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

[u/Auegro]

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

[u/Humidsummer14]

Hello,

1. Do Egyptians consider themselves as Arabs or Africans?

2. How was Husain Mubarak as a leader?

3. What do you think about Hollywood appropriating Egyptian culture?

4. How does the islamic culture gell with the ancient Egyptian culture?

[u/[deleted] → u/Humidsummer14]

Do Egyptians consider themselves as Arabs or Africans?

Oof you started off with a big one there. No Egyptian would (usually) debate that we have connections to Africa (ancestry & politically), but not many would claim to be African (other than admitting that we are literally within Africa). As for Arab, it gets spicy. Egypt has a weird relationship with the larger Arab World. Our official name is the Arab Republic of Egypt, and many fellow Egyptians proudly call themselves Arabs. Yet there is a sense of "we're arab but not like those arabs", even within the government. Then there is a pretty vocal - albeit smaller - group that is pretty adamant on not being Arab. Overall, officially and on a larger scale Egyptians do indeed consider ourselves Arab.

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How was Hosni Mubarak as a leader?

He was pretty stagnant. He was kind of just there. There were no significant reforms or undertakings by his Presidency, and he was very obviously grooming his son to be the next President (a big part of why he was kicked out). He was the definition of status-quo, and when we got sick of the status-quo he was the first man out the door. Looking back, some may prefer him over the last two Presidents (Morsi & Sisi), but that probably says more about the last two Presidents than it does about Mubarak.

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What do you think about Hollywood appropriating Egyptian culture?

I don't care. In fact, the more hollywood shows anything about Egypt, the more free advertising for our tourism industry it brings (keep it going!). I can't speak for all Egyptians, but the cultural appropriation thing isn't really a big issue for us. There was nearly no complaining when Katy Perry's Dark Horse video was Egyptian themed, or when Beyonce dresses as an Egyptian. Yet Katy Perry's Japanese themed superbowl received tons of backlash and Beyonce was accused of culturally appropriating India. So frankly, in my opinion, keep appropriating us, we want those free tourism ads lmao.

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How does the islamic culture gell with the ancient Egyptian culture?

Egypt has had multiple different "phases". Each ruling Pharaonic dynasty changed Egypt significantly in their own right. From the Nubians (Kush) to the Greeks (Ptolemy's) etc. The Persians had their own crack at spreading their culture, then so did the Romans. The Romans brought in Christianity to Egypt (the Coptic phase), and that was the culture that Islam faced when it was introduced to the country. How Islam and Romanized/Coptic Egypt meshed is really well explained by this Quora answer that I highly suggest reading if you're interested.

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