Mahmud Sadani

Mahmoud El-Saadany, also transliterated as Mahmud Al-Saadani or al or el Saadani or Sa'dani (20 November 1927 – 4 May 2010) was an Egyptian satirical writer and journalist.^[1] He is considered one of the pioneers of satirical writing in the Arab press.^[2] He participated in editing and founding a large number of Arab newspapers and magazines in Egypt and abroad. He headed the editorship of Sabah Al-Khair, an Egyptian magazine in the sixties. As a Nassirist,^[3] he also participated in political life during the reign of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and was imprisoned during the reign of Anwar Sadat after he was convicted of participating in a coup attempt.

Mahmoud El-Saadany
محمود عثمان إبراهيم السعدني
Born	(1927-11-20)20 November 1927 Kafr Al Qarinayn, Menofia Governorate, Egypt
Died	4 May 2010(2010-05-04) (aged 81) Giza
Nationality	Egyptian
Occupation(s)	writer, journalist
Relatives	Salah El-Saadany (brother) Ahmed El Saadany (nephew)

El-Saadany issued and headed the editorship of the July 23 magazine in his exile in London. He returned to Egypt from his self-imposed exile in 1982 after the assassination of Sadat and was received by President Mubarak. He had relations with a number of Arab rulers such as Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein. He retired from journalism and public life in 2006 due to illness, and died in Giza on 4 May 2010, at the age of 81.^[4]

Early life and career

Mahmoud Othman Ibrahim El-Saadany grew up in the Giza district of Greater Cairo. He is the older brother of the actor Salah El-Saadany. At the beginning of his journalistic career, he worked in a number of small newspapers and magazines that were published on Muhammad Ali Street in Cairo, after which he worked in the "Al-Kashkul" magazine, which was published by Mamoun Al-Shinnawi until its closure. Then he worked as a freelancer for some newspapers, such as Al-Masry newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Wafd Party. He also worked at Dar Al-Hilal. He also published, along with the cartoonist Toghan, a comic magazine that was shut down after a few issues.^[5][6]

Works

El-Saadany's works were all in Arabic. In his books, he mainly used literary Arabic blended with Egyptian colloquialism as well of many satirical expressions he coined himself.^[7]

As of the end of 2022, none of his works were known to be published in any language other than Arabic. His books include:

• Egypt Revisited^[8]
• Amreeka ya Weeka^[9]
• A Donkey from the East^[10]
• Memoirs of the Mischievous Boy^[11]
• An Idler in the Lands of the African^[12]