Sir: Mr Mohamed Fayed could use his new publishing company
to close the gap in the market identified by Frank Johnson in his Diary (19 October) and produce an Egyp- tian equivalent of Debrett — perhaps to be entitled Tales of the Arabian Knights.
Apropos the vexed question of whether he is entitled to the prefix 'Al' the DTI inspector's report paragraph 1.17 states that the Fayeds 'assumed false birth dates and a new name "Al Fayed" when they left Egypt and Mohamed gave an explanation of this name which is bogus'. At paragraph 3.13.2., Fayed 'explained that Al means the head of the family: Al is like a title, the head of a tribe'.
Professor Dr Hassanein M. Rabie, an Egyptian professor of mediaeval history, proved (paragraph 3.13.3) that this was completely untrue and that none of the four cases where Al used to be added to a person's family name was relevant to the Fayeds. In no case does it signify that the person is the head of a family.
Perhaps the solution to Fayed's difficulty is to forget about becoming British and opt to be Irish — Mr O'Faighaidh's natural facility for the blarney gives him the perfect qualification.
Neil Hamilton
House of Commons, London SW1
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