Underwood 1

Blake Underwood
Dr. Beth Whitaker
POLS 1130-001
01 December 2014
The Yacoubian Building
Taha el Shazlis aspirations embody the ideals of the American dream, but he
does not live in America and because of that, his dreams are much harder to achieve.
Taha lives in Egypt, which is a place filled with corruption, both at the national and local
level. Although Taha has goals and works to achieve them, he is prevented from attaining
his goals by the corruption that fills the Egyptian society. Tahas incident at the police
station, his love affair with Busayna, and his encounters with Sheikh Shakir are all
reasons why Taha made such a dramatic transition from a promising young student to a
bitter Islamic extremist.
To begin with, Tahas incident at the police station was the first of many incidents
that led to his transition. Since his childhood, Taha had dreamed of being a police
officer and devoted all his efforts to realizing that dream (Aswany 16). He devoted
himself entirely by studying for the exams, praying every morning and night, working
odd jobs to pay for his bribe, and even made friends with other police officers. All of his
efforts made him the perfect candidate for the police academy. On the day of his final
test, which was a character interview, he was prepared and felt confident in his
application. He had obtained high marks on his exams and had rehearsed responses to the
questions he would be asked. He responded wonderfully to all of the questions, expect
the one he had not been expecting. The presiding general said to Taha, Your father-

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whats his profession? (Aswany 58). Taha did not know what to say, but reluctantly told
the general that his father was a property guard. Upon hearing this, the presiding general
smiled and dismissed Taha immediately.
This deeply hurt Taha because he had worked so hard to pass all the tests to
become a police officer and achieve his childhood dream. All of his hard work was
ignored on the simple basis of his fathers occupation. This incident initiated Tahas
change into a bitter Islamic extremist. He changed entirely. He no longer wore western
clothes, lacked self-confidence, or appeared timid. Taha, no longer feared death or held
any created being in awe (Aswany 116). This was a major transformation that made him
deeply religious and seemingly unfazed by the thought of death.
Also, Tahas love affair with Busayna contributed to Tahas transition. The two
had been in love ever since they were kids in school, so much that Taha imaged marrying
her one-day (Aswany 20). However, suddenly Busayna had changed and this greatly
affected Taha as he became worried about their relationship (Aswany 23). All of this was
happening at the same time as Tahas character interview, which only made matters
worse. He began to worry about what Busayna was doing working with Tala and started
to question her more frequently.
Soon after Taha became deeply religious, he began trying to persuade Busayna to
do the same. She, however, would not because she was not impressed by Sheikhs
sermons or interested in becoming religious. Busayna began working for Zaki, who was a
man known for his love for women. This angered Taha and he tried to convince her to
leave him, but she would not because she needed the money she was receiving from him.
Taha wanted Busayna to become religious and leave her job with Zaki, but she did not

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want to because her family needed the money. Busayna told Taha, listen, Im telling
you-bottom line, its over between us (Aswany 118). This incident, specifically, deeply
affected Taha and he became upset at the thought of losing Busayna. It bothered him
because once again, something he was passionate about was taken away from him. He
truly loved Busayna, but their relationship came to an end all because of her need for
money.
Another driving force in Tahas transition was his relationship with Sheikh
Shakir, who was a pastor at a local mosque. The sheikh was very influential on Taha by
providing him whenever they met with increased faith in God and knowledge of Islam
(Aswany 116). Taha was able to learn an abundance of knowledge about how to live a
proper life according to Islam, which greatly changed how Taha lived his life. Sheikh was
so influential to Taha that he was able to convince him to participate in student protests
condemning the war in the gulf, which the military did not like because it was antigovernment. His participation in these protests led to a major incident, which greatly
altered Tahas outlook on life.
Taha was violently beaten and taken by Egyptian soldiers one night as he lay in
his bed. He was taken to Yacoubian building, where he was tortured and violated by the
soldiers (Aswany 150). The soldiers were trying to get Taha to tell information about his
organization (The Islamic Action Charter) but Taha would not budge. After being
brutally beaten and forced to participate in inappropriate acts, he was released. Upon his
release, Taha told the Sheikh he would find out who they were and take revenge on
them one by one (Aswany 168). This was the final straw the pushed Taha over the edge,

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making him a bitter extremist who despised the Egyptian military, wanting nothing more
than revenge.
The political corruption of the Egyptian government is the primary source of
blame for Tahas radicalization. If the government had not hindered him from being a
police officer on the basis of his fathers occupation, Taha would still be a productive
citizen in society. The root of the problem in Egypt is its vast political corruption that
seems to emerge everywhere. When Taha was taken by the soldiers and beaten, the
government was to blame. They decided to go after Taha because he was speaking out
against the government in protests, which opposed the war in the gulf. If the government
had allowed free speech, Taha would not have changed into the bitter person he became.
After the soldiers beat Taha, he was bent on revenge and his transition was complete. The
political corruption of the Egyptian government is the reason Taha made such a terrible
transition.
In conclusion, it is wholly understandable why Taha made such a dramatic
transition. He began his life by dreaming about one-day becoming a police officer, but
that was all crushed, not by lack of merit, but because of his fathers occupation. He had
worked hard to achieve his dream, but in the end his hard work did not pay off. After
what they did to Taha, it is completely understandable why he despised the Egyptain
government. He wanted revenge for what they did to him, which is understandable given
the harsh circumstances he endured.

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Works Cited
Aswany, Alaa Al. The Yacoubian Building. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print.