Essays of the Sadat Era

Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) was the greatest Arab writer of the twentieth century. Born in the old Islamic Quarter of Cairo in 1911, he began writing when he was seventeen before entering university to study as a student of philosophy in 1930. He is the author of over thirty novels - including a number of masterpieces, such as The Cairo Trilogy and Children of the Alley. In 1988 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.Rasheed El-Enany is Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature at Doha Institute for Gradu ate Studies, as well as Professor Emeritus of Modern Arabic Literature, University of Exeter. He has authored several books on Naguib Mahfouz, including Naguib Mahfouz. His Life and Times.Aran Byrne is an Arabic language graduate of SOAS (University of London) and Oxford University. He was co-translator of Democracy Is the Answer by the best-selling Egyptian writer Alaa Al Aswany. Russell Harris is an established translator of literary works from French and Arabic.

• ContentsIntroduction by Rasheed El-EnanyReligion and SchoolThe Issue of PlatformsVirtual UnemploymentThe ScarecrowMillions and PenniesThe Accusations against Nasser and Freedom of the PressImported IdeasArabs and CivilisationPoor and NobleKilling Your Brother Whether He is a Criminal or a VictimThoughts and ThingsIslam and the Battle of IdeologiesO god!A Platform Without a Distinguishing CharacteristicThe Battle of Worries and PactsWasted PotentialsTimes of SalvationA Battle and MenDoctrine and ExampleImportant MattersA Murderer and a MurderessThe Philosophy of the State Radio and TelevisionCultural AspirationsFrom Top-Down to Bottom-PpComplaints as a Prelude to Administrative ReformA Word on SeditionArabs and ArabismGenies and the IntellectAberrationOversight and Administration, Accountability and RewardUniversities and the Responsibility of CriticismIslamic ExperimentsUntil They Change What is in ThemselvesThe Long-awaited RevolutionThe Emptiness of SlogansThe Voice That Must be HeardNegative Aspects of Society and Things That Shouldn't be Done!From the Multitude to the SocietyCulture and the Broadcast MediaThe Muslims between Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and Abu LahabA Decision of the Majority PartyBetween Opinion and ActionA basic Principle in the Case of GraduatesOur Fate Lies in the Hands of the Labour ForceThe giants SeriesDeeds and MenDiagnosing CalamityPeople Deserving PityA Difficult Transitional PeriodThe Meaning of Science and FaithWhat Do We Want from the Shura Council?A New Phenomenon Called Child DisappearanceWhen Will the Eradication of Illiteracy be Completed?The University and intellectual LeadershipFreedom of ThoughtNational UniversityOur Language in the MediaThe Path to a Real RebirthArt, Politics and InternationalismOur Role in Constructing CivilisationA bright Light on a Dark NightThe Trinity of Intellect, Freedom and ConscienceThe Goal, the Action, and the ExampleA Voice That Should be HeardTowards a Free SocietyTreasure Waiting to be DiscoveredEgypt and JapanA Secret Trial is NeededThe Meaning of CivilisationWe are Born EgyptianCreative IntelligenceThought Between the Predecessor and the SuccessorPeace between Action and ThoughtTo You, the Real AccusedThe Golden age of the MagazineSedition and CorruptionUnity between Preparation and ConstructionTowards the Paradise of National UnityThe Work RevolutionEras and LeadersThe Meaning of StabilityYoung People and the Message of ReligionThe only Remedy for aberration is CivilisationO god, Protect our Press for us!Do the Youth have a Problem?A Complete Reconsideration

'As a citizen Naguib Mahfouz sees civility and the continuity of a transnational, abiding, Egyptian personality in his work as perhaps surviving the debilitating processes of conflict and historical degeneration which he, more than anyone else I have read, has so powerfully depicted.'- Edward Said'One of the greatest creative talents in the realm of the novel in the world.'- Nadine Gordimer'He is not only a Hugo and a Dickens, but also a Galsworthy, a Mann, a Zola, and a Jules Romain.'- London Review of Books'Mahfouz embodied the essence of what makes the bruising, raucous, chaotichuman anthill of Cairo possible.'- The Economist