Book Review of ‘Egyptology: The Missing Millennium’ by Okasha El-Daly
Ruveyda Ozturk*
Review of Egyptology: The Missing Millennium, Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings, by Okasha El Daly. London: UCL Press, 2005. Paperback: 230 pages; ISBN-10: 1844720624 – ISBN-13: 978-1844720620. Dimensions: 9.1 × 6.1 × 0.7 inches.
Contents
1. Presentation of the book
2. About the Author
3. Contents of the book
4. Further resources
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The contributions of the Islamic World to modern science have been a matter of discussion for a while now as different aspects of the studies and developments carried out by Muslims of the past have been covered and analysed in a number of texts. Through wide ranging publications and exhibitions carried out by various organisations including the FSTC, it is now commonly accepted that as Europe was living through its dark ages with little scientific development and social improvement, the Muslim world was using knowledge inherited from the past civilisations to prepare a more advanced future and find answers to questions that have existed in the minds of great scientists for centuries. A quantity of evidence showing the adaptation, improvement and effective implementation of Greek knowledge by Muslims from the late 8th Century onwards has come to light during the last few decades. These have been shown to have had a great impact on the continuance of science and the birth of the Renaissance and as a result have provided an alternative view to the general Eurocentric approach to the history of science. However, there are still certain aspects of the Muslim contributions that still need to be brought to clarity and researched further. One of these areas that has lacked in depth analysis was the contributions of Muslims in the field of Egyptology as the Muslim efforts to recover and utilise Egyptian knowledge and practice have been discounted by many who argue that with the spread of Islam and the resulting neglect by Muslims, Egyptian science and culture has been lost and left to die over time.
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Figure 1: Front cover of Egyptology: The Missing Millennium. Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings by Okasha El Daly (London: UCL Press, 2005). |
In his book Egyptology: The Missing Millennium, Okasha El Daly essentially shows that this thesis is totally false and arrogant in its understanding of actual history. Through extensive research and the analysis of a number of texts and resources on the matter, the author provides evidence of the countless attempts by Muslim scholars to understand Egyptian language, culture and practices. He cites examples of the enormous range of studies carried out by Muslim Arabic writers in the Medieval Ages to truly understand the Egyptian heritage, especially their efforts to decipher the hieroglyph scripts and the nature of Egyptian state administration. Contrary to the common view that Muslims were against studying other traditions which fell against the principles of Islam, El Daly demonstrates that Muslims took great interest in this culture after the conquest of Egypt and showed their fascination by expending great effort to uncover the realities behind the myths and customs within the lands. The book covers the most significant features of this tradition of Muslim Egyptology, which are still part of today’s Egyptology, recounting in detail the interpretations of findings on aspects of Egyptian traditions such as treasure hunting, the process of mummification and state administration. El-Daly states that:
"… the sources show not only a keen interest, but also serious scholarship that seeks to understand and benefit from the study of Ancient Egypt." (p. 4)
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Figure 2: Dr. Okasha El Daly with Professors Ekmeleddin Ihsanoǧlu and Salim Al-Hassani in New York on the occasion of the exhibition at the United Nations on Multi-Faith Scientists in Islamic Civilization (12-13 November 2008). © FSTC. |
The author systematically considers the historical approach taken to the study of Egyptology, discussing the currently held view held as well as the previous relevant works with the most recent being carried out in 2001, coming to the conclusion that no substantial work has been put forward analysing Ancient Egypt in the Arabic sources. He discusses in length the approach taken by Arabic writers to the study of Egyptology and how it differed from that of the Western approach. It can be seen that the Muslim observations from the time of first contact with Egypt through trading to the actual association were based on a sincere desire to get to know the culture and customs with major influences from the Qur’an and hadith which exhort appreciati
