Examples of Egyptian Literature in the Diaspora – Walid Mahmoud Abdel Nasser

In the past few months, Egyptian and Arab feminist literature lost two of the most important Egyptian women writers in the diaspora, especially in Europe, the late and respected Dr. Fawzia Ashmawi and Dr. Fawzia Assad. Although they were Egyptians who lived in Switzerland for many years, their intellectual, cultural and literary contributions went beyond Swiss borders and reached not only Europe, but also, of course, their native Egypt, as well as all parts of the greater Arab world and the West in the broader civilizational sense.
I have had the privilege of knowing them for decades and have experienced first-hand the positive influence they have on Europeans, both in circles interested in culture, thought and literature, and on the level of ordinary European citizens and society. In addition to their effective influence on European public opinion in defense of the Arab communities in Europe, this also includes the Egyptian community.
Talking about Dr. Fawzia El-Ashmawy and Dr. Fawzia Asaad should not be limited to talking about their personalities, which were admired and appreciated by all those who approached them and dealt with them, nor should it be limited to their extreme humanity, which made them respected. This is obvious to everyone who knew them and made friends with them, because they, may God have mercy on them, made a unique and glorious record in the field of public work at many levels and in many fields, whether in their native Egypt, or in Switzerland, where they settled more than forty years ago, or in other European countries, as well as throughout the Arab world.
The contributions of the two noble deceased were varied and included books, studies, articles, lectures and participation in important international, European, Arab or Egyptian conferences, which always dealt with a wide range of topics of common interest. People of different countries, cultures, religions, need people with research expertise to study in depth, analyze, and give opinions in a calm, balanced way. , while maintaining the intellectual and cultural dimensions and ethical awareness required in this situation. They excelled in this regard, given that Dr. Fawzia Al-Ashmawy served as a professor at the University of Geneva for decades, specializing in Arabic literature and Islamic civilization, and Dr. Fawzia Asaad was a member of the Swiss Writers’ Union and held many important positions. They were one of the founding members of the Egyptian Association in Switzerland and the Egyptian-Swiss Cultural Association, and Dr. Fawzia El-Ashmawy even served as president of the former. They contributed to strengthening the links between members of the Egyptian community and those of the Arab community in Switzerland on the one hand, and between members of the Egyptian community and other sectors of Swiss society and other neighboring European communities on the other.
The contribution of the late Dr. Fawzia Ashmawi and Dr. Fawzia Assad in the public sphere also included correcting many misconceptions about Egyptians and Arabs as a society, people and culture and their contribution to civilization. Unfortunately, these misconceptions became entrenched over time through anti-Arab propaganda or through some works of some Orientalists who had a previous prejudice against Arabs in their conscience and thoughts. Part of the educated elite and ordinary citizens of many non-Arab countries, especially in the civilized Western context, and to some extent more specifically in Europe, where important minorities also live and contribute to the renaissance of their societies, and they come from the greater Arab world, including Egypt.
Dr. Fawzia El-Ashmawy and Dr. Fawzia Asaad have also played an important role in bringing the issue of women’s rights to the forefront, drawing attention to the situation of women in the Arab world, and showcasing the great role that women have played throughout Arab history. In the same context, they have also tried to correct the image of Arab women in the non-Arab world, especially in the West, because some practices have nothing to do with the true religious, cultural, or social heritage, but they are still carried out in some Arab societies in today’s era.
From a more holistic perspective, Dr. Fawzir El-Ashmawy and Dr. Fawzia Asaad stressed the dynamic state of movement that continues to prevail in Arab social institutions, despite negativity and failures everywhere, as well as stagnation and obstacles in some areas, and they have always emphasized the effective and positive role that young people in Arab countries can play, both boys and girls, because they are the real hope for a bright future for Arab countries, through the implementation of new programs to rebuild Arab society based on combining authenticity and modernity, in order to achieve an innovative and creative harmony between the heritage components that drive forward and the modernity components that conform to the constants of Arab culture and civilization.
We cannot ignore the great role that Dr. Fawzia Ashmawi and Dr. Fawzia Assad have played in enriching Egyptian and Arab literature for more than four decades through numerous novels, story collections and outstanding and high-level works in the field of literary criticism. Many people who follow the affairs of literature and narrative in Egypt and the Arab world consider them to be a true and organic extension of the sixties generation of Egyptian and Arab literature, including the late professors Gamal El-Ghitani, Bahaa Taher and Jamil Atiya Ibrahim. Here we must remember that Dr. Fawzia Ashmawi and Dr. Fawzia Assad were two of a group of writers and people concerned with Egyptian literature who lived in or near the city of Geneva, Switzerland, for many years, just like two great writers. The late writer Bahaa Taher left Geneva a few years before his death and settled in Cairo; Jamil Attia Ibrahim left Geneva and settled in the Swiss city of Basel until his death; and the great writer Ambassador Mohamed Tawfiq, who left Geneva a few years ago due to work conditions and returned to Cairo, accompanied by his wife, Dr. Amani Amin, founder and director of the website “Arab Book Forum”, which tracks all forms of Arabic literature, branches.
In view of all the above contributions that have influenced Egypt, Arabia, Switzerland, Europe and the conscience of mankind, it is only natural that the two late Dr. Fawzia El-Ashmawy and Dr. Fawzia Asaad are honored and appreciated wherever they go. Wherever their cultural dedication and intellectual and literary creativity appear in their native Egypt, they have also received various forms of honor and appreciation from Switzerland, France, the European Union and some Arab countries.
The memory of Dr. Fawzia El-Ashmawy and Dr. Fawzia Asaad will always live in the minds of many people who knew them personally or were aware of their role in various fields of public work or their cultural, intellectual and literary contributions, whether in Egypt, Switzerland, or other European and Arab countries.