In 1839, the Egyptian intellectual Rifa’a al-Tahtawi (1801–1873) published A Paris Profile. A brilliant student, al-Tahtawi studied and taught at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. In 1825 he was included in a group sent to France by Muhammad Ali to study French life and culture. A Paris Profile offers an account of his experiences overseas. As you read this excerpt, focus on al-Tahtawi’s assessment of the most important differences between French and Egyptian society. What did he admire in the French? What did he find objectionable?

You should know that Parisians are Christians with intelligent minds and impressive understanding and depth of thought with regard to difficult issues. They are not like Coptic Christians, who are naturally inclined to ignorance and lack of wisdom. Neither are they prisoners of tradition. Rather, they always wish to know and understand the origins of things, to the point that even ordinary people know how to read and write and enter into deep discussions, according to their capacity. The common people in this country are not like those in most uncivilized countries. Knowledge about all the sciences, art, and handicrafts is recorded in books. Even the lowliest of crafts requires of its practitioner the ability to read and write in order to master his trade. Every artist has to create in his art something never created before, and — in addition to seeking profit — artists are motivated in their innovative endeavors by the desire for good reputation and distinction. . . .

The inclination of French women is to seek after new things and to love change in all thing, but especially in the manner of dress. They can never settle, and styles are always changing among them. This does not mean that they completely change their clothes; instead they mix and match various elements. For example, they do not exchange a hat for a turban, but they sometimes wear a hat for a while, and then after a time they change to a hat of another style or color.

They [Parisians] are characterized by their lightness of spirit and demeanor. Thus you may find a French notable running along the road like a child. They are also prone to shifts in mood — from happiness to sadness and back, and from seriousness to jocularity and back — to the point that an individual may do many contradictory things in a single moment. But this occurs only in trivial matters; on serious issues such as their political views, their opinions do not change. Everyone remains faithful to their beliefs and opinions, which they hold throughout their lives. Because they love France, they travel a great deal, even spending many years traveling between the East and the West, and they may even risk their lives to benefit their country. . . .

They also like foreigners and seek their company, particularly if the foreigner is wearing expensive clothes. This leads them to ask about the country and the traditions of their people. . . . And it is common for souls to seek after that which they do not possess.

They offer solace with their words and deeds but not with their money. However, they do not refrain from lending — not giving — money to their friends, unless they are certain that they will not get their money back. They are more miserly than generous toward others, and we mention this in our chapter about their traditions, in the section about hospitality. . . . They generally fulfill all their obligations, and they never ignore their duties, for they are always working whether they are rich or poor. . . . They love a good reputation and shun self-aggrandizement and hatred, for they are — as they describe themselves — more pure in heart than sheep. When angry, they are fiercer than tigers, and if one of them becomes angry, then he may prefer death to life; hardly any time passes without someone killing himself because of poverty or love. One of their most outstanding characteristics is trustworthiness and absence of treachery. . . . They are spendthrifts, wasting their money on sinful pleasures and entertainment and gambling. Their men are slaves to their women and obey their orders. . . . Some say that women in the East are like the furniture of the house and French women are like spoiled children. . . .

French men do not think ill of their wives even though they may have many great faults, but if one of them (even a notable) found evidence that his wife had committed adultery, he would leave her. . . .

Among their good characteristics is their disinclination toward homosexuality and the love of young men, for this is something that is at odds with their nature and moral sense. In their speech and poetry they do not mention homosexual love. It is not proper in the French language to say that a man fell in love with a boy, for such a relationship is considered taboo. If a Frenchman translated one of our books, he would alter the text to say that “I fell in love with a girl,” as opposed to a boy as in the original. The French consider homosexuality as a fallen state of being, and they are right, for each of the sexes is attracted to a trait that is found in the opposite sex, just as magnets attract iron and electricity attracts things. If two people of the same sex are attracted to each other, the natural state of being is upset, and for the French this behavior is so offensive that they rarely ever mention homosexuality in their books. . . .

Among their immoral traits is the lack of chastity among the women and the absence of male protection of the women’s honor. . . . Generally, Paris is like other French and European cities in that it is full of sin, heresies, and immoral behavior, even though it may be the French Athens. . . . Parisians are the Athenians of this age; their minds are Roman and their ethics are Greek. . . . The French reject supernatural things and believe that . . . the purpose of religion is to help human beings do good deeds and avoid evil. They also believe that the development of a country and the advancement of its people in the literary arts and ethics make religions irrelevant and that in the advanced kingdoms peculiar laws are enacted. Among their ugly habits is their claiming that their scientists and learned men are greater and more intelligent than the prophets. They have many unseemly beliefs such as the denial by some of predestination, even though it is possible to believe in it . . . without abandoning the idea of free will. . . .

It is not acceptable among the French to employ a black slave in the kitchen and for housekeeping because they believe that blacks lack the necessary cleanliness. French women are extremely beautiful and gentle, and they excel at social interaction. They always use makeup, and they interact with men in the parks, and men and women may even get to know each other through outings in such places on Sundays or during the ballet or in ballrooms on Monday nights. . . .

It is said that Paris is paradise for women, fragrance for men, and hell for horses. This is because the women are endowed with either money or beauty, men are the slaves of women, and horses pull carriages day and night over the cobblestones of the streets of Paris.

Source: Shaykh Rifa’a Rafi al-Tahtawi, A Paris Profile (Cairo: Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi, 1958), pp. 30–34. Translated by Akram Khater. From Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East, by Akram Fouad Khater. Reproduced with permission of HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COLLEGE DIVISION in the format Republish in a book via Copyright Clearance Center.

Questions to Consider