Gariwo
https://en.gariwo.net/education/arts/if-a-novel-s-jew-scares-the-arab-world-6770.html
Gariwo

If a novel's Jew scares the Arab world

article by Valentina Colombo

Valentina Colombo wrote in the New York magazine Hudson: "Last year the Yemeni writer and intellectual Ali al-Muqri published his new novel with one of the most important publishers in the Arab world, the Lebanese Dar al-Saqi. Al-Muqri is known in the Arab world for his elegant style (he is a poet as well); for his research on the past of the Arabs; and for his engagement in favor of minorities in his country. His previous novel, Black Taste, Black Smell, on the condition of a group marginalized in Yemen because of their dark skin, was very well received by the Arab public. It seems, though, that with his last novel, al-Muqri did something wrong, at least as far as its title and its subject are concerned.

The Handsome Jew tells the story of Fatima, the educated daughter of a mufti, who falls in love with a Jew. Set in seventeenth century Yemen, the novel addresses the issue of tolerance towards other religions and social classes – a hundred pages in which the author said he just wanted "to reveal a memory in the form of an intimate love story that goes beyond dislike and class hatred between two religions." No ideology, no political hints; but this was not sufficient to avoid strong criticism from all sides. You only need to have a quick look at reviews of the novel and interviews with its author in Arab newspapers, satellite channels and websites and you will immediately realize that "The Handsome Jew" has never been regarded as a literary work.

Ali al-Muqri, for instance, in an interview with the Kuwaiti daily al-Awan, was asked: "Why did you chose to write a novel whose main character is a Jew and why did you choose "The Handsome Jew as a title?", and: "Is the aim of your novel to 'enlighten' the image of the Jew at a time when Jews kill Palestinians in occupied territories?", and: "Are you trying with your novel to draw a distinction between the Arab Jew and the Jew who has destroyed the world to turn Palestine into his country?" Even the interview on al-Jazeera's website contains questions like, "Your novel tells about the love between a Muslim girl and a Jew; don't you fear a political lecture over it in the shadow of the Arab-Israeli conflict?".

the full article by Valentina Colombo is provided in the box below

Valentina Colombo is a Professor of Geopolitics of the Islamic world at the European University of Rome and Senior Fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy in Bruxelles.

7 February 2011

Don’t miss the story of the Righteous and the memory of Good

Once a month you will receive articles and events selected by Gariwo Editorial Board. Please fill out the field below and click on subscribe.




Grazie per aver dato la tua adesione!

Related content