The French invasion of Egypt impoverished Cairene families and disrupted al-Azhar educations

Evidence

In his book, Muhammad ibn Umar al-Tunisï included many other personal details about the difficulties of fatherless life in Cairo (all of which occurred during the French invasion of the country) that led to his becoming the head of the family at age fourteen. He too studied at al-Azhär, but the family was so impoverished that he abandoned his studies to learn a trade. At this disillusioning juncture, he heard that a caravan from Därfür was coming to Cairo, and he went to the slave market to inquire about opportunities and about his father, whom he had learned was in Därfür. He met the caravan and found an acquaintance of Umar, who informed him that his father had become a very important advisor to Muhammad al-Fadl, the sultan of Därfür. This acquaintance persuaded Muhammad to return with the caravan to Därfür, and so, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he left for the Sudan shortly thereafter. — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 151

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s broader Egypt-vs-Sudan colonial comparison: French invasion of Cairo altered Egyptian family fortunes and pushed scholars into Sudan. — connects to: Vast scholarly knowledge of Egyptians was compiled without native input to serve French domination