Al-Zayni Barakat- Narrative as Strategy

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Al-Zayni Barakat: Narrative as StrategyAuthor(s): Samia MehrezSource: Arab Studies Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 2, Modern Arab Writers and the Politics of theMiddle East (Spring 1986), pp. 120-142Published by: Pluto JournalsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41857824 .Accessed: 29/05/2014 20:48

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Al-Zayni Barakat:

Narrative as Strategy

Samia Mehrez

The spreading influence of political and social facts into the literary field of consciousness has produced a new type of scriptor, halfway between the party member and the writer, deriving from the former an ideal image of committed man and from the latter the notion that a written work is an act. . . .Writing here resembles the signature one affixes at the foot of a collective proclamation one has not written oneself.

Roland Barthes, Writing Degree Zero 1

Al-Zayni Barakat was first published in Beirut in 1 974.2 The novel is considered one of the most significant literary works produced in the Arab world during the past decade. Both the Arabic text and the French translation of it (Seuil, 1985) have generated tremendous enthusiasm from literary critics world-wide.3 Al-Zayni has succeeded in sustaining this kind of interest because of the incredible richness of its narrative texture, as well as its immediate relevance to the contemporary political situation of the Middle East in particular, and authority /people dynamics in general.

The novel deals with a period in Egyptian medieval history (1507-1518) that parallels contemporary Egyptian reality (1952-1967). At the same time, al-Zayni is a manifestation of the artistic maturity of its author, al-Ghitani, who, in trying to both represent and come to terms with his own historical present, becomes that "new type of scriptor, halfway between the party member and the writer." The text of al-Zayni Barakat (as well as most of al-Ghitani's works)4 is an "act." Both the structure and discourse of al-Zayni are indeed a "silent" statement of the author's political and ideological strategies.

This paper will examine how narrative structure and narrative discourse in al-Zayni are a means of strategizing against the "authorities." Such an analysis requires that the novel and the author first be situated within their historical context This will entail several things. First, the author's generation (referred to as the "young authors") in post-revolutionary Egypt will be briefly discussed, with special reference to these writers' medium, i.e., the

Samia Mehrez is Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University.

120 ASQ Volume 8 Number 2


Al-Zayni Barakat 1 21

Arabic language. Second, I will relate al-Zayni Barakat to its model text (Ibn Iyas's sixteenth-century chronicle of Egypt under the Mamluks), in an attempt to show why al-Ghitani chose to write about this specific period in Egyptian history, in what ways it relates to his own present, and finally, and most significant of all, how, in adopting some of the characteristics of medieval forms, al-Ghitani is able to write his own statement in the face of an oppres- sive system.

Gamal al-Ghitani and the "generation of the revolution"

Gamal al-Ghitani was born in 1945 in Suhag, in Upper Egypt. The family then moved to Gammaliyah, in Old Cairo, where al-Ghitani remained until he married. It is, therefore, no surprise that Old Cairo serves as a setting for many of his works. From 1962 to 1968 al-Ghitani studied carpet design and worked as a designer. In fact, this short-lived career has had a great influence on the way he "constructs" his novels.5 Al-Ghitani started his writing career in 1963 and published his first short story in the Lebanese literary journal Al- Adib. He began his career as a journalist in 1968, and continues to work for the Egyptian daily Akhbar al-Yawm. Al-Ghitani's literary production includes both fictional and non-fictional works.6 Among his works of fiction is a collection of short stories that may be considered embryonic forms of many of his longer texts. Awraq Shabb

* Asha Mundhu Alf ( Am (1969)

includes short stories that demonstrate al-Ghitani's experimentation with the style of medieval Islamic historiography and his attempt at molding new narrative forms. The general tone and style of the collection resembles that which we encounter, on a more sophisticated level, in al-Zayni. Influential on this writing are two contemporary Arab writers who have fascinated al- Ghitani more than any others. In Egypt, he was highly influenced by the works of Najib Mahfuz, Egypt's most prolific modern novelist. The second writer whom al-Ghitani cites as one of the most important Arab writers is the Palestinian Imil Habibi. Like al-Ghitani, Habibi has drawn on the Arabic classical heritage in writing Sid, the Pessoptimist (1974).

Two of the major events in al-Ghitani's life have been the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and Sadat's visit to Jerusalem in 1977, which culminated in peace with Israel. He describes these periods as being some of the blackest in his life. For him these two historical moments represented the erosion of principles and the destruction of an ideology that he had grown up with.7 Al-Ghitani, who was one of the young writers imprisoned in 1966 because of "political activism," spent six months in a detention camp. Thereafter he refrained from direct political involvement. The choice to remain silent on the open political front has been paralleled by a very strong political and ideological message delivered through his fiction. Al-Zayni Barakat is that indirect statement. As Edward Said has pointed out:


1 22 Arab Studies Quarterly

Every novelist is of his time, however much his imagination may take him beyond it. Each novelist articulates a consciousness of his time that he shares with a group of which historical circumstances (class, period, perspective) make him a part. Thus even in its irreducible singularity the novelistic work is itself a historical reality.8

Gamal al-Ghitani belongs to what we can refer to as jil al-thawrah (the generation of the revolution). He probably started his school days with the advent of the 1952 revolution in Egypt. One of the primary goals of the Free Officers' regime was to breed a new generation fed on a new ideology, a new rhetoric and a new self-image. Through a process of standardizing education and rewriting history in a manner that would downgrade the pre-revolutionary period, the new "democratic" regime succeeded in molding a generation that strongly believed in this newly forged image of Egypt: the "heart" and "strongest nation" of the "Arab world."9 On the other hand, the Nasser regime fully realized the politically significant role assigned to the press in the pre-revolutionary period. Consequently, one of the first measures taken by the revolution was censorship of the press.

The press played an important role in pre- and post-revolutionary Egypt, insofar as literature and newspapers have a very special relationship not only in Egypt, but in the Arab world in general. In speaking about the function of the press in Egypt, William A. Rugh points out:

Cairo newspapers and magazines have on their staffs some of the leading and best-known professional journalists, as well as some of the very best novelists, playwrights, and short-story writers in the entire Arab world.

. . . These journalists function in the Egyptian political environment, which is not static but changing, so over time their fortunes change depending on how their views and personalities fit with the times.10

The pre-revolutionary press in Egypt played an important part in the development of modern Arabic fiction. From the 1870s until the 1952 revolution in Egypt, the press fulfilled two major functions. Primarily it helped develop a modern Arabic literary style that freed itself from the restraints of classical Arabic prose. Language was no longer an aesthetic object to be contemplated for its own sake; rather it was a vehicle to communicate a message. On the other hand, the publishers of these newspapers, following the example of contemporary French newspapers, which were largely cultural in content, considered the Arab press one of the proper vehicles for Arab literature.11 Hence, another function of the press was the creation of a new space for creative writing, whether short stories or serialized novels.12 With the 1952 revolution in Egypt there was a shift of emphasis in the function of the press. The new regime abolished the party system, and with this new measure a


Al-Zayni Barokat 1 23

great number of party newspapers were closed down. The remaining ones were placed under very close censorship and became mouthpieces for the government. Whereas pre-revolutionary newspapers had been responsible for the development of a modern Arabic literary style, post-revolutionary papers were responsible for the erosion of that modern Arabic style. The language of the press became laden with cliches that resounded only with the ideology of the authorities:

This [authoritarian] system is based on the theory that truth is not the product of a great mass of people, but of a few wise men ... in a position to guide and direct their fellows. Comment and criticism are carefully guided, and articulated; goals for the community conform with the goals of the regime itself.13

This tightly controlled grasp on the media, including radio and television, remains in place even today, despite the existence of "opposition" papers such as al-Ahali and al-Sha% that are published by the now existing "parties" in Egypt. This fact was demonstrated by Sadas crackdown on the press in 1973 and his comments, at the time, "justifying" censorship and suspension of major journalists: "I want freedom of the press. At the same time I want it to be a dedicated press."14

The Egyptian defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war had already made it impossible for the local media to mask the reality of the Arab situation. The Egyptian people entered the war backed by an elaborate media-fabricated rhetoric:

It is clear that the Arab mass media participate very actively in politics. Their commentaries, how they report the news, and what they report or omit are matters that Arab politicians, government officials on all levels, and many others watch carefully on a day-to-day basis.15

The defeat brought with it a disillusionment, a sensitivity to the misleading language that had so far been adopted to forge the modern history of the Egyptians:

No Arab can have been immune from the feeling that his modern history, so laboriously created, scene by scene, would prove so easy to brush aside in the test.16

In other words, the war led to a re- examination of the ideology and the very language that expressed that ideology. On the literary front, the war caused a re-evaluation of existing literary forms, the role of the writer in society, and the representation of reality in a work of fiction.

The generation of young writers, among whom is Gamal al-Ghitani, was



confronted with a complex problem. First, they were disowned by their literary predecessors, many of whom had been neutralized by the authorities by being placed in key positions in the press (the government mouthpiece):

This young generation that does not read (Taha Husayn), that does not study (Muhammad Hasanayn Haykal), that does not seek depth (Ahmad Baha' al- Din), this generation of bureaucrats that does not know its own classics, nor the classics of others, what will it write?17

Secondly, they were persecuted by the authorities for voicing their political opinions and accused of "aiming to destroy the government," "spreading hostile propaganda," and "acting against the national interest."18 The young writers had to face many challenges, among which were a medium (the Arabic language) that had been robbed of its richness, a censor that monitored that medium, and the need to refashion "conventional" literary forms that no longer represented their contemporary reality.19

Al-Zayni Barakat and Nasser's Egypt

Al-Zayni Barakat confronts all these challenges. The novel is set in sixteenth-century Cairo during the region of the Mamluk Sultan al-Ghawri, just before the Ottoman invasion of Egypt in 1517 A.D. Al-Ghitani's main source on sixteenth-century Egypt is the medieval chronicle by Ibn Iyas, BadaT al-Zuhur Fi WakaY al-Duhur. Mamluk rule in Egypt was character- ized by constant instability. In fact, this is a period in the history of medieval Egypt that symbolizes the police state. As many critics have already pointed out, and as al-Ghitani himself confirmed, there exists an analogy between the medieval police state that we read about in al-Zayni and Egypt under Nasser (its modern counterpart).

Any portion or groups which could threaten [the Free Officers'] power were systematically destroyed. ...In 1954 following an attempt on Nasser's life several thousand members of the [Muslim] Brotherhood were arrested and lead- ers of the movement executed.20

Furthermore, the factors that contributed to the Ottoman invasion in 15 17 A.D. and the Egyptian defeat in 1967 were not dissimilar. We know that the historian Ibn Iyas was very critical of the Sultan and his corrupt administra- tion and held them responsible for the defeat. In both cases we have administrations that failed to live up to their images. And in both cases we have regimes that tried to mask the reality of defeat from the people for as long as possible. The inherent parallel between the two situations leads Samia As'ad to interpret the opening line of al-Zayni , "To every first there


Al-Zayni Barokot 1 25

is a last; to every beginning an end," as follows:

The novel covers a certain historical period. It may be similar to a preceding period or a herald of one yet to come.21

The main character in the novel is al-Zayni Barakat Ibn Musa. Barakat Ibn Musa is a real historical figure of the sixteenth century. He was a judge who was appointed by the Sultan al-Ghawri to the position of muhtasib (supervisor of trade and prices). The word "al-Zayni" (the one who adorns) is a title bestowed upon Barakat Ibn Musa by the Sultan. In many periods of medieval history, the position of muhtasib involved far more than simply monitoring the prices of merchandise. This was the case with both the real and the fictional Barakat Ibn Musa. The novel traces the emergence of al-Zayni Barakat, his rise to power, and his success at remaining in power even after the fall of the Mamluks. Working closely with Ibn Iyas's medieval chronicle, two volumes of which are a day-by-day eyewitness account, al-Ghitani recreates a whole epoch. Al-Zayni Barakat, to use Ceza Kassem's words, is the "absent/present."22 He never actually appears, as a character, in the novel. However, all the events and characters in the book are directly or indirectly connected with him. We hear of him and about him through others, and he remains a controversial figure till the end.

There exist several sources of information, in the novel, on al-Zayni. One of these is the text of memoirs of a Venetian traveler, who records some of the significant events that took place during his numerous visits to Cairo before and after the Ottoman invasion. He provides the view of the outsider who has access primarily to a public reality. The other sources of information can be divided into two categories. One pole is represented by the chief of police, Zakariya, and his network of spies (among whom is a student at al-Azhar) - i.e., the authorities. The other pole is represented by another Azhar student, Sa'id, who seems to be the articulation of the other component in this world, namely, the people. Al-Zayni Barakas increasing power poses a threat to that of Zakariya. Throughout the novel, the latter tries to unveil the myste- rious history of the baffling Barakat. When Zakariya finally realizes that his self-interest lies in allying himself with al-Zayni, he abandons his plans to destroy him. Sa'id, on the other hand, is the intellectual, who is destroyed by that perfect alliance of authorities (Zakariya and Barakat). He begins as a firm believer in Barakat, but his belief is shaken when he witnesses incidents that seem to point to Barakas corrupt and hypocritical nature. When Sa'id, at a gathering in a mosque, finally accuses Barakat of being a liar, he becomes a threat to the authorities (Barakat and Zakariya). They decide to eliminate him. Zakariya and his men capture and torture Sa'id. The "authorities" even meddle with Sa'id's personal life; it is said that al-Zayni arranges a marriage for Samah, the girl Sa'id loves. The novel ends with Sa'id totally destroyed,



crying out: "They have made me rot, they have destroyed my forts" (p. 238). Any reader familiar with the history of modern Egypt will not fail to see the

affinities that exist between the character of al-Zayni and that of Nasser.23 Both figures seem to elicit the same controversial questions: Are they good or are they evil? Are they working for the people or simply manipulating them? Are they villains or are they heroes? The same shaykh who supports Barakat's appointment to the position of muhtasib later orders the people to beat him. In 1954, the hero of the revolution and the new "democratic regime" was seen as a "usurper of people's rights."24 Furthermore, no one will fail to identify Sa'id, the disillusioned Azhar student, with a whole generation of young Egyptians, among whom is Gamal al-Ghitani himself; a generation that grew up with the slogans of the new regime only to be oppressed by this very same "democratic" regime.

Parody and pastiche The above has been a rather bare reconstruction of the "story" of al-Zayni

Barakat from a text that begins at the end, that defies the idea of an authoritative voice in the narrative, and that narrates through the juxtaposition of "fictional" reproductions of medieval documentary forms. The question is, how does it work? More significant, however, are the implications behind the strategies that al-Ghitani uses to make al-Zayni work. A good starting point would be to examine further the relationship between al-Zayni Barakat and its model text, the medieval chronicle (which we must not isolate from its generic and historical context of Islamic medieval historiography). Ibn Iyas's chronicle provides al-Ghitani with an inexhaustible repertoire of historical data (bureaucratic and popular traditions). Furthermore, medieval historiography provides him with specific stylistic and formal characteristics of historical discourse, which he draws upon constantly in other of his works as well.25 In an interview, al-Ghitani talks about how he internalized the style of the chronicle before he started writing al-Zayni

I used to read whole pages aloud and I used t copy down in my notebook whole pages from it in an attempt to capture the internal rhythm of the style of Ibn Iyas.26

The relationship that exists between al-Zayni Barakat and Ibn Iyas's medieval chronicle can be best defined in Gerard Genette's term "hypertextuality."27 According to Genette, the object of poetics is not the text in its singularity; rather it is the textual transcendence of the text, its transtextuality. In other words, it is that which puts the text in a manifest or secret relation with other texts. Hypertextuality is the relation that unites a text (B), which Genette calls the "hypertext" (in this case al-Zayni ), with an anterior text (A), the "hypo-


Ai-Zoyni Barakat 1 27

text" (in this case medieval historiography). Hypertextuality operates on two levels: parody , which is the transformation of the elements of the hypotext, and pastiche, which Genette identifies with imitation of the hypotext.

In al-Zayni , parody is identifiable on the level of style, where some of the most prominent stylistic characteristics of medieval Islamic historiography are re-used to create the "fictional world" of the novel. Here I am referring especially to the use of narrated discourse and the passive voice. It is important for us to consider the function of these devices in historical texts in order to appreciate the significance of their prevalence in al-Ghitani's fiction. Both narrated discourse and variations on passive constructions are means by which a historian can demonstrate his "detachment" and "objectivity." At the same time they are "non-incriminating" devices; they do not allow for a reliable source of information. There is no responsible "I" at which a finger can be pointed. The historian can hide behind that absent "I" and inject the text with his own biases and opinions without assuming direct responsibility. On the other hand, the absence of the "I" is a way by which the historical text can reflect a collective consciousness. What does it mean, then, for a fictional narrative to be written using predominantly these two devices?

Pastiche (the other dimension of hypertextuality) is likewise evident in al-Zaynl Events in the novel are "narrated" primarily through the juxtaposition of complete texts of "fictional" medieval documents. Even the characters rarely speak directly, but are presented through narrative sections bearing their respective names as headings. Al-Ghitani makes his characters part of the documents. What they say and think is "told" rather than "shown." We know the characters through their individual narrated monologues, while they themselves remain silent throughout, each locked within the space ascribed to him in a section. They are isolated units, imprisoned in their respective consciousness, a gesture that further emphasizes the police state.

Here it is important to establish a yet more significant point, namely the relationship between medieval historiography and the modern press. Al- Ghitani is a journalist by profession in a system that has censored the freedom of the press. To get around direct confrontation with the authorities, he, like the medieval historian, must adopt certain strategies. In The Arab Press, Rugh enumerates some of the games a journalist can play with the system:

. . .by omitting parts of the story, by emphasizing other parts by putting them in the lead paragraph or headline, by juxtaposing elements of the story to create a certain impression, by printing as unattributed fact information from only one source on a controversial issue, by uncritically publishing information from a doubtful source, or by outright fabricating.28

The strategies Rugh lists above act as a double-edged weapon. They can be used to ensure the security of the "authorities," or they can instigate a revolt



against the "authorities," depending on the allegiances of the journalist, i.e., our modern historian! Al-Zayni Barakat uses both edges of the weapon. It uses the language and strategy of the authorities, only to raise consciousness and instigate against the very language it uses. (I will presently analyze passages from the text in order to demonstrate my point.) Another important dimension to Rugh's quotation is the question it raises around "reality," a central question in al-Zayni Barakat. Do we have access to the "real"? What implications does the juxtaposition of "fictional" documentary forms in al-Zayni have on "history" as the presentation of "reality"?

In discussing the text of al-Zayni Barakat ' in order to demonstrate how its very structure and narrative discourse can help us understand al-Ghitani's political statements, I will present two levels of analysis: (1) the significance of the juxtaposition of the major blocks (memoir sections and surdaq sections); and (2) the internal organization of the surdaq sections.

Memoir sections and surdaq sections

On the first level we have two major blocks that are juxtaposed against each other: the texts of the memoirs written in the first person by the Venetian traveler, and the surdaq (pavilion) sections. The Venetian traveler does not have total access to the "reality" we privileged readers are given in the surdaq sections, which contain "fictional" documents and the narrated monologues of the major characters.

There are five memoir sections carefully placed within the text of al-Zayni The first section of memoirs appears on the first page of the novel:

Rajab 922 A.H.- August to September 1517 A.D. An excerpt from the memoirs of the Venetian traveler, Visconte Giante, who visited Cairo more than once during the sixteenth century while traveling throughout the world. These memoirs record the conditions in Cairo during the month of August 1517 a.D.- Rajab 922 a.h. (P. 7)

The other sections are found on the following pages: 121, 169, 187, and 239. The order of the dates that appear with the memoir sections are as follows:

Page Hijra (A.H.) A.D.

7 922 1517 121 914 1509 169 920 1515 187 922 1517 239 923 1518


Al-Zayn Barakat 1 29

The second through fifth memoir sections are in chronological order. The first section, with which the novel begins, has been uprooted from the chronological order, an act of dislocation that has special significance and relevance to the narrative structure of al-Zayni On a purely historical level, the year 1517 A.D. is the highly important date of the Ottoman invasion and the fall of the Mamluk dynasty in Egypt. Placed at the beginning of the novel, the memoir section, bearing that significant date, gives the reader an "after the fact" view of the situation in Egypt. It draws our attention to the significance of the period in which the novel is set. In the first section of memoirs the traveler portrays the conditions in Cairo immediately before the defeat of the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. The last section of memoirs, dated 1518 A.D., portrays Cairo after the Ottoman invasion.

Al-Ghitani sets the general mood of al-Zayni by displacing the chronology of the memoir sections. He introduces the date 1517 A.D. at the beginning of the novel to highlight the historical significance of the period during which the novel is set. Despite the fact that the memoir section appears on the first page of the text of al-Zayni, it is not the beginning of the novel. If anything, it is a false beginning. Placed at the beginning, the first memoir section is followed by a surdaq dated 1507 A.D., which carries the reader ten years back in time. The novel actually begins ten years before the Ottoman invasion. The first memoir section, dated 1517, however, mirrors a general feeling of terror and unrest and captures the spirit of the decline and corruption of Mamluk rule:

Conditions in the land of Egypt are troubled these days. Cairo seems strange to me; not what I had known on my previous visits. .. .1 see the face of the city sickly, on the brink of tears. (P. 9)

The first time we hear of al-Zayni Barakat is through the remarks made by the Venetian traveler in the first memoir section. Given the traveler's limited analytic and interpretive perspective, al-Zayni is presented in highly controversial terms. The controversy over al-Zayni Barakat is, indeed, what remains with the reader till the end of the novel:

The people of Cairo see al-Zayni, every day, at least once. The processional drums precede him, attendants walk in his train. Al-Zayni is forever supervising the prices of merchandise. He searches out dens of immorality. . . .On my last visit to Egypt; al-Zayni Barakat was strong and sturdy. I don't know what has become of him. I saw al-Zayni himself dismount and talk with the vendors of pastries, cheeses and eggs. . . .1 know of the people's respect for him, their love for him. I remember what I wrote about him after our first meeting. ...I have never seen anything like the gleam that is in his eyes. . . .There is a striking intelligence in his features. The blink of his eye is full of tenderness and compas- sion which captures the soul. At the same time it evokes fear. (P. 1 1 ; my italics).



The traveler reports what he hears from the people, what he sees ; and how he feels ; without synthesizing the information. His description of al-Zayni Bara- kat leaves the reader with the two conflicting elements of the muhtasiV s character: he is compassionate, yet he inspires fear. Another example of the traveler's detachment in reporting occurs immediately after the above passage. Once more his detachment accentuates the controversial character of al-Zayni Barakat. Visconte Giante records a story that he hears from the people, in which a young slave girl appeals to al-Zayni for help when her master abuses her sexually. Al-Zayni orders his men to storm into the accused man's house. They take the slave girl away and abuse the man. The story circulates among the people, and a debate arises about the legitimacy of al-Zayni's interference:

People disagreed about al-Zayni's Barakas behavior. One group supported what he had done, especially as the girl had sent to him asking for help when she felt she could bear no more. But another group felt that he had intruded on the most private matters of people's lives; and that no one at all could feel safe in his home or about his family, especially after a rumor indicated that the girl had never appealed to al-Zayni at all; that he had found out about the matter through dubious methods which enable him to acquire information about the minutest details that occur within homes. (P. 13; my italics)

Historically speaking, the conventional form of the memoir belongs to a larger species or genre, namely, travel literature. However, within the context of al-Zayni, the memoir acquires a new, fictional function. It becomes an objective commentary that provides a different point of view on the events. By the same token, its authoritative voice is undermined because the reader has another access to the "real" in the surdaq sections. The memoir sections always interrupt the text after an important event has been presented in the surdaqs. Very often the internal organization of the surdaqs includes details of which the Venetian traveler is totally unaware, making the memoir sections seem at times naive. In other instances they are complementary to the surdaqs because they provide a different perspective by recording scenes that have only been mentioned in passing with the surdaqs. Such instances downplay the authority of the surdaqs. An example of this complementary function is the incident with 'Ali, who was muhtasib of Cairo before al-Zayni Barakat. The first surdaq includes a royal decree for 'Ali's arrest, which is followed by oral proclamations announcing his public torture. The memoir section that follows the first surdaq is an eyewitness record of that public torture.

The remaining four memoir sections occur after the following major incidents in al-Zayni :


Al'Zoyni Barakat 1 31

Event Memoir dates

1. The nomination of al-Zayni Barakat 1509 A.D./914 A.H. as the Governor of Cairo. section II

2. Al-Zayni's public appearance at the 1515 A.D./920 A.H. mosque, where he is interrupted by a section III voice that accuses him of being a liar.

3. A quoted passage from Ibn Iyas's 1517 A.D./922 A.H. chronicle. The passage describes section IV the Sultan's procession on his way to Greater Syria to meet the Ottomans. Visconte Giante includes this passage in his memoirs, he being Ibn Iyas's friend.

4. Rumors of the defeat of the Sultan 1517 A.D./922 A.H. and al-Zayni's disappearance from Cairo. section I

5. After the Ottoman invasion. A descrip- 1518 A.D./923 A.H. tion of al-Zayni's usual procession. section V

The external juxtaposition of the two major blocks, i.e., the memoir sections and surdaqs , generates what Samia As'ad refers to as a feeling of cyclical history: the novel begins at the end. This symbolic gesture, she suggests, points to al-Ghitani's interpretation of the movement of history. The circle suggests re-occurrence, and the defeat of the Sultan in 1517 is Egypt's defeat in the war against Israel in 1967.29

On yet another level, however, the traveler's memoirs reflect a very public version of the situation in Egypt. He records congregations at mosques, cof- feeshops, conversations that take place between the people- but he, like all other characters in the novel, remains ignorant of the private complexities of the situation. He never rises above the people's immediate understanding to question their vision or to comment on the controversies that surround them. We, as readers, are in a position to see through the traveler's naivet because we have access to more information. While the traveler is busy describing Sultan al-Ghawri's procession on his way out of Egypt to meet the Ottomans, the reader turns the page to find that something equally significant is happen- ing within Egypt. A summit meeting is being held for police chiefs from all over the world.

May God bestow peace on these lands. Top secret. Not accessible to any living soul.



A letter prepared on the occasion of the meeting of the world's police chiefs in Cairo, the mother of the world, and garden of the universe. This meeting is held to study conditions and methods used and developed to exchange knowledge and benefits. This letter was prepared in the Diwan of the Mamluk Sultan's police force. It was read by the Great Shihab, Zakariya Ibn Radi, may God forgive him and guide his way. Cairo

Jamadi First 922 a h. (P. 189)

This letterhead is followed by the text of the letter that Zakariya read at the meeting. The text is full of horrifying details of recently developed torture techniques that would allow the authorities to maintain an even tighter grip on the people. Zakariya describes all his own experiments in the field of human torture and concludes:

In this way I transform life into an Inferno padded with spikes so that even Death becomes a longed-for hope and much desired luxury. (P. 201)

All this happens simultaneously as the traveler records "conditions in the land of Egypt!" The juxtaposition of the traveler's memoirs, which describe very public things, with the horrifying texts of these top-secret documents in the surdaq sections, renders the information in the memoir sections ironic. Al- Ghitani silently creates a comment on the discourse of the Venetian traveler.

In his book Irony , D. C. Muecke discusses that aspect of irony that consists in the contrast of reality and appearance:

The ironist presents an appearance and pretends to be unaware of a reality while the victim is deceived by an appearance and is unaware of a reality.30

The above definition of irony describes al-Ghitani's gesture towards the Venetian traveler. It is the traveler's genuine unawareness of the contrast between appearance and reality that makes him ironic. On the other hand, al-Ghitani, the silent ironist par excellence, makes the traveler the victim of irony by a simple juxtaposition of the latter's memoirs and the secret letters of the authorities. As readers we have this totality of vision because we have the text.

If a contrast of an appearance and a reality is a basic feature of irony, an awareness of contrast is a necessary condition of the recognition of irony.31

Internal organization of the surdaq sections

The surdaq sections constitute the second major block in al-Zayni. The


Al-Zoyni Barokot 1 33

word surdaq means a pavilion or large tent. Within the context of al-Zayni , al-Ghitani attributes a new fictional function to this spatial concept by using the surdaq to create a large umbrella under which events and characters exist simultaneously within the same space. In al-Zayni there are seven such surdaqs , each bearing a number indicative of its temporal sequence within the text. The cluster of nonfictional documentary forms and character sections within each surdaq is organized around one central event.

The surdaq sections in al-Zayni represent a very elaborate form of pastiche, wherein al-Ghitani imitates several kinds of documents. He draws on a repertoire of medieval conventional forms. Each of these medieval documents has its own historical function and characteristics. In order to "narrate" the events in al-Zayni , al-Ghitani organizes the documents within each of the surdaq sections according to their historical characteristics and function. All seven surdaqs have the same heterogeneous internal structure. Each deals with one central event in the novel: the arrest of the old muhtasib of Cairo, the rise of al-Zayni Barakat to power, and so on. The central or topical event that is the subject of each surdaq is presented to the reader through basically two kinds of entries. The first are fictional texts of medieval documents, both written and oral. The second are narrative sections bearing as sub-headings either the name of a character (followed by that character's narrated monologue), or the name of a place (followed, generally, by a section presenting the people's point of view).

On the level of historical function, the medieval documents included in al-Zayni can be divided into two major categories: 1. Texts of documents (oral and written) presented from an authority (the

Sultan, al-Zayni Barakat, the chief of the police force) to the people of Egypt. This first category of authority/people documents includes the following: a. Royal decrees from the Sultan. b. Oral proclamations from the Sultan. c. Oral proclamations from al-Zayni. e. Fatwas , which are Islamic legal statements made by prominent shaykhs. f. Reports from the Sultan on a given situation.

Each of the above medieval documents has its own distinguishing historical formal, rhetorical and stylistic characteristics. Al-Ghitani reproduces all such medieval stamps of the conventional forms, so that the documents are very period- specific. 2. Texts of documents that are presented from one authority to another

authority. These documents are accessible to the reader, but some of the fictional characters remain ignorant of their circulation and existence. In some instances, the reader is given only the title of a document, but not the text. There are three subdivisions of authority/authority documents:



a. Texts of letters exchanged between authorities in the novel. These authority/authority documents are accessible to the reader.

b. Texts of spy reports presented to the authorities in the novel. These, also, are accessible to the reader.

c. Titles of reports and letterheads followed by no text. These are authority/authority documents to which even the "privileged" reader has no access.

All authority/people documents represent an action taken by the authorities and announced to the people through these conventional forms. They are essentially public forms and predominantly oral. All authority/authority forms are either intentions of carrying out actions or reports on reactions (basically of the people) to certain actions already taken by the authorities. They are essentially private forms and are, therefore, predominantly written.

Al-Ghitani's understanding of the historical functions of both categories of documents allows him to juxtapose them in such a way that they "tell" the story. The documents, in their organization, "narrate" the events of the novel. I will define the organizing principle of this elaborate pastiche, with examples from the text, shortly after the following section.

The second kind of entry in the surdaq is the narrative sections bearing as headings the names of characters or the names of places. These are all written in the third person. The narrator of these entries oscillates between the camera eye (recording events with a focus on the present moment) and the reporter (reporting events from the characters' past). The categories and functions of the character and place entries within the surdaq sections are analogous to those of the medieval documents. The place sections describe people's reactions to events. The character sections can be divided into two categories: authority (represented by sections that bear the name of the police chief, Zakariya); and people (represented by sections that bear the name of the Azhar student Sa'id. The character entries thus represent two points of view: that of the authorities and that of the people. Each character reflects upon, reacts to, and comments on the events and information given in the form of medieval documents.

The basic principle that governs the juxtaposition of the documents and the characters on the level of internal organization is that of action/reaction. An authority/people document (action) will be followed by an authority/authority document (reaction). The following is an example of the action/reaction principle as it manifests itself in al-Zayni. After al-Zayni Barakat assumes his position as muhtasib of Cairo, he issues an oral proclamation. According to my categories, the proclamation is an authority/people document. It is an action. In this oral proclamation al-Zayni announces that lanterns should be posted at the entrance of every alley, and at the gate of every palace (p. 89). Following the oral proclamation in the text, a report is sent to Zakariya, the


Al'Zoyni Borakot 1 35

police chief, summarizing the reaction of the people to the action of the lanterns. The reaction of the people is complemented by the texts of fatwas (legal opinions from

' ulama X concerning al-Zayni's action. A third level of reaction is represented through the texts of letters sent by a group of Emirs to the Sultan. It is the reaction of the authorities (police, 'ulama', Emirs) to the action of al-Zayni that elicits a counter- action on the part of the Sultan. A royal decree, i.e., an authority/people document that constitutes a new action, is issued by the Sultan. The royal decree bans the suggested use of lanterns:

A Royal Decree: The idea of lanterns will be stopped. . . .those already posted will be removed; consider that they had never existed. (P. 105)

The action/reaction axis in al-Zayni can be very complex. One action can elicit several reactions. Depending on the source, the reactions will be presented through different categories of medieval documents. The above example of the lanterns is one such action that generates several reactions. The people's reaction is presented through a spy report. They do not seem totally opposed to the idea of the lanterns:

Al-Zayni wants to introduce an innovation that will be attributed to him. Another man said: perhaps this innovation will win the blessing of the people. (P. 92)

However, the 'ulama' in their fatwas are opposed to it:

A fatwa from the Supreme Qadi: The lanterns rob the people of divine blessing. (P. 99)

The letters from the Emirs to the Sultan reflect the former's opposition to the lanterns. Some oppose the idea because it encourages women to remain out longer; others feel it encourages children to stay out longer. All the Emirs, who continuously vie amongst themselves, want to keep Cairo dark at night. The Sultan finally grants them their wish in a royal decree. The juxtaposition of all these reactions to one action (that of the lanterns) through a series of documentary forms, leaves the reader with the burden of interpretation, and the controversy of the lanterns is not resolved. Did al-Zayni want the lanterns for the safety of the people, or did he want the lanterns in order to be in full control of the situation by weakening the night activities of the Mamluk Emirs? However, the issue of the lanterns can be understood when we know the context and the circumstances surrounding it. This is not unlike the exer- cise the reader acquires in dealing with information presented in a modern newspaper. As William Rugh points out, "Readers look for information, but



they also seek nuances in language and even omissions in reporting."32 Earlier in this paper I indicated that al-Zayni Barakat never appears

directly in the novel. Nevertheless we do obtain, at second-hand, his reaction to the action taken by the Sultan concerning the lanterns. This occurs in a narrative section bearing Sa'id's name. Al-Zayni is said to have been disap- pointed, to have felt that the Emirs cheated the Sultan and acted against the best interest of the people. Hence, character entries within the surdaq can also at times function on the level of reactions to certain actions. The most important characteristic of the character entries is that they symbolize the isolation of the characters in the novel. The reactions presented through character entries are personal, unvoiced, and untransmitted.

In one of Zakariya's sections, he broods over the new controversial muhtasib , al-Zayni Barakat:

From what earth has this Barakat been created. Has the Antichrist come incog- nito? . . .He ascends to the Citadel, in disguise, he prostrates in front of the Emirs, he weeps, real tears. . . he says what causes Zakariya to pace up and down till this minute. (P. 36)

Reactions that are introduced in character sections add another dimension to the organizing principle action/reaction. They supply personal reactions to actions announced in the texts of documents.

The documents within the surdaqs represent two categories: authority/people documents, i.e., documents accessible to the public, and authority/authority documents, i.e., documents not accessible to the public. The juxtaposition of these two categories of "conventional forms" generates two levels of reality in the text of al-Zayni. There is a reality that is common to all, which is represented by the content of oral proclamations and royal decrees (authority/ people documents). There is, however, another, secret reality shared only by characters in positions of power (authority/authority documents). The contra- diction that exists between these two realities, the obvious discrepancies between appearance (authority/people documents) and reality (authority/authority documents), generates irony in the text of al-Zayni

The oral proclamations involve the people in a very trivial, mundane reality. One of the longer oral proclamations within the surdaq sections begins with the formula:

Oh people of Cairo We ordain what is just And prohibit what is forbidden. . . .

It then announces the following messages to the people of Cairo:


Al-Zoyrii Barokot 1 37

1. The Sultan has taken off the black wool, and is now wearing his white outfit.

2. The chief of the police force has ordered the public execution of a man. The corpse is to be displayed for three days.

3. Coffee houses and pastry shops must close after evening prayer. Those who disobey will be whipped fifty lashes.

4. News of the battles between the Mamluk Sultan and the Ottoman soldiers: the Mamluks killed forty of the Ottoman soldiers.

The proclamation ends with:

Take heed O, people of Egypt. Oh, people of Egypt.

The above oral proclamation is typical of the level of reality that is presented to the people by the authorities. Still another proclamation announces to the people that the Sultan (who had been in bed with a cold) is feeling better and playing polo. When proclamations do not include news of the Sultan, they are either threats or impositions of new regulations. There are seventeen oral proclamations in al-Zayni, all announcing messages that keep the people busy with their very immediate reality (taxes, new hours for shops, the Sultan, executions, etc.).

At the same time, another level of reality is channeled through authority/authority documents. The above oral proclamation mentions the battles between the Sultan and the Ottomans in Syria. The proclamation makes the situation appear favorable to Egypt, for the Mamluks are announced to have killed forty Ottoman soldiers. That is the reality announced to the people. The next document within the same surdaq is a confidential report- an authority/authority document- sent to Zakariya, the chief of police. The report announces a catastrophic event, which remains concealed from the public:

Friday 15 Sha'ban 922 A.H.

The Secretary of the Diwan, deputy to the Great Shihab, Zakariya, responsible for the situation with the Ottomans:

A Great Calamity A great misfortune has befallen us. The details are as follows: Sultan al-

Ghawri has been overtaken by the soldiers of the Ottoman Salim I on Sunday 25 Rajab (a day of continuous misfortunes). (P. 213)

The above report announces the most critical event in al-Zayni, the even- tual defeat of the Mamluk Sultan and the prospect of an Ottoman invasion of Egypt. However, it is an authority/authority document and is, therefore,



not available to the public. This crucial event is not presented as part of the people's immediate reality.

At this point it becomes clear just how al-Ghitani builds up the analogy between 1517 and 1967. If we are to reflect on the idea that the modern press functions on the same level as the authority/people documents in al-Zayni (royal decrees and oral proclamations), we will understand that al-Ghitani is pointing at the role the media played in 1967 when it tried to mask the defeat in order to delay the shock. As Rugh indicates, "Politically important issues are not treated from various angles but are represented from the one point of view which is acceptable to the government."33 By confronting us with these "authority/people" documents, al-Ghitani leads us, through al-Zayni, to question the discourse of the authorities.

In one of the narrative sections bearing his name, Zakariya describes the function of the proclamation and voices the means by which it can become effective:

Since the time of the Great Shibab Ja'far, the chief of the police force during the reign of al-Ashraf Kayetbay, all the proclamations heralds have been under the supervision of the chief of the police force. The texts of proclamation are sent to him. The way in which an incident is announced may lead to serious matters. Indeed, the chief of the police stresses the importance of the herald's enthusiastic tone of voice in announcing a certain incident. He equally emphasizes the importance of feigning grief or indifference. All such elements influence the people. (P. 52; my italics)

The above statement suggests that oral proclamations, like newspapers, are designed to manipulate people rather than inform them of the reality. The heralds are actors who feign grief, indifference and enthusiasm. It is the authorities' responsibility to match the desired, feigned emotion with the kind of news to be announced. It is in this manner that the authorities can control the reactions of the people. They can involve them or disinvolve them according to the general tone and wording of the selected incidents that are actually announced.

By contrast, the character sections in al-Zayni sometimes function as a zoom lens for the camera eye of third-person narration. The character sections, which focus on the character whose name appears in the heading, represent very complex layers of narration. Sometimes they begin with a camera-eye report, a transparent presence that seems to be closely watching the character's movements, in the present. The camera eye, a type of external narrative mode, describes the events and the character from the outside. At times, however, the camera eye suddenly slips into the character's consciousness. In one passage, for example, the scene is set in the private quarters of Zakariya, who has been pacing up and down the room, anxiously awaiting a


AUZayni Borakot 1 39

reply to a letter he has sent to al-Zayni Barakat. The reply does not come, and Zakariya's mind wanders, trying to resolve the mysteries behind al-Zayni Barakat. He picks up a report, presented to him by one of his chief spies, that concerns the rumors surrounding Barakat. Zakariya reads the report to himself. The activity of reading is, therefore, still part of the internal narrative mode. The whole passage is a narrated monologue, representing the unspoken thoughts of Zakariya narrated in his own idiom but through the use of a third-person pronoun. The act of reading to oneself remains within the realm of the "unspoken thoughts and words" of a "fictional mind":

At the same time the chief spy continued to search for this woman who appeared in front of al-Zayni's procession ... she yelled. ..You wicked one . . . hence she knows him, perhaps tracking her down will reveal the hidden in al-Zayni's past. The chief spy said in his first report she is a woman without family, the residents of Bayn al-Sayarij and 'Amir al-Juyush street and Bab al-Sha'riyah know her. They have seen her around since their childhood. No home is known for her. It was said that she sleeps in cemeteries that lead outside Bab al-Nasr. Her name is Umm Suhayr. Others said her name is Miska, and she has no daughter by the name of Suhayr. She insulted al-Zayni twice in al-Saliba street and al-Mu'izz street, she was not seen. It is as if the earth opened and swallowed her. It was said in the report of one of the reliable efficient spies that an old man who always sits near the water fountain of Bishtak, with his eyes blind-folded, said this woman goes to al-Zayni Barakat Ibn Musa, she embraces him, they cry, she holds his head in her hands, she whispers the softest words to him, then she tells him about the future, and everything that happens to him and what is being plotted against him. The old man said she is in close contact with a number of jinn who serve her and bring her true prophecies. As to who she is, the old man does not know, when she sees al-Zayni in private, he has no idea, why she cried out in his face in front of the people, that is what no living being will find out. The old man alluded to the possibility of the existence of a hidden link between al-Zayni and the world of the jinn, al-Zayni ignored the letter, it is as if he hadn't received it. (P. 78; my italics)

This passage demonstrates a highly elaborate and rich narrative process. The first seven lines as well as the final line represent Zakariya's narrated monologue. The indications, in the opening lines, that we are within Zaka- riya's mind are obvious. There follows a whole "narrated" process of reasoning, one that is internal, unspoken. Zakariya recalls to himself the incident of the old woman who yelled at al-Zayni, which had been reported to him earlier by his chief spy. He reasons out the dynamics of the situation in an attempt to make sense out of it. This process of silent reasoning is marked by the unspoken "hence" followed immediately by the use of the indicative "she knows him." This reasoning is followed by the introduction of possibility through the word "perhaps." Possibilities are projections into the future.



"Perhaps" is followed by the simple future "will reveal," which marks that projection of an event that has not yet occurred. The elision of all punctuation in the passage leads us to glide very comfortably into a silent reading of an actual report. Zakariya reads the text; he does not just remember its contents. This is indicated by the use of the present tense: "The chief spy said in his first report she is a woman without a family." The elision of punctuation misleads the reader and he finds himself in the external narrative mode (the narrated discourse in the spy's report) within the larger encompassing internal narrative mode (Zakariya's narrated monologue).

The spy's report presented within Zakariya's narrated monologue is an interesting example of interwoven layers of the quoted and the narrated discourse, both aspects of the external narrative mode. It is obvious from the passage that the spy presented information which he received orally from the residents of a certain area. It is a collective narrated discourse, marked by the use of the passive form of the verb: "It was said that." No specific person relates this information that the spy narrates, and the idea of collectivity is further emphasized by "others said

" Another marker of the collective narrated discourse is the idiom. Narrated discourse is the spoken words of a character in that character's idiom but presented in the third person. When the chief spy includes in his report the statement: "It is as if the earth opened and swallowed her," we know that he is narrating a "collective" idiom. These words are not the words of the reporter. Rather, they are the words of the informants.

To further complicate the dynamics of narration, al-Ghitani presents another report within the first one that Zakariya is in the process of reading. A subordinate spy had presented a report to his chief on the same subject of the woman who yelled at al-Zayni, and the chief spy has included this second report as part of his own report. He does not summarize it, he quotes it; and the subordinate spy, in turn, has quoted an old man in his own report. No punctuation alerts the reader. However, the quoted discourse of the old man is introduced by the demonstrative "this" followed by a series of verbs in the present tense: "goes," "embraces," "holds," "whispers," "tells," and so on. The final section of the second report by the subordinate spy is a question/answer, narrated discourse. The question/answer format took place between the subordinate spy and the old man. We know that it is narrated discourse because of the narrated idiom of the old man: "This is what no living being will find out." From the old man's allusion to al-Zayni's link with the world of the Jinn we are transported from this passage of "seemingly" external narrative mode to the larger context of the whole passage, namely Zakariya's narrated monologue. The final line is in the internal narrative mode, represented by Zakariya's unspoken thoughts: "Al-Zayni ignored the letter." Finally, what do we as readers, or even Zakariya, as a "fictional character," really know about the incident of the old woman and al-Zayni?


Al-Zayni Borokot 141

The use of "narrated discourse" in the novel is symbolic of al-Ghitani's political strategy vis--vis an increasingly repressive political system. It is a symbolic act against the censor. "Narrated discourse" means that there is no "I" to be held responsible; it also means that what is "narrated" is not by necessity what was said. Since historical accounts and reports rely primarily on "narrated discourse," al-Ghitani poses the questions: what is history, what are facts, and what is reality? By using the objective tool of historical discourse, i.e., "narrated discourse," al-Ghitani challenges the objectivity of that historical discourse. We have only to return to Edward Said's remark on how contemporary Arab history was "laboriously created," "scene by scene," and how after 1967 this whole version of history was "brushed aside" when put to the test. Al-Zayni Barakat is indeed a revolutionary document. The text is, in fact, that "signature one affixes at the foot of a collective proclamation one has not written oneself."

Notes

1 . Roland Barthes, Writing Degree Zero , trans. Annette Lavers and Colin Smith (New York: Hill and Wang, 1967), 26-27.

2. Gamal al-Ghitani, al-Zayni Barakat (Cairo: Madbuli, 1974). 3. See articles in Fusul 2 ( 1 982); Edward Said's review in TLS (October 1 8, 1 985);

La Croix l-Evnement (March 23, 1 985); Libration (April 2 1 , 1 985); Le Monde (March 29, 1985); Le Monde Diplomatique (January 1985); Al-Ahram (July 13, 1985).

4. For more details see my discussion of al-Ghitani's novels in "Bricolage as Hypertextuality: A Study of Narrative. . (Ph.D. diss., UCLA, 1985).

5. In a 1980 interview, al-Ghitani confirmed my thesis about the relationship between carpet designing and his writing techniques.

6. Among al-Ghitani's works of fiction are: Waqa'i' Harat al-Zafarani, Al-Rifa% Khitat al-Ghitani, Awraq Shabb, Dhikr ma Jara and Kitab al-Tajaliyat. His works of non-fiction include al-Misriyun wa-al-Harb, Hurras al-Bawwabah al-Sharqiyah, and Qahiriyat.

7. "Intertextual Dialectics: An Interview with Gamal al-Ghitani," Alif 4 (1984): 71-82.

8. Edward Said, "Introduction" to Halim Barakat, Days of Dust , trans. Trevor Le Gassick (Illinois: Medina University Press International, 1974), xi.

9. Nasser's speeches are perfect examples of this kind of rhetoric. 10. William A. Rugh, The Arab Press (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1979),

47. 11. Ibid., 8. 12. Roger Allen, The Modern Arabic Novel (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press,

1982), 25. 1 3. Rugh, Arab Press , 25. 14. Ibid., 48. 15. Ibid., xi. 16. Said, "Introduction," Days of Dust, xxviii. 1 7. Nada Tomiche, Histoire de la littrature romanesque de V Egypte moderne (Paris:

Maisonneuve et Larose, 1981), 130.


142 Arab Studies Quarterly

1 8. Rugh, Arab Press, 62. 19. See Ceza Kassem's article "al-Mufaraqah fi al-Qass al-'Arabi al-Mu'asir,"

Fusul 2(1982): 143-152. 20. Hilary Kirkpatrick, The Modern Egyptian Novel : A Study in Social Crticism

(London: Ithaca Press, 974), 14. 21. Samia As'ad, '"Indama Yaktub al-Riwa'i al-Tarikh," Fusul 2 (1982): 67. 22. Ceza Kassem, "In Quest of New Narrative Forms" (paper presented at the

annual conference of the Middle East Studies Association, 1979). 23. In "In Quest of New Narrative Forms," Ceza Kassem identifies al-Zayni with

Gamal Abdel Nasser. 24. Rugh, Arab Press ; 62. 25. See al-Ghitani's use of historiography in Awraq Shabb and Khitat al-Ghitani 26. "Interview with Gamal al-Ghitani," Alif. 79. 27. Gerard Genette, Palimpsestes: La Littrature au second degr (Paris: Editions du

Seuil, 1982). 28. Rugh, Arab Press, 17. 29. Samia As'ad, '"Indama Yaktub. . Fusul 69. 30. D.C. Muecke, Irony (London: McThoem, 1976), 30. 31. Ibid., 54. 32. Rugh, Arab Press, xvii. 33. Ibid., 33.


Article Contentsp. 120p. 121p. 122p. 123p. 124p. 125p. 126p. 127p. 128p. 129p. 130p. 131p. 132p. 133p. 134p. 135p. 136p. 137p. 138p. 139p. 140p. 141p. 142

Issue Table of ContentsArab Studies Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 2, Modern Arab Writers and the Politics of the Middle East (Spring 1986), pp. i-iv, 101-217Front MatterIntroduction [pp. 101-103]The Poetics of the Political Poem [pp. 104-119]Al-Zayni Barakat: Narrative as Strategy [pp. 120-142]The Fiction of Sahar Khalifah: Between Defiance and Deliverance [pp. 143-160]Quest for Identity: The I-Thou Imbroglio in Tayeb Salih's "Season of Migration to the North" [pp. 161-177]Arabic Folk Literature and Political Expression [pp. 178-185]Book ReviewsWomen and Societal Change [pp. 186-191]Review: untitled [pp. 192-194]Review: untitled [pp. 194-197]Review: untitled [pp. 197-200]Review: untitled [pp. 201-203]Review: untitled [pp. 203-205]Review: untitled [pp. 206-217]

Back Matter

Documents

Al-Zayni Barakat- Narrative as Strategy