[quote=So Boerd]
I have heard neither. May I have sources?
[/quote]

I don't think I need to prove the Albanian background of Muhammed Ali Pasha and therefore his dynasty and the fact that the ruling elite were largely of Anatolian or East European origins. There was a rise in the 'effendy's' as they were known, secular educated Egyptians, lawyers, teachers etc. plus you must remember that the oldest/second oldest (depends on who you ask) university in the world is in Egypt.
The rural population was extremely unhappy under the Khedives and so were the ulema (religious class if you would, imams, sheikhs etc.) - who had monumental power over the masses and could, on their own, lead a successful uprising to 'rejoin the true Caliphate'
For more info: http://countrystudies.us/egypt/23.htm

For more info on general change in Muslim societies, particularly Arab ones, in the 19th-20th Century: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Nahda