THE CAMERA NEVER lies and history will tell: Two maxims that we never question. But cutting-edge technology has shown that the camera can sometimes lie and that, with a little manipulation, history may not always be able to tell.

Distorted history jumps to mind with the official celebrations of Mohammed Ali, the founder of Egypt’s royal family. It is a known fact that after the 23rd of July Revolution and the abdication of King Farouk, Egyptians were subjected to a form of distorted history, which played havoc with the well-known facts.

Mohammed Ali was described as a mercenary who only sought self-glorification. Khedive Ismail, who made Cairo another Paris and who has a long list of great achievements, was branded a spendthrift who squandered the country’s wealth.

Of late, there have been efforts to rewrite modern history. The initiative, in fact, began during Sadat’s time, with his momentous command to refurbish Abdeen Palace, that unique gem of art, which housed the Ministry of Culture and the Cairo Governorate after the October Revolution. He also allowed the interring of King Farouk’s corpse at the mosque, and gave permission for the living princesses to return home to Egypt.

Today, two centuries after he first took power in Egypt, Mohammed Ali is being re-instated and his achievements are being recognized. It would be impossible to list everything the great ruler did for Egypt, but I shall endeavor to mention some landmarks, which changed the face of the country.

In spite of the fact that Mohammed Ali was illiterate — he taught himself how to read and write at the age of 45 — he had a scientific way of thinking that helped him become an uncanny politician and administrator.

Today, two centuries after he first took power in Egypt, Mohammed Ali is being re-instated

It was Mohammed Ali who laid the foundations for Egypt as a nation-state. Though of foreign origin, he regarded Egypt as his motherland. He started by ordering a survey of the land, then divided it among the peasants, giving each an area of between three to five feddans. This is reminiscent of the October Revolution’s land reform, with the exception that whereas land during Mohammed Ali’s days belonged to the government, the land distributed by the Revolution was land acquired by force from its owners.

Realizing that the peasants alone would not be capable of managing the land, he appointed agricultural experts to direct them. The Pasha went further with his land reform, importing new products like cotton and fruits. To guarantee year-round irrigation he built the barrage, thus saving a wealth of wasted water.

Mohammed Ali created the structure of the country’s administration, forming diwans (ministries) of interior, foreign affairs, finance, military and education. Egyptians ran all those new diwans. He also established The Supreme Law Council and introduced post and telegraph services.

The Pasha also saw the importance of international trade, and decided to make Alexandria the main port, linking it to the Nile through the newly dug Mahmoudia Canal. This facilitated the movement of goods to and from Alexandria as well as other parts of Egypt. In support of agriculture, Mohammed Ali created a research center for cotton, factories for textile fezzes, silk, wool and linen as well as arms factories.

The health of the people was at the top of the Pasha’s list of priorities. He engaged Dr. Antoine-Barthelemy Clot (known as Clot Bey), one of the leading French doctors, who built hospitals and medical schools; the main facility was the renowned Kasr El-Aini, with similar ones in Abu Zaabal and other areas.

To man all those projects, Mohammed Ali established the Supreme Council for Education to train the cadres who would run them. In addition, he sent a number of young people to study abroad, mainly to France and Italy. On their return, apart from occupying important posts, they were required to translate, into Arabic, the books they had studied.

Although he is often described as a ruthless, bloodthirsty dictator, one fact remains: Mohammed Ali has gone down in history as an enlightened and benevolent leader, a man who single-handedly catapulted Egypt from the dark ages into the modern world.  et

The author is Editor-in-Chief of Egypt Today magazine. For an in-depth look at the life and times of Mohammed Ali, see “Mohammed Ali,”