Intellectuals drafting a plan to counter a Tatar attack against al Adab
One could hardly ignore the colorful invitation of freshly upgraded Akhbar al Adab magazine to assist the celebration of its 1000th issue. Not only because of highly concentrated crème of intellectuals whose presence was announced. It is in fact rare to see Gaber Asfour, Baha Taher, Faruq Shousha, Wahid Hamed sitting around the same table, kindly passing the microphone to each other and eventually savouring the same birthday cake. The event could not be ignored because of the vital and urgent task for which intellectuals were reunited – to finally find the answer to the long standing question asked by Taha Hussein in late 30’s : What is the Future of Culture in Egypt?
Of the announced crème of intellectuals only Wahid Hamed showed up. But the withdrawal of the main speakers was not an issue when Egypt had such an easy going and approachable Minister of Culture who kindly agreed to replace them all. The tide of suspicion rising in the audience toward to what could be falsely understood as a new attempt to subject intellectuals to the state control was quelled by Magdy al Afifi who reassured that “the Minister of Culture would speak as an intellectual not as a minister”. Good news, given that the minister had earlier announced of having developed a rare and useful skill of identity doubling helping him to beagainst the power while being in power.
As expected, the banner of the event was the concept of tanwîr, or enlightenment, which constitutes the editorial policy of the reformed Akhbar al Adab. Every editorial thoroughly penned by Magdy al Afifi of the magazine is introduced by this magic word added to the photo of the author elegantly leaned to the desk and gently holding his enlightened pen. The devotion of Magdy al Afifi to the policy of tanwir is demonstrated by his fascinating mastering of the light related vocabulary, as revealed by his description of intellectuals colleagues as “the carriers of enlightenment lamps and torches of illumination”. The torches of illumination are being aimed not at the illiteracy as one could naively suppose, but against the Islamists. The image of eschatological struggle between the “enlightenment and obscurantism” – between tanwir and tayarât zulâmiya – constituted the main argument of Faruq Hosni’s ministry of Culture in soliciting liberal and leftist intellectuals to join the State cultural institutions. A number of intellectuals surrendered to the tempting suggestion of the State which contained not only the promise of ensuring the comfort of material life, the access to the publication market and the glory, but also provided them with the new and meaningful mission to lead. The concept of tanwîr unfolds the contradictions entrenched in the contemporary Egyptian intellectual field which consist of denouncing both the Islamists and the State while at the same time forging alliances with one of them in order to fight the other.
The birthday of Akhbar al Adab was dominated by the same contradictions. While Sayyid Yassin regretted the demise of intellectuals in the last revolution by ‘political activists’, Waheed Hamid reproduced the long standing apocalyptic discourse of “the trial of Adab”. “The Adab is being attacked by the new Tatar invasion!” – he cried out to the terrified audience.
After a minute of observed bewilderment in the audience, Hamid passed to nostalgic praising of intellectual life under Nasser. “A book every six hours, a theatre piece every two weeks! The intellectual life was boiling in the 60’s!” – Wahid bitterly remembered. Great times of cultural policy of quantity established by the July revolution which subjected intellectuals to the absolute State control. But luckily again, there was the minister of Culture to instill a dose of optimism. “Everything will be all right!” – he joyfully reassured the audience still aghast by the images of Tatar invasion. “No one could never tear the culture off an Egyptian!”. An Egyptian, by his nature, was, is and will be the embodiment of culture. Naam al Baz, the last speaker, continued on the same theme by describing the “culture of the illiterate Egyptians”. “The culture of Egyptian peasants reside in their agricultural expertise to recognize the fertile land”, revealed al Baz as a secret. The audience cheered. Wishing to end the talking part in an optimistic note in order to pass to the cake eating phase, intellectuals did not ask how, if Egyptians were naturally cultured, they could justify the need of the crème of intellectuals in Egypt? The cake devoured, intellectuals dispersed without answering to Taha Hussein’s question the future of culture in Egypt.
Intellectual Basha 