Egyptian writer Bahaa Taher has died at 87, following a lengthy illness.
Over his career, Taher published 17 books, including Sunset Oasis, which won the inaugural International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2008, and several plays. The award, which is funded by the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi, is commonly known as the Arabic Booker.
The Egyptian Writers' Union paid tribute to Taher saying he had “enriched the Arab Library with great literary and novel works”.
Born in Giza, Greater Cairo, in 1935, Taher was the youngest of eight children. Although illiterate, his mother used to inspire him with stories about families and intrigue set in her birthplace, near Luxor in Upper Egypt — which would later feature in some of his most prominent work. Taher was 17 when his father, an Arabic teacher, died.
After graduating from university, Taher began his career as a translator for the government, before helping to launch Radio Cairo’s cultural programme in 1957, producing radio dramas.
Throughout the 1960s he was a member of Egypt’s left-wing, avant-garde literary circles and a regular contributor to the Galerie 68 magazine, which published experimental and political pieces deemed too controversial for mainstream publication.
An early supporter of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who Taher believed developed Egypt into a more self-sufficient, independent and progressive state while president, he was much more critical of Anwar Sadat’s rule.
In an interview with Saudi magazine Majalla, he said: “Back then, Egypt’s Minister of Information followed a very clear rule ‘those who are not with us, are against us’, and apparently I was not considered to be with them.
“The situation was very bad at that time. During Gamal Abdel Nasser, the opposition was sent to prison; during Anwar Sadat we were left to starve and obliged to come back on our knees.”
Having published his first collection in 1972, he was fired from his broadcasting three years later — and banned from writing and publishing in Egypt, over his leftist views and writings. Sadat accused him of being at the centre of a "red cell" at the heart of Egyptian Radio.
Struggling for work, he left Egypt and began working as an English, French and Arabic translator for Unesco in Geneva, continuing to write short stories and novels.
In an earlier interview with The National, he said: "For two years, I wasn't able to write. Partly because I was busy, but also because man is like a plant. He needs his own earth and blossoms in it. If you take him and transfer him to different soil, either the adaptation succeeds — which needs a lot of work — or it doesn't, but in both cases, the plant will be different."
Egypt lifted the ban on Taher's work in 1983, allowing the works he produced in Geneva to trickle through — Al Hob fil Manfa (Love in Exile) — which tackles exile, disillusionment, and the redemptive power of love; and Qalat Duha (As Doha Said), exploring the hopes and disappointments of the early Nasserist era, among others.
After his return to Egypt in the 1990s, more of Taher’s books have been published and translated into multiple languages. One of his best-known works, Khalti Safiyya wal Dier (My Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery) was published in 1991 and translated into English five years later.
Written at a time of heightened tensions between the Muslims and Copts of Upper Egypt, it presented a harmonious relationship between Muslim and Coptic characters, angering some in both communities. However, it was praised for its accurate depiction of Upper Egypt, which Taher had only sporadically visited.
In 2000, the novel was awarded the Italian Guiseppe Acerbi prize — two years after Taher received Egypt’s highest literary award, the State Award of Merit in Literature. Taher’s sixth novel, Sunset Oasis, published in 2007, is centred on a disgraced Egyptian government official, who is posted to the desert oasis of Siwa by his British superiors Siwa, for his involvement in the failed Urabi revolt of 1882. Spanning several Egyptian epochs, the book won the inaugural Arabic Booker in 2008.
Exploring the dynamics of power, Taher has Alexander the Great state: “I learnt that fear, not wisdom, is the basis of rule. I learnt that one must make the common people live in constant fear of punishment and torment on Earth and in Heaven so that they may know obedience and righteousness.”
In 2009, The National interviewed Taher for the UK launch of Sunset Oasis. At the time, he had two children from a previous marriage and was living with his Greek-Slovenian wife Stefka, who is a Russian interpreter, in Zamalek, an island on the Nile. He called the Arabic Booker prize win "a very welcome surprise".
Four years later, Taher resigned from Egypt's State Council of Culture in protest to the firings and resignations of several leading cultural figures under Mohamed Morsi's rule.
Even in his older years, Taher remained committed to the same principles he always had. "I am still against the same things I was against when I was young: social and political injustice, especially against women or people of different origins or ethnicities. What's different is that the hope I had at one time no longer exists. Hopefully, things will change — but not, I think, very quickly."
Scroll through more images of famous people we've lost in 2022 below
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The specs
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Challenge Cup result:
1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults
THE SPECS
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Results
Stage three:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-43
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
5. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
6. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE-Team Emirates, at 24s
General Classification:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-13-02
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin Fenix, at 12s
4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
