Copts seek censorship of prize-winning novel

Of Egypt's predominantly Muslim population of 78 million, approximately ten percent are Coptic Christians. Although the law nominally protects Muslims, Christians, and Jews from degradation and persecution, many Christians contend that they are not adequately protected from Muslim insults and retaliation. With the growing fame of Youssef Ziedan's historical novel Azazeel, they claim they must endure blasphemies that would have never seen publication if they had been targeted against Islam.

The book follows several fifth century monks who overhear and participate in unorthodox conversations leading to the early church's formation. The book won the 2009 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, which is supported by the Booker Prize Foundation. Ziedan, an Islamic scholar and philosopher who was born in 1958, is not a Christian.

Should all religious groups in Egypt be equally entitled to censor the other? Is a country that allows the majority opinion to fiercely stifle the freedom of expression of opposing viewpoints democratically required to stifle every viewpoint? Does fighting for the removal of Ziedan's book from shelves justify the silencing of all writers who would dare to challenge Islam's supremacy in Egypt?

If convicted of insulting Christianity, the writer could face up to five years in prison.

Award-winning author to be sued by publicity-seeking composer

Saudi Arabian novelist Abdo Khal, winner of the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (the "Arabic Booker") on March 2, is to be sued by Egyptian composer Mohammad Raheem on grounds of libel.

Mohammad Raheem is also the name of a character in Khal's award-winning book She Throws Sparks, a composer who romances and mentors a prostitute in Jeddah. The real Raheem, who has composed music for several Arabic stars, has told Egyptian media that he requests the banning of Khal's book, the arrest of Khal, and the clearing of his name in the eyes of his family and associates.

Khal has insisted that the similarity of names and professions is coincidental and intended no harm. The name is, indeed, quite common.

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction, which is supported by the UK Booker Prize Foundation and funded by the Emirates Foundation of the UAE, carries with it a cash prize of $60,000. This year, its third, the prize committee attracted 113 nominations from seventeen countries. Winning the award promises not only financial security but also increased international recognition and accolades and future publication and translation deals.

According to The Tanjara:

The Administrator of the Prize, Joumana Haddad, commented: “The importance of the IPAF lies not only in its financial value, but in the social and cultural influence it has, the most important aspect of which is supporting high quality Arabic fiction and encouraging both writers and readers to consider writing and reading as vital acts."

Khal's book, whose full title is Spewing Sparks as Big as Castles (an allusion to a Quranic verse about Hell), should--as a result of the award--be published into English soon. A bitingly satirical look at the destructive power of wealth on life and the environment, the novel is unavailable in Khal's home country, where the criticisms allegedly strike too closely at the ruling elites.

Young novelists surge in Egypt

An increase of Barnes and Noble-style megabookstore/cafe/lounges in Egypt has engendered a new wave of young Egyptian authors, though, unlike their predecessors, whose literature was steeped in religion, social mores, and political controversy, these new Arabic writers are more interested in depicting the commonplace trials of life in twenty-first century Egypt, such as homelessness, unemployment, suicide, and rape, as well as the influx of European and American influences in the form of pop culture, the Internet, and technology.

Popular new authors and their books include

• Abu Golayyel, whose humorous, semi-autobiographical A Dog with No Tail recounts a Bedoin construction worker's experiences with prostitution, discrimination, and drug abuse;
• Hamed Abdel-Samad, whose Farewell to Heaven examines sexual abuse, childhood delusions and illusions, and self-imposed exile in Europe;
• Ahmed el-Aidy's Being Abbas el-Abd, the story of a video store clerk who experiences social connection only through the Internet and his cell phone; and
  
• Mazen al-Aqaad, whose Lost Anger unearths the transfixing, cult-like influence of the Internet while highlighting a group of young people whose miserable and boring lives have led them to form an online suicide cult.

Some view the rising popularity of fiction in socially conservative, authoritarian Egypt as a positive stimulant to progress and political freedom. From an Associated Press article by Hamza Hendawi:

"While not political, the intellectual stimulation created by all this fiction will one day bring about reform and help contain the dangers of religious extremism and sectarianism," said Mohammed Hashem, founder of Dar Merit, publisher of "Being Abbas al-Abd" and many of the more experimental new works.

London and Qatar team up for literary salon

Bloomsbury Publishing and Qatar Publishing have united to form the Bloomsbury Qatar Literary Salon, a series of ongoing events to be held in London and Doha, Qatar, at which Arab writers will be given the opportunity to discuss their work.

The first event, last Thursday, featured British-Egyptian writer Ahdaf Soueif, whose The Map of Love was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 1999.

The second event, to be held in Doha on the first night of Ramadan Iftar, September 9, will feature readings by established and up-and-coming Arabian poets. Future events will follow approximately every two months.