Böcker i Middle East Studies Beyond Dominant Paradigms-serien

Challenging the ethnocentric notion that a capitalist economy could only be transferred to the peripheral states through contact with Europe, this text argues that the capitalist transformation of the Egyptian economy was begun by Muslim merchants and Mamluk rulers in the 18th century.

This study of modern Egypt aims to open the debate regarding new terms and methods for understanding the Middle East and Islamic societies. Sonbol shows continuity in the division of Egyptian society into two groups: the ""Khassa"" which tried to impose a hegemonic culture, and the opposing ""Amma"".

"This volume originated in a conference held at the Middle East Studies Center at Portland State University in 2013, Minorities of the Modern Middle East."--Acknowledgments page.