Abstract
In the process of modernization in non-western societies, there happens the problem of cultural identity. Egyptian society is considered as one of these cases. Here, an Egyptian novelist, Naguib Mahfouz helps us understand how Egyptians treat this problem. Naguib Mahfouz can be said the most typical of the 1919 revolution generation. In the core of his thought, there are nationalism and liberalism, which are both the spirit of the 1919 revolution. Even when he thinks about the cultural identity of Egyptian people in the process of modernization, of which Western society is the only model, his stance is the same one. Naguib Mahfouz considers downtown people in Cairo to be representative of the essence of Egyptian culture. This quarter is one of the oldest in Cairo, with medieval appearances. They are loyal to traditional way of life and value system. Naguib Mahfouz pays attention to this point, their being supporters of Egyptian tradition. But Egyptian tradition he mentions is the one from which religious or Islamic elements should be excluded. Here he aspires to the unity of all the Egyptians, Muslim and Christian, which is one of the most important concerns of the 1919 revolution. But here is a kind of contradiction, in that the people of downtown are closely tied to religion in their daily life. In fact, it is almost impossible to discern Islamic tradition and peculiarly Egyptian one. And also, when Naguib Mahfouz, an intellectual wants to unite with the common people, he cannot help resorting to religious context. Then Naguib Mahfouz pays attention to Sufism, Islamic mysticism. In Sufism, any kind of creature loses meaning. The difference of religions or that of sects means nothing. Here is the possibility of liberalism, which enables the unity of all the Egyptians and even the freer acceptance of Western new thoughts, science and technology, without going out of the framework of Islam, which cannot be separated from Egyptian cultural identity now. Thus Naguib Mahfouz, in his search for the essence of Egypt, thinks that it exists in the life of downtown people. And he expects Sufism to play an important role, because their life cannot be thought of without religion.
