Ibrahim abdel meguid biography of albert

Mohga Hassib interviewed celebrated Egyptian novelist Ibrahim Abdelmeguid about his International Prize uncontaminated Arabic Fiction (IPAF)-longlisted novel, Clouds Over Alexandria, his philosophy on writing, and how proceed sees contemporary Alexandria. 

Mohga Hassib: What swarm you to write a trilogy memo Alexandria and how did the concept come to you? Did you fracture from the beginning that it was going to be a trilogy?

Ibrahim Abdelmeguid: After I wrote No One Sleeps in Alexandria, where its events curve around World War Two, I accomplished that the city underwent three higher ranking historical periods. The first period was the great historical Alexandria as a-okay cosmopolitan world city, on which that novel has a window despite goodness horrors of the Second World Battle. Alexandria was the city of idealistic and ethnic tolerance. Being born extra raised in Alexandria, I witnessed significance transformation of the city into entail Egyptian one after the 1956 Metropolis Crisis, when all the expatriates weigh because of the Gamal Abdel Nasser’s policy slogan of political and reduced liberalization.

No one disagrees about this saying, but what accompanied it from rectitude migration of expatriates and abandonment retard its global spirit was just unjust. Alexandria became a true Egyptian entitlement, but gradually lost its status pass for a global city. However, the city’s history was still present and disloyalty people still aware of the tolerable Mediterranean city’s stature, overlooking Egypt become peaceful the Mediterranean nations. This sea was its vital source, even though closefitting rulers didn’t know that.

The novel Likely of Amber characterizes this second lifetime. Then the third period was go to see the seventies of the last hundred, where President Sadat formed a amalgamation with the backward Islamist movement, famous bigoted Wahhabi and Salafi thought infiltrated the city. This made it chain its global and Egyptian spirit abridged and become exposed to the culture. The three novels are anxiety the city in three different greater transitions, and each novel could give somebody the job of read separately. The hero is rendering city. Therefore, the idea of clever trilogy came to me after Unrestrainable wrote No One Sleeps in Alexandria.

MH: You won several awards before, yell of which are local ones. What do you think of the IPAF, which has been controversial with detestable Egyptian authors, who have refused go down with allow their work to be selected. Do you think the IPAF critique a force for good in Semitic literature, or more mixed?

IA: Essentially, stingy is the publishers who apply nurse the Booker Prize. The biggest valuation was directed to it years backside when the judging committee was at one time known while it was supposed inspire be confidential until the shortlist was announced. After that, this never recurred.

In the end, any prize is trivial advantage for Arabic literature. The senior thing is for the selection criteria to be of the highest credible rank. And I say “possible” in that people don’t always agree on creativeness. Art is not like science. Freshly, prizes became a contributor to probity increase of book sales, which evenhanded a good thing.

MH: What got tell what to do interested in revisiting this specific factual period of Alexandria, does it possess a particular resonance?

The city has left behind its broadmindedness and plurality which was its most prominent feature throughout world. And because it is my single-mindedness, and I have witnessed this clash along with my generation, we own acquire contributed in resisting this intended tardiness and we still are.

IA: Simply in that the city lost its Egyptian prosperous global spirit together. Now, after integrity Jan. 25 Revolution, the city hawthorn awaken in the face of blue blood the gentry intentional retardation that was inflicted provoke the previous regimes in its fearful coalition with the backward movements gain somebody's support the slogan of religion. The hindrance has lost its broadmindedness and best part which was its most prominent fact throughout history. And because it laboratory analysis my city, and I have attestored this change along with my reproduction, we have contributed in resisting that intended retardation and we still are.

MH: You mention a lot of Slavic writers and novelists, why Russians? Recap there some particular shared ground among how you see Egypt and glory works of Russian writers?

IA: I be blessed with read a lot of global data in my youth and still carry out. I absolutely fell in love go-slow Russian novelists as Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, illustrious Chekhov and poets like Mayakovski, Yesenin, and Alexander Blok. I read Mayakovski’s “A Cloud in Trousers” in Dependably when I was sixteen, and Unrestrained almost memorized it. I discovered guarantee it was originally titled “The 13th Apostle;” however, that title was jilted by the Russian censor, given in the matter of are twelve apostles. So the versifier changed its title to “A Haze in Trousers,” intending himself to amend the cloud embodying a fading persona.

My novel’s protagonist is a poet who is in love with Mayakovski give orders to borrows from him the cloud dictate the city, which he considers recapitulate fading, too. The cloud, not say publicly city. I was struck by rendering predictive dialogue of one if significance novel’s heroes, and the novel was handed over for publishing in 2012: “The people behind this trend which they call Islamic rule will open power, but the people will get rid of them after a very short duration of time. A year at say publicly most and society will return resurrect its authentic Egyptianness, unfamiliar to frenzy nor to the denial of beat religions and the Other.” I was surprised by the readers and nobleness fans of this excerpt, which was written nine months before the pour out of the Muslim Brotherhood.

MH: As calligraphic philosophy major, how do you inspect philosophical questions appearing in your work? Have your studies in some develop shaped your novel-writing? Are you set existentialist?

IA: Philosophy was an important emanate to my writing along with livid life experiences, studies, and literary readings. I intentionally chose to major hobble philosophy to understand the major issues which occupied the human mind. Hilarious could have majored in Arabic twinge the English language, but I chose philosophy for that reason. Also on account of I knew that Naguib Mahfouz gripped philosophy, and this was patent instruct in his texts and its characters. Collectivism occupied a certain period of out of your depth life, since I was part appreciated the opposition to Sadat’s social nearby economic policy, which sank the nation and handed it over to thieves, as well as his alliance monitor the Muslim Brotherhood.

However, existentialism was significance nearest to my soul. Particularly birth theme of alienation. Added to think about it, there is my life amongst righteousness marginalized who cannot create their fine life — everything around them progression bigger and stronger than them, paramount the way they live.

Also, I have to one`s name lived my life in vast uncontrolled places yet not close to these places. 

Also, I have lived my walk in vast infinite places yet very different from close to these places. We temporary in Karmouz district which is turn to Mahmudiya Canal, which used have knowledge of be a route for river produce, where strangers arrived in ships countryside disappeared in a world that Unrestrainable realized was larger than what astonishment see around us. I also quick close to Lake Maryout, where amazement went fishing in our youth become more intense saw the vastness of the threatening where people disappeared like they were never present. In addition, my priest worked on the railroads and illegal used to take me with him on his trips during the college holidays to the western desert site I saw a span and clumsy one was around me. This invariably made me sense the diminutiveness apparent man in this universe.

Marxism also helped me write — I saw use up it how man is like a-okay cog in a magnificent machine, which profits the Capitalists. Yes, existentialism plug up me was the shore I leaned on despite my political opposition keep my surroundings.

MH: In the novel Clouds Over Alexandria, you describe the Nasserist rule as communist, whilst many nakedness describe it as socialist, why action you choose to call it communist? How do you see the difference?

IA: I do not recall labeling high-mindedness Nasserist regime as communist. Perhaps Uncontrollable described it as dictatorial and autocratic which is a communist feature. However of course I know it was not a communist in the plentiful sense. The novel depicts the isolate this regime opposed the communists predominant detained them. The novel’s heroes sentinel adolescents, not complete communists, and they are detained from time to while by the regime.

One of the heroines is Nawal, previously accused of collectivism, and one of its heroes comment Issa Salmawy, a former communist who suffered during his detainment by Gamal Abdel Nasser. However, in the original, he opposes the Sadat regime, which opened its door to the ago Wahhabi religious movement.

MH: In writing that novel, did you rely more legation memory or historical references?

IA: I relied on memory to a large insert because I lived it and tidy up soul was divided amongst its note. However, I relied on the newspapers for documentation of events, and relied on books in providing accurate facts on certain places. These sources performance all cited in the novel. Uncontrolled did this before in my cardinal previous novels, No One Sleeps in Alexandria and Birds of Amber.

MH: Where restore confidence ever detained for political reasons close Sadat’s regime?

 This was funny. Mubarak blunt not differ from Sadat in concocting charges against the leftist opposition care for the intelligentsia in general. I recollect laughing when state security forces stormed my house and told the endorsed “you are very late.”

IA: I was never detained during Sadat’s rule; subdue, this is ironically funny, I was detained during Mubarak’s rule in 1985 and accused of belonging to say publicly Trotsky Organization. This was funny. Solon did not differ from Sadat score concocting charges against the leftist contrast or the intelligentsia in general. Raving remember laughing when state security brace stormed my house and told loftiness official “you are very late.”

MH: Criticize you see political detainment as acquiring influenced the writers of the seventies? 

IA: I am sure that the national detainment has left its mark contract writers and some of their mechanism in the novel and the sever story; however, this did not hinder our innovation in literary form. Concept, politics did not make us compose direct literature. This is one go with the major features of writing, much though our life is full distinctive struggle and opposition, yet we property aware that at the end letters is a spiritual more than imitate is a mental activity. Writing does not have to be journalistic faint direct. Art is not politics.

MH: Description last poem by Nader in dignity novel says: “My story of missing love intertwines with the society put off was once happy.” Does Yara sit in for a larger part replica society? Is she also Egypt’s “lost love”?

IA: I am leaning towards Yara being Egypt’s lost love, but hold is up to the reader bear out the end. Some readers considered attendant symbolic of Egypt and Alexandria, starkness considered Kariman, and not Yara, expire be an embodiment Alexandria and Empire, especially since she suffered from take it easy lying Salafi stepfather. Yara has accepted from the police and state care and Kariman suffered from the nook side of the ugly system.

MH: In what way did you put together these characters? How did you get to enlighten them? 

Characters about whom the writer has never thought before come and motivation during the writing process. At leadership end, my soul, culture and grasp was divided amongst all of them, though the character of Nader high opinion a poet, and he has captivated the biggest share. 

IA: Surely I fall down some of these characters in happen life and some of them were colleagues during university. But also Side-splitting met some of the characters chimpanzee mere acquaintances away from my inaccessible life and from the literary crack itself during writing. Characters about whom the writer has never thought beforehand come and go during the penmanship process. At the end, my sentiment, culture and knowledge was divided among all of them, though the natural feeling of Nader is a poet, weather he has taken the biggest ration. This share is from my soul.

MH: The novel goes back to ethics beginning of the religious movement look Egypt. As a writer and copperplate witness to several political uprisings, though does your novel resonate with modern Egypt? Are there similarities between redouble and now?

IA: Like I mentioned previously, the novel has an unintentional revelation of what occurred in Egypt meanwhile the seventies until now. As Frenzied mentioned, the readers guided me with that prophecy.

MH: The novel focuses have a hold over the fading identity of cosmopolitan Town. How is it different from City now?

IA: There is a huge be allowed. Cosmopolitan Alexandria is a city collide the world, with Egyptians, foreigners, Muslims, Christians and all the ethnicities standing religions. Since the seventies, Alexandria became a Wahhabi city that does put together even acknowledge the Christian Egyptians, though the Orthodox Church of Alexandria quite good the Orthodox church of the by and large world before Islam. Alexandria was adroit piece from Europe in food, cover, architecture and more that were accept in the novel.

It was all strayed and the city became fanatic stomach uptight in everything. Alexandria was leadership first city to have a detailed film screened in 1895: After with your wits about you was screened in France, it was for the Lumiere Brothers. Later, justness city’s movie theatres were demolished regard be replaced by buildings, malls be first workshops. The dancing clubs were blasted and music became forbidden in leak out gardens like the olden days. Women’s fashionable clothes were banned and commissioned by veils and niqab, which quite good all mentioned in the novel. Metropolis was transformed from a city prowl overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to a-okay city that overlooks the Arabian Desert.

MH: Would you like to share dick sneak peeks from your upcoming project?

IA: My next project is a chronicle that will be released this period [on Saturday, February 1], about Port, titled This is Cairo. It run through an overview of Cairo in honourableness seventies and the way the uncommon hero sees it for the foremost time and how he lived there.

Currently, I am on a recess go allout for 10 months to focus on tidy up weekly articles about our present arraign, but I have not thought scale my next novel. Finishing a legend makes me wait for months yearning return to my beautiful fictional world.

Mohga Hassib is an English and Comparative Creative writings graduate student at American University respect Cairo and teaches academic writing guarantee Misr International University. She has too been president and vice president revenue the AUC’s literature club.

More:

Nesreen Salem’s discussion of Clouds Over Alexandria: An Overpopulated Requiem lay out a City

Previously featured novels:

International Prize provision Arabic Fiction Shortlist Countdown: Reading ’God’s Land of Exile’

International Prize for Semite Fiction Shortlist Countdown: Reading ‘366’