Why does authority always count on writers? Why do writers fear authority? Both questions relate to the relationship of writers, intellectuals, and other creatives and artists with authority, as the authority’s position on creative people can be summarized in a famous sentence by one of the dictatorial rulers, when he said: “When I hear the word intellectual, I reach for my gun,” because he realizes that intellectuals and similar writers can, with their words and creativity, create awareness, enlightenment, and different ideas among the elite and common people against the authority. The word remains more influential than the executioner’s whip because its action is permanent and affects minds and hearts. As for the whip, its effect is limited, even if its harm is severe. As for the creators’ perception of the authority, this is because the authority provides the freedoms that make the writer soar in the sky of creativity, not limited by restrictions, nor prevented by threats. The authority also owns the media and the ability to provide forms of financial support to the creative, especially in developing countries, whose people suffer from poverty, and where development and economic priorities take precedence over culture and the arts, and even over intellectual and political freedoms themselves. Egypt was characterized by a major creativity movement, which made it occupy the forefront and leadership position in the modern Arab cultural movement, as the literary renaissance began in the last third of the nineteenth century, and its creators succeeded in engaging with the issues of the nation and the homeland, and keeping pace with literary forms developed from the West, such as the novel, the short story, and the play, which created a distinctive creative character for contemporary Arab literature, giving it a great place in the world literature movement, and Egyptian creators have always had a leading position. It is not possible to read the creativity movement in Egypt objectively without considering their relations with the ruling authority, which varied between absolute support, sharp opposition, and rational independence, and this is at the level of the personalities of the creators. As for creativity itself, it cannot be read in isolation from the authority either, as the creator reads his reality, expresses the people’s pain, formulates their dreams and aspirations, and criticizes the authority or unites with it in light of this reading. Therefore, it is important to provide a comprehensive vision that seeks to read the creativity movement in Egypt in the twentieth century, which can be divided into two basic and successive periods of time. The era before July 1952 (the royal era) and the era after July 1952 AD. They are both different in their system of government, its philosophy, and its positions on writers. By studying them, it is possible to understand many of the positions of writers in the January Revolution and its aftermath, because our day is the result of our yesterday, just as our tomorrow is the harvest of our day.
The royal era and the climate of freedom:
The monarchy era took a different path after the 1919 Revolution, with the constitution and parliamentary system it produced, and the launch of press freedoms, which led to the emergence of a democratic system, elections for the House of Representatives, an independent press in one form or another, multiple parties, and the formation of a new generation of politicians, some of whom gained great popularity and succeeded in expressing the concerns and aspirations of the people, as is the case in the Wafd Party, with its historical leaders such as: Mustafa Al-Nahhas and Makram Ebeid. Despite the continuation of the English occupation, and the presence of large segments of beneficiaries, the rich and the super-rich, who have accumulated huge wealth and owned vast agricultural lands in what is known as the class of large landlords, and who had their relations with the royal palace, in addition to their appeasement of the English occupation authority, in the face of the majority of the people who suffered from poverty and lack of their rights to education and a decent life. The National Movement succeeded in concluding a treaty in 1936 AD, which gave Egypt partial independence, which helped it become a member of the United Nations and in establishing the League of Arab States, after the end of World War II in 1945 AD. Which means the existence of a popular, intellectual and political movement that benefited from political life with its liberal nature, especially with the flourishing of civil society institutions and the establishment of many associations, activities and social movements. The crisis of Egyptian society at that time was represented by a small ruling and possessing class, no more than one percent, who controlled the wealth and supported the authority, and an overwhelming popular majority groaning and suffering. This situation was an urgent concern in the writings of thinkers and intellectuals of all intellectual trends (Islamists, liberals, socialists, and traditional intellectuals). Everyone diagnosed the nation’s crisis, and each trend began to have its say in its solutions, with active participation in public intellectual life. This reality was expressed by the writers and artists who interacted with the nation’s issues and formulated its problems and dreams in their texts. Successive governments during the royal era sought to adopt modernization projects, which produced a new social class, metaphorically called the Effendi class, from which many writers and intellectuals emerged, whether from the wealthy segments of families and rural families, or from the lower segments that took education as a path to social and scientific advancement. This class was united with the concerns of the nation. They opposed the occupation, sought to propose projects for progress and modernity, and took advantage of newspapers and magazines to write and educate the people. Al-Affendi was an example of the cultured, educated Egyptian who adhered to his national roots.[1]). The film industry also emerged and flourished across multiple generations, starting with the generation of amateur pioneers, then turning to talented people who were educated in the West, and they returned to contribute to the production of multiple films that combined entertainment and enjoyment, and also embraced societal issues and the problems of the people, so a solid industry of studios, artists, and technicians was established, which made Egypt what is said to be the Hollywood of the East, and even the basis of its literary and artistic renaissance.[2]). At a time when the concept of the homeland increased in its positive connotation, which means searching for the roots of Egypt’s cultural, civilizational, and historical distinction, artists and writers competed to express the Egyptian popular conscience and the life of the peasants, in addition to pride in the Pharaonic civilization, and the search for a national identity for the Egyptian people, mixing its religious and cultural components.[3]This coincided with parallel currents, calling for Arabism and Islam, and Marxist and liberal currents that draw from Western or Eastern renaissance experiences, which indicates the atmosphere of pluralism and openness in Egyptian society, despite the British occupation, and the position of the royal palace, which oscillates between popular parties and authoritarian parties. As for women’s activism, it began strongly, through talented writers who participated in public cultural life, at the forefront of which were Mai Ziada, Malak Hifni Nassef, and others, with the increase in the number of girls enrolled in education. Newspapers began publishing articles by many female writers, and many names became prominent, as the call for women’s rights expanded.[4]It is true that many feminist activists were influenced by Western secularism and its statements about women’s rights, but advocacy had positive effects on girls’ education, and the issue of women became one of the issues raised in the arena of public debate. Women writers also appeared who rejected the Westernizing feminist approach and sought to adhere to Islamic and Arab identity. The royal era produced great creative talents that were able to impose themselves on cultural, intellectual, literary and artistic life. Since the first quarter of the 1920s, an enlightenment movement in the arts has flourished that revealed a new activity in the emerging fine arts movement, which is the interest in establishing artistic associations and groups. With their emergence simultaneously followed the emergence of a generation of pioneers of modern Egypt, these groups became an expressive necessity for a creative generation searching for its artistic and cultural project, in a society brimming with political currents and creative energies, to keep pace with the changes. Global. It reached the peak of its revival in the 1940s, and among the most prominent of them were the Imagination Group (1928), the Artistic Propaganda Group (1928), the Egyptian Artists Association Group (1934), the “The Tryers” Group (1934), the Popular Art Group (1936), the New Oriental Artists Group (1937), the Art and Freedom Group (1939), the La Palette Group (1940), the Art and Life Group (1946), and the Contemporary Egyptian Art Group. (1946), the Modern Egyptian Art Group (1946), the Five Artists Group (1962), the Experimental Group (1965) and the Axis Group (1981)([5]). On the literary level, movements, generations, and groups were formed. History may have neglected to mention some of its members, but they resulted in talented writers who benefited from the movement of Western creativity in its various sects, especially since Egypt embraced large, very wealthy foreign communities, including a large number of Jews. They were distinguished by high culture, and they transferred intellectual, political, philosophical, artistic, and literary currents from Europe, and they clearly influenced the Egyptian cultural environment, by establishing groups and clubs. Seminars and associations issued newspapers, pamphlets, and books, which were issued successively after the end of World War I. Their importance and activity increased in the 1930s and 1940s. The Art and Freedom Group appeared, and before it, the Diwan Poetry School, the Diaspora School, the Romantic School, and the Apollo Literary Group, within a broad literary movement, which was evident in seminars, literary entities, and small groups, in addition to university and school activities, which produced multiple generations of writers, who helped to The spread of revolutionary concepts in literature and the arts, as well as in politics and economics, and they called for freedoms and social rights for the people.[6]). It is noted that these groups expressed the intellectual, political and popular movement, and benefited from literary trends in Europe, in establishing a core Egyptian literature, while interacting with societal issues, and creating an accumulation of artistic creativity that develops taste. However, they were influenced by the Marxist trend, which was reflected in the ideology of many of their members. Some of them also adopted the nationalist trend, and some called for the local Qatari trend, which isolates Egypt from its Arab and Islamic surroundings. Despite all these activities and events, writers did not have an institution, union, or ties that brought them together completely, as we saw later in the founding of the Writers’ Union. Most of their activities took an individual nature or worked within the frameworks of small groups, organizing literary symposiums, or issuing pamphlets, newspapers, and magazines, which had limited circulation and quickly stopped as a result of the lack of financial support, so they were forced to deal with the published newspapers widespread in their time, or publish their books at their own expense.
[1]) The social and cultural construction of the middle class in Egypt during the period of royal rule, by Lucy Rizova, in the book: A New Vision for Egypt 1919-1952 AD, edited by: Arthur Gold Schmidt, and others, translated by: Aida Al-Bagouri, Supreme Council of Culture, Cairo, 2013 AD, pp. 181-190.
[2]) The State and Cinema in Pre-Revolution Egypt (1927-1952), Andrew Flipper, op. cit., pp. 627-630.
[3]) Egyptian Art in the Twentieth Century (Pioneers 1920-1952 AD), Carolyn Williams, op. cit., pp. 602-610.
[4]) The 1919 Revolution and the National Structure of the Lives and Works of Pioneering Women Writers, Mervat Hatem, op. cit., p. 561 et seq.
[5]) See more: Schools and Doctrines of Modern Art, Sobhi Al-Sharouni, Egyptian General Book Authority, Cairo, 1994 AD, from Chapter Two to Chapter Four.
[6]) Literary and critical doctrines among Arabs and Westerners, Dr. Shukri Muhammad Ayyad, World of Knowledge Series, Kuwait, 1993, pp. 19-22.
