Marcus Pasha Simaika, Founder of the Coptic Museum. His Life and Times; Samir Mahfouz Simaika; Cairo; 2010
It is a self-evident truth that a man who single-handedly undertakes the daunting task of founding a museum would be an exceptional person; that much one would expect upon reading Marcus Pasha Simaika, Founder of the Coptic Museum. His Life and Times. The book, however, offers much more than its title suggests, though this in itself implies no small value. The heart-warming generosity and dedication of Marcus Pasha Simaika come through very vividly, as does the diligence with which he went about all the tasks he undertook, and these were numerous and varied.
The memoirs take the reader on a journey which spans some 80 years of Egypt’s history on the social, civic, political and religious levels. But this is no ordinary journey; it is the journey of an insider. In the preface to the book the author writes, “these memoirs were written over 70 years ago, and some issues may be irrelevant today, others divisive. Although some of his [Marcus Pasha Simaika] judgements may seem harsh, some of his stands abrasive and some of his positions arguable, I did not think it my right to modify or omit.”
In good time
The author of the book is Samir Mahfouz Simaika who was born in Cairo in 1936 and went on to become a prominent gynaecologist and obstetrician. His father Youssef Simaika was the eldest son of Marcus Pasha Simaika, and his maternal grandfather was Professor Naguib Mahfouz who is known as “the father of Egyptian obstetrics and gynaecology”. Interestingly, Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz was named after Professor Mahfouz who, in December 1911, saved him as a baby and his mother during a very difficult delivery. In gratitude, the father named the newborn Naguib Mahfouz.
Dr Simaika worked for a long time as first assistant to his grandfather and later took over the practice when Professor Mahfouz retired. He is married to Yolande Cassab and has a son, Youssef, who is also a gynaecologist and obstetrician, and a daughter, Marianne.
The memoirs of Marcus Pasha Simaika passed into the hands of his son Youssef with whom he lived after he lost his wife in a car accident, and thence to his grandson Samir. Dr Simaika writes that he had no time to go through the memoirs thoroughly while he had a demanding practice but that recently, as he diminished his practice ready for retirement, he went through them. He found a wealth of information, he says, regarding an era spanning about a century, from the mid-19th century to the early 1940s, a crucial time in Egypt’s modern history.
Hunger strikes
The book begins with the childhood of Marcus Simaika who was born in 1864 to one of the oldest Coptic families that could trace its ancestry to the middle of the 17th century. They lived in the mostly Coptic quarter of Ezbekia in Cairo. Simaika gives a very vivid image of home life during his childhood, describing in detail the home, its inmates, and their ranks and duties. He ends with the death of his maternal grandfather, Haj Birmawy, when his daughters, as was the custom then, turned down the carpets, had all the furniture covered with black sheets, veiled the mirrors, and smashed the fine collection of old blue china which had belonged to the grandfather and which adorned the shelves of the drawing room. In anguish, young Marcus carefully collected these fragments which he kept for the rest of his life.
Marcus studied at the Coptic Patriarchal School. Founded by Patriarch Cyril IV in the 1850s, it was among the finest schools in Egypt; its graduates went on to become among the most notable figures of the time, several became Cabinet ministers and prime ministers. The school was entirely maintained by the Church and was open to all Egyptians, Copts and Muslims, free of charge. Worth noting here is that, until 1867, Copts were not allowed to attend State schools.
As in every leading Coptic family at the time, one or two sons were consecrated for service in the Church. Marcus was chosen by his father to be a priest. His father allowed him to study Bible lessons, Coptic music, as well as Coptic, Greek and Arabic, but not any European language lest it draws him away form his life mission. Marcus, who was utterly keen to learn English for all the knowledge that can be gained with it, relates how he begged and pleaded, cried and even went on a hunger strike till his father allowed him to study English, and later French. It was a turning point in his life.
With the Egyptian Railways
Simaika graduated in 1882 and, in 1883, worked as an accountant with the Egyptian State Railways. His competence, honesty, and diligence earned him the appreciation of his superiors. One anecdote especially stands out when, to mark the appreciation of the board, Simaika was informed that he was promoted from Inspector General of Accounts to Chief of Audit. “Allow me to thank you for this new mark of confidence,” Simaika replied, “but the present chief, Antoun Bey Saheb, has to his credit 39 years of service and needs only one more year to be entitled to a full pension. If dismissed now he gets only two-thirds of this pension. I am young and not impatient for a promotion that would cause harm to a colleague. I can well afford to wait a year.” Upon which Boghos Pasha, who was then head of the State railways and was informing Simaika of the promotion, rose from his chair and shook his hand saying: “These sentiments do you great honour and raise you higher in our esteem.”
Simaika stayed with the State Railways till age 42 when he retired from government service. As a reward for his exemplary behaviour and competence he was appointed a permanent member of the Legislative Council and the Superior Council of Education (SCE).
Prime Minister assassinated
At the SCE Simaika worked with the nationalist leader Saad Pasha Zaghloul who was then Education Minister. They had a difference when Zaghloul proposed that marks for Islamic Religion instruction would be added to the overall student marks. When Simaika began to comment he was interrupted by Hussein Rushdy, on behalf of Zaghloul, saying the government could only recognise Islamic religion instruction in schools. Upon which Simaika retorted, “Excuse me, Pasha, I consider ours an Egyptian government bound to look after the interests of all Egyptians whatever their religion.” But this was only a comment he had to make to Rushdy’s remark; he had meant to say that adding the marks of Islamic religion would only work to the disadvantage of Muslim students compared to non-Muslims. Zaghloul withdrew his proposal.
Siamika played a leading role in convincing the council of the importance of supporting private schools for the community to assist the government in promoting education. He worked hard to secure a government grant for a plot of land on which to build a large Coptic School for girls. The school was built in Abbasiya in 1910 and stands to this day among the finest girls’ schools in Cairo.
On the Legislative Council which consisted of 30 members, Simaika served till 1922 when the council was dissolved. He vividly remembers his colleagues, among whom were Boutros Pasha Ghali and Prince Hussein Kamal, later Sultan Hussein Kamal. He was royally dignified, yet a liberal, completely free of fanaticism, and “recklessly generous”. In 1908 he contributed EGP30 towards the foundation of the Coptic Museum, followed by the princely sum of EGP500 in 1914 to establish a library there.
Simaika cites the details of the question of the extension of the concession of the Suez Canal, and the heated debate it aroused in the council, the Cabinet, and the local press. Tragically, it led to the assassination of Boutros Pasha Ghali in 1910 because he had favoured the extension. At his funeral, Simaika recalls, the venerable Sheikh al-Azhar said: “Few Muslims have done for their country the good this Christian did.”
The patriarchs
The book proceeds with Simaika’s recollections of the Coptic patriarchs and his work on the al-Maglis al-Melli, the Coptic Community Council (CCC). He begins with giving a historical account of Pope Cyril IV who was patriarch from 1854 to 1861 and who achieved so many reforms of the Coptic Church that he is termed “Father of reform”. He founded the first non-State schools for boys and the first ever school for girls in Egypt. He imported the first non-State printing press and had a procession of chanting deacons march before it as it was moved from Alexandria port to the patriarchate building. Yet, according to Simaika, history will judge Pope Cyril IV for changing the accent of Coptic sounds to better conform with modern Greek and for burning icons which he considered a form of idolatry.
Pope Cyril V was patriarch from 1874 to 1927. Simaika remembers him well and relates many of his great achievements in the Church, especially supplying them with service books in Coptic and Arabic type, but deplores his one great failing, that of condoning the faults of the clergy. Simaika relates how in 1926 the pope fell seriously ill and doctors said he had only a fortnight to live. Three months later the Pope, who was 95 then, was convalescing and in excellent health. Siamika visited him and found him digging in the garden. “What are you doing, Holy Father?” “Planting date palms,” was the reply. “But palms take a very long time to bear fruit,’ said Siamaika. Cyril answered, “We have enjoyed the fruits of trees planted by others, and we in turn must plant for others to enjoy.” A year later, Pope Cyril V dies.
Next came Pope Youhannes XIX, and it is obvious from Simaika’s memoirs that he held a poor opinion of him.
Pope in exile
Simaika gives a detailed account of his years of work with the CCC, which started in 1889 when he was just 25. This was a time when Coptic laymen were striving hard for reforms in the Church, which put them at loggerheads with Pope Cyril V. The laymen demanded education for the clergy, efficient administration of the Church and its finances, and more say in personal status laws such as marriage and divorce. The Church hierarchy, however, was deeply entrenched and enjoyed wide support among the masses. Simaika relates how the differences climaxed in 1890 with the exile of Pope Cyril to his desert monastery, and all the ensuing unrest till he was returned in 1893. The story reads like an intriguing tale of suspense that keeps the reader in thrall, the details at times too weird to have been true.
It took until 1928, a string of successes on the education, health, and communal services, and what Simaika considered a failed financial policy, for him to tender his resignation from the CCC after 39 years of service.
The Coptic Museum
The story of the establishment of the Coptic museum is an epic one-man crusade to save a heritage that was being ignored by the very persons entitled to it. Simaika recalls the first collection of old silver church utensils which were to be recast into modern ones. He was able to convince Pope Cyril V that he could raise the money for new utensils if the Pope would allow him to use them to start a museum for Coptic antiquities in a room adjoining the Muallaqa (Hanging) church in Old Cairo. The Pope agreed, and a subscription list was started in January 1908. The list of subscribers was headed by Hussein Kamal and included illustrious figures from the Coptic and Muslim communities, the Church hierarchy and the British and Armenian community in Egypt. Thus was established the national character of the museum which formally opened in 1910.
The book mentions in detail all the illustrious Egyptian and world figures who visited the museum time and again. Egypt’s King Fuad, US President Theodore Roosevelt, Crown Prince of Sweden Gustav Adolf, King Umberto of Italy, King Albert of Belgium, and almost all of Europe’s royalty and rulers made the honour guest list.
King Fuad was so impressed with the museum that he asked to have it annexed to the State. Since the museum included mainly Church property, Simaika proposed an agreement in 1924 that would be agreeable to both Church and State. But it took till 1930 and the intervention of some high State officials for the decree to be issued declaring the Coptic Museum a State institution.
The most moving part, however, is when Simaika describes how he made the museum collection. The diligence, dedication and passion with which he went about his quest to salvage whole parts of old Coptic buildings that were almost falling apart—ceilings, lattice woodwork, doors, architectural elements—as well as manuscripts, icons, church utensils, textiles, and even daily-life utensils big and small, is work of epic proportion.
Seeds of sectarianism
The book concludes with a chapter on both the Coptic and Muslim congresses in the first decade of the 20th century. Simaika believes these congresses sowed the first seeds of sectarian tension and were exploited by the British to “divide and rule”.
Marcus Pasha Simaika. His Life and Times makes compelling reading. Even though it is no ‘light’ book, the reader will find it very difficult to put down once begun. The book is richly illustrated with pictures and documents, but the text is too tight and margins too narrow for comfortable reading. Yet the flowing, lucid language which makes history come vividly alive leads the reader on as if sleepwalking.
Finally, one emerges with huge respect, appreciation, and fondness of this fine man. He died in October 1944. In 1947 a bust of Simaika was unveiled before the entrance of the Coptic Museum. On either side of the entrance to the main building is a marble plaque. On one of them is inscribed in Latin: “SI MONUMENTUM REQUIRIS CIRCUMSPICE”. Translated this reads: “Look around you and you will realise his achievement”. A fitting tribute, his grandson writes, to this outstanding man who was fearless and immensely proud of being an Egyptian and a Copt.
WATANI International
26 December 2010