The Journey of Ibn Fattouma is a provocative fable written by the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, which was first published in Arabic in 1983. It was later translated into English from Arabic by Denys Johnson-Davies in 1992. The story is set in a fabled and non-temporal space that represents the historical Middle East.
The parable follows the protagonist Qindil Muhammad al-Innabi through his excursions into different societies to find the land of perfection, Gebel. It acts as an allegory for the evolution of the organized civilization through the journey into Al Mashriq, Halba, Haira, and Aman. His pilgrimage begins in his birthplace, Dar al-Islam, which is a society that observes Islamic beliefs but also exhibits corruption. Through the realms, he engages with a variety of cultural dynamics while also on a path of personal growth and self-discovery. The fable delves into religion, tolerance, justice, and freedom through the lens of cultures at different points of evolution.
The Journey of Ibn Fatouma strays away from Western literary influences by drawing from Arabic narratives evident through episodic storytelling. Moreover, the protagonist is inspired by the 14th-century Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta as he encounters new cultures and places akin to the traveler. Issa Peters of World Literature Today said, “The Journey of Ibn Fattouma, therefore, is a kind of pilgrim's progress, but the pilgrim here is more of a social reformer than a religious believer impelled by an apocalyptic vision of the divine.”
