Ahmed Orabi - Exile and Return

Exile and Return

Orabi was tried by the restored Khedivate for rebellion on December 3, 1882. In accordance with an understanding made with the British representative, Lord Dufferin, Orabi pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death, but the sentence was immediately commuted to one of banishment for life. He left Egypt on December 28, 1882 for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). His home in Halloluwa Road, Kandy is now the Orabi Pasha Museum and Cultural Centre. During his time in Ceylon, Orabi served to improve the quality of education amongst the Muslims in the country. Zahira College, Sri Lanka's first school for Muslims, was established under his patronage. In May 1901, Khedive Abbas II, Tewfiq's son and successor permitted Orabi to return to Egypt. Abbas was a nationalist in the vein of his grandfather, Khedive Ismail the Magnificent, and was deeply opposed to the British occupation of the country. Orabi returned on October 1, 1901, and remained until his death on September 21, 1911.

While British intervention was meant to be short term, British forces continued to occupy the country, instituting the ousting of Khedive Abbas II in 1914, after which Egypt once more became a sultanate, and also a British protectorate. Britain finally recognised Egyptian independence in 1922, following the Egyptian Revolution of 1919. Orabi's revolt also had a long lasting significance as the first instance of Egyptian anti-imperialist nationalism, which would later play a very important role in Egyptian history. Especially under Gamal Abdel Nasser, Orabi would be regarded as an Egyptian patriot, and a national hero and is considered an anti-imperialist hero in Sri Lanka.