For this year’s Cairo International Book Fair, Mossad launched her first book on literature, Representations of Copts in Egyptian literature (Al-Shakhsiy Al-Qaptiyah fi Al-Adab Al-Masry).
This nearly 300-page volume is the culmination of a long research journey Mossad began at the turn of the century, which has involved reading and analyzing numerous works by modern and contemporary Egyptian writers, either directly reflecting the lives of Coptic characters, such as Edouard Kharrat, or including Copts in their narratives, like Naguib Mahfouz.
Published by Dar Al-Ain, the book addresses issues such as the general tendency to refer to all Egyptian Christians as Copts, a term that technically refers to the majority of Egyptian Christians who follow the Orthodox Church. It also explores the evolution of the representation of Copts in modern and contemporary literature, including works by Coptic authors, both male and female.
Mossad provides insights through selected reviews of specific literary works, highlighting the diverse roles of Copts, their associations with power, their personal lives, and their political views and choices. In doing so, she uses the term “Copts” to refer to all Christian Egyptians “whose associations with the many Christian Churches is always aligned with their own specific Egyptian identity.”
“I am very proud and happy to see this book coming out after a long journey that included a lot of reading and a lot of research on the issue,” Mossad said.
She added that she is pleased with the shift this book represents from her previous titles, which examined issues such as the political nature of Arab regimes in the post-colonial era, Iran’s internal politics and international relations, and the evolving role of non-state actors in the Middle East.
“Literature has always been my passion, and it has always had a considerable space on my bookshelves and in my free reading hours; my recent title is a reflection of this passion,” she stated.
For Mossad, politics and literature are never separate. Literature often reflects a particular political atmosphere or moment and its impact on people’s lives in that context.
Of her favourite readings during the first quarter of the 21st century, Mossad referred to Tachari (the Dispersal) of France-based Kurdish Iraqi novelist and journalist Inaam Kachachi.
Tachari, first published in January 2013, uses a Kurdish word for “bullet splash” to explore the diaspora of Iraqis, including Kurdish-Christian Iraqis, forced to leave their homeland under dictatorship and foreign occupation.
“This beautifully written text is a remarkable contribution to the works that have been produced about Arab migrants, and it reminded me of the great works of Elia Abou-Madi,” Mossad said. Abou Madi is a Lebanese-American poet who was born in the late 19th century.
“Both authors bring readers to the heart of the Arab diaspora, detailing its pain and yearning for a homeland that is almost lost,” Mossad said. In Tachari, this yearning is reflected in the decision of a grandson, born in France and knowing little of his country of origin, to create a virtual cemetery to assemble family members scattered across the diaspora.”
Kosh Ko was the second title Mossad chose from the impressive volumes she read over the past 25 years. Kosh Ko is the name of a Nubian boy who came to Cairo from Nubia in the early 20th century to train at the then-prominent Shepard Hotel
In Cairo, this bright and curious Nubian boy finds a whole world unfolding before his eyes and decides that his choices and chances are much wider than the constrained profile of a hotel attendant. The novel was first published in 2024. Kamal is an Egyptian author who was born in the mid-1980s.
“This fascinating novel takes place in the politically vivid years of the early 20th century in Egypt. It is a reflection on a soul-searching journey where one finds that one's own liberty is never separable from the independence and freedom of one’s own country,” Mossad said.
300,000 Years of Fear, based on letters exchanged between Egyptian diplomat Gamal Aboul-Hassan and his daughter during the Covid-19 pandemic and published in October 2022, was another book on Mossad’s list. She praised the book for examining the evolution of human fear, the changing priorities of people over centuries, and the ongoing struggles for power and knowledge.
“This story of a long journey of 300,000 is very perceptive in the way it examines fear as an inevitable sentiment for all humans at all times,” she added.
Mossad also revisited Maza Hadath Lel-Masrine (Whatever Happened to the Egyptians) by Galal Amin, first published in 1997. The book analyses societal changes in Egypt over five decades, from the mid-1940s to the mid-1990s. Mossad finds Amin’s observations remain highly relevant today. “I wonder what Professor Amin, who passed away in 2018, would have added if he were still with us,” she said.
Turning to political literature, Mossad cited Noam Chomsky’s Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance (2003), describing it as prophetic in anticipating US foreign policy strategies that claim to support human rights while backing dictatorships to impose power and control resources.
She also highlighted Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations (1996), which argued that cultural and religious identities would be the main sources of global conflict.
“I think this book deserves to be revisited again and again, especially now with all the things that we see unfolding around the world upon the US foreign policy,” she said.
She added that it was this book that first came to her mind when she followed the news about the decision of US President Donald Trump to capture the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, from his bedroom in the presidential palace in Caracas and to have him transferred to New York to face charges of drug trafficking before an American court of law.
A prominent and revolutionary professor of linguistics and a long-time critic of US foreign policy, Chomsky, who is 97 years old, has been in very poor health since he suffered a severe stroke in 2023 that significantly impaired his speech and movement.
“Of continued relevance to political and social developments worldwide is Samuel Huntington’s famous book, The Clash of Civilizations,” Mossad said. She added that the core argument of the book is essentially “the West and the rest.”
The ripples of the debate over this book, Mossad recalled, continued well into the first decade of the 21st century, with people arguing that its main thesis is faulty.
She argued that the confrontation between Trump and Europe over the wish of the US president to extract Greenland from Denmark is firm evidence that the West has its own internal squabbles that go beyond his clashes with others, especially Muslims.
First published in 1996, Huntington’s book argued that people’s cultural and religious identities would be the main source of conflicts around the world. Huntington, who died in 2008, was an American political scientist and commentator whose books usually stirred controversy.
“This is a book that deserves a fresh read and critique, not only in light of the disputes within NATO but also considering the rise of right-wing politicians in Europe and the increasing Israeli violations of Palestinian rights under the claim of defending Western civilization,” she said.
“Actually, it is not just The Clash of Civilizations that warrants renewed analysis, but many other titles from the late 1990s that predicted a more globalised world as inevitable, when in reality we see the opposite: more countries acting to isolate themselves and limit immigration,” Mossad argued.
She also noted that Thomas Friedman’s 1999 book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, has largely failed to reflect today’s reality. “In this book, Friedman argued that globalization would establish a new world order; clearly, this is not the case 25 years later,” she said.
During her visits to this year’s Cairo International Book Fair, Mossad purchased more fiction than nonfiction titles.
These included Syrian novelist Sawsan Rabia Hassan’s Warthat Al-Mafatih, which follows the life of a Syrian couple during the post-Arab Spring conflicts; Egyptian novelist Shayma’ Ghoneim’s Raba’ al-Roz, which explores life in a traditional middle-class family in Old Cairo during Egypt’s movement to end British occupation in the early 20th century; Iraqi novelist Fouad Al-Takarly’s Al-Awja’ wal-Massarat (Pains and Joys), depicting the complex emotions of people in Baghdad; and Algerian novelist AbdelBasset Bani’s Al-Kaloufa (Dog Control Truck), which reflects on the strained relationship between citizens and governments under dictatorships.
One of the aspects Mossad noted about this year’s book fair was the abundance of fiction focusing on people’s experiences during politically turbulent periods in their countries’ histories. “It was really very interesting,” she said.
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