Neoliberal Reform and Socio-Structural Reconfiguration in Cairo's Popular Quarters: The Rise of the Lesser Notables in Misr Al Qadima

Abstract

Throughout the post-1952 era, political patrons and their respective clients have played a considerable role in shaping the features of the Egyptian polity. This paper focuses on the socio-structural reconfiguration that has been taking place in the popular communities with the crystallization of neoliberal policies. Based on fieldwork in the popular quarters of Misr al-Qadima, the paper examines the socio-economic and political roles of the ‘lesser notables’, those middle patrons and clients that existed on the lower levels of the Egyptian polity within the ranks of the now dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), as intermediaries in the realm of state–society relations. By drawing linkages between the micro-level features of the popular polities of Cairo and the macro-level realities of the Egyptian polity at large, the paper reflects on the influence of neoliberal reforms on the scope and magnitude of political patronage in Cairo.

Notes

¹ Hana Batatu was one of the first to use the term to describe a certain category of rural notables in Syria in Syria's Peasantry, The Descendants of its Lesser Rural Notables, and their Politics (1999). The term ‘lesser notable’ was later used by Salwa Ismail (2006) to describe the type of notables that this research deals with.

² The political activities of Muslim Brotherhood were considered illegal up until the outbreak of the 25 January revolution. In the aftermath, a court ruling allowed for the MB to establish its first political party.

³ Interviews with Misr Qadima locals, March 2009.

⁴ A study carried out in 2007 on a random sample of approximately 1500 Misr Qadima inhabitants aged 18 years and above, says that 55 per cent of those surveyed perceived themselves as being politically uninterested, while only 13.3 per cent had what was described by the study as a ‘relatively high level of political awareness’, compared to 32.1 per cent in the middle range of political awareness and 39.3 per cent with a relatively low level of political awareness (Abdelfattah, 2007).

⁵ As opposed to the mosques that come under the jurisdiction of the state – represented by the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs and the state-affiliated religious institution, Al Azhar – those communal mosques are autonomous in terms of their sources of funding and also have their own Imams (priests), who are not supervised or monitored by Al Azhar or the ministry. In its efforts to suppress the increasing influence of the Islamists, the police apparatus targeted a plethora of these communal mosques, shutting them down and arresting some of their Imams. However, due to their relatively small size, such mosques are often very hard to identify and subsequently target, which to date makes them quite influential especially in the low-income communities of Cairo and in the rural areas.

⁶ The owners and chief stakeholders in these Islamic ventures have been predominantly MB affiliates and sympathizers. A sizeable portion of the profits coming from these businesses constitutes a main source of income for various ISIs and the MB itself, and the channelling of such resources to these entities sometimes takes the form of sponsoring charitable activities, mostly also associated with the scope of services provided by ISIs.

⁷ Interviews with Misr Qadima residents, August 2008.

⁸ Interviews with Misr Qadima residents, January 2009.

⁹ Interview with Hajj Ahmed Najar, 12 June 2008.

¹⁰ Interview with Hajj Ahmed Najar, 12 June 2008

¹¹ Interview with Madiha Ahmed, 14 June 2008.

¹² Interview with Madiha Ahmed, 14 June 2008

¹³ Interview with Madiha Ahmed, 14 June 2008

¹⁴ Interviews with Misr Qadima residents, May 2008.

¹⁵ Interviews with Misr Qadima residents, May 2008

¹⁶ Interviews with Madiha Ahmed and Misr Qadima residents, May and June 2008.