Children of Gebelawi (also known as Children of the Alley) by Naguib Mahfouz is a 1959 novel that uses heavy allegory to explore the rise and clash of the three major monotheistic religions through the lives of a family in a Cairo alley. The patriarch, Gebelawi, banishes his rebellious son, Idris, leading to a series of generational conflicts. Gebelawi’s descendants, including his grandsons Gebel, Rifaa, and Qaasim, each embody different virtues and flaws, representing justice, spirituality, and power, respectively. Eventually, a magician named Arafa tries to unravel the mystery of his grandfather’s disappearance, inadvertently killing him and setting off a chain of tragic events. The novel was controversial in the Arab world due to its allegorical content and criticism of religious dogma.
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