Writing on history and framing the evolution of Jewish figures in Egyptian novels: Ṣālat ʾUrfānīllī (ʻʻOrfanelli’s Hallʼʼ) by Ašraf al-‘Ašmāwī

Abstract

Since his debut in 2010, the Egyptian writer Ašraf al-‘Ašmāwī (b. 1966) has been distinguished by two features: setting novels in historical contexts and paying considerable attention to minorities and  marginalised classes in Egyptian society. The focus of this article is on Ṣālat ʾUrfānīllī' (“Orfanelli’s Hall,” 2021), one of his most recent novels. In this novel, a-'Ašmāwī addresses the presence and the life of the Jewish community in Egypt in the period between 1911 and 1972. The novelist highlights the historical issues of Jews, in parallel with the political and social changes in Egypt over several decades of the 20^th century. In addressing political and economic issues related to this period, he questions and subverts the official, exclusionary versions of history.  Against this backdrop, Ṣālat ʾUrfānīllī offers a case study with two aims: firstly, to discuss recourse to historical context and its connection with political and socio-cultural concerns and secondly, to point out the evolution of Jewish characters in post-2011 Egyptian narratives.