th-6th centuries CE. The former identification of these nomads with the Blemmyes of the written sources, however, must now equally strongly be rejected. Show less
For two of the most popular Egyptian television preachers, Amr Khaled and Moez Masoud, art is central to the project of Islamic Revival. For them, art is a special means of bringing people closer... Show moreFor two of the most popular Egyptian television preachers, Amr Khaled and Moez Masoud, art is central to the project of Islamic Revival. For them, art is a special means of bringing people closer to God, making them more cultured, and building the ummah. The author argues that, intriguingly, their focus on art overlaps with that of the Egyptian state’s nation-building and civilizing art projects. Show less
Contemporary discussions of the Egyptian peasantry, for example relating to the recent tenancy law, centre on stereotypes of backward peasants. Such discourses, which paint peasants as apolitical... Show moreContemporary discussions of the Egyptian peasantry, for example relating to the recent tenancy law, centre on stereotypes of backward peasants. Such discourses, which paint peasants as apolitical creatures and bearers of a backward mentality, can be traced at least as far back as the interwar era. But by using the peasant “mentality” as an all-explanatory device for understanding rural poverty, these discourses ignore the social and political processes that produced rural poverty in the first place. Show less
