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.
Slide 2
Mahfouz and modern Egypt
Slide 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 20 th -century Arabic Renaissance in literature.
Slide 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.
Slide 5
Cairo The famous mosque of Al-Azhar (near the office building
where Mahfouz narrator visits Sheikh Qamar) Mahfouz spent his life
in Cairo.
Slide 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 Gebelawi scandalized
Islamic authorities.
Slide 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
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Islams 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
Slide 9
Prayer A minaret (prayer tower) from which the faithful are
called to pray five times a day.
Slide 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.
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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.
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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.
Slide 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."
Slide 14
Religions in USA Religion 2004 Est. Total Pop. % of U.S. Pop.,
2001 Christianity224,437,95976.5% Judaism3,995,3711.3%
Islam1,558,0680.5% Buddhism1,527,0190.5% Hinduism1,081,0510.4%
Unitarian Universalist887,7030.3% Wiccan/Pagan/Druid433,2670.1%
Spiritualist163,7100.05% Native American Religion145,3630.05%
Baha'i118,5490.04%
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International Religious Groups Religious Body # of Adherents
Catholic Church 1,100,000,000 Sunni Islam 875,000,000 Eastern
Orthodox Church 225,000,000 Anglican Communion 76,000,000
Assemblies of God 50,000,000 Jehovahs Witnesses 15,597,746
Seventh-day Adventists 12,894,000 Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints 12,275,822 New Apostolic Church 10,260,000
Ahmadiyya10,000,000 Bahai World Faith 6,000,000
Slide 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.
Slide 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 Zaabalawis saintly influence.
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Sufism--mystical branch of Islam Mahfouz hero finds Zaabalawi
only by giving up reason and logic. Sufis seek mystical knowledge
of Allah.
Slide 19
Sufism--mystical branch of Islam Sheikhs head the major orders
(tariqas or paths). Followers believe power from Muhammad passed
from sheikh to sheih.
Slide 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.
Slide 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.
Slide 22
Sufism--dancing ecstasy Whirling induces a trance, opens the
dancer to realization of Allah. Dancers may whirl for 30
minutes.
Slide 23
Sufismsinging 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. 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.
Slide 24
Sufism--Rumis Poetry Be drunk on Love, for only Love exists;
there's No meeting the Beloved without Love as herald. They ask,
"What's Love? Reply, 'Renouncing the will. He who hasn't tossed
will aside doesn't know God. [continued]
Slide 25
Sufism--Rumis Poetry The Lover is a monarch: two worlds lie at
his feet; The King pays no attention to 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)
Slide 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.
Slide 27
Modern Sufi wine imagery From Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani
Al-Qubrusi Al-Naqshbandi, born 1922 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.