Religion in the Egyptian Novel

• Analyses religious themes in 18 Egyptian novels, drawing on a range of critical theories
• First close study of the Coptic theme in the Arabic novel
• Includes close readings of key works such as the Mahfouz’s trilogy, as well as important but overlooked works such Mahfouz’s Hikayat Haratna and ‘Asda al-Sirat al-Dhatiyya, and ‘Abd al-Hakim Qasim’s Al-Mahdi and Turaf Akhbar al-Akhira

This in-depth, original survey of religion in the modern Arabic novel traces the relationship from the genesis of the form in the early 20th century to the present. Phillips provides a thematic exploration of the push and pull between religion and secularism as it played out on the pages of the Egyptian novel. Through close readings of representative texts, the book reveals the manifold ways in which Islam, Christianity, Sufism, myth, ritual and intertext have engaged in modern Arabic literature and culture more broadly.