The glass and steel urban monolith of Max Frisch’s Metropolis (1927), Omar Sherif as a Bedouin telling Peter O’Toole that he can “read and write” in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and the close-up of Vivien Lee screaming as she is about to be stabbed to death in the shower in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) — these are scenes that encapsulate an entire film. What really hits the viewer between the eyes is a simple frame showing a man in despair walking away from the observer up a slope into the desert and a notice that reads (in Arabic) ‘Closed: No Morals in Stock’. This sums up Ard al-Nifaq (Land of Hypocrisy, 1968), based on the book of the same title by Youssef el-Sebai.
Youssef Mohamed Abdel Wahab el-Sebai was born on June 10, 1917 in the el-Sayyeda Zeinab district of Cairo.
El-Sebai graduated at the Egyptian Military Academy in 1937, whereafter he assumed many positions, including teaching at the Egyptian Military Academy.
In 1940, he taught at the Cavalry Corps in the Academy, and later became a professor of military history in 1943. He was elected curator of the Military Museum in 1949. He reached the rank of brigadier general.
His literary talent showed itself when he was 16, when his high school published his first piece of writing in Al-Megalla (The Magazine) magazine.
Among his most famous works are Umm Ratiba (Mother of Ratibah, 1951), Ard al-Nefaq (Land of Hypocrisy,1949), Inni Rahellah (I’m Going Away,1950), and Fadaytak Ya Lail (Rescued Night,1953).
His novels Rudd Qalbi (Give Back My Heart), Gafat al-Dumou’ (No More Tears), Aqwa min al-Zaman (Stronger than Time), Hata Akher al-Umr (Until the Last Breath) were made into films, which the critics described as more important than the novels themselves. The 1968 film version of Ard al-Nefaq starring comedy actor Fouad el-Mohandis, is among Egypt’s top 100 films.
Besides writing, he was editor-in-chief of Akher Sa’a magazine. In 1973, he became Minister of Culture. He was board chairman of Al–Ahram newspaper in 1976. He was elected head of the Egyptian Press Syndicate in 1977.
He founded the magazines Udaba’a Al-Arab (Men of Letters), Thaqafa (Culture) and Al–Zohour (Flowers).
The Egyptian Television also produced a TV series about his life entitled Fares Al-Romansia (The Romantic Knight).
He was awarded the State Award in the Arts in 1973 and was regarded as a unique writer and a sophisticated and intelligent politician.
El- Sebai was not just a romantic writer but one who expresses a political and social vision in his depiction of the events in Egypt.
He wrote about the right of the people of Palestine to self-determination and statehood.
He was assassinated on February 18, 1978 by an extremist Palestinian group in Nicosia, Cyprus, where he was attending a conference on peace and security for the nations of the world. He was 61.
