- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Letters posted here are associated with the following article:
The letters thread is now closed.
The author of "The Yacoubian Building!" His famous 2002 novel was translated into English just two years ago!
This guy has brought so much to today's discussions in Egypt, as a cool counter voice over the insistance of today's urgent minded Islamists, that Islamism is an "all" for arab societies to emulate, and Egypt's "answer."
No thank you!
If Islamism is Egypt's answer, then Egypt might as well become a salty pillar of puritanism like Saudiyya! Who would love or want to live in an Egypt such as that? Egyptians love life!
Mohammed Ali Pasha sent Mohammed Abdel Wahab's puritan's packing back to the Arabian desrt over two hundred years ago, and in that act of oppostion to fundamentalism, Egypt, chose to embrace modernity over medevalism.
Saudiyya is perhaps a place where an Egyptian can find work at a very good salary, but the only thing I would want to bring back from Saudiyya is the money, they (the Saudis) can keep the rest.
Well, Zane Grey was a dentist before he really started to publish and work as a writer. I think most artists and writers hold other jobs in addition to their creative work. I don't think it diminishes the artistic endeavours at all - just provides another filter through which the artist sees the world.
Interesting to hear about Mr. Al Aswany's writing process - I enjoyed the interview. Thank you for posting it!
