Religion in the Egyptian Novel

Charts ideological struggle in the Egyptian novel and the fascinating ways in which it engages with religion and religious themes. This is an in-depth, original survey of religion in the modern Arabic novel. Tracing the relationship from the genesis of the form in the early twentieth century to present, the book explores the struggle between religious and secular discourse as it is played out on the pages of the Egyptian novel. Through close readings of representative works, the book reveals the manifold ways in which the Egyptian novel has engaged with Islam, Christianity, Sufism, myth, ritual, scripture and religious intertextuality. Key Features - Detailed literary analyses of religious themes in the 20 Egyptian novels, drawing on a range of critical theories - First close study of the Coptic theme in the Arabic novel - Includes new readings of key works, such as the Mahfouz's trilogy and Tawfiq al-Hakim's novels, as well as important but overlooked works, such as 'Abd al-Hakim Qasim's Al-Mahdi and Turaf Akhbar al-Akhira - Scholarly but accessible, this research is significant for postcolonial studies as well as Arabic literary studies Christina Phillips is Senior Lecturer in Arabic Literature and Media in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter