With conflict and turmoil in the region showing no signs of abating, it’s natural for people to have a nostalgic yearning for a more peaceful and prosperous time. This helps explain why many Egyptians have spent the past few days reminiscing on social media about life under King Farouk, Egypt’s last monarch, using an Arabic hashtag that translates to “Tweet as if you’re in the 1950s”.
For the tweeters, who have also posted period pictures, the 1950s are synonymous with glamour, high class living, religious tolerance and a vibrant, open society. Similar nostalgic feelings are prevalent among those Iraqis who hark back to a partly imagined “golden age” of the monarchy – the reigns of King Faisal I and II – characterised by prosperity from high oil revenues and rapid industrialisation. Historical accounts of the period suggest it was a cultured, outward-facing country, self-confident about its place in the world, less crowded than Cairo, more cosmopolitan than Damascus and Baghdad.
Yet the reality was different for many ordinary Iraqis. As our columnist Faisal Al Yafai noted in July last year, the wealth of Iraq remained confined within an elite circle while many other Iraqis lived in modest circumstances. Similarly, Egyptians who fondly remember the Farouk era forget the hardships that many people had to endure. In many ways, the inequities that led to the Arab Spring had their roots in the decades after the 1950s.
Today, Egypt looks towards an evolution: reviving the economy with appropriate support for the poor, an increase in spending on education, an increase in public health and creation of jobs. The glory days of Cairo must be ahead of it, not behind it.
Reminiscing is natural. But both Egypt and Iraq have a much brighter future than any period of their past. It just hasn’t been built yet.