Working to improve mutual understanding between the Middle East and the West
Working to improve mutual understanding between the Middle East and the West
This volume consists of essays published in newspapers between 1982 and 1988, coinciding with the early years of Hosni Mubarak’s presidency described by Mahfouz as an ‘unhurried democracy’. Mahfouz’s exceptional humanity is most prominent in the careful attention he pays to the daily challenges faced by Egyptians. The writing presented here reveals his remarkable insight into the country’s political and social issues, as well as pragmatic capacity to see the bigger picture, particularly when it comes to the role of Egypt in the Arab world. A recurring theme in the majority of the essays is Mahfouz’s perseverance in insisting, despite hardships, on tolerance and justice, on peaceful coexistence, on the maintenance of work ethics, on the importance of cultural education, and the merits of democracy.
Naguib Mahfouz was the most important Arab writer of his generation. He was the winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. Russell Harris is an established translator of literary works from French and Arabic. Rasheed El-Enany is Professor Emeritus of Modern Arabic Literature, University of Exeter.
This is the third in a series of Naguib Mahfouz’s non-fiction writings, published for the first time in English translation by Gingko. Click here to view the first, second (1974-1981) and fourth (1989-1994) volumes.
Introduction by Rasheed El-Enany
Substandard Food in an Age of Discipline
Defamation of the Country
Indifference and Education
The Forbidden Opposition
Behaviour Appropriate for Our Lives
The Democracy of Labour
The Debt Fund
Lessons from Deceased Leaders
how Should We Deal with Deviation?
The People of the Cave Wake up
A Small Nation in a World of Giants
The Task of the Centre
Withdrawal Celebrations
After the Withdrawal
The Army of War and Peace
On the Issue of Change
On the Egypt of Tomorrow Conference
When Will Change Begin?
Political Activity as the Harbinger of Good
The Return of Administrative Control
Opposition Newspapers
The bitter Truth
Towards a New five-Year Plan
An ongoing Period of Trial… and a New Dawn
The July Revolution
Ramadan – Should it be Serious or Fun?
Who are We?
Ten People Who have Not Received Any Good News
The Youth Also Have a Literary Problem
The Role of Culture in our Rebirth
The Egyptian Path and the Age of Productivity
The Egyptian Way… and National Mobilisation?
The Arab Way
How Can We Confront Life?
The Value of an individual and Civilisation
Democracy and the Ethics of Leadership
Indifference… and Performance
Indifference… and the Army 52 Social Justice
The Real Criminal
Your Voting Slip 55 The Giza Drain Told Me…
The other Side of the Moon
Signs of a New Age
Good Tidings
Studies of the National Councils
Welcoming the New Masses
Making Donations to Pay off our Debts
What a Neutral Ministry Cannot Do
When Will We Learn the Value of Time?
A Relative, Not an absolute, Majority
What Does Israel Mean?
The Message of the Conference
A Return to the Discussion of Debts
A Stand on Corruption
The Lesson of Oil
In What State has the Festival Returned?
On the Opposition
Wielding Some Legal Clout
About a Higher Aim
The Desired Wisdom
The Minister and the Opposition
The Privilege Disease
Signs of the Value of the individual
5 June
A New Year of Development
Our Scientific Expertise and Development
The July Revolution
We are Not Unaware of Our Faults… But!
More Cars
The Unreasonable War
Conflict and Civilisation
The Benchmark of Civilisation
The Ministry of Wealth
Looking for the Missing Money
Censorship
A New Censorship Law
Thought and Freedom 1
6 October
The Police in the Service of Democracy
Television and the Cinema
The Etiquette and Conventions of Catastrophes
On the Emergency Law
What Does Experience Tell us?
Arab Considerations
The Minister of Culture Said…
The Hope That Remains
A Golden Age of Culture
The Crisis of Literature
The State Media and Culture
Martyrs of the Pen
The Crisis of Thought
Between the Cause and the Aim
A Campaign guide for the Citizen
In Defence of the Five-Year Plan and the General Public
For an Honest Battle
Catastrophes and Us!
Towering Intellects
A Multi-Party System
The Trust of the People
On the Generation Argument
A Serious Campaign in a Serious Period
The Cause of Art
A Renewal of Interest
The Election Campaign and the Revolution
The Parliament We are Waiting For
A New Age
A Word to Our Youth
A Word to the Wafd Party
A Small Nation Among Giants
The Party Platforms and Our Youth
Look in Anger at Reality
Between Culture and Development
In Defence of higher Values
The July Revolution
The Return of the giants
Those without a Sense of Belonging
Democratic Demands
The State Radio, Television and Culture
23 August
The First Aim
The Minister of the Interior Begins the Battle
We have the Power
The Media and the New Class
6 October
6 October
Our Lives
A Good Start
Support for a Society of Freedom and Justice
What a Political Party Means
Decisive Years
‘13 November’
The National Democratic Party and Culture
The Ministry and the Festival
The Majority Party
Party and Development
Back to the Electoral Law
Culture Between Criticism and Anger
Mass Suicide
The High Dam and the Necessary Conference
The Nile and the Law
The Day of the Police
B Book Display in Every Home
Execution and Life Imprisonment
The Case of Dr Ahmed
The Master of the Cause
Civilisation and the Holes in the Road
An Era of Rationalism
Art and Censorship
Crime Between Punishment and Cure
The Third Way
A Frenzied Crime
A Return to Language
Blossoms on the Path of Patience
Our Real Wealth
The Long-Lasting Case
A Day of Wisdom
The Peace Track
A Wonderful Movement
Independence in Jungle Life
The Spectator’s Confusion
The Missing Constitution
A Revolution and a Lesson
Rationalising Rationalisation
An abstruse Problem
The battle of Freedom and Civilisation
Literature and Politics
The opposition Between Tradition and Renewal
Between Awakening and Deviation
23 August
The Necessity of Culture
The Unretouched Picture
A Cure for all Eras
The Role of the State
A five-Year Plan Which Never Stops
Can the Reward for Murder be anything other Than Death?
Towards a New Citizen
Parliament and the Media
Between Two Eras
The Coming Years of Hard Work
Confrontation Without Hesitation
A Discussion About the Future
No Love from one Party
Between Reality and Dream
Arab Nationalism Between Reality and Dream
Towards a New Arab Unity
The Truth about Suleiman Khater
Democracy Between the Opposition and the Government
The Opposition’s Message
The Direction of Democracy
Crisis… Strengthen and be Gone!
A Violent Battle
The Five Commandments
Stability, Development and Humankind
A Soap Opera of Suffering, Sabotage and Arson
Who Engineered the Events of 25 February?
Ever in the Service of the People
Directness Between the Government and the Opposition
Facing the Facts 300 Development and Social Peace
May Day
Religious Education
The Most Beautiful of Times
On the Question of Ethics
5 June 311 Values Fit for All Times and Places
On the Question of Change
Why Subsidies… and Why Education?
Towards an Ethical Plan
The Present Between Anger and Perfection
The Occasion of the 23 July 1952 Revolution
We are Not a Nation Without an Aim
The Role of the People
Towards the other Shore
Democracy is Wonderful Despite its Errors
In Commemoration of the 1919 Revolution
Good Government
Our True Wealth
The National Democratic Party and Our Youth
Opinion, Experience and Consultation
One Crisis Should Suffice!
6 October
A Day of the People
The Responsibility of the Majority
The State and Culture
Medicine for More than one Disease
Africa and Internationalism
A New government
Welcome to Parliament
The Opposition
Exam Month
What We Should Remember
A Conversation in English
Science in Language Schools
On the Electoral Law
Towards a New Ethics and New Traditions
A New World 365 The islamic Conference
Another Path to Glory
It is People Who Make Civilisation
A New Era
Electoral Fraud
The Festival
The Constitutionality of the New Parliament
A Word to the Confused
What Will Tomorrow Tell us?
The hidden Disease
The New Parliament
Public holiday and Remembrance
The human Resources Conference
The People and the Battle
The Flood and the Ark
The Dark Side of the Moon
Hidden Evil
Democracy and the Battle
The Greatest Problem
Disease Spreads to the Core
Towards a New future
Terrorism and Stability
A Wise and Just Decision
A New Five-Year Plan
The Revolution of 23 July
Between Suicide and Famine
The Meaning of Stability
The Sun Will Rise Again
In Commemoration of the 1919 Revolution – Again
Unifying the Two Sectors
Cultural Hopes
Terrorism
Yes
6 October and the Best of Memories
And Nothing is being Said about Culture
Axioms of the Revolution
MPs’ Opinions and Their Wishes
The Desired Awareness
Anticipated Hopes
Author, Thinker, Fighter
Democracy is a National Programme
The Fight
The Modern Age
Unity is Our Cornerstone
The Rule of Law 435 a War on Two Fronts
The Era of Truth and Reality
Society and the Youth
A New Year
Thoughts on the Smuggled Billions
The Blood of the Revolutionaries
On Productivity
The age of Science and Scientists
The Map of our Youth
The Concerns of Today and Tomorrow
Political Reform
War
Identity and Aim
Culture and the State
Towards National Solidarity
The Long-awaited Mahdi
The Confessional
Political aiDS
The Road to Peace
On Religious Education
The Key to Reform
Praying for Rain
Between the Ebb and Flow
A Naïve Question
Religion in the Modern Age
Between the Sacred and the Profane
Between Extinction and Survival
Egypt’s Role
The Man of the Hour
The Revolution of 23 July – Again
A Call to Life
Remembering the Dead
The Trust Borne by People
Behaviour in Hard Times
Forgotten Honours
How Do We Face the Enemy?
Between Confrontation and Flight
The Explosion
Dream and Reality
The Day of Victory and Peace
A Word Amid All the Hubbub
Respectable but Criminal
Climbing out of the Animal’s Jaws
Culture and Life
Indifference and Education
Education is a highly efficient force which leaves a deep imprint on us. it is responsible for the shaping the citizen from his formative years. You might not have forgotten the fuss which has lately been pervading the educational establishment and the national councils around the issue of ‘the Egyptian human-being’ and the reforming of his personality, but has this been translated into educational action in our schools? in our heritage we have the healthy seeds which can help provide a decent form of education and which can be used to mould a youngster into the model demanded by our times, and for that we need to inculcate in our youth a love of the homeland, the veneration of work, a love of science and knowledge, a passion for discovery and invention and an openness toward other beliefs and religions. it is fortuitous that we can use our fount of religion and enlightened religious thought with its sounds, texts and faithful historical reports to help and motivate this shaping of our youth. how wonderful when the requirements of the religious and the mundane come together, when thought, science, the work ethos and the other foundations of modern civilisation become religious duties and steer people towards guidance and piety, when the believer can be a symbol of the renewal of civilisation with his religion neither holding him back nor causing him to deviate from his lofty humanistic aims. Religion can be the symbol of the decent working man with an honest conscience who writes what he wants to write, who loves those who agree and collaborate with him just as he should love and collaborate with those who disagree with him provided this is based on mutual respect and within the framework of human rights. We can state that the effects of education are not seen overnight, but they stay implanted and become passed on to the next generations.
21/1/1982
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