Fellahin resistance to Mehmed Ali’s conscription was pervasive.

Evidence

The problem with this argument insofar as it pertains to the army, besides the obvious one of lumping together the entire rural population of Egypt under the general rubric of “fellahin,” is that the population of Egypt, far from enthusiastically flocking to serve in the army, was in fact very resentful of military service and strongly resisted serving in the army. … Recognizing that the scale of this resistance was alarming, that it was not localized but was widespread throughout Egypt, and that the rural population went out of their way to make this resistance obvious, it is still commonplace to argue that this was only a temporary reaction caused above all by “the fellah’s strong attachment to his land and the unfamiliarity of military life to him.” — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 92 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Over 30,000 Egyptians rebelled against Mehmed Ali’s conscription in 1824; Albanian resistance and Sudan failures forced Mehmed Ali to conscript Egyptians; Soldiers petitioned Mehmed Ali to have their families join them (+5 more)

Related

• Over 30,000 Egyptians rebelled against Mehmed Ali’s conscription in 1824 (similarity 0.94)
• Egyptian peasants strongly resisted conscription into Mehmed Ali’s army. (similarity 0.93)
• Egyptian conscripts served Mehmed Ali’s army entirely against their will (similarity 0.93)
• Albanian resistance and Sudan failures forced Mehmed Ali to conscript Egyptians (similarity 0.92)
• Egyptian peasants maimed themselves to escape conscription into Mehmed Ali’s army (similarity 0.91)
• Egyptian peasants strongly resisted conscription into the modern army (similarity 0.91)
• Conscript soldiers resisted the Pasha’s project and undermined his army’s power (similarity 0.91)
• Egyptian conscripts resisted the Pasha’s army through desertion and self-mutilation (similarity 0.90)
• Egyptian peasants overwhelmingly resisted conscription despite ideological appeals, via open rebellion (similarity 0.88)
• Egyptian peasants blinded and mutilated themselves to evade conscription. (similarity 0.88)
• Egyptian peasants universally hated conscription into Mehmed Ali’s army (similarity 0.87)
• Hospitalized Egyptian soldiers violently resisted medical authority. (similarity 0.86)
• Mehmed Ali had exhausted alternatives before conscripting Egyptian peasants wholesale (similarity 0.85)
• Egyptian peasants experienced conscription as oppressive taxation rather than patriotic service (similarity 0.84)
• Fellahin soldiers resisted conscription rather than seeing the army as theirs (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Egyptian peasants strongly resisted conscription into Mehmed Ali’s army. #corroborates (0.95) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 92
• Egyptian peasants maimed themselves to escape conscription into Mehmed Ali’s army #exemplifies (0.80)
• Mehmed Ali conscripted even self-maimed men into his army and projects #expands (0.60)