'Most of the books written on the topic take for granted a positive modern influence on this literature, and review tradition, Islam and history as regressive forces. Maha very delicately in her book attempts another approach by which Western influence was not always progressive and, more importantly, shows that the linearity that is suggested by most historians, namely that literature ... Read morebecame more Westernized and hence modern with time, neglected the very important debates in that literature that represented both sides, and maybe even a third side, of the argument.' - Professor Ilan Pappe, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter; 'At a time when Egypt is once more facing questions regarding its identity, perhaps in a more radical way than at any time during the last half century, with society violently polarised not just between secularisation and religion, but also democracy and authoritarianism, conflicting binaries that have afflicted the country since its first encounter with modernity through Napoleon's invasion - at such a time there cannot be a more opportune moment for a study that digs at the cultural and intellectual roots of today's crisis of identity.' - Professor Rasheed El-Enany, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter Show Less