Op-Ed: The 'Real Egyptian' Debate Misses The Point: Stop Erasing Modern Egyptians’ Link To Their Past

The Grand Egyptian Museum holds many wonders — the largest standing statue of an ancient Egyptian king on Earth, temple-inspired animations of what life might have looked like in Ancient Egypt, and a full display of Tutankhamun’s tomb. But what intrigued me the most when I first visited: many of the Egyptians walking around the exhibitions very much looked like the people who were immortalized as statues thousands of years ago. 

On November 1, the museum staged its opening ceremony featuring a dramatic display of Ancient Egypt-inspired costumes, orchestral grandeur, endless fireworks, and historical artifacts that were projected into the night sky above Giza. OkayAfrica’s Instagram post about the launch was met with several hundred comments that centered on only one question: Where were the “real Egyptians?”

Genetic research shows an 80-90% continuity between ancient and modern Egyptians. Modern Egyptians have 8-15% more sub-Saharan genetic influences than their ancestors. The Islamization of the country did not bring about an Arab population exchange; it was a cultural influence. 

People who care deeply about Ancient Egypt should learn about modern Egypt to understand these complexities. The opening ceremony (too briefly) featured a Nubian singer, and I spotted at least one Nubian dancer, Egypt’s black people, even though they don’t label themselves as such. Should there have been more? Absolutely. But would a person in the non-Egyptian, non-Sudanese diaspora even recognize Nobiin or any of the other Nubian languages? 

Now, there’s legitimate criticism of the opening ceremony. Mine would be that it was way too much opera. Several Egyptians described the show as “tailored for white people” and “disappointing, performative, and not a reflection of the people.”

More importantly, Egyptians and Sudanese have pointed out the absurdity of orchestrating such an expensive event in a failing economy and catastrophic geopolitical moment. Someone said, “It’s hard to be proud of our ancient history when so much of it has been co-opted by the state.” This sentiment is echoed by others who felt mixed emotions: pride in their rich history and disappointment over the state of the country presently. “I literally cried watching the ceremony because I was feeling and thinking lots of things at the same time,” said someone else. 

In her book Why Did Horus Lose His Eye: New Reading in Ancient Egyptian Thought, Dr. Mervat Abdel Nasser, an Egyptian psychiatrist and researcher in Egyptology, explains the cultural dissonance many modern Egyptians feel towards their ancient heritage. 

“‘Who are we?’ is a fundamental question,” she tells OkayAfrica. “The other is the value we place on art and human achievement in our culture. Denying this history in our education and cultural discourse was indeed part and parcel of our tendency to devalue it and devalue ourselves accordingly.” 

“More than that, this divorce led to loss of our soul, loss of beauty and human values that are abundant in this history, and replacing it with crude, concrete and dogmatic ways of thinking, clearly behind the extremist religious thought that plagued our culture in recent decades,” she continues. 

Education in contemporary Egypt is based on memorization rather than critical thought. Dr. Nasser explains it as “only a means of certification and job hunting, not essential to make a cultured human being.” 

In addition, Egyptology started out as Western academic field, leaving Europeans to discover Ancient Egypt and creating the narrative that Egyptians themselves could not look after or research it themselves. “This strengthened the claim that this [ancient] civilisation is only for tourist consumption, leading to its commodification by us and the West alike,” says Dr. Nasser. 

Identity, Genetics, and the Complexities of Heritage

Still, there are many Egyptians who are incredibly proud of this new museum. People enjoyed the opening ceremony’s costumes and are hopeful about the newly revived interest in this unique heritage, which continues to inform Egyptian traditions and language to this day. 

Earlier this year, I wrote How ‘Flight Into Egypt’ Connects Black Artists with Ancient Egyptian Heritage, speaking to Egyptians who saw the Black diaspora’s interest in Ancient Egypt as a beautiful way to create shared culture, art, and solidarity.

Egyptians have a long way to go to reestablish a genuine intellectual and philosophical connection with the societies of their ancestors, and Dr. Nasser warns that the current hype around the museum’s opening may very well be superficial, “almost a trend.” 

“It is a rebound phenomenon to the extremism of the Afrocentric movement. I have no problem [with] the African diaspora in Europe or America having pride in this civilization and seeking values from it to help revive Africa,” she says. 

“Having said that, claiming origin and lineage of this civilization outside Egypt is a feature of the extremism and polarization that pervade our culture everywhere now. If there is a lesson to be learned from Ancient Egypt, it’s the value of integration and complementarity that it is at the very root of this ancient culture.”

There are more meaningful questions we should ask about this new museum and how it impacts contemporary Egyptian culture. For instance, will it continue to raise common Egyptians’ interest in their own heritage? Will ordinary Egyptians be able to partake in this display of history, or be forced out of the museum’s sanitized space? Will it help efforts of repatriation? 

“Where are the real Egyptians?” is not one of those questions. They are here; you just have to open your eyes.