{"product_id":"what-isa-ibn-hisham-told-us-9781479840915","title":"What ʿĪsā ibn Hishām Told Us","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrenchant and witty critiques of life in Cairo under British rule\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat ʿĪsā ibn Hishām Told Us \u003c\/i\u003eis a masterpiece of early twentieth-century Arabic prose. Penned by the Egyptian journalist Muḥammad al-Muwayliḥī, this highly original work was first introduced in serialized form in his family’s pioneering newspaper \u003ci\u003eMiṣbāḥ al-Sharq\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eLight of the East\u003c\/i\u003e) and later published in book form in 1907. Widely hailed for its erudition and mordant wit, \u003ci\u003eWhat ʿĪsā ibn Hishām Told Us\u003c\/i\u003e was embraced by Egypt’s burgeoning reading public and soon became required reading for generations of school students.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBridging classical genres and modern Arabic fiction,\u003ci\u003e What ʿĪsā ibn Hishām Told Us \u003c\/i\u003eis divided into two parts. Sarcastic in tone and critical in outlook, the first part of the book relates the excursions of its narrator, ʿĪsā ibn Hishām, and his companion, the Pasha, through a rapidly westernizing Cairo and provides vivid commentary on a society negotiating—however imperfectly—the clash between traditional norms and imported cultural values. The second half takes the narrator to Paris to visit the Exposition Universelle of 1900, where al-Muwaylihi casts a critical eye on European society, modernity, and the role of Western imperialism as it ripples across the globe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaving the way for the modern Arabic novel, \u003ci\u003eWhat \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eʿĪsā ibn Hishām\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e Told Us\u003c\/i\u003e is invaluable both for its insight into colonial Egypt and its pioneering role in Arabic literary history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn English-only edition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Muḥammad al-Muwayliḥī","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48274289099003,"sku":"9781479840915","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/3917\/9771\/files\/CoreSourceHub_ea48ff4e-3946-47bd-8620-6faec86b68d4.jpg?v=1777695256","url":"https:\/\/indiepubs.com\/products\/what-isa-ibn-hisham-told-us-9781479840915","provider":"IndiePubs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}