Imprisoning a Revolution

A groundbreaking collection of writings by political prisoners in Egypt, offering a unique lens on the global rise of authoritarianism during the last decade.
 
This book contains letters, poetry, and art produced by Egypt's incarcerated from the eruption of the January 25, 2011, uprising. Some are by journalists, lawyers, activists, and artists imprisoned for expressing their opposition to Egypt's authoritarian order; others are by ordinary citizens caught up in the zeal to silence any hint of challenge to state power, including bystanders whose only crime was to be near a police sweep.
 
Together, the contributors raise profound questions about the nature of politics in both authoritarian regimes and their "democratic" allies, who continue to enable and support such violence. This collection offers few answers and even less consolation, but it does offer voices from behind the prison walls that remind readers of our collective obligation not to look away or remain silent. With a foreword by acclaimed Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji and an afterword with Kenyan literary giant Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Imprisoning a Revolution holds a mirror not just to Egypt but to the world today, urging us to stop the rampant abuse and denial of fundamental human rights around the globe.

Contents

List of Illustrations 
Acknowledgments 
Note on Transliteration 
Foreword: Texts That Survived the Ashes, by Ahmed Naji 

Introduction, by Collective Antigone 

1. Anonymous 
A DIARY OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN PRISON 
2. Alaa Abd El-Fattah 
TORA PRISON, CELL 1/6, WARD 4 
JAN. 25, 5 YEARS ON: THE ONLY WORDS I CAN WRITE ARE ABOUT LOSING MY WORDS 
3. Anonymous 
FRAGMENTS OF A COPTIC PRISONER’S DIARY: ON THE MARGINS OF A BIBLE 
4. Ayman Moussa 
“SCREAMS OF MY MIND” 
5. Ahmed Abdallah 
TRUTH ABOUT GIULIO 
6. Ahmed Gamal Ziada 
THE RECEPTION 
THE GIFT 
7. Ahmed Douma 
“BEING AWAY HAS ITS IMPACT . . . AND OUR ABILITIES HAVE THEIR LIMITS” 
SEEKING REFUGE IN THE DARKNESS 
8. Mohamed Morsi 
A MESSAGE FROM DR. MOHAMED MORSI TO THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT 
9. Mohsen Mohamed 
TIME 
ON THE ROAD 
ON THE BURSH AFTER DINNER 
THE LIGHT ISN’T SURROUNDED BY GUARDS 
DISAPPEARANCE 
SERGEANT 
10. Abdelrahman Tarek (Moka) 
THE “INTAKE” 
11. Mohamed Nabil 
“HEAPS OF FLESH UNDER THEIR CONTROL” 
12. Sarah Hegazy 
“AMIDST ALL THIS, ALL WE WISHED FOR . . . WAS A HUG BY OUR MOTHERS” 
A YEAR AFTER THE RAINBOW FLAG CONTROVERSY 
A DEDICATION 
FAREWELL 
13. Yara Sallam 
“DID YOU SEE AYA IN QANATER PRISON?” 
HOW WE GOT USED TO THE SCREAMS OF THOSE ON DEATH ROW 
I LOST TRACK OF TIME IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD: ON COPING WITH PRISON AND ITS AFTERMATH 
14. Ibrahim Ezz al-Din 
“BORED OF TORTURING YOU!” 
15. Mostafa al-Aasar 
“WE ARE MUCH WEAKER THAN WE SEEM” 
“DESTINED FOR MISERY” 
RAMADAN NIGHTS IN PRISON 
16. Sanaa Seif 
WHEN THE LAW IS NOT THE LAW ANYMORE 
DEATH’S CHILD 
ON THE VIGIL OF THE ARREST 
ABOUT PRISON, BOOKS, CHAOS OF THE MIND, AND THE STATE SECURITY OFFICER 
17. Patrick George Zaki
LETTER NUMBER 1 
LETTER NUMBER 2 
LETTER NUMBER 3 
18. Malak al-Kashef 
A HUNDRED DAYS 
19. Khaled Lotfi 
WHY AM I HERE? 
20. Shady Abu Zaid 
FLOWER FOR A FRIEND 
TEXT ENGRAVED IN BOAT 
21. Shady Habash 
“PRISON DOESN’T KILL, LONELINESS DOES” 
22. Galal El-Behairy 
A LETTER FROM TORA PRISON 
23. Walid Shawky 
SHADY HABASH: A TURNING POINT WHERE THE CIRCLE ENDS 
24. Ramy Shaath 
DEAR FAMILY AND LOVED ONES 
DEAR LOVE 
25. Haitham Mohamadin 
“DO YOU LISTEN TO UMM KULTHUM?” 
26. Abdelrahman ElGendy 188
AMMAD 
LUMOS 
27. Anonymous 
A DAY IN THE LIFE . . . WE CREATED A DREAM NO POWER CAN ERASE 
“WE CANNOT HUG OUR CHILDREN”: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD DETAINEE 
I AM AFRAID TO DIE IN PRISON 
AS IF PRISONS WERE DESIGNED TO KILL US 
28. ISLAM KHALIL 
FIVE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS 
29. Journalists in Prison 
SOLAFA MAGDY 
ESRAA ABDEL FATTAH 
SHEREEN BEKHEIT 
KARAM SABER 
HISHAM FUAD 
AHMED TAREK (ARNOUB) 
ANONYMOUS FEMALE JOURNALIST 
REEM QOTB GABARA 
HASSAN AL-BANNA MUBARAK 
30. Mahienour El-Massry 
PRISON IS A MICROCOSM OF SOCIETY 
WE SHALL CONTINUE 
ABOUT GAZA DURING THE 2014 ATTACK 
ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ASSASSINATION OF SHAIMA AL-SABBAGH 
31. Mohamed Ramadan 
KNOWING YOUR TORTURER 
32. Mohamed El-Baqer 
THE PANDEMIC IN PRISON 
33. Collective Letters 
TO THE LEADERS OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, FROM THE YOUTH OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD 
FROM WOMEN PRISONERS 
CRY FOR HELP FROM QANATER WOMEN’S PRISON 
LETTER OF DISTRESS FROM DETAINEES AT SCORPION PRISON 
34. Basma Refaat 
QANATER WOMEN’S PRISON 
35. Mona Mahmoud Mohamed 
WHY AM I IN PRISON? 
36. Israa Khaled Said 
I’M HERE BECAUSE YOU DID WELL, MOM 
37. Ghada Abdel Aziz 
“FROM THE WORST PLACE” 
38. Marwa Arafa 
DEAR BIG WAFAA 
39. Essam Mohamed Atta 
LETTER 
40. Anonymous 
LIFE ON DEATH ROW 
41. Ibrahim Azab 
KISS MY COMBAT BOOT 
42. Anonymous 
SOUNDS OF THE EXECUTION CHAMBER FROM THE ROOM NEXT DOOR 
43. Anonymous 
I AM NOT A FAMOUS DETAINEE 
44. Yassin 
YASSIN AND HIS PRISON PAINTINGS AND NOTES 
45. Mahmoud Abu Zeid (Shawkan) 
INFORMANTS IN THE MORNING 
46. Song of Submission 

Afterword: A Message to Egyptian Political Prisoners, Ngu˜ gı˜ wa Thiong’o in
Conversation with Collective Antigone 

Selected Bibliography