Egyptian independence hinged on proving moral compatibility with western Europe

Evidence

The editor of al-Fayüm touched on a highly charged subject when he mentioned barbarity, for in the debate about slavery then being argued throughout Egyptian society, the question of slavery’s abolition was always intermingled with the idea of being civilized.The measurements and proofs of civilization were vague, yet Egyptian independence rested on Egyptians’ ability to prove social and moral compatibility with western Europe. Shawarbi Pasha’s lawyer exploited the sensitivity of this issue when he asked, in his summary argument before the court, “What guilt is there for the man who takes the kidnapped from misery to happiness, from hunger to ease of life, replacing their ragged clothes with beautiful robes, supporting them with money, treating them with the kindness that both his religion and his sense of humanity dictate to him? He does not buy them for trade, or for profit.” — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 711

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s comparative question: Egyptian abolition discourse was hostage to European civilizational judgment — a constraint Sudanese anti-colonial discourse likely did not share.