Keeping Cairo Traditional

January 22, 2008

One question that leaves me grasping for an answer is whether there were ever any options for allowing traditional cultures to survive their contact with the modern world? I hardly imagine that cultures could stay isolated indefinitely from the wealth-creating engine of Western industrialism.. nor do I imagine that somehow dramatic cultural contacts could be avoided. But could a traditional society somehow survive?

Today in my Cairo class we began to look at the changes that came to Cairo in the 19th century and then accelerated in the 20th century. The traditional Islamic city was transformed, both in terms of landscape and social practices. To me that is a sad sight: the traditional Islamic city is quite appealing, at least as an intricate social system. It was not perfect.. I don't mean to imply that.. but it worked on its own terms and an argument could be made that it was a sustainable way of life. But the city was also ill-suited for modern growth and international commercial demands.. and so it could not last.

Could it have happened that this Islamic system stayed intact into the modern period? Somehow could the double colonial city have been averted and Cairo stayed its traditional self? The sad answer is that to remain as it was would have required the acceptance of infant mortality and death rates that cannot now be accepted. It also would mean the refusal of much of modern technology, because the second the goods of the modern world are accepted there is a need for a high rate of economic growth.. and that growth in turn demands rationalization of the city. For too many people health advances and modern conveniences are thought of as a positive good.. and so there would be no chance of keeping Cairo free and clear of the modern world.

Much the same can be said about any culture. There was no possible traditional response to the modern world. Nobody could remain themselves. The healthy response was to take elements of the modern industrial system and to selectively merge them with traditional values. But that assumes a level of consciousness that is impossible. The modern world changes the way people understand and perceive their world.. and that leads to new ways of living and constructing the world.. and before one knows it the mental habits that support a traditional social system are gone. We can feel sadness at this, but I see no way of avoiding it.