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Together with such figures as the scholar Taha Hussein, the playwright Tawfik al-Hakim, the short story writer Mahmoud Teymour and-of course-Naguib Mahfouz, Yahya Hakki belongs to that distinguished band of early writers who, midway through the last century, under the influence of Western literature, began to practice genres of creative writing that were new to the traditions of classical Arabic. In the first story in this volume, the very short ''Story in the Form of a Petition,'' Yahya Hakki demonstrates his ease with gentle humor, a form rare in Arabic writing. In the following two stories, ''Mother of the Destitute'' and ''A Story from Prison,'' he describes with typical sympathy individuals who, less privileged than others, somehow manage to scrape through life's hardships. The latter story deals with the people of Upper Egypt, for whom the writer had a special understanding and affection. It is, however, for the title story (in fact, more of a novella) of this collection that the writer is best known. Recounting the difficulties faced by a young man who is sent to England to study medicine and who then returns to Egypt to pit his new ideals against tradition, ''The Lamp of Umm Hashim'' was the first of several works in Arabic to deal with the way in which an individual tries to come to terms with two divergent cultures.

In an innovative concept in the teaching of Modern Standard Arabic, this new content-based book aims to bolster study for advanced students in both linguistic skills and literary appreciation through the reading of short stories in the original Arabic by four great but very different writers: Mahmoud Taher Lashin, Naguib Mahfouz, Yusuf Idris, and Tayeb Salih. Creative reading tasks and exercises focus on the writing and literary styles of the four writers, while grammar is reinforced through text analysis and writing assignments, with an emphasis on building vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, as well as developing a deeper understanding of cultural issues. With an integrated skills approach, al-Rubaa contains not only reading but also writing, listening, and speaking activities.The stories included in the book are:¿ by Mahmoud Taher Lashin: "From the Diaries of Noah," "That's Right"¿ by Naguib Mahfouz: Stories 26 and 29 from Tales of Our Alley, Dream 6 from Dreams of Convalescence¿ by Yusuf Idris: "House of Flesh," "In Passing"¿ by Tayeb Salih: "A Song of Love," "A Step Forward," "Yours until Death"

How do Egyptian Muslims celebrate Ramadan? How do Copts-Egyptian Christians-celebrate Easter? What should you expect to find on the table when invited to eat in an Egyptian home? What do you say when an Egyptian colleague sneezes? Exactly what do Egyptians do with a mortar and pestle, a sieve, and a bag of nuts seven days after the birth of a baby?Samia Abdennour, once an outsider from Palestine, now thoroughly at home in Egypt, is here to tell you all about these matters-and many more. In a book that aims to introduce the unfamiliar newcomer or interested foreign reader to the hows, whats, and whys of Egyptians life, the author covers such diverse topics as birth, marriage, and death; religious festivals and fasting; food in the home and on the street; business etiquette and terms of politeness. She describes how some traditions differ between the two religious communities, the Muslims and the Copts, and how some customs are shared by all Egyptians-like the spring festival of Shamm al-Nisim ('smelling the breezes') that goes back to pharaonic times. With Egyptian Customs and Festivals, you need never be at a loss in a social situation in Egypt-or fail to understand what your neighbors are up to. Illustrated throughout with color photographs of daily life and special occasions, this fascinating and informative book is a must-have for anyone new to Egyptian culture.

This unique and invaluable dictionary presents 6,500 words commonly needed by foreigners speaking Arabic in Egypt

Introduces the student to the Arabic language by means of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic

Cairo, January 1952. Egypt is at a critical point in its modern history, struggling to throw off the yoke of the seventy-year British occupation and its corrupt royalist allies. Hamza is a committed young radical, his goal to build a secret armed brigade to fight for freedom, independence, and national self-esteem. Fawziya is a woman with a mission too, keen to support the cause. Among the ashes of the city love may grow, but at a time of national struggle what place do personal feelings have beside the greater love for a shackled homeland? In this finely crafted novel, Yusuf Idris, best known as the master of the Arabic short story, brings to life not only some of the most human characters in modern Arabic fiction but the soul of Cairo itself and the soul of a national consciousness focused on liberation. ''Like the Russian aristocrats of Chekhov, the provincial bourgeoisie of Flaubert, or the Ibo villagers of Achebe, Idris raises his authentic characters into convincing types within their context: he makes us live their agonies and hopes.''-Ferial Ghazoul

For more than a millennium, Sufism has been the core of the spiritual experience of countless Muslims. As the chief mystical tradition of Islam, it has helped to shape the history of Islamic societies. Although it is the Sufi face of Islam that has often appealed to Westerners, Sufis and Sufism remain mysterious to many in the West, and are still widely misunderstood. In this new, redesigned paperback edition of this bestselling book, a scholar with long experience of Sufism in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe succinctly presents the essentials of Sufism and shows how Sufis live and worship, and why. As well as what Sufism is and where it comes from, the book discusses Sufi orders not only in the Islamic world but also in the West. The political, social, and economic significance of Sufism is outlined, and the question of how and why Sufism has become one of the more controversial aspects of contemporary Islamic religious life is addressed. This book assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. It is a penetrating and concise introduction for everyone interested in Islam and Islamic societies.