The year 1908 was an eventful one for Egypt. Mustafa Kamil and Qasim Amin died, and Butrus Ghali, a Copt, became prime minister. The Watani and Umma parties found their feet, and Cromer's successor Sir Eldon Gorst pursued his rapprochement with the Khedive. In Istanbul the Young Turk Revolution seemed to revive the Ottoman Empire, to which Egypt still nominally belonged. In London Asquith took over as prime minister for the Liberals, and Lord Cromer published his apologia, Modern Egypt. And finally, at the end of December, the Egyptian University came into being.

The palace takes over

By the fall of 1906 even Qasim Amin's patience with Cromer had worn thin; perhaps it was the radicalizing effect of Dinshaway. Succeeding Zaghlul as leader of the university committee, Amin decided that only Khedive Abbas could provide the powerful patronage needed. Disregarding the bad blood between his late mentor Abduh and Abbas, Amin requested an audience at the palace.

Abbas hated Cromer, who had humiliated him in a showdown early on, but he also remembered the fate of his deposed grandfather Ismail. So Abbas settled for outward submission and behind-the-scenes opposition through Mustafa Kamil and others. The 1904 Entente ended Abbas's hope of French support, so Abbas half-heartedly tried to improve relations with Cromer.