Liberal Institution Building in Egypt: Looking Back to Muḥammad ʿAbduh

ABSTRACT: While conventional accounts have highlighted Muḥammad ʿAbduh's importance for questions of religious reform, this paper demonstrates his significance for questions of liberalism and governance in Egypt. From President Anwar Sadat's liberalization to the 2011 Revolution Egypt's recent history has been marked by key issues around state accountability, freedom of the press, and the economy. As well as reforming religion, ʿAbduh sought to transform and strengthen the modern state institutions of his time in Egypt in the late 19th century and addressed similar issues in a different context. This comparison of now and then shows the long history of liberal institutions in Egypt, but also recovers a different perspective that risks being lost if we interpret ʿAbduh too narrowly.