Dialogues of Naguib Mahfouz: A history of protest Mohamed Salmawy The demonstrations Naguib Mahfouz described in his famous Trilogy were real events. History refers to them collectively as the 1919 Revolution, and Mahfouz, still a student at the time, was there. He once told me of the first demonstration in which he participated. It was in 1924, when the nationalist leader Saad Zaghloul and King Fouad were quarrelling over the constitution. Mahfouz was 13 at the time. "I didn't even know what a constitution was. I just wanted to see Saad Zaghloul. So my friends and I sneaked out of school and headed to Abdine Square where we echoed the cheers and slogans of the demonstration's leaders. When Saad arrived in his car the crowds around him were so thick that I never caught a glimpse of him." Mahfouz's second experience of a demonstration was in 1929, when Mohamed Mahmoud was prime minister. The demonstration was in support of Makram Ebeid, who had just returned from England. Mahfouz was with a friend from Abbasiya, Hassan Akef. "We followed the procession to the House of the Nation [as Zaghloul's home became known], but we never did get to hear the speeches that were delivered there. Suddenly, with no warning, Hassan punched an officer in the stomach so powerfully that the officer fainted. One of the cavalry officers saw what had happened to his colleague and he charged after us. We ran as fast as we could towards the House of the Nation. Hassan managed to scramble over a fence and he grabbed hold of my arm to pull me after him. However, the officer had caught up with us. Leaping off his horse he grabbed my foot but I managed to jump to safety, leaving the officer on the other side of the fence holding my shoe. "That was how I made my first visit to the House of the Nation, wearing only one shoe on. By this time the speeches had been delivered and most people had left. We were received by Saphia Zaghloul. After we told her what happened she took pity on us and would not hear of our leaving the house until after the soldiers outside had left. That day I walked all the way home to Abbasiya with only one shoe." The third time Mahfouz took part in a demonstration was when Prime Minister Ismail Sidqi was manoeuvring to replace the 1923 constitution which he had suspended. "My companion at this demonstration was Sami Sadeq," Mahfouz said. "Neither of us attacked anyone this time. But just as we passed a British constable he was hit on the head by a stone and collapsed onto the pavement, his head drenched in blood. Sami and I immediately took to our heels for fear that the soldiers nearby would suspect us of having thrown the stone. We looked back and saw we were being followed. We charged down an alley only to find that it was a dead end. But suddenly a door opened and a woman signalled for us to come inside and then shut the door behind us. It was some time before we left that house, too, and this time by way of the roof to another building and from there to a backstreet. Were it not for that woman, my friend and I would have been history."
