Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07CAIRO2725
2007-09-06 13:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Cairo
Cable title:  

SUMMER HOLIDAYS IN EGYPT: ELITES TAKING A TURN FOR

Tags:  PREL PGOV KISL SOCI ECON KWMN EG 
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VZCZCXRO9829
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #2725/01 2491329
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 061329Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6793
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
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).

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