A Study On The Bedouins In Egypt(1952-2011)

Bedouins are ancient tribesmen who are now a marginalized minority group in Egypt.Most of Bedouins were from the Arabian Peninsula.The arrival of Bedouins was a gradual process and the last tribe moved in after the First World War.Before the modern times,the Bedouins were ruled from Mamluk to the British colonialists,and their strength had declined.Under the ruling of Mamluk,the Bedouins was a powerful force on which the ruling authorities depended.In the Ottoman Empire,the Bedouins also had the ability to weaken the Ottoman army.By the time of Muhammad Ali,the strength of Bedouins had declined,but it was still an important force feared by the government.When it came to the colonial rule of British,the Bedouins were apparently declined who became a subject of manipulation.Contemporary Egyptian governments have adopted different policies towards the Bedouins.In the Nasser era,the government put assimilation,settlement and military service on the Bedouins which were not fully accepted.In the Sadat era,“The Green Revolution” and the “National Project for the Development of Sinai” led to a huge influx of people into the desert where the Bedouins lived.The inherent rights of Bedouins were plundered.In the Mubarak era,the government strengthened the political and cultural control over the Bedouins which caused the tensions between the two sides intensified.Bedouins were increasingly marginalized.Economically,they are excluded from formal economic development.Culturally,they suffered cultural discrimination and were forced to accept the unfamiliar mainstream of Egyptian culture.Moreover,the Egyptian authorities and “Egyptians” tend to distrust the Bedouins.Bedouins were treated as “second-class citizens”.The Bedouins had long been resentful of the neglect and unfair treatment by the government.Struggles and conflicts between the two sides are increasingly frequent.In Contemporary Egypt,most of Bedouins faced many difficulties.Firstly,most Bedouins suffered from poverty and underdeveloped.Secondly,the smuggling of the Bedouins was rampant.Numerous Bedouins took the risk to engage in smuggling and other illegal economic activities.Thirdly,the identity of Bedouins was different from the “Egyptians”.They were ignored in national identity.In conflict with Egypt's mainstream identity,they developed a clear “Bedouin” identity.In addition,the Bedouins also faced other difficulties.Such as the impact of modernization on their traditional cultural and social patterns as well as the radicalization of Bedouins.In general,the Bedouins are marginalized in contemporary Egypt.The policy of Egyptian authorities toward Bedouins seems to cause a continuing bad relation between the two sides.The plight of the Bedouins reflected the indifference of the Egyptian authorities towards them,which reflects how the plight of minorities has been dealt with in the process of modernization in Egypt.