Naguib Mahfouz Overview

When Naguib Mahfouz serialized his novel 'The Children of Gebelawi' in Arab-language newspapers, the fundamentalist Muslim group al-Jihad promptly put a bounty on his head. Thirty years later, in 1994, the Nobel Prize-winner was stabbed in the neck outside his Cairo... [more]

When Naguib Mahfouz serialized his novel 'The Children of Gebelawi' in Arab-language newspapers, the fundamentalist Muslim group al-Jihad promptly put a bounty on his head. Thirty years later, in 1994, the Nobel Prize-winner was stabbed in the neck outside his Cairo home. Though he lived to tell the tale, he joined the likes of Salman Rushdie as an artist-in-hiding. With more than 30 novels and many short stories to his credit, Mahfouz has transformed Arabic literature, introducing Western literary forms to Arab culture. His 'Cairo Trilogy' is considered a masterpiece of the cultural cross-section, boasting one of the greatest depictions of Cairo ever recorded. Like Dickens' London or Balzac's Paris, Mahfouz's Cairo comes to life through meticulous attention to detail. 'The Cairo Trilogy' follows three generations of a single family through Egypt's transition into modernity, from World War I through the 1950s. Focusing on their disparate activities and relationships, Mahfouz pits Arabic traditions in one corner against Western influence and youthful rebellion in the other. In a move uncharacteristic of Arabic writers, he gives a voice to women and paints a sympathetic portrait of homosexuals. Such social liberalism is what Islamic fundamentalists find galling in Mahfouz's work -- so much so that it has nearly cost him his life. Mahfouz's outspoken politics have led to his censure in his own country. Many of Mahfouz's books remain unpublished there, due to his support of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's 1978 peace treaty with Israel. He further exasperated his critics when he called for the resignation of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, ostensibly to smooth tensions in the Gulf. Yet Mahfouz is not an unabashed ally of the West. His first devotion is to the creation of an Egyptian identity -- political allegiance be damned -- in the face of rapid globalization. In the 1960s, Mahfouz turned away from Realism and began incorporating interior monologue and multiple first-person narrators. Allegory and symbolism have also entered his work, serving as a mask for political contention. However, he maintains that technical innovation, not fear, has been the driving force behind such literary moves -- and his history substantiates the claim. [show less]