SUMMER HOLIDAYS IN EGYPT: ELITES TAKING A TURN FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 002725 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NSC FOR SINGH AND WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV KISL SOCI ECON KWMN EG SUBJECT: SUMMER HOLIDAYS IN EGYPT: ELITES TAKING A TURN FOR THE CONSERVATIVE Classified By: Political Officer Yael Lempert, for reason 1.4 (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: An increased Islamic consciousness, a marked phenomenon for the past two decades among the lower and mid-echelons of Egyptian society, now appears to be on the rise among the country's upper class as well. This cable explores the burgeoning piety of Egypt's well-heeled, as seen through the lens of the country's exclusive Mediterranean beach resorts. The overall trend of increased religiosity is multi-faceted and complex, and in our analysis, does not indicate that Egypt is on the cusp of an Islamic revolution, but rather that it is undergoing a creeping social evolution. It appears that a religious revival of sorts is here to stay, that the faultlines between religious Egyptians of all classes and the dwindling secular ranks are likely to grow, and that Egyptian society as a whole will remain, and perhaps become increasingly, religiously conservative. End summary. -------------- PLAYGROUND FOR THE RICH ... AND THE RELIGIOUS -------------- ¶2. (U) For decades, the onset of Cairo's oppressively steamy summer has meant the decampment of the capital's salon set to the cooler climes of Egypt's Mediterranean beaches. The "North Coast," as Egyptians term it, has long been the preserve of Egypt's elite. In the pre-revolutionary era, the king and his coterie moved to Alexandria every summer, and British families and their upper-crust Egyptian friends did their holiday-making nearby. In the post-1952 period, as the lower echelons of Egyptian society started to make their way onto beaches surrounding Alexandria, the wealthy fled westward, over the years investing in gated beach resorts such as the immense "Marina" complex, spanning 15 miles of beachfront, which now embodies the summer frolicking of Egypt's upper classes. ¶3. (C) However, according to a wide range of our contacts, the traditional summer vacation in the preserves of the elite has changed in some noticeable respects over the past several years. Strolling along nearly any beach of the North Coast, a casual observer will find that a growing majority of female beachgoers are either modestly fully clothed and wearing a "higab" (a headscarf covering the hair),or sporting bathing ;costumes specially designed for pious Muslim women, ranging from the popular "burkini" (a new innovation reportedly produced by an Australian designer, which consists of a loose-fitting full-body wetsuit, complete with attached headscarf) to voluminous bathing robes. The upmarket Marina complex features palm-lined avenues, Asian fusion restaurants, jet skis, and Harley Davidsons and convertibles parked outside of chic open-air cafes (average price of a beachfront villa: USD 1-1.5 million),and is the location of the summer home of the Minister of Interior and other high-ranking GOE officials. Security checkpoints are in place at each gate to, in the words of one Marina home-owner, "keep out the riff-raff, and make sure that only those of appropriate social status get in." But even in this preserve of Egypt's elite, a majority of women on the beach are covered from head to toe. As one more secular-minded Egyptian in Marina bemoaned to poloff, "I feel as if the 'Titanic' has sunk nearby, as fully-clothed, water-logged women struggle out of the surf and onto the beach!" In recent years, Marina has also witnessed a profusion of "women-only" beaches, with names like "La Femme," where pious Muslim women who wish to sunbathe can wear a bathing suit, freed from religious strictures about needful proper attire around men. ¶4. (SBU) One hard-drinking Egyptian contact related to us his recent beachside experience near Marina: "I went back to a beach that I used to regularly frequent 5 years ago. There I was, cradling my beer, and sunning myself next to my bikini-wearing girlfriend - just as we used to do, at the same venue, several years ago. However, now, I realized that I was the only person on the beach drinking, and my girlfriend was sporting the sole bathing suit in sight. We felt so uncomfortable from the aggrieved glares, that I tucked my beer underneath my arm, and my girlfriend covered up in a tunic. How that beach has changed!" Poloff, spending a recent weekend at a North Coast hotel (at USD 210 per night for the cheapest room, not a bargain even by American standards, and a cost that only well-off Egyptians can afford),realized that she was one of the few women out on the sand not fully covered and wearing a higab. Beachfront foot traffic consisted largely of women sporting the latest burkini styles. CAIRO 00002725 002 OF 003 -------------- CLASH OF CULTURES ON THE BEACH -------------- ¶5. (C) More liberal upper class Egyptians, alarmed by the burgeoning conservative trend, have drawn a line in the sand at some Mediterranean resorts. At the exclusive "Diplomatic Village" (average price of a summer house rental: USD 2,000/month),so named for the original occupants of the complex who were mainly from upper-crust Egyptian diplomatic families, large signs are posted on the beach, stating that "appropriate bathing attire is mandatory" (i.e. Western-style bathing suits only). An owner of a villa there told poloff that the signs are a fairly recent innovation, "our effort to stave off the wave of higabs." The management of the complex has allegedly received numerous complaints about the policy, and defended it under the tenuous auspices that swimmers must wear only bathing suits for "safety reasons," as heavier garb increases the risk of drowning. However, even on this beach, women in Islamic dress are present. Poloff witnessed a fight on the Diplomatic Village beach between several veiled women who had set themselves up underneath an umbrella, and several more scantily-clad female sunbathers, who tried (unsuccessfully) to kick the more conservative women off of the sand, citing the beach's no-higab policy. After a screaming match, the bikini-wearers strode back to their towels, stopping to complain to poloff that, "Is there not even one place left in Egypt where I can feel completely comfortable, and not be looked down on and judged by these people?! What is happening to our country?" -------------- NOT JUST BEACHES -------------- ¶6. (C) The increased piety, at least outwardly, of Egypt's upper classes is also on display at non-beachside bastions of the elite. Two renowned old-world social clubs, whose roots stem from the country's monarchical period, the Automobile Club and the Heliopolis Club, are now home to many higab-wearing, liquor-forswearing members. One contact lamented to poloff the "change in scenery" at the institutions over the past 10-15 years - "several years ago, you rarely saw a higab at these clubs - on the street, yes, but inside these clubs, never!" As poloff observed recently at both social clubs, at least 50-70 percent of the female patrons were veiled, and some male patrons were pointedly and loudly asking for guava juice, rather than the alcoholic drinks offered at poloff's table. The American University of Cairo (AUC) is the premier in-country educational institution, where the country's rich send their children for university, if they do not go abroad. Strolling around campus today, we conservatively estimate that 70-75 percent of the female students wear headscarves, with a smaller percentage wearing a full face veil ("niqab"). A contact who graduated from AUC twelve years ago bemoaned to poloff the "transformation" on campus since his college days: "I literally do not recognize this place anymore. It is the same kids, taking the same courses, getting out of the same chauffeured BMW's and Mercedes. But the startling difference from my day is that nearly all the girls are veiled." ¶7. (C) Some Egyptians complain that the number of bars in Cairo is diminishing, although such assertions are anecdotal, and difficult to conclusively verify. In addition, some restaurants may have stopped serving alcohol simply due to the high cost of a liquor license, rather than because of religious sensibilities. One manager of a popular downtown bar that has been in operation since the 1940's complained (over his scotch) to poloff about his recent struggles with "local extremists" who have labeled his establishment a "brothel" due to the relatively scantily dressed foreign women who frequent it. Embassy officers have noticed that many of our MFA counterparts, who will enthusiastically down several glasses of wine over dinner when they are meeting with Americans, will not touch alcohol in front of their Egyptian colleagues. When we inquire about this disconnect, the Egyptian diplomats explain that socially, it is just not acceptable for them to be seen drinking by their co-workers - "it would really damage my reputation." As one senior MFA official told us, "I used to drink with my colleagues, but now they are praying in the hallways!" -------------- ULTRA-RICH STILL PARTY HARD -------------- CAIRO 00002725 003 OF 003 ¶8. (C) To be sure, decadent parties and beaches featuring risqu, flesh-baring styles are still to be had in Egypt, especially in the tightly-guarded enclaves of the super-rich. But even there, signs of an up-tick in religious consciousness are apparent. The luxurious "Haciendas" resort on the North Coast (going rate for a small villa: USD 1.5 million) is the preserve of the uppermost spectrum of Egypt's rich and well-connected, built by the father of Gamal Mubarak's wife Khadiga, where the overall opulence and fashion preferences self-consciously strive for Northern Mediterranean standards. The resort is infamous for a chic nightclub on the premises, where the creme de la creme go to see and be seen on summer nights. A contact who sits on the "Haciendas" board told us that, unlike a few years ago, higabs can be now be found on some evenings: "The club owner, notorious for barring entrance to aspiring club-goers who do not 'make the grade,' would like to turn away these veiled women, but he cannot. They are from families that are too rich and too well-connected, so they must be let in." Poloff witnessed herself the incongruous sight of some headscarf-wearing women at the club, amidst a sea of bare flesh and whiskey bottles. The board member also told us that a debate over the volume of the call to prayer at the resort was the subject of a fierce debate this year. Some villa-owners recommended that the mosque turn down the volume, but were overruled by a majority of their peers, who were scandalized that such a "sacrilegious thing might happen," and who suggested instead that the volume of the music from the nightclub be lowered. Puzzled and concerned by the conservative trend among his cohort, our contact noted that "many of my secular-minded friends have their second passports at the ready, and are prepared to leave Egypt when the Islamists come to power, which they view as inevitable." -------------- SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? -------------- ¶9. (C) The phenomenon of an increasingly pious Egyptian public is multi-faceted and complex, and does not lend itself to easy conclusions. In our analysis, Egypt is not on the cusp of an Islamic revolution, but rather is undergoing a creeping social evolution, paralleling region-wide tendencies. Notably, as is evidenced clearly on the beaches of the North Coast, the trend of an increased Islamic consciousness is no longer restricted to Egypt's lower and middle classes, but is now pervasive among the moneyed classes as well. However, such increased religious focus to date seems largely apolitical, with the major ramification being that of Islamic values having greater influence in shaping broader social mores, predilections, and sympathies (although this can clearly spillover into the political arena, for instance in terms of Egyptian politicians of all stripes carefully gearing their rhetoric towards what they feel the religious Egyptian public wants to hear). The higab cannot serve as a pat political barometer. A woman's decision to cover her hair does not necessarily mean that she is a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood or other Islamist organizations. Many members of the ruling National Democratic Party wear the higab, and some Egyptian women tell us they don it for "nationalistic reasons," in order to "set themselves apart from the West," rather than for religious motivations. In fact, a desire to assert some type of distinction from the perceived "morally corrupt" and "politically reprehensible" West, and project an Islamic identity, seems one of the drivers behind the overall up-tick in religiosity. However, despite its apparent overall apolitical nature, the heightened religious focus of the Egyptian public could conceivably provide more fertile ground for the Islamically-centered appeal of the Muslim Brotherhood, or, conversely, may drive the ruling party to take more conservative, Islamic stances on issues such as the higab and religious freedom. ¶10. (C) The growing prevalence of various Islamic practices, such as the higab, are often dismissed as a "passing fad" by liberals wistful for Egypt's more free-wheeling recent past, and Christians uncomfortable with the possible ramifications of deeper, lasting changes to Egyptian social norms. However, it appears that a religious revival of sorts is here to stay, that the faultlines between religious Egyptians of all classes and the dwindling secular ranks are likely to grow, and that Egyptian society as a whole will remain, and perhaps become increasingly, religiously conservative. RICCIARDONE