Mehmed Ali deliberately kept Turkish-speaking officers above Arab fellah conscripts to preserve his regime

Evidence

In spite of these problems Ibrahim could not afford to do away with the ethno-linguistic distinction between officers and soldiers since this was an important cementing element that kept the army together, albeit by force. Retaining this ethno-linguistic distinction was not without its own problems since the officers felt, not without reason, that the regime so heavily depended on them that they could get away with nearly anything. Ibrahim or his father might have reprimanded this or that officer for mistreating the soldiers; ultimately, however, the very fabric of the army depended on the need to control the fellah conscripts by appointing ethnically different officers to command them. Whatever his true sentiments might have been regarding the qualities of the “Arabs” vs. “Turks” under his rule, Mehmed Ali knew that it was only by appointing Turkish-speaking officers that it was possible to prevent the fellah conscripts from turning against him and his ruling family. The Pasha knew too well that if “Arabs” were allowed to assume leadership positions, whether in the army or the civilian administration, they would challenge the very basis of his power, viz. the Turkish–mamluk coalition that he had so laboriously formed. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1334

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to classic colonial/divide-and-rule military structures where an ethnically distinct officer class commands a subject peasantry conscripted by force. — connects to: Mehmed Ali barred Egyptian fellahin from rising above junior officer rank