Lotfi el
Manfalouti
He is one of the pioneers in the first movement of the Egyptian revival in the Modern Age, which started in the
19th century and the early 20th century. Besides, he is one of the leaders of the social reform who held the
banner of civilisation and intellectual enlightenment to the whole nation. He is one of the pathfinders of
essay-writing which witnessed unprecedented progress through his efforts in addition to his contributions in
other literary genres such as short story, poetry etc.... El Manfalouti emerged at a time surging with different
currents and severe social and political debates. His beginning coincided with the foreign intervention in Egypt's
affairs.
El Manfalouti addressed the question of liberating Egypt from colonisation, as equally as he did the question of
enlightenment and the liberalisation of the mind.
El Manfalouti was mainly influenced by two of national reform leaders: Imam Muhammad Abdu and Sa'ad
Zaghloul.
Background
Born on December 30, 1877, in the city of Manfalout in Upper Egypt, he became known as El Manfalouti.
Brought up in a family of Ulemas (religious scholars and judges), he was motivated to finish his education at Al
Azhar in Cairo. When he first came to Cairo, he met with the Grand Imam Muhammad Abdu and be-came his
student. He accompanied him throughout so that the Grand Imam himself used to say that this student would be
among the best to disseminate his principles and teachings that were consistent with El Manfalouti's reformatory
thought.
During that period, his literary talent cropped up. He began to write poetry at the age of 16, which made him
the centre of attention.
He was imprisoned, while still a student at Al Azhar, because he wrote a poem slandering Khedive Abbas II the
then ruler of Egypt.
In disseminating his ideas, El Manfalouti relied heavily on the essay. He actually laid the foundation stone for
essay-writing that became since then associated with the issues of the society until it has developed into a full art.
El Manfalouti's role in developing Arabic prose is similar to that of Mahmoud Sami El Baroudi in advancing
modern Arabic poetry.
El Manfalouti gained much more renown from his essays than that from his novels. Orientalist Brookleman said
that El Manfalouti is the most famous essay writer in the 20 th century.
Moreover, he was a pioneer of the short story and the novel in general. This smooth style made his novels
readable in successive editions all over the Arab world.
Psychologically, El Manfalouti was distinguished by two significant characteristics:
First: tenderness of feeling, which enabled him to visualise the miseries of society. He was known to be always
weeping for the miserable, the deprived and the bereaved.
Second: his ideal, moral inclination that was manifested in his call for righteousness, goodness and virtue.
His Thoughts
El Manfalouti's most important reformatory principles were:
Education: he called for the care of the growing generations through education and instilling virtue.
Social Justice: He advocated social justice not only in material aspects but also in human rights.
Originality and Modernity: he called for a balanced mixture of oriental traditions, western civilisation together
with the intellectual cur rents in the world.
His View of Art: he used to attack the troupes which have no effective role in upgrading the audience's
appreciation and intellect.
Women Rights: he always esteemed and defended women rights. He wrote an essay entitled "Respect of
Women", where he decided that women rights and duties were no less than those of man. He urged that she
should be educated and respected, thus, implementing the teachings of our Holy Qur'an.
Religious Reform: in an essay entitled Georgy Zidan, he said that those fools who misused religion to shed
blood, violate sanctities ignored the fact that Allah AI Mighty is the Most Merciful. The grudge in their hearts
and the ignorance of their minds show how they were fooled by others and driven to the abyss of destruction.
He held the banner of religious reform enthusiastically but not fanatically to assure that using our mind is the core
of religion.
His call for peace: in concordance with his thoughts, he was a peace advocate saying that there is no happiness
without peace. Thus, El Manfalouti stopped writing during World War I and resumed as soon as the war was
over. Really El Manfalouti was a man for that age.
