Images of Development

Know about the book -

Images of Development is written by Clement Henry Moore and published by Amer Univ in Cairo Press. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 9774243269 (ISBN 10) and 9789774243264 (ISBN 13).

First published in 1980, Images of Development is as much about modernization theory as about the Egyptian engineering profession. A new epilogue for this 1994 edition presents a new image of development - the engineers now aspiring to transcend and supercede Western modernization theory. Their professional syndicate is one of Egypt's few genuinely representative institutions, and Islamist activists have achieved control over it through free elections. The new image that they project is nothing less than the Islamization of modernity. The engineers, like their colleagues in other leading professions, previously moved in a political vacuum. Now their assertions of Islamic identity have articulated a determination to master an alien society, corrupted by Egypt's economic open-door policy. The epilogue critically discusses these recent developments and argues that while Islam may inspire a variety of political forms, the engineers exemplify a moderate, democratic, and anti-imperialist movement that works within Egypt's political system and deplores political violence. If Egypt has any prospects for genuine democracy, this professional syndicate, together with others that have been taken over by Islamist activists, may already be conditioning its future leadership.