لو لم اكن مصريا لوددت ان اكون مصريا

Meaning: "If I wasn't Egyptian I would have wished to be Egyptian" said by Mustafa Kamil; one of the leading figures of Egyptian nationalism in the beginnings of the 20th century.
This reflects the rising demand for an Egyptian identity in the early 20th century in response of the British rule of Egypt at that time.

So to discuss the Egyptian identity we have to be acquainted to the long Egyptian history since the days of the Pharaohs passing through the Persians, Greeks, Ptolemies, Romans, Arabs, Ottomans, French till Mohamed Ali's family and the 1952 revolution and the declaration of the current republic. It's very obvious that the Egyptians and the Egyptian culture are a perfect blend of all the previous cultures which makes Egyptians unique in their very own sense. This would be bring me to the point I am writing this whole post about, since we Egyptian are the mix of all these diverse cultures yet some of us now reduce the whole issue to one sentence "Egyptians are Arabs". I am not with this concept cause we might relate to Arabs in some contexts yet we differ in many other.

What makes me disagree with this theory is that Egypt has its unique history than the Arabs and a very different culture, and the Arab conquest to Egypt didn't change Egyptians completely; maybe we adopted the Arabic language but we speak in a much different accent than any other nation around. Moreover the idea that relates Egypt to Arabs on the basis of Islam as the religion that ties us all, I don't believe this is the issue as Indonesia and Malaysia are the biggest muslim countries and they don't speak arabic not they are considered Arabs.

We may share common issues but in the end, each has his own issues, and the talk of Arab unity can't be for real as no unity could ever happen based on cultural basis alone, unity means that there would be some benefit and I don't see it beneficial as a union is about powerful allies taking advantage from each other and I don't believe there are any powerful Arab nation on the map now. In European Union, they don't admit any country except under certain conditions otherwise it would be a burden for the whole union.

Another problem arises from a religious point of view, is when we denounce our own Pharaohs past out of the idea of they were blasphemous or they used to oppress the people. As if we now aren't living under oppression now and as if it wasn't the time of pagan religions. I was taught to have pride in my past cause that what shapes my future, and the Iranians themselves -who are very tough in their religious practice- take big pride in their pagan Persian past. I believe we as Egyptian should hold on to our roots and cultures and preserve our identity that shaped the time of our liberation from the British, instead of denouncing our past and trying to hold to what is not ours and what is not making us any good.