Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz, the only Arab literature Nobel Prize laureate, died on Wednesday (30 August) in a Cairo hospital at the age of 94. The writer was born in Cairo in 1911 and began writing at the age of 17. His first novel was published in 1939. He obtained a philosophy degree from Cairo University and worked in the government's cultural section until retiring in 1971. Mahfouz is the author of 50 novels, five plays and many short stories and essays. His most famous work is Cairo Trilogy ( Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street), about 20th century Egypt. Despite a fatwa pronounced against him by Omar Abdul-Raman and nearly carried out in 1994 when Islamist militants stabbed him in the neck - religious authorities said one of his novels broke Islamic rules by clearly depicting God and the prophets - he continued to chronicle and question Egyptian society.
Naguib Mahfouz was given a state funeral on Thursday but the everyday Egyptians his novels depicted were kept out of sight by heavy security as his flag-draped coffin was carried on a horse-drawn carriage past rows of soldiers in ceremonial dress, ahead of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, to the sound of drums and trumpets.
The writer's dedicated readers braved the scorching Cairo sun for hours, only to be told they would not be allowed to attend the procession. "He doesn't want a state funeral...he wants the people to bear him on their shoulders," shouted Mahfouz fan Amal. "Did he write for the flag? Did he write for the horses? He wrote for the poor. We should walk in his funeral."
In keeping with Mahfouz's wishes, a small ceremony had been held earlier in the day in the Al-Hussein mosque, in the heart of historic Cairo where many of his novels were set.
Only a few dozen people attended the ceremony, held under tight security and a group of men attempted to enter the mosque in protest at prayers being held there for the novelist, whom they said was an infidel.
After the prayer ceremony, Mahfouz's coffin was quickly bundled into a van for the state funeral. Thousands have attended similar funerals for other celebrities in recent years. For Mahfouz, tearful members of the public were replaced by thousands of black-clad security men who had brought traffic in the area to a standstill. Only mourners from Egypt's political elite were clearly visible.
Less than 100 die-hard fans tried to get close to the procession which was not visible from where they were allowed to stand. Some of them had traveled from far-flung provinces to attend.
One mourner, from one of Cairo's poorer suburbs, arrived too late for the morning ceremony and had taken a big sign praising Mahfouz to the state funeral instead. Sadly the coffin passed without him catching a glimpse.
His sign read: Farewell, Arab Shakespeare.
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2 comments:
My favourite Arab writer - farewell!
Very sad news...I have very fond memories of Naguib Mahfouz. I used to live in Alexandria, and in the summer he used to come to Alex when it what too hot to survive in Cairo. He and his literary friends would come to the restaurant where I often had dinner. I was too shy to talk to him, but could overhear the conversation since he was nearly deaf and they were always shouting at each other.
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