Naguib Mahfouz - Before the Throne

“The conflict turned into a sectarian battle between the Egyptian Church and that of Byzantium, and the death-struggle continued, accompanied by the most intense forms of repression.”

A weighty silence fell as Thoth read to the court. When he had finished, Osiris motioned to Horus, who called out, “Al-Muqawqas, governor of Egypt!”

A short, thickset man came in, covered in his shroud, walking forward until he stood before the throne.

Thoth then read aloud, “Governor of Egypt before and after the Byzantine Conquest. The Copts considered him an Egyptian. During his time, the Arabs invaded Egypt, and he reached an agreement with them to be rid of Byzantine control. Thus Egypt entered a new era, under Arab rule.”

Osiris invited him to speak, so al-Muqawqas began, “I held power in Egypt before the emperor did. Despite my Greek origins, the Jacobite sect of Egypt was satisfied with me, and the Copts thought of me as being one of them. I made an accord with the Arabs, throwing out the Byzantines — and the terms were most favorable.”

“How could you have consented to a foreign invasion?” asked Abnum.

“I say to you, they were benevolent invaders,” al-Muqawqas replied. “Their leader, Amr ibn al-As, divided Egypt into districts, and put a Coptic governor at the head of each. The people felt relieved in a way they had not been for hundreds of years. He lifted the restrictions on religious practice, and the Copts worshiped their Lord in the manner in which they believed.”

“Then they did not take it upon themselves to resist the intruders?” gasped Ramesses II.

“A minority cherished their country above all,” answered al-Muqawqas. “Yet the principal goal of the Arabs was to proselytize a new religion, and to use the invasion to spread Islam.”

“And did Egypt experience a new age of martyrdom?” queried Abnum.

“The Arabs preached their faith without compulsion,” al-Muqawqas told him. “Those who held to their old one paid the head tax to do so.”

“What is the actual difference between this religion and ours of old?” Khufu wondered.

“They believe in the Divinity’s uniqueness,” said al-Muqawqas.

“That is my God, as well as my religion — I always knew I would triumph in the end,” boasted Akhenaten. “Tell me, how did the people accept this faith? In my lifetime only a handful believed in it, and they carried no weight.”

“Let’s not quarrel over the gods,” implored Abnum. “Talk to me about how the peasants and laborers benefited instead.”

“Amr ibn al-As annulled a great many arbitrary taxes, and conditions lifted for the poor.”

“This man’s policies restored our children’s welfare in a way that cannot be denied,” spouted Isis.

“We grant you a certificate of commendation,” said Osiris, “that may be of benefit in your proper religious trial.”

HORUS HAILED, “Pope Benjamin!”

A thin man of medium height came in, pacing forward until he stood before the throne.

Thoth, Scribe of the Gods, then recited, “They persecuted him with banishment in the desert. Amr ibn al-As released him when declaring freedom of worship and the eviction of the Byzantines.”

Osiris bid him speak.

“Belief is what ennobles man — what gives him his dignity, his strength, and his path to God,” said Pope Benjamin. “I endured what I did of Byzantine oppression without being shaken in my faith. Then I shut myself in a monastery in protest against humanity’s descent into the abyss of tyranny and corruption. Then God willed that Egypt should find herself ruled by the sons of Ishmael — and that they should institutionalize the freedom of religion. Hence I once again exercised the Alexandrian papacy and the spiritual governance of the Copts.”

“So the best thing that an Egyptian could wish for,” reeled Thutmose III, “was a just foreign occupation!”

“Our people had spent roughly a thousand years huddled in their villages,” said Patriarch Benjamin, “prostrate under alien dynasties, who ruled over them by force and the sword.”

“Did you not use your spiritual authority to awaken the populace?” asked Abnum.

“I lived at the time of a new invasion,” the patriarch explained, “one that brought religious liberty and which lightened the torments of the peasantry. The occupiers did not impose their religion upon us, so it would not have been appropriate to spread the spirit of rebellion.”

“There is no blame for this man,” advised Isis, “who lived in an age whose advantage belonged to others.”

“There is nothing that our court can hold against you,” determined Osiris.

HORUS HERALDED, “Athanasius the Egyptian!”

A waif-like man of medium stature walked in, wrapped in his winding sheet, until he stood before the throne.

Osiris then proclaimed, “This court is assembled to try Egyptian rulers. This man was not a ruler, yet he represents the return of Egyptians to government. Therefore, his testimony is not lacking in historical significance.”

“I began as a translator of Coptic into Arabic,” stated Athanasius, “when Coptic was the language of the treasury accounts. Egypt lived in peace and stability until the reign of the Caliph Uthman, whose policies divided the Muslims. They plunged into internecine strife, ending in his murder. The Muslims in Egypt were also divided, splitting into two groups — those who were loyal to Uthman, and the others, his opponents. Wars broke out between them, which the Egyptians suffered as they raged in the country, until the caliphate fell to Muawiya — who appointed our governors from among his followers. In general, we did not have the luck to have a ruler as gentle as Amr ibn al-As again.

“During the governorship of Abd al-Aziz Marwan,” continued Athanasius, “there were some reforms, but he also obliged the priests to pay a one-dinar tax. After they were absolved of this duty, he levied a tax of three thousand dinars upon the patriarchate, instead.”

“How did the priests and the patriarch react to that?” asked the Sage Ptahhotep.

“Their reaction was a Christian one, based upon love and peace, sublime over the demands of this world.”

“They didn’t plot a revolution, as their ancestors had against me?” wondered Akhenaten.

“The conditions overall were good,” answered Athanasius, “if you compare them with what they were under the Byzantines. Yet we were angry when some members of our community converted to the new religion. To us, it seemed that they had blasphemed themselves for profit, in order to avoid paying the head tax on non-Muslims. They, in turn, alleged that Islam was nothing more than a Christian sect, and their embracing it was not an act of apostasy.”

“You eased the way for them to change their original religion,” Khufu rebuked Akhenaten, “and laid the foundation for the practice of trading in beliefs.”

“There is nothing wrong with a person changing their religion,” retorted Akhenaten, “if his principal reason for doing so is honorable and enlightened. Yet I am amazed that the Arabs were guided to my faith, when my own people had spurned it for generation after generation.”

“I see no reason to defend this man,” offered Isis, “so long as no one is accusing him of any offense.”

“We wish you the best possible outcome, Athanasius,” Osiris told him, “in your Christian tribunal.”

HORUS CALLED OUT, “The Master Antanash!”

A square-built man came in, stalking in his shroud until he stood before the throne.