Marjory Frank Rubin is the name of the sole legitimate heir of the great late artist Naguib al-Rihani according to the documents of the General Authority for Houses of Culture (Cairo branch), which makes an annual deposit of LE400 into the account of Rubin in Banque du Caire. The deposit, which increases by 2% per year, has been made since 1970 till now. Al-Rihani was born to a Christian Chaldean Iraqi father called Elias Rihana, who traveled to Cairo and married an Egyptian Coptic woman, who gave birth to her son Naguib.
Seriously enough, "Jina", the outcome of al-Rihani's love affair with the French Lucy Fernand, calls for turning Al-Rihani Palace of Culture in Al-Aghoudi St, Hadayek Al-Quba, into a museum containing her father's acquisitions.
Jina Al-Rihani was born in 1932 and appeared for the first time in Cairo 60 years after Al-Rihani's death in 1949. Jina made a movie telling the late artist's biography. Jina appeared 60 minutes in the 107-minute movie, which was produced by Mohamed Kamel al-Qalioubia. Jina narrated some funny situations for her father. However, these situations have been historically refuted by some senior researchers. Jina says that the Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni has promised her to convert the palace into a museum. If such statements are true, this would mean that "who does not own has given who does not deserve". The palace is controlled by the General Authority (Cairo branch) since 1970 for an annual specific rent to the heirs. So the ministry does not own the palace to turn it into a museum. Nor is Jina the only heiress to get that right.
Has the minister made sure that Jina is al-Rihani's daughter and heiress? Does the minister believe Jina and deny documents of the General Authority and Banque du Caire? The Minister can get access to the entire file if he wishes.
Belly dancer Badia Massabny bought the land and built the palace to receive Al-Rihani after his recovery. It is known that Al-Rihani married Massabny and then divorced her due to her extreme jealousy. The couple had a daughter, who is not, of course, Jina. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Al-Rihani starred 33 plays, 10 movies and six operettas. He was born in 1889 and died in June 8, 1949 after suffering a typhoid disease. His Excellency the Minister, I as well as many people have doubts that the proposed museum is a step on the way of seizing the palace and the displacement of 56 creative artists and workers, who manage a cultural movement in one of Cairo's most densely populated areas.
