Cairo -

With every incident of restriction on freedom of thought and literary and artistic creativity these days, critics and those interested in the relationship between literature, cinema and politics invoke the significance of the incident, "Something of Fear," the novel written by the late writer Tharwat Abaza.

The novel was turned into a movie that caused a crisis that required the intervention of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser to watch the film and then give permission to show it, despite what close people whispered to him that the novel and the film meant him personally with the character of Atris, the arrogant chief of the town who controls the fate of its people, and cannot control a woman. He loved her, and shook his authority over the people and the town.

The invocation of this incident usually comes in the context of a comparison between two eras with different climates of creativity, as the era of Abdel Nasser was a proverbial emphasizing on creators and restricting freedoms until recently.

Critics attribute to this incident the fame of Abaza - whose death anniversary occurred on March 17 this year - even though he suffered from critical neglect of his work, as a writer, with a look characterized by some underestimation of his literature, and complete disregard at times, which drew the attention of the late Nobel writer Najib. Mahfouz commented in press statements on this disregard, saying, “Politics has spoiled the relationship between Abaza and film critics, as well as literary critics. Published sparsely.

On the other hand, critics saw that the reason for this neglect was that the literature of Abaza was not at the level of the clear works of literary giants, and that had it not been for the support and support of his family, including the two writers Fikri and Aziz Abaza, he would not have emerged in this magnitude.

aristocratic peasant

Abaza was born in 1927 to an aristocratic family and received the first and harshest punishment from his father, the writer Desouki Abaza, for failing in the primary stage, without anyone expecting that this failing boy would take the position of deputy of the Shura Council later, after a journey that went through stations and curves, the most dangerous of which was “something of fear” that disturbed the president The late Gamal Abdel Nasser.

“I do not see in my personal life what is worthy of a novel,” thus begins Abaza’s book in which he recounts his memoirs, entitled “Glimpses of My Life,” declaring that he was not thinking of writing anything about his biography, but the announcer kept laughing as he recorded an interview with Abaza about Part of his biography, and the announcer's reaction to the novelty of the stories prompted him to write this book, which broadcast aspects of his biography so that the reader can enjoy what the announcer enjoyed.

Details of the late aristocratic upbringing are common in the book’s lines, where a maid takes care of him, and a servant takes him to school, which was not available to most of his generation of writers who grew up in a popular and middle environment like Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) and sometimes poor and destitute like Taha Hussein (1889-1973). They grew up with suffering that refined and deepened their experiences.

Abaza's journey with the Arabic language begins when the Arabic teacher praises the boy, correcting his pronunciation in order to "become a writer."

In his simple graceful way of narration, Abaza moves to the present to reproach the current generation - the early nineties at the time of writing his book - for the killing of the Arabic language on their tongues, which raises the question: What if the writer lived to this day and saw the fate of the Arabic language on the tongues of writers, media professionals and intellectuals?

Abaza is not ashamed to mention the incident of his failure in the primary stage, as he remembers the condolences of a friend to his father by telling him that he will become important because “the goodness of his father that he gave to people in his life will not be in vain, and the son will be honored with it,” in an effort by the father’s friend to relieve the grieving son .

He started his literary life early at the age of 16 and turned to writing short stories and radio dramas, and his name began to resonate on the radio. Ibn Ammar (1031 - 1085 AD) became independent of the Mu'tamid by the rule of Mercia, and killed the Mu'tamid with his own hands after he had taken him.

The prophecy of a friend of Tharwat Abaza's father was fulfilled, as he decided to appoint him as editor-in-chief of the advertising magazine, after graduating from the Faculty of Law. He was surprised while sitting in a taxi who jumped into the next seat;

A man presented himself to him as an intelligence officer and charged with making investigations about him, and that the man wanted to shorten the road and decided to ask him directly about the details of his life, asking him to keep this interview secret so that both of them would not be hurt.

Abaza tells this story while cursing the covenant during which he was awarded the Medal of Science and Arts, to record the “lowness” of the covenant he was living, its tyranny, and its confusion.

The late Egyptian writer Tharwat Abaza (communication sites)

Then he went to his uncle, Fikri Abaza, in the Al-Musawwar magazine, and appointed him to the magazine, which he stayed there for only half an hour, because he found that the head of the department had nothing to do with writing or the press, and he discovered that he would have to turn to his uncle every now and then to correct the situation between him and his boss, so he resigned.

Then he wrote in Al-Jumhuriya newspaper - emerging at the time - criticizing the communists, and the newspaper had been issued as the mouthpiece of the nascent republic that inherited the monarchy, and that was taboo at the time, as this criticism in the newspaper that is the mouthpiece of the Republic means that it enjoys official approval, which means the possibility of The anger of the former Soviet Union, the ally of the Nasser regime at the time.

Orders were issued to the writer Fathi Ghanem - the editor-in-chief at the time - to completely prevent Abaza from writing, so Ghanem refused, and decided to limit the field of writing in front of him only in everything except politics, a position in which Abaza praises Ghanem's courage and integrity, and may call for a new comparison between the situation of editors-in-chief Newspapers today and yesterday.

Fathi Ghanem - the author of the novel "The Man Who Lost His Shadow" - goes a step further in his courage, transcending this line he had drawn for himself, and allowing the publication of the novel "Something of Fear" in Sabah Al-Khair magazine, when he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Rose Al-Youssef Foundation, which issued it The magazine, Abaza described it as "extraordinary courage from a great man."

Diverse literary heritage

Tharwat Abaza wrote several stories and novels, a number of which were turned into films and television series. He also wrote more than 40 radio plays, 40 short stories and 27 long novels. Among his works are “Fugitive from Days,” “Then the Sun Rises,” “The Fog,” “The Fog.” noonday dreams.

His book "Glimpses of My Life" criticizes the Nasser regime in a stinging and severe tone, describing what happened during the tripartite aggression and the defeat of 1967, as two national disasters, and describes the austerity that took place at the time, forcing him to go to live with his uncle Aziz Abaza and rent his furnished apartment in Zamalek, to live Including, in addition to the revenues he receives from his writing and selling his novel and converting it into works on screens.

With his strong criticism of the era of Abdel Nasser, he does not mention the era of the rule of Muhammad Hosni Mubarak except with all the best, recording in his book that he abolished taxes on the book in general in his honor, and then the former Egyptian president invited him to meet him in his palace, and although he was two hours late, but before He simply apologized, and Abaza continued to enjoy his trust and affection, then nominated him to be an agent for the Shura Council.

Although he did not live much in his family's hometown of Sharkia Governorate, a book written about Abaza considers him "the aristocratic peasant" with an expression bearing the title of a book by Mahmoud Fawzy.

The Abaza family, to which the late belonged, is one of the oldest families in Egypt. It is a literary family that introduced Arabic literature to a number of writers, headed by his father, the writer Desouki Abaza, his uncle, the poet Aziz Abaza, and his uncle, the writer Fikri Abaza.

Abaza moved between several political and professional positions. He became the editor-in-chief of the Radio and Television magazine in 1974, and headed the literary department of Al-Ahram newspaper between 1975 and 1988 and continued to write in the same newspaper until his death. Member of the Supreme Council of Culture, of the Specialized National Councils, of the Board of Trustees of the Radio and Television Union, Honorary President of the Modern Literature Association, and a member of the International PEN Club.

He also received several awards, including the State Encouragement Award in 1958, the Medal of Science and Arts of the first class, and the State Appreciation Award in Literature in 1982.

On March 17, 2002, he died after a long struggle with illness due to a malignant tumor in the stomach.