Colonialism

Colonialism is a major force within Egypt’s history, and the novella takes care to explore the way in which colonialism has shaped the nation. Prior to al-Jahiz opening the portal through the Kaf to the other dimension and unleashing magic and djinns upon the real world, Egypt was occupied by British colonizers: “Whatever the truth of it, without al-Jahiz there would be no Ministry. Egypt would not be one of the world’s foremost powers. Indeed, the British might not even have been pushed out if not for the aid of the djinn” (13). Here, we see that al-Jahiz and the djinn were instrumental in freeing Egypt from the colonization of the British.

The people of Egypt escape colonization through combining forces. In the real world, the British occupied Egypt from 1882 up until 1956. However, in the novel, the British are said to have been pushed out...