Imprisoning a Revolution

This groundbreaking collection of writings by prisoners of conscience in Egypt offers a unique lens on the global rise of authoritarianism over the last decade. This book contains letters, poetry, and art produced by Egyptians imprisoned from the eruption of the January 25, 2011, uprising through the fall of 2023. 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 to Imprisoning a Revolution raise profound questions about the nature of politics both in authoritarian regimes and in 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, this book 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˜ gi˜ wa Thiong'o in Conversation with Collective Antigone Selected Bibliography