On the State of Egypt: What Caused the Revolution [Paperback]

"On the State of Egypt" is a collection of articles published between November 2009 and October 2010 by Alaa Al Aswany, author of the "Yacoubian Building" and "Chicago," in "al-Dustar" and "al-Shorouk, " two opposition newspapers that have had editors arrested and abused. They are well hewn and full of the voice of liberal reason, justified outrage and patriotic concern. However, they are rather yesterday's news and readers who expect an analysis of how the January revolution developed or of what comes next will have to look elsewhere.

Al Aswany has two main topics. The first is that nothing can go right for Egypt as long as it is headed by a corrupt, effectively unelected and unaccountable regime. Nothing can go right, not the economy, the justice system or even healthcare, as long as every subordinate official, from ministers (many of them grossly unqualified) down are dependent exclusively on the favor of the regime for their prosperity. Al Aswany is outraged by the elitist view that "ordinary Egyptians ... are rabble or riffraff who do not know their own best interests;" or by the attitude of the President and his family that they are making great sacrifices on behalf of "their" people; or that Mubarak can even think that he can pass on the country to his son "as if it were a poultry farm."

The author's second main target is "flawed religiosity" or excessive "piety without morality." Egypt has seen a marked increase in religiosity in recent years. Al Aswany attributes this to the secondary impact of the repression and deprivation engendered by the corrupt regime and also to the lavish funding of Wahhabi preachers (including television clerics) by the itself corrupt Saudi monarchy. How can policemen in good conscience go back and forth between their torture chambers and the prayer-rooms conveniently installed for them to exercise their piety at the appointed hours throughout the day? How can bitter clerics rant against the mere thought of women being improperly "covered" (which is not at all required by Islam) and then fail to speak out against the all-corrupt, anti true Islam regime? (The abuse of women is another of Al Aswani's main concerns).

By its nature, this collection is close to being overtaken by events and full of repetition. This is compensated to a degree by the author's elegant writing (translated here by Jonathan Wright) and his use of anecdote, fable and parable. One article, for example, recounts a chance meeting with Gamal Mubarak in a fashionable restaurant only to "reveal" at the end that it was all a dream. In another piece, al Aswany contrasts the abject apology that Gordon Brown was obliged to make following his inadvertent insult to Gillian Duffy with the complete lack of apology on the part of his Egyptian counterpart to the entire population for his widespread abuse.

Al Aswany's mantra, repeated at the end of nearly all these articles, is "Democracy is the solution." The reader can hardly disagree, but whether it will be the outcome is another matter, not addressed here.

Alaa Al Aswany made his literary mark in 2002 when he wrote The Yacoubian Building, the "best-selling novel in Egypt for two years," according to National Geographic, and a hugely popular Egptian film. Now Al Aswany may become even more famous for a series of articles he published in the Arabic press from 2005 to the date of the revolution. Always a believer in human rights, which he believed were being trampled during the thirty-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, the author was a vocal supporter of those who were beginning to challenge Mubarak publicly. In this collection of his articles, beginning in 2005, Al Aswany uses his literary power and popularity to try to reach all elements of Egyptian society, examining some of the issues which have separated Egyptians from each other in an effort to show the importance of cooperation for the larger purpose of ousting the regime and bringing about democracy in a country which has known only despotism, poverty, and corruption for decades. Few who read these articles will doubt their impact on the populace, leading eventually to the demonstrations in Tahrir Square and the far-reaching revolution which began on January 25, 2011, and continued for eighteen days.

At the beginning of the book, Al Aswany explains that repression and poverty were so long-standing that the populace, over two or three generations, had learned submission, and no organized system existed to provide a way for the masses to rebel. Those lucky enough to have jobs, had to work, and these found their own personal solutions to their economic and personal crises. Many talented and educated people left the country because they did not have personal connections to government officials who would hire them. The poor starved. More recently, Saudi oil money, with the blessing of the Mubarak regime, financed the promotion of Wahhabi Islam within Egypt, a very conservative and fundamental interpretation of Islam which requires obeying the ruler, no matter how corrupt he might be.

Many of the local television stations, owned by Saudis, even now feature uneducated Wahhabi preachers who appeal specifically to the poor and often illiterate in an effort to sway them to this extremely conservative--and very controlling--Wahhabi point of view. Wahhabi wives and daughters are required to wear the face-covering niqab, though as recently as the 1970s, Egyptian women were treated as full human beings, and wore modern clothing that revealed their arms and legs. Ironically, as the author points out, sexual harassment was much less common then than in the present. In addition, the more this movement grew, the more women were taken out of the government's equation, and the more secure the regime could feel.

Comprehensive examples of the Mubarak regime's many long-standing economic and social crimes, too numerous to mention here, are cited in these articles, which cover just about every issue in Egyptian life. Of special significance to the author is the fact that President Mubarak did not defend Egypt even when Egyptians were detained and flogged in Saudi Arabia, tortured in Kuwait, killed by Israelis on the Egyptian border, or attacked by Algerians during a World Cup soccer match. On January 25, 2011, when a call went out on the internet to demonstrate in Tahrir Square, about 200 - 300 people were expected. Over a million showed up. The author was there giving speeches for eighteen straight days, returning home only briefly during that time, because, he says over and over again, "Democracy is the solution." An eye-opening and important book for those who care about justice. Mary Whipple

I have read a few of Alaa Al Aswany's novels, notably The Yacoubian Building and Chicago. I know that he is an ardent champion of Egypt's future greatness as a democratic nation where people live freely and honourably, at peace with their past, and no longer struggling with autocratic rule.

So it is with great interest that I find this book, a series of essays dating from around 2005 to late 2010, written by Al Aswany I suppose for publication, but it's not made clear where or in what format. This collection was published in 2011, following the stunning demonstrations in Tahrir Square and the fall of the Mubarak regime.

The essays are collected around three main areas:
The Presidency and Succession
The People and Social Justice
Free Speech and State Repression

The essays are each around 4 pages - brief, but in the style of the author's writing, every word is carefully and precisely thought out and placed. These essays are best read one or two at a time; they leave you thinking about what is written, and about what is not written - about the state of a once-great nation, and its people - the poor, the oppressed, the powerful, the women, the politicians and the ordinary people. What does the future hold for Egypt; only time will tell the answer to that one - but there are clearly many people within Egypt who harbour strong dreams and visions as to that future. Highly recommended for any reader seeking a better understanding of the Egypt of today.