Syria vs. Egypt: Geography, Religion, and Politics Compared

Introduction

While Egypt and Syria are both very prominent countries that regularly appear in global headlines, the two nations are quite different overall — including the paths they have taken in terms of history and development over the years. This paper compares and contrasts how the countries differ today and how they have changed over time. The key factors examined include geography, religion, ethnicity, and governmental structures, and how all of these have evolved across the decades. The majority and minority populations in both countries will be covered as well. While Egypt and Syria have both been centers of dramatic change and evolution in recent years, they have undergone these transformations in very different ways.

Egypt: Geography, Religion, and Colonial History

About ninety-five percent of Egypt is desert. The vast majority of the population — roughly 88 million people — lives in the Nile Valley. In terms of geography, Egypt is bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea and to the east by the Red Sea. Sudan lies to the south and Libya to the west. The land in Egypt is very flat, and thus relatively easy to control militarily and administratively.

About ninety percent of Egypt's population is Sunni Muslim, and most of the remainder are Coptic Christians. The Coptic community represents the largest Christian group in the country, numbering in the seven to eight million range.

In terms of outside control, the area was occupied by Great Britain as of 1882 and became a formal British protectorate in 1914. That latter arrangement severed the link between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. Both Great Britain and France exerted considerable influence in the region during the two World Wars. Egypt attempted to gain independence from European control in 1918, but the Suez Canal — the only major link between the Asia, Africa, and Europe landmass — was deemed too strategically vital to relinquish. Egypt responded to continued occupation with violence, but Britain reacted firmly. Eventually, the British and the elected king co-ruled the country. It was around this time, in 1928, that the Muslim Brotherhood came into being (Gellar).

Egypt moved toward independence under the rule of Neguib, though Nasser was the real power behind the government and soon became the official leader. By this time, Egypt was having confrontations with Israel, and was soundly defeated in the late 1940s. There was another flare-up involving the Suez Canal in 1956 (Gellar).

Egypt's Road to Independence and Military Rule

Over the years, Egypt remained under some form of military control and dictatorship until 2011. The leaders during this period were Nasser, Sadat, and then Mubarak, in that order. Much of this era involved ongoing conflicts with Israel, though hostilities finally calmed after the 1967 war and through 1975. Israel won decisively on multiple occasions. Egypt recovered the Sinai Peninsula only because it signed a peace agreement in 1979. This deal brought tangible benefits: despite widespread poverty and hardship, Egypt gained access to advanced weaponry from the United States. Many Arabs were deeply opposed to this arrangement, given their animosity toward Israel and, in many cases, the United States as well.

Mubarak continued the policy established by Sadat. However, unrest and protests persisted. Mubarak imprisoned many dissidents, but the toll on the country was severe. Matters came to a head in 2011 when Mubarak was forced out via resignation and Mohamed Morsi was elected to replace him. Morsi immediately attempted a power grab but was removed via a coup d'état by the Egyptian military. Since then, the military leader who orchestrated the coup stepped down from his post and subsequently won elections (Gellar).

Conclusion

Coups and conquest make up much of both Egypt's and Syria's history. Both are Sunni-majority countries in which Islam is the dominant faith. Even though they have followed broadly similar paths, there are also clear differences — up to and including the current state of affairs in each country. It remains to be seen whether Egypt will maintain its relative stability and whether the Assad family and the Ba'athists will remain in power in Syria. Regardless of what unfolds, conflict — both internal and external — seems certain to remain a defining feature of both nations for the foreseeable future.

Works Cited

Cleveland, William L., and Martin P. Bunton. A History of the Modern Middle East. 5th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2012. Print.

Dooley, Brian. "Ending Sectarianism in Syria." Foreign Affairs. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 July 2016.

Gellar, R. "Syria/Egypt." 2016. Presentation.

Soliman, Mohamed. "Renewing the Alliance." Foreign Affairs. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 July 2016.

Tabler, Andrew. "Moscow's Playbook in Syria." Foreign Affairs. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 July 2016.