It’s a department where they record the features and characteristics of the accused and find out if he has committed any previous offences.
POLICEMAN (to the Pāshā, as he drags him along) Stop all this chatter. Come with me quietly and in an orderly fashion.
PĀSHĀ (holding back) What can one do in the face of predestined fate? How can I escape? Who will dispatch me to death a second time and return me to my grave?
ʿĪSĀ (pleading) I beg you, in the name of the one who is buried in the Citadel and by the clash of your swords in battle, please take my advice and behave as I suggest. Don’t resist or object. Reluctance will serve no purpose and only make our misfortunes worse. When we have no choice in the matter, the sensible thing to do is to resign ourselves to fate and to wear the appropriate garments for every situation, whether cheerful or miserable.
3.4
ʿĪsā ibn Hishām said: The Pāshā heard what I had to say and reluctantly accepted the decree of fate. We duly accompanied the Policeman until we reached the Register of Convictions and Substantiation of Identity. There the Pāshā endured enough identity procedures to give anyone heart failure and turn his hair white. They stripped him of his clothes, examined him limb by limb, measured his face and body, stared into his eyes, and did all kinds of things to him. He just kept sighing deeply until they had finished with him. They asked about bail and discovered that he had none because the Adjutant—God curse him!—had refused to accept the verification of his bail which the Shaykh of the Quarter had provided, so that he could legally keep him in prison for the night.
With that, they sent us over to the Parquet with the Policeman. When we entered, we found the Parquet Attorney with a load of cases on his hands and hordes of litigants waiting their turn. So we went over to one side to wait our turn as well. My companion turned to me.
PĀSHĀ Where are we now? Who’s this young fellow? What’s this mob of people?
ʿĪSĀ We’re in the Parquet office. This man’s a member of the Parquet, and all these people are litigants.
PĀSHĀ What is this “Parquet?”
ʿĪSĀ In this new legal system, it’s the judicial authority responsible for bringing criminal charges against offenders, acting on behalf of society. It was introduced so that no crime should go unpunished. Its duties are to uphold the truth and prove the guilt of the guilty and the innocence of the innocent.
PĀSHĀ What is this “society” on whose behalf it acts as deputy?
ʿĪSĀ The people as a whole.
PĀSHĀ Who is this mighty person whom the people agree to act as their deputy?
ʿĪSĀ The man you see in front of you is not a man of enormous importance. He’s just a peasant’s son whose father has sent him to schools where he’s obtained the certificate. He’s thus entitled to act as an attorney of the Parquet. His authority to deal with people covers matters of homicide, property, and finance.
PĀSHĀ In God’s eyes the martyr has an exalted status; in heaven, he occupies the very highest position.31 But you seem to have lost your mind! How can you suppose that martyrdom in the way of God and life here on earth can both apply to one man at the same time? What is even stranger and more confusing is that a peasant can have authority over people, and a farmer is the community’s deputy! I’ve gone from one misfortune to another but still remained calm and patient. But I can’t do so any longer in the face of this incredible state of affairs. What an utter disaster! What a terrible catastrophe! I’ve no patience left. Will someone help me return to the oblivion of the grave?
3.5
ʿĪSĀ You must realize that this “certificate” does not mean the same thing as martyrdom in holy war. It’s a piece of paper received by students at the end of their studies to confirm that they have studied and achieved excellence in the various branches of learning. Sometimes people who want to get one have to pay one thousand five hundred francs.
PĀSHĀ Oh, I see! You mean the certificate awarded by scholars at al-Azhar to the students who have studied with them and achieved distinction. But I never heard of such expenses in my time, nor have I heard of the noble al-Azhar dealing in francs.
ʿĪSĀ The subjects they study are not the traditional al-Azhar ones, but Western ones which they learn in Europe. The franc is the French unit of currency, and they call that amount the fee for the certificate. It is a trifling sum when you bear in mind the many advantages it brings. In this system, the basic principle is that “a certificate without any learning is better than learning without any certificate.” Anyone with a certificate can present it to the government department and have the right to receive a salary and continuing increments.
PĀSHĀ I almost follow you now. I think this certificate corresponds to the tax-farm lists and ledgers of treasury officials in the time of our government.
3.6
ʿĪsā ibn Hishām said: While we were chatting, two young men suddenly appeared. They looked very suave and elegant as they strutted their way through the crowd. Their sleeves exuded perfume into the air. Conversing volubly with each other, they managed to ignore everyone around them. One of them kept cleaving the air with his cane, while the other fiddled with his spectacles. Everyone stared at them agog. The Policeman walked ahead of them, pushing people out of their way. Eventually they reached the door of the Attorney’s office. He told the litigants in the various cases to leave, whereupon the usher proceeded to force them all out, cursing and swearing as he did so. Meanwhile the Attorney himself set about finishing up the minutes and removing the inkwells. Having cleared the entire place, he made ready to welcome the two young men. The Pāshā asked me:
PĀSHĀ (to ʿĪsā) It looks to me as if these two young men must be the sons of very important princes, or else they are inspectors of the Parquet like the police station Inspector whom we saw earlier.
ʿĪSĀ No, I think they’re just friends of the Attorney from his college days paying him a visit. That’s clear enough from their general appearance.
I wanted to find out more about the two of them. So, while everyone else was milling around, I took the opportunity to sneak up close to the door behind the curtain from where I could both see and hear. This is the conversation I heard:
3.7
FIRST VISITOR (after greeting the Attorney and sitting down) Why did you leave us yesterday before the game was over?
ATTORNEY It was long past midnight, and I had so many cases to deal with that I had to get up early.
SECOND VISITOR Whoever heard of cases keeping anyone away from his friends’ company? That excuse is only handy when you’re talking to people who aren’t familiar with the Parquet’s business! I personally am acquainted with a colleague who only spends an hour a day on cases! He’s satisfied just to look them over for a moment. He doesn’t bother to peruse them, but relies instead on a combination of his sheer mental acumen, his alert intellect, and his wide experience in order to discover the relevant facts. Not only that, but now that there’s no longer any disagreement or bad feeling between the Parquet and the police, the best idea is to make do with police evidence or else send it back it to them for completion. There’s no point in reopening inquiries and wasting time on something which may lead to more bad feelings and arguments all over again.
ATTORNEY
