Repetition of patriotic vocabulary in schools was proposed to realize national unity

Evidence

Marsafi concluded Eight Words by stating that intelligent men in the community were to pay particular attention, within these understandings, to what concerned the habits and character of the people, and distinguish between the good and the bad; and that those who taught in the new schools were to make patriotism (al-wataniyya) the basis of their instruction. Every trade and occupation was to be taught in a way which brought out that the work is in the service of the community. By using the word ‘patriotism’ frequently in class, teachers could help to realise its meaning, so that the community would deserve its name and become one in reality. — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 432

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: ‘patriotism as performative speech’ — the idea that repeating a word frequently in classrooms can make the community ‘become one in reality,’ a striking precursor to both Austin’s speech-act theory and modern nationalism studies.