The devil preaches

One of the most famous collections of Mahfouz's stories, and among the most diverse between political and social criticism and deep philosophical questioning. Mahfouz was influenced in his writing by what he witnessed in Egyptian society of deterioration resulting from economic openness, which elevated a new class of the wealthy and lowered the middle class to the brink of family disintegration and the absence of role models, leading to ignorance, unemployment, and behavioral deviance. Mahfouz used symbolism skillfully in revealing the negatives of the phase, by talking about the ideal hero, illegal wealth, and the inevitability of downfall in the end. Many stories also witnessed those philosophical reflections that Mahfouz was famous for, in addition to stories and plays loaded with important connotations.