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Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006)

Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006). First Arab author to win Nobel Prize (1988) Author of 50 novels, 350 short stories , 5 plays , dozens of movie scripts Survived 1994 assassination attempt by Islamic fundamentalists.

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Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006)

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  1. Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) • First Arab author to win Nobel Prize (1988) • Author of 50 novels, 350 short stories, 5 plays, dozens of movie scripts • Survived 1994 assassination attempt by Islamic fundamentalists © Chris Willerton 1996, 2009. Classroom use only. These images are not cleared for republication.

  2. Mahfouz and modern Egypt

  3. Mahfouz and Modern Egypt • "I am the son of two civilizations that at a certain age in history have formed a happy marriage. The first of these, seven thousand years old, is the Pharaonic civilization; the second, one thousand four hundred years old, is the Islamic civilization.“ (Nobel Prize lecture, 1988) • Mahfouz was part of a 20th-century “Arabic Renaissance” in literature.

  4. Mahfouz and Egyptian Politics • As a child, witnessed the 1919 Egyptian Revolution against British domination. Grew up an intellectual, sympathetic to socialism and democracy. • Often clashed with Islamic fundamentalists, e.g., for supporting peace efforts between Israel and Egypt in 1978-1979. Protested the fatwa (death order) against novelist Salman Rushdie, and received one himself. • Survived 1994 assassination attempt by Islamic extremists.

  5. Cairo • The famous mosque of Al-Azhar (near the office building where Mahfouz’ narrator visits Sheikh Qamar) • Mahfouz spent his life in Cairo.

  6. Islam: Background for Mahfouz’“Zabalawi” • Muhammad (born AD 571?, died 632) felt the call at age 40 to become a prophet of Allah (God). • Islam means “submission,” and Muslim means “one who submits.” • Mahfouz is Muslim, but his novel Children of Gebelawiscandalized Islamic authorities .

  7. Muslim tenets • One God • Prophethood • Allah has sent 124,000 prophets, beginning with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. • The Last Judgment

  8. Islam’s “Five Pillars” 1. Repeating the creed: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet.” 2. Prayer five times a day 3. Giving alms for the needy 4. Fasting during sacred month of Ramadan 5. Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca once in a lifetime, for those who can afford it

  9. Prayer A minaret (prayer tower) from which the faithful are called to pray five times a day.

  10. Pilgrimage to Mecca Muhammad was driven from Mecca, AD 622, but returned in 630 to make it the world center for Islam. Here pilgrims surround the Kaaba shrine, an important site in the Hajj.

  11. The Kaaba The Kaaba (“cube”), draped in silk, enshrines the sacred Black Stone. Muslims believe that Abraham and Ishmael built the Kaaba when the angel Gabriel gave Abraham the stone. Pilgrims worship by praying, walking and running around the Kaaba, then touching the Black Stone.

  12. Modern Islam • Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. North America contains over 5 million Muslims, and the number of mosques (temples) has doubled each decade since 1960. • New York City has the highest weekly attendance for Friday prayers, an average of 27,500 Muslims. Other concentrations of Muslims are in Southern California, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Toronto.

  13. Modern Islam and Other Religions • "World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of churches and religions - AD 30 to 2200," there are 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many smaller ones. 34,000 separate Christian groups have been identified in the world. "Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations."

  14. Religions in USA

  15. International Religious Groups

  16. Zaabalawi as saint • A healer, “a remover of worries and troubles,” an inspirer • A fugitive--misunderstood by the police • Humble, poor, joyful • Hard to find! Zaabalawi is indifferent to possessions, houses, schedules. He visits those who love him, not those who love things.

  17. Sufi saints • Mahfouz is not Sufi, and wine/inspiration is not the only issue in the story. • His narrator, terminally ill, finds comfort in Zaabalawi’s saintly influence.

  18. Sufism--mystical branch of Islam Mahfouz’ hero finds Zaabalawi only by giving up reason and logic. Sufis seek mystical knowledge of Allah.

  19. Sufism--mystical branch of Islam Sheikhs head the major orders (tariqas or “paths”). Followers believe power from Muhammad passed from sheikh to sheih.

  20. Wine as a symbol in “Zaabalawi” • The narrator goes to Mr. Wanas to ask how to find Zaabalawi. When Wanas insists that he get drunk, the narrator, as a good Muslim, refuses. • But drunkenness turns out to be the means to find Zaabalawi. Is the saint a bad Muslim, or is the author using a symbol? In Sufi writing, wine is a symbol for inspiration.

  21. Sufism and wine imagery The Persian poet Hafiz (14th century) praises wine in “Red Rose”: The rose has flushed red, the bud has burst, And drunk with joy in the nightingale-- Hail, Sufis! lovers of wine, all hail! For wine is proclaimed to a world athirst.

  22. Sufism--dancing ecstasy Whirling induces a trance, opens the dancer to realization of Allah. Dancers may whirl for 30 minutes.

  23. Sufism—singing ecstasy • Sufi musical ceremonies may last 6 hours and put singers in a trance. Here Sufis in Fez, Morocco, sing Islamic texts and declare their devotion to God.

  24. Sufism--Rumi’s Poetry Be drunk on Love, for only Love exists; there's No meeting the Beloved withoutLove as herald. They ask, "What's Love?Reply, 'Renouncing the will.‘He who hasn't tossed will asidedoesn't know God. [continued]

  25. Sufism--Rumi’s Poetry The Lover is a monarch:two worlds lie at his feet;The King pays no attentionto what lies under his. It's Love and the lover that live eternally;Set your heart on this only:the rest is borrowed. MEVLANA LALALU'DDIN RUMI (1207 - 1273)

  26. The Sufi way • A Sufi seeks direct experience of the Divine Presence. With the help of a spiritual guide (one of the “Friends of God”) and certain practices, a Sufi expects to reach a Vision of God. • In “Zaabalawi,” the artists (calligrapher and musician) seem to represent Friends of God, but the worldly and greedy do not.

  27. Modern Sufi wine imagery A holy man said to the Sultan of Holiness, "I drank a cup of divine Love and I lost myself. Nothing else has a taste for me anymore. I'm drunk with the taste of love for God and the taste is never ending in me." So the Sultan of Holiness, Abu Yazid, The King of Saints, replied, "I'm also drinking, but I'm asking for more and more... Death runs after people who have not tasted the real love of the Lord Almighty. We, who have tasted and reached the love streams, never die.” From Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani Al-Qubrusi Al-Naqshbandi, born 1922

  28. Sources • http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm • http://www.adhamonline.com/images/news/sufi.jpg • http://libbagillum.com/dreamthoughts.html • http://www.cgecwm.org/events/sufi-zhikr.html • http://www.sufistudies.net/

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