{"id":12813,"date":"2025-09-17T21:08:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T19:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hossambadrawi.com\/en\/%d8%a3%d9%88%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%ad%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%aa%d9%86%d8%a7-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b0%d9%83%d8%a7%d8%a1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%b5%d8%b7%d9%86%d8%a7%d8%b9%d9%89-%d8%a8%d9%82%d9%84\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T21:22:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T19:22:19","slug":"children-of-our-alley-and-artificial-intelligence-by-hossam-badrawi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hossambadrawi.com\/en\/children-of-our-alley-and-artificial-intelligence-by-hossam-badrawi\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cChildren of Our Alley\u201d and Artificial Intelligence by Hossam Badrawi"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cChildren of Our Alley\u201d and Artificial Intelligence<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Article by Dr. Hossam Badrawi \u2013 Al-Ahram Newspaper, Wednesday, September 17, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

The masterpiece of Professor Naguib Mahfouz, Children of Our Alley<\/em>, written in the late 1950s and banned at the time from circulation in Egypt for years\u2014through which he won the Nobel Prize\u2014remains one of his most important and daring works.<\/p>\n

I reread the novel, and I was astonished by its context, as if I were reading it for the first time with new eyes. Mahfouz was not merely narrating the story of a traditional Egyptian alley, but painting a symbolic portrait of human existence, rephrasing the history of mankind with religion, authority, and justice.<\/p>\n

I understood why the novel was banned for so many years\u2014the mentalities that restrict free thought, confine imagination, and fear symbolism suppressed it.<\/p>\n

The novel tells the story of an alley that embodies humanity\u2019s journey through history, with symbolic characters representing the world. It is a philosophical and social reflection on religion, power, justice, and the struggle between good and evil.<\/p>\n

The main events revolve around Gabalawi<\/strong>, the supreme master of the alley, living in his large house away from people. He represents the supreme authority or symbolizes God. He leaves a will to distribute endowments among the alley\u2019s people, but his sons and descendants fight over power and wealth.<\/p>\n

The main characters:<\/p>\n