Egyptian writers blended medieval Black stereotypes with imported European power terminology

Evidence

In fact, race is an important marker of difference for all four writers, who painstakingly noted racial differences in skin color, sexual behavior, and religious attitudes among the Sudanese. Sometimes the writers seem to have plucked these concepts from medieval literature about blacks and Sudanese, but more often they mixed stereotypes about blacks with new terminology about power and concepts of civilization translated from European texts. As this chapter shows, however, al-Tahtawï’s perceptions were different from those of the other three writers, reflecting, I think, a hardening perspective of Egyptian intellectuals about the nature of Egyptian identity and its measure against African societies. — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 137

Categorization

• XREF: Supports the reader’s interest in how Egyptian colonial discourse synthesized indigenous and European racial frames. — connects to: Egyptian intellectuals increasingly racialized identity against African societies; Egyptian nationalists actively used European race discourse to frame views on Sudan — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 98; Egyptian writers framed Egyptian rule as a civilizing force over a wild Sudan (+1 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 137

Broader Connections

• Egyptian nationalists actively used European race discourse to frame views on Sudan #expands (0.80) — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 98
• Egyptian writers framed Egyptian rule as a civilizing force over a wild Sudan #expands (0.60)