In Arabian Nights & Days, Mahfouz shows conflict between religion and science or spirituality and reason. In "The Sheikh", a doctor and a religious teacher accuse one another of being wrong or "misguided". The doctor takes pity on the religious people and claims they are hypocrites while the sheikh accuses the doctor of being materialistic. The doctor also points out that he pities the martyrs who, as God-fearing people, feel the need to sacrifice themselves or others in the name of their religion. This is, in a sense, what Sanaan al-Gamali does when he kills the governor. The genie represents a God-like character and can be seen as a representation of religious corruption. Sanaan feels that he really has no other choice but to kill the governor because he is being "possessed" by the genie. But does he really have a choice? I think that Sanaan chooses to sacrifice the governor rather then himself as a personal choice. Maybe he feels possessed, but really, he has the choice. Had he chosen not to kill governor, he would have sacrificed himself for his family's sake (because the governor would marry the daughter) and the governor's life. When Qumqam won't save Sanaan from the situation at the end of the story, Sanaan doesn't take responsibility for his actions; he claims that Qumqam had complete control of him. It's interesting to look how people tend to blame things on other people and not take responsibility in the world today. Many politicians in today's society put the fault on other people or countries. Some countries" leaders use religion as means for doing something like attacking a country. The Al-Qaida government has used religion in their foreign policies and George Bush, even though he shouldn't, often makes references to God and the bible in his political endeavors. Perhaps Mahfouz was trying to illustrate the influence religion can have on "God-fearing" believers.
