Palace Walk

In Palace Walk, the characters feel a close personal connection to the mosque of al-Husayn, which is located near their home. The mosque plays an important role in the community, acting as a social and religious hub for many people. For characters like Amina, however, the mosque has a more personal meaning. Amina worshiped at the mosque when she was young. Many of her more religious memories are connected to the mosque, but her marriage meant that she was no longer permitted to leave the house. When she stands on her rooftop, Amina is able to see the top of the mosque, but in accordance with her husband’s wishes, she can never return. As such, the mosque becomes a symbol of Amina’s nostalgia for a more devotional, more liberated time. The mosque becomes the focal point for this longing for freedom, and when her children suggest that she visit the mosque while al-Sayyid Ahmad is away, she seizes on the opportunity. The trip is a disaster, but Amina’s brief time in the mosque is a symbolic expression of a long-held desire to experience freedom, however fleetingly. Amina comes to view the mosque as a symbol of everything that she cannot have, which is why her reverence of the mosque never changes, even after her husband punishes her for leaving the house.

In a physical sense, the mosque also symbolizes the role of religion in the lives of the people of Cairo. The many streets adjacent to Palace Walk all converge at the mosque of al-Husayn. In a physical sense, every road leads back to the mosque, just as every conversation is littered with references to God and to religion. Though many of the characters are hypocrites, the placement of the mosque at the center of the community symbolizes the pivotal role that Islam plays in Egyptian culture as depicted in the novel. Just as religion is the foundation of the characters’ self-conception, the mosque is the central point of the community itself.

This relationship to the community is also clear in the way in which al-Sayyid Ahmad turns his weekly visit into a ritual. Each Friday, al-Sayyid Ahmad takes his three sons to the mosque for their prayers. Though al-Sayyid Ahmad is the most hypocritical character in terms of breaking religious rules, the mosque provides him with an opportunity to publicly display his piety. This is why al-Sayyid Ahmad is so angry when Yasin is accused of being a spy by a young man in the congregation. The public declaration of devotion is undermined by the public accusation of disloyalty. Had this accusation taken place anywhere else, al-Sayyid Ahmad would be less outraged. The mosque symbolizes the community, so an accusation made in the mosque is a direct threat to al-Sayyid Ahmad’s reputation. When Yasin escapes thanks to Fahmy’s association with the independence movement, al-Sayyid Ahmad is again undermined, for it is clear that Fahmy, not al-Sayyid Ahmad, has the more valued reputation in the mosque. As a result, al-Sayyid Ahmad’s anger with Fahmy results from his personal relationship with the mosque. He feels undermined in public, so he directs this anger toward his sons.