With Egyptians still reeling from the January 25, 2011 revolution, Ashraf Abdulshafi published Journalistic Prostitution in 2012 (Dar Merit), a book that follows supporters of President Hosni Mubarak (1981-2011) who then became revolutionaries after he was toppled. Abdulsahfi’s sequel, Vodka (2015) revisits characters introduced in Journalistic Prostitution and gives the reader an intimate look inside the world of Egyptian journalism.

With Egyptians still reeling from the January 25, 2011 revolution, Ashraf Abdulshafi published Journalistic Prostitution in 2012 (Dar Merit), a book that follows supporters of President Hosni Mubarak (1981-2011) who then became revolutionaries after he was toppled. Abdulsahfi’s sequel, Vodka (2015) revisits characters introduced in Journalistic Prostitution and gives the reader an intimate look inside the world of Egyptian journalism.

“It is not about gossip or about defaming al-Sisi’s proponents to strengthen the Muslim Brotherhood,” says Abdulshafi of critiques of his book. “It is about people who turned into fictional characters and, by chance, all of them are journalists.”

Abdulshafi recreates the lives of his characters into tales, based on previously published articles, which has also been seen as contentious among critics. Still Abdulshafi insists that his motives were purely dramatic and artistic.

Ashraf Abdulshafi, what impact were you expecting from the book?

I did not want my book to defame anybody. I am not a prophet, I am just an author. I avoided judging people. Some readers considered Journalistic Prostitution a condemnation of these journalists while I was just giving examples. The book was published in a different era and my concern was reform and criticism without defamation. However, in Vodka, the situation is different. Vodka expresses everything. Some think it is a taboo while others think it is a delicious but pungent drink. It might not be a professional piece. I was using writing only as a guide through the dodgy roads to defeat all this tyranny.

How did you choose people? Was it only because they turned out to be fictional characters from your point of view?

Mohamed Fouda is not just a former employee at the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. He represents an entire society. He was imprisoned in 2002 for illicit gains case, in which Maher Jundi, the former governor of Giza, was involved. He was also involved in another scandal with Salah Hilal, former Minister of Agriculture in Ibrahim Mahlab’s government. I reflected on and studied Fouda’s life. I learned for Ghanem. I started to look at the drama lines especially that he was married to Ghada Abdulrazek, a famous actress and a very attractive figure. It’s as if what we were watching in movies had come true.

You highlight the press as a tool for business people to protect themselves and to convince us that they will remain key players in establishing any media institutions given that journalists cannot have their own institutions in Egypt. How do you see the freedom of press?

After publishing my book, I found that Ibrahim Issa was defending a businessman called Salah Diyab and describing him as the founder of the Al-Youm Al-Sabe’ newspaper, while the latter was still under investigation.

Diyab’s house was raided on November 8.  After finding unlicensed arms and ammunition, he was arrested. I found out that this author is affiliated with the business community and so I knew that what I wrote was true. As for the freedom of the press, I do not have a solution. However, it is supposed that if a businessman has private interests, he should pursue them beyond newspapers. Writing should not be subject to the business people’s orders and interests. It is a sacred act which reveals whether we are living under a democracy or a dictatorship. When business people are able to buy writers, this has nothing to do with despotic regimes. When writers turn into guardians of business interests, then it is the end.

Your book describes how Khalid Salah, editor-in-chief of Al-Youm Al-Sabe’, and businessman Ahmed Abou Hashima supported the Muslim Brotherhood government and how Salah supported al-Sisi running for presidency by writing a song. What does that mean? Do you think that the public does not notice such transformations?

People tend to overlook much of the scene. Those who control the media can move people through the daily nagging process. The audience has become subject to such media weapons and I believe that my task is to reveal all of that. Writers should tell people that this has nothing to do with politics; rather it is hidden financial deals. For example, Morsi was supported by a powerful alliance consisting of a businessman, an editor-in-chief and another businessman from Qatar. They supported this Islamic rule which fought freedom, art and creativity.

Some may consider your book as gossip as it reflects your career, especially because it was not published as a novel?

The response to Journalistic Prostitution made me sad. I felt that people wanted to take revenge on me. I found that the talk about purging journalism and the major media institutions was a mere fantasy. I am not a traitor. I am not a martyr. I just chose to undergo this experience. I wrote this book to incite a debate and remind those who spoke on behalf of revolution of the time when they were close to Mubarak’s regime.

I tried to abandon this subject so I wrote The Friday Prayers in 2013. However, drama attracted me again. That happened when Abdullah Kamal passed away and I went with poet Ibrahim Dawood to the consolation ceremony of my previous protagonist. I was surprised to see that those who attacked him now considered him a great writer and behaved as family members. At that moment, I decided to write. I enjoyed myself for three years. I was searching and reading in fields which I knew nothing about, such as fashion, and I reread many philosophy books. I underwent again a major experience without drama or any claims of being a martyr. I used this strategy to get rid of hatred which is quite similar to excessive love which causes blindness. I learnt not to hate or be vindictive. Fate put me in this experience and conflict. I had no choice but to write and enjoy writing.

Have you considered interviewing some of the characters of your book to seek direct answers or to verify some information? Do you consider articles as documents? What if those people changed because they went through hard experiences or gained better understanding of things?

I had no such concerns. Articles express the wish of writers to accumulate achievements. However, the writers I depicted became barbaric, a kind of capitalistic barbarism.

In the book, I did not take impressionistic positions. I did not have any wish to verify things or get back to these people. They did not write about any experiences they might have undergone and readers have the right to know. I addressed them as fictional characters.

I consider Abandon Your Wishes (2008), Journalistic Prostitution and Vodka part of my life; so is writing. The protagonist of my sole novel works at a partisan newspaper and was forced to work at Al-Balah Agency where second-hand clothes are sold at giveaway prices. This character reflects my career at many points. I worked at al-Arabi weekly issued by the Arab Nasserist Party where I was interrogated because I published a photo of Mustafa al-Nahhas, the leader of al-Wafd Party before parties were dissolved in 1954, which was larger than a photo of Gamal Abdul Nasser.