Naguib Mahfouz - Before the Throne

Osiris invited him to speak.

“I was born in Asyut,” recited Umar Makram, “and learned science, morals, and religion from the flower of the elite. Then I became chief of the association of the Prophet’s descendants, indefatigably repelling the powerful in defense of the suffering people. When the French came to invade our country, I called on the people to fight, and marched at their head, but our armies were routed and the French occupied Cairo. They chose me as a member of their local council, but I refused with contempt and escaped to Syria, leaving my money and property exposed to theft. When the French overran Syria, Napoleon brought me back to Egypt, heaping honors upon me, but I shut myself in my house. Then Cairo rose up in revolt, and I led the rebellion myself. After it was put down with brutality, I again left for Syria, and did not return until the French had gone.

“Next I directed the insurrection against the Mamluks, and another against the Turkish governor. I swore allegiance to the latter’s replacement when I saw that he inclined toward the Egyptians, as well as toward justice and probity. But I resisted even that governor when he forgot his compact with us — and he forced me to leave once more. I remained in exile until I died.”

“You are an individual from the people,” Abnum addressed him, “who based his life on the defense of the people, calling on them to fight for the first time since my blessed revolution. They rose up against the foreign governor, and through their own power, installed a new ruler in his place. Tell me, was the new governor a son of the people, too?”

“No,” Umar Makram replied, “but he was a Muslim, and he seemed just to me.”

“What a catastrophe,” recoiled Abnum. “Why didn’t you try to take over yourself?”

“The Ottoman government would not agree.”

“I tell you again, what a catastrophe,” argued Abnum.

“Perhaps you simply revered the unity of Islam, the religion of the God Who is One?” suggested Akhenaten.

“Indeed,” affirmed Umar Makram, “that is what I thought — as a believer in God and His Prophet.”

“In any case, I am happy with this son,” said Isis.

“You merit a place among the Immortals: your commendation from us shall state this clearly,” assured him Osiris.

HORUS CALLED OUT, “Muhammad Ali Pasha!”

A stout, straight-backed, and powerfully built man strode firmly into the room until he stood before the throne.

Osiris asked him to speak, and Muhammad Ali recalled for the court, “I was born in the city of Cavalla, where I was raised as an orphan. Upon reaching manhood, I enlisted in the Ottoman army, and went to Egypt to join the fight against the French. When the French retreated, I began to study the conditions there and to ponder the future. Discovering the weakness of the Ottomans, and the meanness of the Mamluks, I became aware of a third force neglected by everyone, that being the power of the local people and their native leaders. I resolved to forge close ties with them, for perhaps they could form a sound base upon which to set up a new state that would bring back the glories of ages past.

“In this I scored an outstanding success, as the people ousted the Turkish governor and swore allegiance to me instead. The Sublime Porte recognized this fait accompli and all went well — so I set to work carrying out my project, not stopping once till the end of my life. I put paid to the prevailing evil of the Mamluks, then obtained an order from the imperial palace to wage war against the Wahhabis in the Arabian Peninsula — and vanquished them as well. I created an army made up of Egyptians, and conquered the Sudan. When my son Ismail was killed there, I avenged him by slaughtering twenty thousand of the enemy. For the army I set up academies and factories, just as I fashioned a formidable navy, employing the help of French experts to accomplish it all. Nor did I neglect reform, for I introduced new agricultural crops, such as cotton, indigo, and opium; I planted orchards and established parks. I also built medical schools and hospitals, and sent Egyptians on study missions to France, the land of modern civilization. I reorganized public administration and security, and among my most important monuments are the Khayriya Barrages. I also set up the first printing press in the Middle East, located in Bulaq.

“The sultan in Istanbul demanded that I campaign on his behalf in the Morea and Syria — and my victories were so stunning that terror beat in the heart of the Seraglio itself. The emperor wanted to keep me in my place, but I waged war against him, invading his country. I would have seized control of his capital were it not for the intervention of the foreign powers, who feared the revival of Islam at my hands. The nations conspired against me, forcing me to submit to the Sublime Porte’s authority in return for making Egypt a hereditary fiefdom for my family. I was compelled also to reduce the size of my army and to close its schools and factories too. As the nation fell into ruin, I could not endure to the end: I lost my mind, then my life as well.”

“This was like a new Pharaonic dynasty,” remarked King Khufu, “despite its foreign origins.”

“You restored my empire,” said Thutmose III, “and I testify to your skill at military command. But you lost it in your own lifetime, making it the shortest-lived empire in history. Moreover, I’m amazed at your killing twenty thousand in revenge for your son’s death, as though you had not heard of my own wise policy in the countries I invaded.”

“I had never heard of it,” Muhammad Ali admitted. “And in truth, no one paid any attention to the ruins of your age before the savants who accompanied the French invasion arrived in Egypt, unlocking the secrets of their forgotten tongue. I acquired my own wisdom through my direct dealings with people.”

“I acknowledge your greatness,” Thutmose III continued, “but by its light I see your delusions. I very much wanted to indulge you to the last, but for the regrettably rapid end that befell your empire. This means that, despite your intelligence, your perception of things was wanting. You did not grasp the international situation well enough, and thus unwittingly exposed yourself to a force that you could not control.”

“I thought that France would stand by me until the end …,” Muhammad Ali started to say.

“This, too, does not aid in your defense,” Ptahhotep interrupted him. “A very short-sighted policy.”

“Yet it was a tempting opportunity to renew Islam — the Islamic State rising from a rejuvenated Egypt.”

“I comprehend that completely,” enthused Akhenaten, “and I hail your ambition to reinvigorate the state of the One and Only Divinity.”

“If only you had put your genius and your dreams to the strengthening of Egypt,” lamented Khufu, “and contented yourself with that.”

“You did not believe enough in the people,” Abnum berated him. “Nor was your love for them sufficient for you to devote your real efforts to their revitalization and support. You exploited the peasants for the sake of the land and the state, when you should have set every institution at the service of the people. Yet only someone like me would think this way. However, one cannot forget in your favor that you also drove the peasants into the fields of administration, politics, the military, and science.”

“For that reason,” insisted Isis, “I consider this alien viceroy as one of my sons.”

“If this were the court that would seal your final fate,” Osiris addressed him, “it would hand you a harsh critique and a wounding rebuke — while preserving your right to a seat among the Immortals. Accordingly, we shall send a report to your Islamic trial in praise of your majestic achievements, conveying therein a recommendation on behalf of your person from Egypt and her gods.”