Patients and Healers in \"zaabalawi\" by Naguib Mahfouz and a Strangeness in My Mind by Orhan Pamuk

Abstract

The article dwells on the theme of journey towards spiritual healing by comparing the works of Naguib Mahfouz and Orhan Pamuk. Mahfouz's allegorical short story is based on the protagonist's search for a remedy for his incurable disease. In fact, the unknown disease, which modern medicine fails to cure, is a metaphor representing the erosion of spiritual values and corruption in the Egyptian social strata in the twentieth century. Likewise, in Pamuk's novel, the protagonist's father takes his young son to a Sheikh to cure him of his fear of Istanbul's stray dogs. The Sheikh's prayer helps him to forget his fear not to be revived until adulthood. It is seen that both protagonists' spiritual ailment stems from a metaphorical "communal disease," and both try to heal their wounds through non-scientific ways. The article handles the parallels and differences between the two cultures' approach to the issue of spiritual healing.