Although Sanü`a was fiercely critical of Great Britain’s imperialism in India and feared the same fate for Egypt, his work reveals an intimate empire, in which the Sudanese were the servants, guards, and doorkeepers of Egyptian society. Although the Sudan itself was depicted as a wild and untamed land, Sudanese residents in Egypt were often portrayed as docile, fearful, and in need of Egyptian guidance.

Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Coloni…, loc. 316