The country's literary and intellectual luminaries were marginalized in the same way. Naguib Mahfouz's23 novels were no longer serialized in Al-Ahram. Tawfik Al-Hakeem's last two novels were published in Paris and Beirut, but not in Cairo. Ihsan Abdel Kodous, Egypt's foremost romance novelist, was branded a 'pornographer', and some of his publishers took it upon themselves to change the endings of some of his novels {without his knowledge} to suit the rising social conservatism.
The literary and intellectual figures of Egypt faced significant marginalization during a period of rising social conservatism. Notably, renowned author Naguib Mahfouz saw his works no longer featured in widespread publications like Al-Ahram, while Tawfik Al-Hakeem had to publish his last novels outside of Egypt, in places such as Paris and Beirut. This shift signified a broader cultural suppression affecting artists and thinkers in the country.
Ihsan Abdel Kodous, a prominent romance novelist, was particularly affected by this changing climate; he was labeled a 'pornographer'. In response, some of his publishers undertook the drastic measure of altering the conclusions of his novels without his consent, reflecting the growing push towards a more conservative societal standard. This situation illustrates the challenges authors faced as they navigated the tightening grip of censorship and conservative values in Egypt.
