Most tourists to Egypt experience the country's middle class, one of the most interesting population segments.  These are the Egyptians who to me seem most to embrace the modern world, and they are numerous and visible, educated as well as informed. They are the tour guides and travel administrators, technology workers, government employees, shopkeepers, artists, journalists and engineers, doctors and bankers.  They are not hard to spot, with their cell phones and new cars, at McDonalds or in the new glittering malls. They can be found at the upscale coffee shops discussing politics or economics, and at the hot night spots talking fashion and the latest movies.

It is important to note that they are who demand the latest western movies, TV sitcoms and European music, and due to this, they understand western cultures far better then many westerners understand them.  Those of us in the west are simply not exposed to their culture as they are exposed to ours. 

The Egyptian middle class is a tribute to Egypt, as they represent the largest such segment to be found in any of the region's Islamic countries. Many if not most have obtained their status through hard work and a desire to be educated, and just as in America and other western cultures, they often spring from less fortunate classes through their own will to achieve.

It is difficult to say that these middle class Egyptians drive Egyptian politics, yet it would seem that the Egyptian government has and continues to work to promote them.  Certainly Egypt's poor must be dealt with, and as in any system, the very rich cannot but be heard. Yet the Egyptian middle class rides a wave of popular support and it is they who forge the future of Egypt. To understand them, is to understand modern Egypt.

There has been much talk of the culture of Muslim countries lately, but because the Egyptian middle class is educated and informed, cultural difference play less of a part in their ideology then many might presume.  They cannot be molded into a cultural cast, but are rather intelligent humans with sophisticated views.  In fact, they think and react much as do their counterparts in the west, and often, with informed insight and a 5,000 year heritage of intellect.

Like in the west, they discuss political issues that bother them, such as the situation in Israel and the Gaza Strip, but these topics do not consume their lives or their thoughts any more than many other economic, political and social issues. Most such discussions I have witnessed are devoid of religious fervor or hot indignation, but rather centered more on the pitiful circumstances of a people (the Palestinians) who have no home and live in miserable conditions. They abhor violence, and just as with their counterparts in the west, seek stability and understanding.

Moreover, and to their great credit, they may fault a western government's policies on these issues, but rarely do they transfer these feelings to individuals. They remain the gracious hosts for which they are known. So I salute the Egyptian middle class and their tenacious efforts both as thinking individuals, and as world citizens.