Monthly Archives: November 2019

The Egyptian theater is always on the throne of theaters in the Arab world. It had a great position even compared to international theaters, and what many might be unaware of is that the Egyptian theater did not start in the last century. It rather went through a long history of continuous evolution, which spanned long ages that started from the Pharaonic era passing through the Greeks, the Mamluks in addition to the French campaign and the era of Khedive Ismail.

This long history contributed greatly to the flourishing of the idea of Egyptian theater, to suit the cultural and technological development that took place after that in the modern era. Therefore, in the following article, we give you a glimpse of the history of the Egyptian theater from its inception, evolution, and up to its place in the modern era.

Ancient Egypt

In this ancient era, artistic scenes were related to religious rituals. They were shown only in front of kings and princes. The priests of Amun performed poetic plays on certain occasions. Perhaps the most famous literary story presented on the Pharaonic theater is the story of “Isis and Osiris”, which was found in papyri containing theatrical texts from 40 scenes, which mix poetry and music.

The Greco-Roman era

The kings of this era took advantage of the foundation stone laid by the ancient Egyptian for theater. They established the first Greek theater in the city of Alexandria, which began in the palaces of kings and princes. There they plays from the Greek culture were performed. Then a well-known traditional theater was built in the popular commercial squares. One of the most important of those theaters was the great impact of the Roman theater in Alexandria, which was discovered in 1964.

But with the introduction of the Christian religion to the Roman Empire, Christians were keen to eliminate those theaters, due to the ecclesiastical prohibition of this art, especially since they were performing pagan theatrical performances, which made the art of theater disappear in Egypt for a long time.

Arabs and the Mamluk era

The Arabs also did not know the theater at the beginning of the Arab Islamic civilization, despite the mixing of Arabs with many and varied civilizations. They then became open to the various arts that these civilizations offered, but theater was not an original part of the Arab culture that was more interested in poetry and literature.

With the entry of the Mamelukes to Egypt in the 13th century, shadow fantasy theater was common, which is a type of art that relies on a white screen.  Someone moves the characters behind them to reveal their shadow to the people, introducing a meaningful short story using music and poetry, an art that later developed for puppet shows. The most famous plays that was presented in the shadow theater was “The Spectrum of Imagination,” by Ibn Daniel Al-Kahhal.

French Invasion

With the entry of the French invasion to Egypt in 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte established a comedy theater troupe called “The Comedian Frances”, with the aim of entertaining his soldiers, who used to meet every 10 days in the theater built by Napoleon in the Azbakeya region, to attend a comedy theatrical performance that lasts for 4 continuous hours.

However, the art of comedy theater disappeared again after the exit of the Finnish campaign from Egypt in 1801. It did not appear again until many decades later.

The era of Khedive Ismail

In 1869, Khedive Ismail established the opera house in Ataba Square, with the aim of presenting operatic performances to the kings and princes who came to attend the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal. The Khedive wanted to dazzle them with an Egyptian opera for the first time, as this art was not known at that time in Egypt.

The Khedive asked the Italian musician Verdi to write an opera on the Egyptian historical, so he composed “Aida Opera,” which was not completed in time, so the Khedive was forced to present “Opéra Rigoletto,” and then “Aida Opera” was presented after that.

Since opera performances were presented at this time in the Italian language, which was not widespread in Egypt, the opera house was closed for a very long time until “Aida Opera” was translated into Arabic and presented to the Egyptians.

During that period, the Khedive established another theater in Azbakeya Park, which was considered the first national theater, in which the plays of the Abu Khalil Qabbani troupe were performed in 1885, and the Sheikh Salama Hegazy troupe in 1905.

Jacob Sanoa

Egypt knew the theater in its modern form in 1876, thanks to the artist Yaqoub Sanu’a, who translated a lot of international literature, established the first Arab theater in Egypt, and presented 160 theatrical performances on its stage within two years, with the help of Salim Al-Naqqq and Maroon Al-Naqqq theatrical troupe.

Yaqoub Sanaa performed many plays in front of Khedive Ismail in Qasr al-Nil, including the modern girl, Ghandourah Misr, and Al-Dharatain, which he admired. Therefore, the Khedive named “Molly of Egypt” to Yaqoub Sanaa, due to the similarity of works with what the French playwright “Moliere” presented .

Yacoub Sanaa wanted to reform the political situation in Egypt, so he performed bold plays that mocked the princes and nobles, criticizing the government and the Khedive Ismail, and the most famous of those plays was “The Homeland and Freedom”, which angered the ruling class, so he ordered the Khedive to close the theater.

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Abu Khalil Al Qabani

The Egyptian theater witnessed a great development at the end of the nineteenth century, specifically in 1888, at the hands of Ahmed Abu Khalil al-Qabbani, who is considered the pioneer of Arab theater and lyrical theater, as he left the idea of translation and quoting from international novels, and began to compose theater novels in the Arabic language.

He performed with his band many important plays that influenced the history of Egyptian theater, such as Antara bin Shaddad, Harun al-Rashid, Prince Mahmoud, son of Shah al-Ajam, and others.

20th century

Egypt knew a new type of theatrical art at the beginning of the twentieth century, which is the musical theater, or the so-called “operetta”. It was based on the musical performances of which Salama Hegazy and Sayed Darwish were famous.

At this time, a new pioneer of theater pioneers appeared on the scene. The great artist Youssef Wahbi, who was interested in the dramatic theater founded by the artist George Abyad, and made many successful plays in Egypt and the Arab countries.

The competition increased after the emergence of comedy theater and its pioneers such as Naguib al-Rihani and Ali Al-Kassar, who were keen to present a sophisticated and purposeful comedy affecting the Egyptian citizen. This increased the calls for the establishment of an Egyptian national theater away from international literature and translated plays, so the beginning of the national theater was in 1921.

With time, poetic theater began to impose itself on the scene, after writers and poets such as Ahmed Shawqi turned to theatrical authorship, and he presented important plays such as Majnun Lili, the death of Cleopatra and others. As well as the writer Tawfiq al-Hakim in plays such as The People of the Cave and Isis.

With the entry of the middle of the twentieth century, specifically in the sixties, the state began to be interested in art and the emergence of the national theater, so many large theater troupes appeared, such as the National Theater Company and the Modern Egyptian Theater Troupe, and Egypt at that time witnessed the emergence of a large group of great authors such as Youssef Idris, Saad Eddin Wahba. Salah Abdel-Sabour, Ali Salem, and others. Including directors Jalal Al Sharqawi, Samir Al Asfouri, and Karam Mutawa.

Twenty first century

The nineties of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century witnessed the prevalence of the private sector on theater. The producers were interested in material gain rather than presenting a sophisticated and purposeful art, so a kind of theatrical performances called “the knight’s comedy” appeared. It depended on the situation comedy. Its slogan is laughter for laughter only. What was initially acceptable as a different kind of theater.

But with the increase in the domination of producers and businessmen over the private theater, which targeted certain classes of the people with high economic income, the decline of government theaters, or the theaters of the folk people as they came to be called, expectations increased that the art of theater would finally disappear from Egypt. Particularly, with the rapid technological development. Then, the emergence of electronic platforms have captured the interest of Egyptians more than theater and perhaps cinema as well.

Over a century has passed since the first film debut in Egypt. Thousands of memorable films were presented during those years, which formed a large part of the cinematic history of “East Hollywood”, and some of them even come on top of the list of the 100 best Arab films. Before becoming in tatters, after contracting films have become the hallmark of cinema lately.

Egyptian Cinema’s Position in the World

You might be surprised if you knew that Egypt’s relationship with cinema began at the same time it did in Europe and the whole world. Whereas, the first commercial cinematic show in the world was in December 1895 in Paris, and it was a silent film by the “Lumiere” brothers. A month later, the first cinema screening in Egypt was presented in Alexandria in January 1896, then followed by the first cinema screening in Cairo in the same month of the same year, and then the third cinematic show in Port Said in 1898.

Documentary Film Phase

Egyptian cinema did not differ in its early years from international cinema, which used to present documentaries, which are scenes that display animated pictures related to a specific topic, but without a narrative context. That is why the Lumiere brothers’ first mission in Egypt on March 10, 1897, filmed 35 films about daily life in Alexandria and Cairo. Likewise, the second “Lumiere” mission in 1906, which monitored pictures of natural places in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan.

The real beginning of Egyptian cinema came on June 20, 1907, after “Aziz Benderley” and “Umberto Malavas” succeeded in presenting the first integrated Egyptian cinematic experience, by filming a silent documentary film about the visit of Khedive Abbas Helmy II to the Morsi Abu Abbas Institute in Alexandria.

Feature Film and Silent Cinema Phase

The first beginnings of a feature-length fictional cinema came in May 1927, with the film “A Kiss in the Desert”, followed by “Layla” in November of the same year. Also, during that period, director Mohamed Karim presented the first fictional film adapted from a literary work, the film “Zainab”, by Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, which was produced by the artist Youssef Wahbi. Due to the success of the film shown in 1930, it was remade in 1952 with talking technology. 

Sound Cinema Phase

Egyptian cinema entered a new phase, which was the stage of Sound Cinema in March 1932, with the movie “Awlad al-Zawat” starring Youssef Wahbi and Amina Rizk.

Then came the movie “Onshodat al-Fouad”, which contributed greatly to the growth of the cinema audience, given that it was the first musical film in the history of Egyptian cinema, as it witnessed the appearance of the first Egyptian singer called Nadera, while the first singer to appear in the cinema was Mohamed Abdel Wahab in a movie “Alwarda Albaydhaa”.

The Thirties and Forties

This phase witnessed a new shift in the history of Egyptian cinema, as “Studio Misr” was established in 1935, and then “Studio Al-Nahhas” in 1946, and after World War II, cinematic production of films in Egypt increased from 16 films in 1944 to 67 films in 1946.

Attempts were made to color parts of the films, including coloring the song “The Day of the Two” from the movie “I am not an angel” by the artist Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, in 1946. The phenomenon of female directing also began through the work of female directors such as Aziza Amir in the film “My Blasphemy”, and Fatima Rushdie in “Marriage”, joyfully kept in “victims.”

Egyptian cinema during the thirties and forties witnessed a great diversity of subjects. Various types of films appeared, including the historical film, such as “Shajarat al-Durr”, or science fiction such as “Oyoun Sahera”, or comedy such as “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

The Fifties and Sixties Phase

This phase witnessed the production of the first full-fledged Egyptian film in natural colors, which is “Baba Aris” starring Naima Akef, Camelia and Shukri Sarhan. In 1951, artist Mohamed Fawzy experimented with coloring two of his films, “Alhob Fi Khatar” and “Nihayat Qisa”.

The movie “Dalilah” was also produced in the “Scoop” color scheme, in 1956, starring Shadia and Abdel Halim Hafez. After that, color films were produced, but in a limited way.

The 1960s witnessed the nationalization of the cinema industry in Egypt, when the “General Film Organization for the Production of Feature Narrative Films” was established, which follows the public sector in Egypt, which led to a decrease in the average number of films from 60 to 40 films per year.

The Seventies and Eighties

The “General Film Corporation” was liquidated in 1971, and a public authority was established that included cinema, theater and music together, which only funded the private sector. After the October 1973 war, color shooting prevailed in most films. In 1975 the first film dealing with the policy of openness was produced. It was “On Whom We Shot”, starring Souad Hosni, Mahmoud Yassin and Izzat Al-Alayli.

In the early 1980s, the term “Realism Stream” appeared, and they are a group of young directors who took it upon themselves to make serious cinematic films, including Atef Al-Tayeb, Raafat Al-Mihi, Khairy Bishara and Muhammad Khan. This brings the number of films produced in 1984 to 63.

As for the contracting films, they appeared in the mid-eighties. They are films that were produced with few budgets and weak capabilities, with the aim of exporting them to the Gulf countries, where the number of films in 1986 reached 95 films.

The nineties and the 2000s

With the beginning of the nineties, and especially after the Gulf War, the contracting films declined dramatically, and a new group of directors who had overcome the prevailing ideas in cinema at this time appeared, including Radwan Al-Kashef, Osama Fawzi and Saeed Hamed. Unfortunately, the annual film production rate has decreased.

Then a new wave of comedy films appeared, after “Ismailia Rayeh Gay”, which revived the film industry in Egypt. After comedy dominated most of the cinematic production, new types of action and action films appeared, as well as romantic films.

Women had a big share in the cinematic scene at that period, where many actresses starred in starring roles, such as “Ahla Alawkat‎.”, “Hob ElBanat”, “Ihki Ya Shahrazad” and “678”, and other films that have achieved great success.

If we look at the situation during that period, we will notice the decline of the “Hero’s Friend” phenomenon, which cinematic films initially relied on, and the term “Collective Leading Roles” appeared, which are huge films that include a group of great stars, such as “Sahar Al Layali” and “The Yacoubian Building” and “Baby Doll Night”.

2010 – 2020 Phase

This period witnessed, along with the continuation of action and comedy films, the emergence of a new type of “Popular Films”, which are interested in discussing the life and problems of the poor class, such as “Abdo Muta”, “When Maysara” and “Wlad Rizk”. These types of films had negative effects on Egyptian society, and they received a lot of criticism because of their containment of vulgar words and obscene words, in addition to a lot of disruptive scenes and erotic dances.

With the beginning of 2021, the film industry is facing a state of anticipation, as the audience hopes for a new season of cinematic production that brings with it the richness and diversity of the films produced in terms of quality rather than quantity.

Some might get baffled when they hear the term “Cinema of Women”, as a question arises in their minds: Are they films that deal with women’s issues and problems, or the films that women make to present their opinions and ideas on general issues and topics.

When deliberating Egyptian cinema, you think at first glance that it is based largely on the roles of men, who are the first drivers of events, while women roles seem to be marginalized weak and negative most of the time. However, if you delve into the history of the film industry, you can find the names of many women who played major roles in the founding of Egyptian cinema. Yet, unfortunately with the passage of time their role was marginalized in favor of men, yet some of them remained in desperate attempts to continue improving the image of women in cinema and addressing their issues.

Aziza Amir … the producer of the first Egyptian film

One of the most prominent names is Aziza Amir, who established “Studio Heliopolis” and presented the first Egyptian film in history, in 1927, entitled “Layla”, which she wrote its script herself in addition to directing and producing it.

This was not all what Aziza Amir did. Although, she only produced the movie “Atonement for Your Sin” in 1933, she did not stop writing, producing and acting for 25 years.

In addition to her role as a pioneer in Egyptian cinema, Aziza Amir helped other women to enter this field. At a time when the work of women in cinema was something that was scoffed at by society, considering it a bold act that did not fit with the customs and traditions of the Egyptian family.

She was followed in her footsteps by Asia Dagher, who became an incomparable influence in the film industry, after establishing the film production company “Lotus” that continued in business for half a century.

We cannot overlook other influential female characters such as Bahija Hafez, Fatima Rushdie, and Mary Queenie, who each presented a group of films that had a positive social goal.

Faten Hamama, advocate for women’s rights

For a long time, the image of women in cinema receded either in the role of the maid, the dancer, or in the role of the mother and the kind girl who lives a love story with the hero.

However, that image morphed in the fifties and sixties, and the prominent actress Faten Hamama played a role in improving the image of women in cinema, as she contributed to raising important issues related to women in many of her films, such as discussing women employment in “Advocate Fatima” in 1952, and crimes of honour in “Doaa Karawan” in 1959. The participation of women in political life in “The Open Door” in 1963. The issue of the mother who bears the burdens of the family alone in “The M Empire”.

During that period, a group of actresses who made films of interest to Egyptian women appeared, such as Magda in “Where did my life go” and “Adolescent Girls”, Nadia Lotfi in “The Black Glasses” and “For Men Only”, Shadia in “Some Fear” and “My wife is the boss.”, last but not least Lubna Abdel Aziz in “Al-Ibeeb” and “I Am Free”.

Inas El-Deghidi: “A woman that did not do herself justice”

During the eighties, women’s films were limited to presenting the problems and concerns of the middle and rich class, such as “Hind and Camelia’s Dreams”, “The Virgin and White Hair”, “The Apartment is the Wife’s Right” and “The Wife of an Important Man”. The situation becomes even worse in the entrepreneurship films of the 1990s, which have become commercial films that superficially display the role of women and distance themselves from social issues of concern to women.

We find Inas El-Deghidi with her films that offend women and detract from their role in life, and despite Inas El-Deghidi’s keenness at the beginning of her film career to present pro-women works, to the point of considering changing some laws and customs in the country, as happened with the movie “Sorry, O Law.” Who discussed honor crimes and their judicial rulings that provide for a lenient ruling in cases of men killing their wives in case they are caught red-handed with adultery. While the verdict with severe penalties that may reach the death penalty if the perpetrator of the murder is the wife who saw her husband in the act.

However, most of Inas El Deghidi’s films were limited to featuring women in the roles of seduction, such as “Cheap Meat”, “Dantella” and “The Red Rose”, as well as teenage films such as “Disco” and “Teen Diaries”.

We cannot ignore the random films, which completely distorted the role of women, by showing distorted relations between men and women, which appeared as if their poverty, need for money or safety always pushed them to give up their honor and principles, such as the films “Heen Maysra”, “When life gets better” and “Halawet Rouh”.

Did modern cinema succeed in achieving justice for women?

Despite the different opinions about the concept of “women’s cinema”, we can agree that the discussion of women’s issues and their role in society did not develop with the passage of years. On the contrary, it became worse and shallow, of course with some exceptions from time to time. Women such as “678”, “Taymour and Shafiqa” and “Ihki Ya Shahrazad” performed well at the box office, while other films such as “Asmaa”, “Two Girls from Egypt” and “The Factory Girl” had little success.

 Despite these desperate attempts by modern filmmakers to do justice to women, they did not produce the results expected of them, and we still have long strides to go so that we can overcome the distorted image that the image of women has become in Egyptian cinema during the past decades.

Egyptian filmmakers are keen to discuss various issues and topics, and to present various plots in their films. Among those topics are the mentally ill and the various psychological diagnoses that accompany them.

Although society has for many years been dealing with mental patients in a bad way due to ignorance of the nature of these diseases and their symptoms, which are usually unclear or ambiguous, and often cause embarrassing situations, cinema has played an important role as a mediator between the psychiatric patient and the Egyptian society.

Together, we showcase some of the mental illnesses discussed by Egyptian Cinema in its movies, in comedy films sometimes and in a serious more realistic way in others.

Inferiority complex … Bab al-Hadid 1958

The most famous film by director Youssef Shaheen is one of the first Egyptian films to discuss the idea of ​​a psychopath. The film revolves around the character of Qinawy “Youssef Shaheen”. He is a poor newspaper seller who loves Hanuma “Hind Rostom”. He suffers from inferiority complex, which is the complex of feeling inferior or physical, psychological and social impotence or lack of self-esteem, in addition to emotional deprivation and sexual oppression. This negatively affected him and made him an unstable character, and led him to the point of trying to kill his beloved girl because of her getting in a relationship with another person.

PTSD … The Last Night 1964

The film discusses post-traumatic amnesia disorder, where the heroine Nadia Burhan Sadiq “Faten Hamama” wakes up to find that she lived for 15 years in the character of her sister Fawzia, who died in a visit to her family’s home, which was bombed during one of the war raids. Her husband then took advantage of the amnesia case Nadia, his sister-in-law suffers from and deluded her that she is his wife, Fawzia, so that his daughter does not become an orphan without a mother. After her memory returned, the husband made her think she is insane so that what he had done would not be revealed.

Blind Sanctification or Fetish … A Pursuit of Love, 1968

The film discusses in a comic fashion the disorder of blind sanctification of a certain idea, or what is known as fetish, which is a famous psychological deviation based on satisfying sexual desire by being attracted to a certain thing. We find Munir “Fouad Al Mohandes” who falls in love with women through their feet and shoes in what is known as foot fetish.

Double personality … Well of deprivation, 1969

The film presented a complex or a psychological disorder, where the heroine “Soad Hosni” suffers from double personality. We find her in the character of Nahed, the gentle girl in the morning, and Mervat the play girl at night. A psychiatrist treats her and discovers that her illness is the result of a psychological complex from childhood, caused by her father’s cruelty to her mother when he discovered her betrayal to him.

Oedipus complex … the women serial killer 1970

The cinema presented again the image of the psychopath in a comic way, so we find the artist “Hassan Zayed”, who introduced the character of the serial killer Mimi, who was very attached to his mother, to end up with him as a killer who chooses his female victims and keeps their bodies in casts of wax, so that he does not lose them like he lost his mother. He is afflicted with what is known as the Oedipus complex, which is a psychological complex of a male who loves his mother in an abnormal way and is very attached to her and is jealous of her.

Oedipus Complex, Fetish, and Paedophilia complex … The Mirage 1970

The film presented a variety of mental illnesses that most of the protagonists suffered from. We find Ahmed Akef “Nour El-Sherif” who suffers from the Oedipus complex, where his relationship with his mother and his love for her dominated his relationship with his wife. He also suffers from fetishism, so he feels sexual excitement only when he sees the scarf that the maid wears on her head, due to being harassed in his childhood by the maid, who in turn suffered from a psychological disorder called paedophilia, which is the desire of having sex with children.

Picture 4 The Choice

Double Personality … The Choice 1970

Youssef Shaheen deals with mental illness for the second time in this film, through the hero “Izzat Al-Alaili”, introducing the character “Syed” who killed his twin brother, “Mahmoud”, and lives in duality in character, looking for happiness, so he goes to his wife “Sherifa” with his main character, and he goes to his mistress “Bahia” as his twin brother.

Masochism … Shafiqa and Mitwalli 1979

The film presented a different and not widespread type of psychological disorders called masochism, which is the enjoyment and pleasure of feeling physical and psychological pain during sexual intercourse. Within one of the scenes of the film, we find Yusri Pasha “Jamil Ratib”, who flogs workers and peasants, asks Shafika “Suad Hosni” to hit him with a flog inside the bedroom, until he reaches the heights of orgasm.

Phobia … watch out for your mind 1985

The film presented the character of Salwa “Sherihan”, a psychopath who suffers from social phobia, as she panics when people approach her, especially men, thinking that they want to harass her. Psychiatrist Wael “Adel Imam” meets her inside the mental ward. He understands the nature of her illness and makes sure that she is not crazy, but rather suffers from a mental illness. He assists in removing her from the hospital and treating her, especially after he knows her harsh experience with her stepfather who tried to rape her.

Paranoia … The Wife of an Important Man 1987

The film presented the character of Officer Hisham “Ahmed Zaki”, who is passionate about power and oppression. He practices them even on his gentle wife, Mona “Mervat Amin”. After his dismissal from service, he suffers from paranoia, as he believes that he still has power and influence, and that others should keep showing respect and appreciation for him based on this. His mental illness progressed to the point of killing his father-in-law and committing suicide.

Homosexuality … The Yacoubian Building, 2006

The film presented a group of different stories, including the story of the great journalist Hatem Rashid “Khaled Al-Sawy”, who suffers from sexual orientation disorders as a result of being raped by a servant during his childhood, which in spite of his high social status prompts him to practice homosexuality, with the poor young man Abd Rabbo Basem. Samra “.

Kleptomania … Doctor Omar’s gang 2007

Once again, the film presents mental illness in a comic form, through the psychiatrist Omar “Mustafa Qamar”, who treats his patients with modern treatment methods that he studied abroad. We find him helping Reem “Yasmine Abdel Aziz”, the wealthy girl who suffers from kleptomania or obsessive theft, because her parents are busy and have no time for her. The film also deals with some other psychological diseases, such as phobia of high places, and phobia of fires.

Autism … Turbine 2007

The film presents the story of a young man named Mohsen “Ahmed Rizk”, who suffers from autism, a condition associated with brain development that affects a person’s ability to communicate with others. Mohsen refuses to communicate with his older brother Karim “Sherif Mounir”, who initially tried to exploit his brother’s illness to seize his inheritance. Over time, Karim manages to gain Mohsen’s trust and draw close to him.

Schizophrenia and paranoia … Sorry for the inconvenience, 2008

This movie is one of the best films that presented mental illness in modern cinema. It was able to dive into the depths of the most serious psychological disorders, through the character of the aeronautical engineer Hassan Salah El-Din Zidan “Ahmed Helmy”, who suffers from schizophrenia and paranoia. As a result, he suffers from auditory and visual hallucinations, so he imagines untrue things happening, addresses the dead, thinking they are alive, as well as inventing personalities and situations that do not exist. The hero also suffers from paranoia, as he believes in his exposure to conspiracy and contempt from those around him. All this because of a great trauma that he could not overcome after the death of his father.

Borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder and others … Blue Elephant 2014-2019

The film in its two parts deals with mental illness in a way that some critics and psychiatrists objected, as he attributed some injuries and psychological states to metaphysical reasons such as black magic, touching the jinn, or other reasons such as drug addiction. However, the hero of the film, Dr. Yahya “Karim Abdel Aziz,” a psychiatrist at the Mental Health Hospital in Abbasia, touched in some scenes on a group of well-known mental illnesses such as borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and paranoia.

Just as Egyptian cinema was concerned with the issues of the Egyptian citizen, it was also concerned with the issues of the Arab world, especially the Arab-Israeli conflict, i.e. the Palestinian Cause, where Palestine has always been the object of greed for colonial armies, starting with the crusade campaign and ending with the Israeli occupation.

Therefore, the Egyptian filmmakers were keen to provide support to our Palestinian fellows. They presented their case and discussed some important figures in the history of the Palestinian struggle. In addition to embodying the suffering of the people by shedding light on the demonstrations and martyrdom operations in which they participate. In addition to expressing the feelings of the Egyptian citizen towards the Palestinian cause, by burning the Israeli flag.

This came through a number of films that will remain firmly rooted in the conscience of every Egyptian and Arab citizen out of solidarity with the Palestinian cause against the Zionist occupation army. Here are some of these films.

A girl from Palestine 1948

يعد هذا الفيلم أول فيلم مصري وعربي يتناول القضية الفلسطينية بالتزامن مع حرب فلسطين، أنتجته رائدة السينما المصرية “عزيزة أمير”، التي حرصت على تقديم الدعم المصري لفلسطين ونقل الجرائم الوحشية للعدو الصهيوني، من خلال قصة “محمود ذو الفقار” وهو ضابط طيار يدافع عن الأراضي الفلسطينية وقت الحرب، ولكن طائرته تسقط في إحدى القرى الفلسطينية بسبب غارة، وتعثر عليه سلمى “سعاد محمد” وتقوم بتطييب جراحه، لنكتشف أن منزلها هو مخزن لأسلحة المقاومة.

This film is the first Egyptian and Arab film that deals with the Palestinian issue in conjunction with the Palestine war. It was produced by the pioneer Egyptian cinema producer “Aziza Amir”, who was keen to express Egyptian support to Palestine and convey the brutal crimes of the Zionist enemy, through the story of “Mahmoud Zulfiqar”, a military pilot who defends Palestinian lands at war, but his plane crashes in one of the Palestinian villages due to a raid, and Salma “Souad Muhammad” finds him and tends to his wounds, to discover that her house is a storehouse for the resistance’s weapons

Nadia 1949

Once again, Amira Aziz presents a film about the Palestinian cause, this time she was the lead actress. The film tells the story of Nadia, whose brother Munir “Shukri Sarhan” is martyred in the Palestine war, so she decides to continue the struggle and volunteer in the Red Crescent, to meet Medhat “Mahmoud Zulfiqar”, her brother’s friend, who rescues her from one of the colonies when she falls into the hands of the enemy.

Allah is on our side 1953

The film tells the story of Officer Ahmed Jamal “Imad Hamdi” who went to participate in the Palestine war with the encouragement of his cousin Nadia “Faten Hamama”. He tries to rely on the influence of his wealthy uncle, Abdel Aziz Pasha, “Mahmoud El Meligy”, only to discover that his uncle is the main arms dealer.

The land of peace 1957

It is the first film filmed inside the occupied Palestinian territories. It presented the life of the militants who are trying to liberate their village from the control of the Israelis, through the story of the Egyptian fighter Ahmed “Omar Sharif”, who participates in the process of blowing up the Israeli fuel tanks that supply the attacking planes with gasoline. After he was shot in the shoulder, he meets Salma “Faten Hamama”, the Palestinian girl who takes care of him until he recovers his strength, and helps her father Sheikh Mazen “Abdul Warith Asser” to cover up Ahmed when the enemy comes to search for him.

Al-Nasser Salahuddin 1963

It is one of the most powerful historical films, and revolves around the period of the Crusades. It reviews the battles fought by the commander Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, played by the artist “Ahmed Mazhar”, to liberate Jerusalem. Director Youssef Chahine tried to use the events of the film as a kind of projection on modern history, and showed European ambitions in the land of Palestine, which is apparently defending religion, but it is mainly for achieving personal interests and collecting wealth.

Shadows on the other side 1974

The film tackled the issue of the Palestinian struggle through the story of a student who studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo, and lives with four young Egyptians on a raft on the Nile, he disagrees with them while each of them tells the events from his point of view. In the end, he gives up his dreams and joins the Palestinian resistance.

Naji Al Ali 1987

The artist “Noor Al-Sharif” was brilliant in the character of the Palestinian artist, Naji Al-Ali, and the story of his assassination in London. The film documents the stations that Naji Al-Ali went through in his life, starting with his displacement with his family to Lebanon, then his work in Kuwait, and his return to Lebanon again during the Lebanese Civil War. The film reviewed his most prominent political stances towards the Palestinian cause, which he recorded in his immortal caricatures to this day.

Saeedy in the AUC 1998

This film was not classified as a political movie. It was primarily a comedy, but it provided support for the Palestinian cause in one of its scenes, when Khalaf Al-Dahshoury “Mohammed Henedy”, a student at the American University in Cairo, with the participation of his colleagues, burned the flag of Israel inside the university in protest against the Zionist occupation and its practices against the Palestinians. It was the first time that burning the flag of Israel was included in a film, as burning the flags of countries in the cinema is prohibited by law, because it threatens the higher interests of the state.

Hammam in Amsterdam 1999

Once again, Muhammad Henedy presented an impressive scene in support of Palestine during the events of the comedy, as one of his scenes included a fight between a group of Arab expatriate youth in the Netherlands, for a Palestinian young man to sing the song “The Arab Dream” in an attempt to end the quarrel between friends, as the scene included a message about the necessity of ending any dispute between the Arab brothers, and of solidarity together to support the Palestinian cause.

Friends or Business Partners 2001

The film sheds light on the martyrdom operations carried out by Palestinian youth against the Israeli occupation, where Karim Nour “Mustafa Qamar” travels to record a program on the Palestinian uprising, and gets to know the Palestinian youth Jihad “Amr Waked”, who takes him on a tour inside the Palestinian territories, after which he performs a martyrdom operation. He bombed himself next to a group of Israeli soldiers, while Karim was filming him.

The volcano of wrath 2002

The events of the film take place in the Palestinian refugee camps, where the Palestinian youngman Khaled Shabib “Tamer Hejres” assassinates an Israeli official, and is pursued by the Israeli intelligence. Then, he travels to Egypt to try to conclude an arms deal, facing many difficulties, and the film sends a message to unite the ranks of the Arabs, and the need to support the Palestinians with weapons What they need to win.

The Embassy is in the building 2005

فيلم آخر يقدم الدعم للقضية الفلسطينية بشكل كوميدي، حيث يعود المهندس شريف خيري “عادل إمام” ليجد السفارة الإسرائيلية قد اتخذت موقعها في الشقة المجاورة له، فيعاني بسبب الإجراءات الأمنية المشددة التي تفرض عليه، ويقوم برفع قضية لإخراج السفارة من العمارة، ويتحول إلى رمز شعبي للنضال، ولكن سرعان ما يتنازل عن القضية بسبب بعض الضغوطات. إلا أنه يستأنف نضاله مرة أخرى بعد استشهاد الطفل إياد ابن صديقه الفلسطيني، على يد الجنود الإسرائيلين اثناء مشاركته في إحدى المظاهرات.

Another movie that provides support for the Palestinian cause in a comic way, where the engineer Sherif Khairy “Adel Imam” returns to find the Israeli embassy has taken its location in the apartment next to him. He suffers because of the strict security measures imposed on him. He files a case to get the embassy out of the building, and turns into a popular symbol to struggle, but soon give up the case due to some pressure. However, he resumes his struggle again after the martyrdom of the child Iyad, the son of his Palestinian friend, at the hands of Israeli soldiers while participating in a demonstration.

Despite the great Egyptian films that embodied the painful Palestinian reality throughout history, and despite the continued ignition of the Palestinian cause, we note that it has gradually begun to disappear from the screens of the Egyptian cinema. For more than fifteen years, no film has discussed the Palestinian struggle against the occupation forces of Israel, which makes the matter questionable! Why has Palestine disappeared from Egyptian cinema, when we must support it today more than ever?

The Academy Award, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the United States of America, is the most prominent annual global award for cinematic arts. Filmmakers eagerly anticipate it every year, because winning an Oscar adds great value to the film and its makers.

And the Academy Award is not limited to English-speaking films only. In 1956, the Academy added a new category within the award categories, which is the category of films in a foreign language. Although Egypt has submitted 34 films to participate in the festival since that time, none of the films that were officially submitted were accepted for the final competition for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

ويبدأ تاريخ السينما المصرية والعربية مع هذه الجائزة في عام 1958، عندما تقدمت مصر بفيلم “باب الحديد” من بطولة هند رستم وفريد شوقي وإخراج يوسف شاهين، وذلك في الدورة الـ 31 من الجائزة، حيث تنافس الفيلم مع 9 أفلام أخرى، لكنه لم يصل إلى مرحلة الترشيحات النهائية. ومن بعده توالت مصر في تقديم الأفلام للمشاركة في مسابقة الأوسكار، حيث تم ترشيح فيلم “دعاء الكروان” من إخراج بركات وبطولة أمينة رزق وفاتن حمامة وأحمد مظهر، في عام 1959. وبعده فيلم “المراهقات” إخراج أحمد ضياء الدين، وبطولة ماجدة ورشدي أباظة، في 1960.

The history of Egyptian and Arab cinema begins with this award in 1958, when Egypt presented the movie “Bab Al Hadid” starring Hind Rostom and Farid Shawqi and directed by Youssef Chahine, in the 31st session of the award. The film competed with 9 other films. However, it did not reach Final nomination stage. After that, Egypt continued to submit films to participate in the Oscar competition, where the movie “Doaa Al-Karwan” directed by Barakat and starring Amina Rizk, Faten Hamama and Ahmed Mazhar, was nominated in 1959. Then the movie “Adolescents” directed by Ahmed Dia El Din, starring Magda and Rushdi Abaza, in 1960.

In 1961, the movie “Oh Islam”, starring Lubna Abdel Aziz and Ahmed Mazhar, directed by Shadi Abdel Salam, was nominated. The movie “The Thief and the Dogs” directed by Kamal Al-Sheikh in 1962, starring Shadia and Shukri Sarhan, was also nominated. Then, the movie “The Mother of the Bride” by Atef Salem in 1963, starring Tahia Karioka and Imad Hamdi, The movie “The Impossible” by Hussein Kamal and starring Nadia Lutfi and Kamal Al-Shennawi, in 1965. While the nomination in 1966 went to the movie “Cairo 30” by Salah Abu Seif, starring Soad Hosni and Ahmed Mazhar.

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After 3 years of absence, Egypt returned again in 1970 to participate in the Academy Award with the film “The Mummy” directed by Shadi Abdel Salam, starring Nadia Lotfy. Then the movie “A woman and a Man” starring Nahid Al Sharif and Rushdi Abaza and directed by Hossam Al Din Mustafa, in 1971. The movie “My Wife and the Dog” by Saeed Marzouk and starring Soad Hosni, Mahmoud Morsi and Nour Al Sharif, in 1972, in the 70th Academy Awards session.

In 1973, Egypt nominated the movie “Empire of M”, directed by Hussein Kamal, starring Faten Hamama and Ahmed Mazhar. As well as the movie “I want a solution” directed by Saeed Marzouk in 1975, starring Faten Hamama and Rushdi Abaza. In 1976, the movie “Who Shall We Shoot?” was nominated, starring Soad Hosni, Mahmoud Yassin and Ezzat Al-Alayli, directed by Kamal Al-Sheikh.

While director Youssef Chahine presented his second film at the Oscars, “Alexandria, Why?” in 1979, starring Naglaa Fathy, Mohsen Mohieldin and Ahmed Zaki. The film “People of the Summit”, directed by Ali Badrakhan, was nominated for the award in 1981, starring Nour Sharif and Soad Hosni. After Egypt’s absence from the Oscars for a period of 8 years, this time, it returned again to nominate a new film by director Youssef Chahine in 1990, the movie “Alexandria More and More”, starring Yousra, Hussein Fahmy and Amr Abdel Galil.

Director Daoud Abdel Sayed participated in 1994, for the movie “The Land of Dreams”, starring Faten Hamama, Yahya Al-Fakharani and Hisham Selim. While the film “The Destiny”, directed by Youssef Chahine and starring Laila Elwi, Nour El-Sherif and Mahmoud Hemida, was nominated for the 70th Academy Award in 1997. In 2001, a youth film starring Maya Shiha and Sherif Ramzy was nominated, the film ” Secrets of Girls”, directed by Magdy Ahmed Ali.

Also in 2003, the controversial film “Sahar Al-Layali” was nominated, starring Mona Zaki, Hanan Turk, Ola Ghanem, Jihan Fadel, Ahmed Helmy, Sherif Mounir, Khaled Abu Naga and Fathi Abdel Wahab, and the film is directed by Hani Khalifa. The film “I love cinema” directed by Osama Fawzy, starring Laila Elwi and Mahmoud Hamida, was also nominated in 2004, and the film “The Yacoubian Building” by Marwan Hamed in 2006, which included a large group of stars, most notably Yousra, Adel Imam and Nour Al Sharif.

As for the movie “In the Heliopolis Apartment” by director Muhammad Khan, it was chosen in 2007 to represent Egypt for the 80th Academy Award nomination, starring Ghada Adel and Khaled Abul-Naga. Then the movie “Al-Jazeera” in 2008, starring Hend Sabry, Ahmed El-Sakka and Khaled El-Sawy, directed by Sherif Arafa. The movie “Letters of the Sea” directed by Daoud Abdel Sayed in 2010, starring Basma and Aser Yassin was also nominated.

Then the movie “Longing ” starring Sawsan Badr and Ruby, directed by Khaled Al-Hajar, was presented to participate in the Oscars 2011. And the movie “The Last Winter ” in 2013, directed by Ibrahim Al-Batout and starring Farah Youssef and Amr Waked. The nomination was in 2014 to Yasmine Rais and Hani Adel, through the movie “Factory Girl” directed by Muhammad Khan. Then the movie “Engage”, directed by Mohamed Diab, starring Nelly Karim, Hani Adel, Ahmed Malik and Ahmed Dash, in 2016.

In 2017, the committee tasked with selecting the Oscar-nominated Egyptian film nominated Sheikh Jackson, directed by Amr Salama, starring Amina Khalil, Dora, Ahmed El-Fishawy and Ahmed Malik, to participate in the 90th Academy Awards. In 2018, the film “Yom El Din” directed by Abu Bakr Shawky was nominated. The film stars Radi Gamal and Ahmed Abdel Hafez. The film “Poisonous Roses” directed by Fawzi Saleh was also selected to participate in the 2019 Oscar nominations, starring Marehan Magdy and Mahmoud Hamida. Finally, the movie “When We Are Born” starring Dana Hamdan, Amr Abed, Amir Eid and Mohamed Hatem, directed by Tamer Ezzat.

For more than 110 years, Egyptian cinema has produced at least 4,000 films, some of which have never been seen by the public, some of which have been banned from showing in cinemas for a long time, and others are still banned from television to this day. These films did not appear either because they violate public morals, or because they contain scenes hostile to the heavenly religions, and some of them were even banned from showing for political reasons.

In case the censorship is only related to cinema in your mind, then you are completely wrong, as censorship appeared in Egypt several years before the cinema entered, specifically in 1881, when a law on censorship was issued. In 1904, cinema was added to the censorship law, while theater did not join the law until 1911.

The censors interfered with the artwork, whether by modifying the scenes or deleting them permanently, as well as sometimes interfering to prevent entire films from being shown. Although these films were prevented from showing on cinema and television screens, some of them found another way to spread through websites and social media platforms. In this article, we will review the most prominent films that were banned from showing in Egypt.

•  The Prophet Muhammad.

Censorship used to be on the lookout for films, even before they were filmed and shown, which is what happened with the movie “The Prophet Muhammad”, which a foreign company tried to produce in 1926,  starring Youssef Wehbe. However, as soon as he announced his signing of the contract with director Wedad Orfi, Youssef Wehbe faced strong opposition and continuous attack, reaching the point of calling for a fatwa to denounce him from the Islamic religion, withdraw his citizenship and expel him from Egypt.

The censors announced that the idea of the film is subject to ban because it violates the sanctity of heavenly religions. This film was the reason for Al-Azhar to issue a fatwa prohibiting the personification of the prophets and companions. Which made Youssef Wehbe apologize to the producing company for participating in the film.

•  The Tragedy of Life

The movie “The Tragedy of Life”, which was produced in 1929, is the first movie that was completely banned from showing in the history of Egyptian cinema at the request of censors, due to sexual scenes and pornographic dancing. Although the film was silent, and the dialogue was written on the screen, the dialogue sentences were obscene. This prompted Abd al-Salam al-Nabulsi, who was working as an art critic at the time, to launch a press campaign to demand that the film be banned until the censors responded.

The film starred an Egyptian actor and director of Turkish origin, Wedad Orfi, and Turkish dancer, Ifranz Hanim. Its events revolve around a playful dancer who seeks to make two brothers fall in love with her to deceive them to get their money.

• Lachine

In 1938, the movie “Lachine” was shown, directed by German Fritz Kramp, starring Hassan Ezzat, Hussein Riad, and Nadia Naji, and the film revolves around Lachine, who is the army chief, and is characterized by justice, unlike the prime minister, who profits from his position at the expense of the people, and Lachine tries to alert the weak ruler with polygamous relationships to what the Prime Minister is doing, so Lachine is framed, and he is imprisoned.

The film was prevented from showing after politicians told King Farouk that the film was intended for him, so he asked Ahmed Hassanein Pasha, the head of the court, to issue a decision to stop showing the film.

• Sheikh Hassan

The movie “Sheikh Hassan” was banned from showing three times, as it was initially shown under the name “Laylat al-Qadr”, and the film dealt with the story of the religious Sheikh who leaves his home after a dispute with his father, and marries a Christian girl despite the opposition of her family. It stars Hussein Sidqi, Laila Fawzy, and Huda Sultan. It was banned for the first time because of what was reported to be inciting sedition between Christians and Muslims.

After the July 23 revolution, the artist Hussein Sedky demanded that the film be shown again, but he met with many objections again, so President Mohamed Naguib ordered the film to be removed from the theaters. In 1954, Hussein Sidqi added some new scenes to the film, and changed its name to “Sheikh Hassan”, then requested permission to show it. The Egyptian Catholic Center for Cinema once again objected to the film’s showing. President Gamal Abdel Nasser was afraid that the film’s continuation would affect its popularity among Christians, so it ordered it to be removed from theaters for the third time, and the film has remained banned from showing until this day.

• My father is up there

When we mention the phrase forbidden to be shown, the movie “My Father is up there” is the first movie that comes to mind. The film sparked a lot of controversy at the time of its release and was prevented by censorship after it set the record for the number of kisses that appeared in one movie, as the film contained more than 50 kisses between its heroes Abdel Halim Hafez, Nadia Lutfi, and Mervat Amin.

The events of the film revolve around a university student who meets a dancer in a nightclub and falls in love with him and convinces him to live with her and spend her money on him. Same nightclub. The film was produced in 1969, and it is the story of the writer Ihsan Abdel Quddus.

• Strangers

The movie “Strangers” boldly touched on many religious issues that were silenced due to fear of creating confusion, and took a philosophical character for several phenomena, including religious extremism and the conflict between faith and atheism. The film was banned for fear of angering the public, as some critics argued that it might push young people to atheism.

The movie “Strangers” starring Soad Hosni, Hussein Fahmy, Ezzat Al-Alayli, and Imad Hamdi, directed by Saad Arafa, and produced in 1973. It is forbidden to be shown to this day, and although there is a copy of the movie on the Internet, it is not the full version of the movie, as many scenes have been deleted.

• Hammam Al Malatili

The movie “Hammam El Malatili”, which was produced in 1973, is one of the most famous cinematic works that were banned from showing, as its story revolves around a young man who meets a night girl and a flaming love story develops between them. The young man works in Hammam al-Malatili in the aesthetic and gets acquainted closely with the world of homosexuality, and he also falls into a sinful relationship with the wife of the owner of the hammam. The film is directed by Salah Abu Seif and starring Shams Al-Baroudi, Youssef Shaaban, and Muhammad Al-Arabi.

The censors banned the film from being shown because of its immoral content, and its explicit scenes, in addition to its discussion of the issue of homosexuality. In the 1990s, the censors allowed the film to be shown in cinemas again after many scenes were deleted. However, it is still banned from showing on television until now.

• The guilty ones.

The latest movie “The Guilty Ones” revolves around a murder in which a famous actress is a victim, and the police begin to investigate all those related to the murder victim, to reveal her branching relationships with people of great influence and power, and it becomes clear that each of them has a crime of corruption no less horrific than murder. Because it contained a large number of daring sexual scenes, in addition to addressing the issue of corruption in the regime, the film, directed by Saeed Marzouk and starring Suhair Ramzy, Hussein Fahmy, Zubaida Tharwat, and Kamal Al-Shennawi, was banned. The film is based on the novel by the great writer Naguib Mahfouz and was produced in 1975.

The Censorship Authority for Artistic Works faced a major crisis at the time, because of its approval to show this film, as the head of the agency, moderate excellent, was referred to the pension, and she and 14 others from the agency were transferred to the Supreme Disciplinary Court by order of President Sadat, on charges of a grave breach of the duties of the job. A decision was also issued to tighten the basic rules of censorship of artistic works, which filmmakers considered a crime against Egyptian cinema.

• Karnak.

The movie “Al-Karnak” dealt with the issue of the repressive practices of the intelligence services, through the story of a group of university students who are arrested and tortured, and forced to confess to crimes they did not commit, and some of them are forced to work as spies inside the university for the security services. The film is directed by Ali Badrakhan, starring Soad Hosni, Nour Al-Sharif, Kamal Al-Shennawi, Farid Shawqi, Shwikar, and Muhammad Sobhi, and was produced in 1975.

Because of the film, Salah Nasr, the former head of intelligence, filed a lawsuit, demanding that it stop showing on the pretext that the film embodies his character through the role of the security man presented by artist Kamal El-Shennawy. The film also met with Youssef El Sebaei, the Minister of Culture at the time, and demanded that the character of the left-wing intellectual be removed by the artist Mohamed Sobhi. The film was only allowed to be shown after changing its ending and deleting some scenes, but the original scenes were shown after the approval of President Anwar Sadat after he met with the scriptwriter Mamdouh Al-Leithi.

• Khamsa Bab

The movie “Khamsa Bab” is adapted from the foreign film “Irma la Doss”, produced in 1983, starring Adel Imam, Nadia Al-Jundi, and Fouad Al-Muhandis, and directed by Nader Jalal. Its events take place inside the prostitution neighborhood in Cairo, where a policeman resists corruption and bullying inside the neighborhood until a trap is set up for him and he is dismissed from his work in the police, so he joins one of the dens of vice to help arrest the neighborhood thug.

Although the film obtained the approval of the censorship, it was banned only 5 days after it was shown in cinemas, by a decision issued by the Minister of Culture, because of the insults to Egypt’s reputation and its indecent scenes. This prompted the film’s producer to file a case in court and obtained a decision to release the film 8 years after its premiere.

• The Innocent.

The film “The Innocent” was directed by Atef Al-Tayeb, which starred Ahmed Zaki, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Jamil Ratib, and Mamdouh Abdel Alim, and was produced in 1986, is considered one of the most controversial Egyptian films. The film dealt with the concept of military obedience through a conscript who joins the armed forces. And he works as a prison guard, and he is deluded that everyone in the prison is the enemy of the homeland, and he is also taught blind obedience. Until his friend is arrested and placed in the same prison, the conscript refuses to torture his friend, and the truth is revealed to him and regrets what he did to the innocent prisoners, and decides to take revenge, especially after killing his friend.

The film faced the objection of many parties, including the Censorship Authority on Artistic Works and the Ministries of Defense and Interior, and the censors insisted on changing the events of the end. Indeed, the film was shown with a different ending, and the original ending was not allowed to be shown until 19 years later, at the opening of the 2005 National Film Festival.

• The Monk

The film “The Monk” reveals the nature of the life of monks in the Christian faith, who secede from the world and live without a wife or children. It is one of the films that was banned even before the end of filming. Despite the approval of the Coptic Orthodox Church and Pope Shenouda to show the film, a decision was issued by President Anwar El-Sadat to ban its screening permanently, with all filmmakers threatening to expel outside Egypt if filming is completed, for fear of sect strife among the segments of society, especially after sectarian strife. That occurred in Egypt after the famous “Khanka” incident, which occurred in 1972.