The “Striped Ones” (Al-Muḫaṭṭaṭīn) by Yūsuf Idrīs – AMirror of the Egyptian Political Scene

This paper is an attempt to interpret Yūsuf Idrīs’ political drama al-Muḫaṭṭatīn (The Striped Ones). Although the author died more than a quarter of century ago, the sociopolitical problems in his dramas still seem relevant. In the face of the latest developments on the Egyptian political scene, “Arab spring”, the overthrow of Husnī Mubārak in 2011, and the depravation of power of a newly elected president Muḥammad Mursī by the Egyptian army in 2013, Idrīs’ dramas, especially Al-Muṭṭaṭaṭīn (The Striped Ones), written in 1969, are especially meaningful. Not only does this drama express the dilemma of a heroic leader whose ideologies are successively satirically blurring, but also addresses the problem of corrupt power, the apparent revolution, ridicule Egyptian bureaucracy, and the phenomenon of bribery. The article’s author tries to show the universal character of this work by comparing its content with the affairs on the Egyptian political scene.