Dialogues of Naguib Mahfouz: Nationalism and unity By Mohamed Salmawy I once asked Naguib Mahfouz about pan-Arabism and unity and whether such concepts were relevant or had become outdated. Mahfouz: Some things don't change. One of those is that Arab countries share a common language, history, and aspirations. This is a fact that we need to acknowledge and incorporate in our policies. It's alright to change one's politics from time to time, but the main idea remains the same. The Arabs need to find their way towards closer cooperation, either in the form of unity or economic integration. These are matters that our political decision-makers must consider carefully rather than take for granted. Other countries have found ways to stick together, although they lack the elements of national cohesion we have. Take for example the British Commonwealth, where language is the only common denominator. Even though the Commonwealth countries have no common history to mention, they have been able to find an appropriate form of cooperation. The same thing goes for Europe. Here is a continent of many nations and divergent languages, and yet it is now united. There are shared cultural affinities, geographic proximity, historic bonds and economic interests. With the right policies we can have one or another form of unity, a matter that would give us much-needed international clout. Salmawy: Europe seems to have found its calling. Do you think that our turn will come? Mahfouz: If you're talking political unity, perhaps this is a long way off. But cultural unity is something we have already, and we only need to find the right framework to consolidate it. Perhaps this is the way to overcome political obstacles. When we talk about the Arab people, we are talking about common values and national traits. We only lack the policies that would acknowledge our similarities and put them to good use.
