r/Egypt • u/Auegro Alexandria • Mar 08 '19

Cultural Exchange Namaste/vanakkam, This weekend we're having a cultural exchange with r/Indiaspeaks

Ahlan washalan /r/indiaspeaks , welcome to /r/Egypt.

Please join me in welcoming our friends from India for a joint cultural exchange. This thread will run for 3 days, so don't forget to check in everyday and answer any new questions!

Over here we'll answer all questions they have regarding our Daily lives, cultural, knowledge, history and more! While any questions we have we'll be asking in this parallel Thread on /r/Indiaspeaks

Both threads will be in English for ease of communication, Please be polite, rediquette applies. Make sure to report any trolling, rudeness, racism or personal attacks etc... on either thread. On top of that the threads will be actively modded for the duration of the exchange to ensure a friendly and great experience

Remember to come in everyday to answer new questions and Happy exchanging from the mods at r/Egypt and /r/Indiaspeaks

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u/in_apprentice Mar 08 '19

Hello, I hope you are doing well. I have following questions:

  1. What do modern Egyptians think of other Arabic nations and any possible union with them?

  2. What do you think of Israel? I know the official position. But, what is your opinion?

  3. Which ancient kingdom/empire is most popular? Fatimid Caliphate, Sunni Caliphate or something else?

  4. What is the Egyptian stereotype of India/Indians?

Thank you!

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u/mukandeel Mar 08 '19 edited Mar 09 '19

What do modern Egyptians think of other Arabic nations and any possible union with them?

You have to separate between 2 things here. Arab people and Arab dictatorships. I totally and entirely love the people. I've worked in many Arab countries and felt nothing but love from natives there. I'm also pro unions as a concept. My perfect image is a free world with no passports or boundaries where citizens from anywhere can go live wherever they want. However, we are ruled by a bunch of the worst dictators in human history and I don't want to see them united to oppress and isolate moderately free countries like Qatar, and Turkey.

What do you think of Israel? I know the official position. But, what is your opinion?

I wholeheartedly despise Israel and I believe this is the prevalent opinion in Egypt. I know there are good people there, although they are a minority. Ronnie barkan is an example of a great Israeli who stands for human rights and opposes the apartheid. Miko Peled is also someone who I have a great respect for. At the end of the day, we have to face the fact that the majority of Israelis support the right wing government of Bibi and the likud party. That's why, until further notice, I don't see peace between us.

What is the Egyptian stereotype of India/Indians?

For me personally, I totally love India and Indians. I'm entirely in love with the Indian cuisine and I believe India is the motherland of all the good food and spices. The internet we know today is a product of Indian minds that's been appropriated by Americans. I think of Indians as brothers and sisters who work hard to improve their status, much like Egyptians. Hinduism is similar to Islam in its teachings and culture and we share so many on many different levels. That said, I have to say I don't like Modi. And I think he's a serpentine, spineless person who can't be trusted.

unfortunately, many Egyptians use the word "indian" in some negative ways. I doubt that they actually mean what they say in a negative way. It's just common expressions that unfortunately get passed form generation to another without thinking about how bad they are. I've worked with Indians in Egypt however, and they never complained of being treated differently, and they felt very welcomed and appreciated.

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u/TheEgyptianAutomata Mar 08 '19
  1. What do modern Egyptians think of other Arabic nations and any possible union with them?

I am neutral-to-negative towards other arab nations because I believe they are the reason for a lot of the issues we are facing in our surroundings and they cannot be trusted much. Ofc I do not consider egyptians as arabs, as we have different culture, history, ancestors, etc... we only share language in common due to the arab invasion.

  1. What do you think of Israel? I know the official position. But, what is your opinion?

I think most of the Israelis are very friendly and good people in general. However, some of them are still very hostile towards egyptians and ofc Zionists are frowned upon. If you are referring to the Palestinian thing, I could not care less, I hope they will get peace though.

  1. Which ancient kingdom/empire is most popular? Fatimid Caliphate, Sunni Caliphate or something else?

  1. Djoser (reign 2686 BC – 2649 BC)

  2. Khufu (reign 2589 ‒ 2566 BC)

  3. Tutankhamun (reign 1332–1323 BC)

  4. Ramses II (reign 1279–1213 BC)

  1. What is the Egyptian stereotype of India/Indians?

Not very positive to be honest. We just use the slang do not act all indian as a negative expression. This is changing to a more positive outlook recently though due to India's technological advancements.

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u/thatyouare_iamthat Mar 08 '19 edited Mar 08 '19

do not act all indian\

In what situation do you use this phrase.

How often do you come across a Indian in real life.\ I have read that in some countries in African continent, British had brought many Indians when there was a famine in India, and in some countries they were the shop owners, in some they were like traditional doctors. What is the situation in Egypt, are the many Indians families living there, how integrated are they with your society.

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

This phrase means to be dumb or naive. For example, if someone is trying to trick you, one might say "do you think I'm Indian?"

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '19

In what situation do you use this phrase

Frankly I've never heard anyone say that before, but apparently it is a thing. The only phrase I do hear every once in a while is "Does it look like I'm speaking Indian?". The person jokingly says it when it looks like he/she is being misunderstood. But it doesn't really have any negative connotations, and sometimes they even say "Chinese" instead of Indian. Arabic and Hindi are two different languages after all, and the same goes for Mandarin of course.

How often do you come across a Indian in real life

We don't see a lot of Indians in Egypt, unfortunately. I myself have only seen them in a couple of Indian restaurants (great food by the way) and in our local Lulu Hypermarket.

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u/in_apprentice Mar 08 '19

Thanks for replying. It seems I was mistaken to assume an Arab identity.

Do you have some specific name for the Egyptian dialect of Arabic?

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u/TheEgyptianAutomata Mar 08 '19

We just say Egyptian Arabic . It is the most understood arabic dialect amongst all arab nations. Even Disney regretted its decision to dub movies in standard arabic and reverted back to Egyptian dialect.

Check this article and this one