Indignation

In yesterday’s Al Masri Al Youm, an independent Egyptian daily newspaper, Mohamed Salmawy wrote an article entitled “Long Live Free Egypt” about an important milestone in Egyptian and Arab literature.

This week marked the fiftieth anniversary of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz’s Cairo Trilogy, what is arguably his most famous work.

Salmawy wrote this about the celebrations that took place to commemorate his trilogy:

A critical scholarly symposium commemorating Mahfouz brought together, among other things, literary masters from around the world in order to shed light on the different facets of the trilogy and some of its previously unknown aspects. This symposium won an equally critical coverage on the part of the international press.

A wonderful literary evening was also organised, during which the talented actor Yousif Abo Warda narrated excerpts of the trilogy accompanied by original Arabic musical recitals played by the talented musician Albert Elias.

The literary evening also drew heavy attendance despite the fact that it was a paid, rather than an open event, which cost LE40…

Such a literary legacy is also a source of pride for the nation… and [this celebration] enshrines the eminent value and ranking of Egypt’s most renowned literary figure, Naguib Mahfouz, before the whole world.

So, have you heard of this commemoration?

If the answer is in the negative, then it would not be your fault, for the anniversary was not held in Egypt, the birthplace whose alleys and narrow streets Mahfouz immortalized, but in Israel.

Yes. The commemoration took place in none other than Israel under the title “Cairo Yesterday and Today”. It was organized by the prominent professor of literature, Sasson Somek.

I read those last two paragraphs twice in disbelief. No, no, I must have misunderstood since my Arabic is weak (read: practically illiterate). I asked my mother to read it to me again to make sure. I then asked her to translate because I must just not understand the sentence structure. I looked for the article online, and found it in English. With no other possible reason to doubt my understanding, I hung my head in shame.

I thank professor Somek for putting literature above politics and celebrating this work. I thank the attendees for putting their own prejudices aside.

Unlike many who view “Cairo Yesterday and Today” as having a hidden political agenda of mocking the Arab world, and specifically Egypt, I choose to view this as positive appreciation of a literary masterpiece.

I thank you, Israel, for this slap in the face.

A slap in the face we brought upon ourselves.

This should be seen as a wake-up call. We do not deserve to parade Naguib Mahfouz as an Egyptian if we do not have the courtesy to celebrate him and his work.

We do not deserve to claim the Ancient Egyptian civilization as our own if we insist on using it as an excuse to never move forward.

We deserve nothing more than having the very country the common Egyptian has been indoctrinated to believe is our arch enemy teach us what is right.

Yesterday, I was ashamed of my country.

Rather than call it yet another Israel conspiracy, I pray that tomorrow, my country takes this as a lesson learned, and offers praise and recognition where they are due.

Maybe then our country’s talent will stop fleeing to more civilized pastures.