Naguib Mahfouz’s Religious Ideologies
Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian novelist and a winner of the Nobel Prize, was stabbed after expressing his religious philosophies in Children of the Alley (Najjar 1). The writer serves as a threat to the conservative Egyptian society. Religious militants feel endangered by the introduction of westernized ideas, which do not conform to the Egyptian culture and tradition, especially in the 1990s. Mahfouz’ stance regarding religion is veiled in his superficial neutrality in novels such as Sugar Street and Children of the Alley, both being published in the 1950s. In both novels, the writer claims that religion and science do not coexist. Therefore, science and socialism, rather than religion, are regarded as the solutions for the constantly operating social and political injustices in the modern society. In Sugar Street and Children of the Alley, Mahfouz uses multiple techniques to explore the constant battle between religion and science in mankind’s advancement, which enables the reader to interpret his philosophies.
In Sugar Street, Mahfouz presents the adversarial relationship between religion and science through two intellectual siblings representing each idea. Ahmad and Abd al-Mun'im Shawkat are two brothers that go to the same university and live in the same house. However, Abd al-Mun'im Shawkat is a Muslim fundamentalist, while Ahmad is an atheist. Mahfouz uses the technique of making both characters as closely related as possible to emphasize the idea that no social relationship is capable of preventing the inevitable conflict between the two forces. Additionally, the author reveals a certain degree of preference to Ahmad through characterization and imagery. For instance, Abd al-Mun'im ...
... middle of paper ...
...elancholy. Mahfouz states, “Islam looks for a solution to social injustice inside the human conscience, whereas the solution lies in the development of society itself” (107).
Works Cited
Aboul-Ela, Hosam. “The Writer Becomes Text: Naguib Mahfouz and State Nationalism in Egypt.” Biography. 27.2 (2004): 339-356. JSTOR. Web. 24 May 2014.
Al-Mousa, Nedal. “The Nature and Uses of the Fantastic in the Fictional World of Naguib Mahfouz.” Journal of Arabic Literature. 23.1 (1992): 36-48. JSTOR. Web. 24 May 2014.
El-Enany, R. “Religion in the Novels of Naguib Mahfouz.” British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. 15.1/2 (1988): 21-27. JSTOR. Web. 23 May 2014.
Najjar, M. “Islamic Fundamentalism and the Intellectuals: The Case of Naguib Mahfouz.”British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 25.1 (1998): 139-168. JSTOR. Web. 24 May 2014.
He presents the themes and elements of the pre-Islamic society, including its tribal culture, economic culture, religious background, prominence of poetry (how the Qur’an situates itself in relation to the poetry of the “Jahileen”), and discusses gender issues (particularly infanticide of daughters). Moreover, he introduces the connection between Abraham and Muhammad which is identified as the “cornerstone to the Islamic tradition” (84), situating it relative to other monotheistic religions. Through these elements Safi notes that pre-Islamic Arabia shaped the ways in which “Islamic discourses and practices expressed themselves” (53) thus providing the “the context of Islamic practices”
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
Hilāl, ʻAlī Al-Dīn. Islamic Resurgence in the Arab World. New York, NY: Praeger, 1982. Print.
‘Return of the Pharaoh’ is the English version of the prison memoir of Zainab al-Ghazali. The book aims to expose to the world the cruelties and savagery she had to suffer at the hands of the Nasir regime. Zainab al-Ghazali was one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and the founder of the Muslim Ladies Group. While the Brotherhood held a pan-Islamic view and worked towards incorporating Islam as a way of life rather than a religion, the Muslim Ladies Group trained women for the same purpose and also participated in welfare and relief activities. The title of the book is extremely interesting; it reflects the utter contempt the author holds Nasir in, and vice versa. Her hatred is so strong that she calls him a “Pharaoh”, an ancient Egyptian king who declared he was God and persecuted people who believed otherwise. The title is not only attractive and intriguing, but also appropriate, for the book demonstrates many of Nasir’s qualities that bring him on par with Pharaoh himself. For instance, instead of swearing by Allah’s name as most Muslims do, Nasir’s associates swear “by (the might of) Nasir”, as if HE were their god. Nasir also believes in eliminating all opposition just like Pharaoh did. He imprisons, persecutes and eventually kills many Brotherhood members and their sympathizers. Although Muslim by name, Nasir was opposed to all those who carry the message of Islam and seek to establish it in their lives. The title could not be more appropriate, as the reader gradually finds out.
Ayoob, M. (2007) The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim
Lafraie, Najibullah (2009). Revolutionary Ideology and Islamic Militancy : The Iranian Revolution and Interpretations of the Quran. Tauris Academic Studies. Retrieved March 23, 2012, from Ebook Library.
Pinault, David. "The Thousand and One Nights in Arabic Literature and Society." Journal of the American Oriental Society 119 (1999):536-537.
Joyce, James. “Araby”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. 427 - 431.
Joyce, James. “Araby.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Eighth Edition. Eds. Jerome Beaty, Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W.Norton.
The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.
The Chronicle of the French Occupation, 1798 – Napoleon in Egypt, was written by the Egyptian born scholar and jurist, Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti (c. 1753-c.1825) between 1798 and 1801, framing the French occupation of Egypt. Both the Middle East and Europe, during the late 17th century were in a state of redefinition. Although the chronicle had covered only the brief period during first seven months of 36, it serves as a crucial accounting. Clearly illustrated is a paradigmatic shift between a modern culture and an antiquated system with a chronicle of events that swings between something that is merely observational to something written by an emotionally charged spectator. Although the work has been widely accepted, there is still some speculation as to degrees of censorship and possible omissions through various translations.
Naguib Mahfouz is the author of the book Midaq Alley that was translated from Arabic by Trevor Le Gassick. First published in 1966, Midaq Alley displays a historical period of Egypt in the most intimate sense as it is presented through the lives of the characters that inhabit the alley.
Joyce, James. "Araby." 1914. Literature and Ourselves. Henderson, Gloria, ed. Boston, Longman Press. 2009. 984-988.
Moreover, the main character of this arguably structural fictional novel, travelogue and biography, which encompasses both historical and biographical events, begins his journey through the truths of studying eleventh century Egypt. Amitav places himself in the story as a doctoral student who is given the opportunity to study social anthropology. As we learned and discussed throughout this course, there are a variety of methods in which to study religion. Social anthropology focuses on“the study of human beings and societies viewed primarily as both the creators and the creations of culture . . . sociology of religion . . . focuses its attention on social behavior and the way in which religion interacts with other dimension...
Bouhdiba, Abdelwahab. "The Message of Islam." Diogenes (International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies). Humanities Full Text. 2005. Web.