It was not strange for the Socialist Union to adopt the idea of the Writers’ Union, as it follows the historical traditions of the military, so the Union is similar to mass organizations that are subject to authoritarian tutelage and lacking any kind of independence. As for the Socialist Union itself, it is nothing but a dull political organization. Rather, it is a bureaucratic administration affiliated with the executive authority, which plays the role of analyst of its procedures. If it wants to own newspapers, it transfers its ownership to this union, and it can issue any law according to the size of the leadership candidate for its positions, who must be a member of the Socialist Union, and it is possible for him to be removed from his position if the Socialist Union dismisses him or the security services become angry with him.[1]). We are not surprised that the great writer Youssef Al-Sibai, who is called the former military brigadier general and the admiral of Egyptian culture since the year 1952 AD, assumed the position of the established truth in its progress during the Nasserist socialist era. Then they brought him as a minister – after that – in the Sadat era to be the official justification as a famous writer against the fierce campaign launched against writers and journalists. He took on the task of preparing the Writers Union Law and passing it authoritatively. Before that, he issued a decision by the System Committee of the Arab Socialist Union to dismiss more than (111) writers and writers in February 1973 AD. Which deprives them of membership in any other organizations and unions. Membership in the Socialist Union was a condition for joining many bodies and unions, including the Journalists Syndicate, which led to their dismissal from the newspapers in which they worked. Membership in the Socialist Union was one of the conditions for working in journalism. In the same year, the Ministry of Culture – represented by its Minister Abdel Qader Hatem, who had held the Ministry of Culture during the days of Abdel Nasser – prepared a draft law for the Writers’ Union, which was presented to the People’s Assembly in 1974 AD, and was detailed according to the mood of the authority, which the intellectuals and writers objected to. About five hundred of them were thrown into prison, and then released months later. They left, continuing their demands for a democratic and independent national union, while the authority continued to be stubborn. Then the cultural community was surprised by the approval of the People’s Assembly on June 21, 1975, of the Writers’ Union Law, which was ratified by the President of the Republic, and it was announced in the newspapers that registration in the electoral rolls would be opened for those who wished to register for membership in the Union.[2]). If we want to read the events of the founding of the Writers Union, we will notice, among other things:
The first is: Those who called for it were from the category of young writers, although they found some support from older writers. The support of the latter group came timidly, and in order to save face, after the escalation of demands for this union, such as the youth, and it seems that they wanted to hold the stick in the middle, so as not to anger the authorities, and not to lose the base of young writers, who attend their seminars, and listen to their grandiose speech about freedom of thought, justice, and equality.
Second: The formation of the Union came after the young writers realized that all the literary associations, associations, and forums present on the scene had exhausted their purposes and had become more like cafes that gathered writers to have fun, and their activities did not contribute to enriching cultural life as they should, nor to nurturing and expressing writers, especially since those in charge of their boards of directors were close to the authorities, who took membership in the boards of directors of these associations as a kind of social prestige, and to obtain benefits through presence in the cultural arena, such as Travel, guaranteeing the issuance of books in government publishing houses, paid writing in newspapers and magazines, and appearing in the audio-visual media, are all personal benefits, rather than promoting literary life. These gatherings also suffered from the hateful paralysis that is one of the most important defects of the Arab cultural community. The administrators of each literary association are a group of harmonious and understanding friends who use the literary association as a means of meeting and benefiting, as well as promoting themselves and their literature, without the headache of young writers.
Third: What was strange about the young writers was that they dreamed and continued to dream about the new union to be created, and that is the problem of youth. Excessive romanticism, lack of understanding of reality, and lack of sufficient experience, and this was represented in marketing the idea through the Socialist Union, so that the Minister of the Interior adopted it, and requested that it be passed by the Ministry of Culture, because the security services are well aware that gathering young writers in an official literary entity carries a lot of danger, and it is better to kidnap the idea from them, then embrace it, and bring it out as the authority wants. Noting that the authority is one in its thinking, it did not change with the arrival of Sadat, at the level of the movement, personalities, and decisions, even though Sadat was following in the footsteps of Abdel Nasser with an eraser (with a rubber band), as his opponents said.
Fourth: The young writers were dreaming of the union, writing and speaking about it, while the agencies of the Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Socialist Union, were working in secret to prepare the law, detail it, and then ratify it in the People’s Assembly. That is, the advocates of the union were in one valley, and the men of authority were in another valley, and victory was for the one who held the reins of command.
Fifth: The problem among writers became clear that they dreamed of the union being an oasis of democracy and freedoms, providing protection for the writer, and preserving his rights, in an authoritarian, dictatorial system that viewed the intellectual with suspicion, even though the majority of the 1960s generation of young writers were supporters of the Nasserist experience, admired the personality of Abdel Nasser, and adhered to his national socialist project, yet he arrested them, fought them, and disrupted their dreams. Among the most prominent of these were: Gamal al-Ghitani, Youssef. Al-Qaid, Diaa Al-Sharqawi. This does not prevent them from obtaining many positions in the Ministry of Culture, and radio and television were opened for them to present programs and to produce their novels as films and series. It seems that they understood the game a little late, and in the end they joined the bandwagon. Whoever remained outside the flock lost a lot, and lived in the hardship of lack of income, fading fame, and running after newspapers.
Sixth: The irony was, and this is usual in literary life, that writers boycotted the new union, and then years passed, and they were fighting to win its seats, meaning that they fell into the game that the authorities wanted, in which the union would be merely an official body, funded by the state, and whoever controlled the funding would control the policies, decisions, and statements. The other irony is that the writers close to the authorities, who opposed the formation of the union according to the vision of the young writers, assumed the presidency of the union successively and alternately.
Seventh: Many writers were not aware of the loopholes in the Union Law that allow the Ministry of Culture to have absolute control over it, so they started calling for participation in the Union as a union that defends their interests and provides them with a retirement pension, and some health benefits and trips. The desire of writers for membership was – and still is – a hope of direct material benefit, in addition to the moral appreciation that makes them boast that they are a member of the Egyptian Writers Union. Which indicates that the majority of writers are not greatly concerned with the issue of freedoms and the national struggle, but rather they suffer just as the rest of the people suffer, and they desire any means to facilitate their livelihood.
Eighth: The educated class in Egypt still dreams of independent gatherings and unions. Some of them still raise slogans such as “an independent, democratic union of Egyptian writers,” and they even dream of each generation or movement having an independent entity to express them. Everything that writers wanted was confined to independent entities, and this is a legitimate right for them, and it is not required that it be in a union, but rather it can be in associations or literary groups and the like, but the crisis lies in the deadly political climate, with its authoritarian nature, and its police system, so the scope of demands must expand to include a comprehensive change in the political situation, granting freedoms and human rights, and creating fair democracy for all the people, and at that time all unions, unions and groups will enjoy With freedom, the word becomes heard. This, and by looking at Law No. (65), issued in 1975 AD, which regulates the Writers’ Union, we will find it composed of (74) articles, distributed as follows: (15) articles related to membership conditions, (25) articles on how to obtain its financial resources, and there are (13) articles related to disciplining its members, and two articles concerned with dissolving the union.[3]). The articles of the law were drafted in strict secrecy, were voted on in the People’s Assembly without discussion by the members, and were not presented to intellectuals, writers, or interested people before or after the issuance of the law, which indicates the persistent desire of the authorities to control it. If Article (3) is the only one that deals with the writer’s right to sponsorship, then it obliges him, in return, that his expression be committed to Egyptian patriotism, Arab nationalism, and religious and humanitarian values, that is, no opposition. This is confirmed in Article (55) that a member may not argue about political and religious matters in a way that conflicts with public order and morals, nor may he drink alcoholic beverages or engage in gambling at the Union’s headquarters, and whoever violates that; There are 20% of the articles of the law related to disciplining the rebellious member. The administrative and disciplinary articles of the law stipulate the legalization of blatant interference by official agencies and authorities, to paralyze any activity of any kind for members of the Writers Union. According to Article (29), the Ministry of Culture must be notified at least a week before the date of the General Assembly, and then the minutes of the General Assembly meeting and the decisions issued must be sent within fifteen days from the date of the meeting. In the same article: “The Minister of Culture may appeal the Union’s election by means of a report deposited with the clerk of the Administrative Judicial Court at the State Council, within fifteen days from the date of his being informed of the election result. The Administrative Judicial Court shall decide on the appeal as a matter of urgency in a non-public session.” According to Article 61, the person investigating the violating member is a committee headed by the Vice President of the Federation, with the membership of the Legal Advisor to the Minister of Culture, and the Secretary General of the Federation. The member is referred to the disciplinary body by decision of the Federation Council, and there is an appellate disciplinary body, which includes six members, headed by an undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, with two members from the Fatwa Department of the State Council, in addition to three members of the Federation. That is, all decisions of the Union’s Board of Directors were mortgaged to the hands of the Minister of Culture, the representative of the executive authority, who will also have the Union’s budget in his hand, which provides the full opportunity to impose anti-democratic policies on the Union, and make it subordinate to the state, and if rebellion is respected by the law, the Minister of Culture may rule, in accordance with Article (6), to form a registration and membership committee ([4]). This explains to us many of the decisions and positions that the Union took regarding the policy of the authority, and how it was consistent, harmonious, and identical with the policies of the authority. Its statements were consistent with the government’s directions, and it did not happen that the Union was outside the flock of the regime, unlike what we saw in other federations and unions such as: Judges’ Clubs, Journalists’ Syndicate, and Faculty Clubs, who adopted opposing and distinct positions politically and intellectually. The selection of the heads of the Writers Union came from literary and cultural figures with complete loyalty to the government, and even in agreement with the Ministry of Culture itself, and through an overview of the names of those who held the position of president of the Union, we realize this matter. The first person to assume its presidency in the year 1976 AD was the great writer Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898-1987 AD), who was in complete harmony with the Sadat regime, and had a strong media presence. Then came after him the writer Tharwat Abaza (1927-2002 AD), who held the position for many years, in addition to his other positions, including his membership in the Shura Council until his death, and he is known for his liberalism. He fully supported the policies of Sadat and then Hosni Mubarak. In fact, he was more royalist than the king in many situations, and his statements of support for the positions of the authorities competed with statements of support for the People’s Assembly. Then he was succeeded by the playwright Saad al-Din Wehbe (1925-1997 AD). He was a police officer, before he resigned in 1956 AD, and he held many cultural positions in the Nasserite era, until he reached the rank of first deputy minister of the Ministry of Culture, and his governmental positions are well known. It is enough that he was in a crisis of disagreement among artists with the authority, and at that time he was the captain of the Syndicate of Acting Professions, but Saad al-Din Wehbe sided with the authority and rejected the demands of the artists while he was their captain. When Minister Ahmed Heikal (1922-2006 AD) supported the artists in their demands, the Mubarak regime had no choice but to dismiss the minister and keep the captain. Then the well-known poet and broadcaster Farouk Shousha (1936-2016 AD) assumed the position. He held major radio positions, the last of which was head of the Egyptian Radio in the year 1994 AD. He was followed by the writer and storyteller Farouk Khorshid (1928-2005 AD). He held many positions in radio, and his name became very prominent during the Sadat era, through his founding of the Egyptian Literary Association. Then he held many positions, and his positions never deviated from the government’s directions. The playwright and translator Mohamed Salmawi took over the position from him. He held many positions between Al-Ahram and the Ministry of Culture, and he was one of the authority’s most vocal writers in support of the regime. The poet and writer Alaa Abdel Hadi, who is from the poetic generation of the seventies, assumed the position after him. If we read the personalities of the heads of the Egyptian Writers Union, we will find that they are diverse in their fame and the achievements they have achieved Creative, some of them were prominent figures of culture and literature in Egypt, such as Tawfiq al-Hakim, Farouk Shousha, and Saad al-Din Wahba. As for the rest of the union’s presidents, they were of the second level of fame, such as Farouk Khorshid, Muhammad Salmawi, and Alaa Abd al-Hadi, although the latter was the least famous and most likely to hold government positions. But what unites them is their complete support for the government’s policies, and this is due to the nature of their personality and their political convictions, which do not deviate much from the orientations and ideologies of the authority. They are from the category Which are written in light of the lines set by the authority, and do not exceed the red lines. They also come from the state’s functional apparatus concerned with culture and art, and many of them have held numerous positions, at the top of the functional apparatus, and they are usually fully aware of the requirements of the job, committed to regulations and laws, and do not oppose any direction or decision dictated to them by a political party, because they are simply aware of its conditions, fluctuations, and penalties. Their many positions on literary and cultural life bear witness to this. In any controversy or fight in which the government is a party, they will side with the government, even if all writers return, assuming that the government is a million times more important than the anger of young or old writers.
[1]) Previous reference, p. 422.
[2]) Previous reference, pp. 423, 424.
[3]) According to the text of the Writers Union Law, published on the website
https://egyptswritersunionlaw.blogspot.com/2013/05/blog-post_8335.html
It also includes: its explanatory memorandum, its amendments, and the report of the Culture and Information Committee on it.
[4]) See above: Intellectuals and Military, pp. 431-439.
