(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
"Everyone" knows who Salman Rushdie is. The Indian author (living in England) is better known as a victim of Khomeini's fatwa, than one who has written good books. Not everyone agrees that Rushdie is a great writer. But "everyone" agrees that he is an important writer; for his head is still a symbol of persecuted writers and intellectuals, worldwide. But his struggle for (freedom of expression) is certainly not new. History shows that many writers have been persecuted, imprisoned or killed. The new thing about the Rushdie case was that he was the first Western writer (in modern times) to be convicted of an outlaw because of something he had written. The fact that non-Western writers were also persecuted – or subjected to worse punishments – received more attention only in the wake of the fatwa against Rushdie. But symptomatically, he was the only one who in 1993 was able to establish an international organization (The International Parliament of Writers), which precisely aimed to promote literary sovereignty and autonomy in relation to political forces. Rushdie was himself the first leader of IPW – now the organization is simply called the Network of Cities of Asylum, after its so far only "invention", namely the so-called free cities for persecuted writers. Norway and the association Norwegian PEN joined this collaboration in 1995, when Stavanger became the first Norwegian freebie. Today, Kristiansand, Oslo and Trondheim are also included in the scheme.
The Saudi Arabian writer Turki al-Hamad is not exposed to less than four fatwas issued by various religious leaders in Saudi Arabia. The first came as a result of his successful novel, Adama (Heb .: earth), which is not gracious in its criticism of both Saudi Arabian and Pan-Arabian politics. Descriptions of intimate bodily details and youthful sexuality have also not escaped the remorse of religious leaders.
The Forbidden Literature
I Adama – which is the first volume in a trilogy – we meet Hisham Ibrahim al-Abir, a student in his final year of high school. But the book begins with him sitting on the train from Dammam to Riyadh, where he will apply for a study place at the university; that is to say by that he has passed artium. In other words, the novel is told in two parallel stories, one in the hometown of Dammam and one in Riyadh, but whose brother – also the more interesting of the two – is added to the former. The plot is set in the late 1960s. Hisham and his friends are eagerly discussing Egyptian President Nasser, and his recent signing of the peace agreement with Israel, after the Six-Day War in 1967. Much of the novel is centered around this particular gang of boys, who play cards every night and discuss the latest political news; but it is Hisham the author wants to portray: a voracious guy who spends most of his time reading, albeit the books that are not on the syllabus – the forbidden books. He has smuggled these into the country, after being on holiday with his family in either Lebanon, Syria or Jordan. He reads philosophy, pamphlets and fiction: Marx, Lenin, Guevara, Gorky, Dostoevsky, Moravia, Flaubert and others. All this literature influences Hisham, and it is especially Marx he falls for. And he begins to fantasize about his own utopia, if built on a synthesis between Marxism and pan-Arab nationalism. (This idea, however, had already been discussed by the Ba'ath party in Syria, and was claimed as an objective – cf. the Principles of the Sixth Ba'ath Conference in 1963 – for the entire Arab world). The young and searching boy is then also noticed, and soon he is influenced by a Baath member, to believe that it is most necessary to enlist, they will experience "justice and freedom". But Hisham is in strong doubt: By being a member of a banned party, he exposes himself to danger to life, and if he were to be caught, he would dishonor his entire family. These conditions also prevail – well and good – in today's Saudi Arabia.
The ironic struggle
The Ba'ath party has never had real power in Saudi Arabia. The various kings and leaderships have opposed and cracked down on left-wing radical groups (and all other opposition), not only in their own country but also across the Arabian Peninsula: In the 1970s, the government sent military forces to defeat revolutionaries. uprisings in Yemen and Oman – being aware of this and that is an advantage when reading al-Hamad's novel. Today, Baath (Arab). reawakening) best known for being former President Saddam Hussein's party. The party, on the other hand, was established in Syria in 1943, and stands for a secular-oriented, nationalist, pan-Arab ideology, with socialist elements. And it is precisely these characteristics that Hisham is so attracted to, and which he will fight for in his homeland. But he is disappointed. The party turns out to be no better than the authorities in Riyadh; he must, for example, break the friendship with his best friend, in that he has also become a member of the secret organization. Should he oppose this, the most severe punishment will prevail. Hisham responds with disbelief: “Punishment! Orders! Are we really getting away from the authority of our parents and the government? ” The disappointments over the Party will prove to persist: Hisham discovers, among other things, that spies have been deployed to monitor him, and Baath only looks more and more like the system he wants to fight. He thinks about opting out, but does not dare – the novel eventually becomes almost as exciting as the best crime story, without being just that.
I Adama it is widely criticized by both the ruling government and the opposition, hypocritical left-wing radicals. To openly criticize the government was, and is, punishable in itself. But that is not why al-Hamad is exposed to four fatwas. It is a group of high-ranking, conservative theologians who have taken care of it. Although the country is not a theocracy (clerical government), like Iran, the religious leaders have a good portion of power, including through the political body Ulema. By the way, after the revolution in Iran in 1979, Islamic fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia tried to control the government in Riyadh, but failed. The country's government, with a very strong monarchy, has – more or less – remained unchanged since the establishment of the state in 1932. ). So it is not King Fahd or his government that has issued the fatwa against al-Hamad, because in his novel he is trampling on the conservative authorities; but the clergy, led by the cleric al-Khudair. But what are they reacting to?
Against an almighty god
Adama is more complex than it seems at first glance. For it is not only to the political authorities in Riaydh that critical questions are addressed or kicked out; but to the whole Arab world of life – the way children and young people, boys and girls, are shaped by parents, religion and state, so that they will fit into a familiar, traditional pattern. One should, to put it simply, worship his god and be kind to parents and the state; otherwise you can do whatever you want. It is this rigidity in society that Hisham will really rebel against. He loves Riaydh for the "freedoms" the big city offers: Here he can, for example, buy alcohol and sex on the illegal market, something he is then also tempted to do. But he does not become a hedonist. Something in him also seeks the more traditional, Arab way of being. For example, he is unable to let go of his secret love affair with the chaste neighbor girl, Noura. And here lies the complexity of the novel: Hisham is more of a doubter than a flat type. (It is in this way the main character himself who is complex, and not so much the novel per se). He condemns the authorities and religion, but admits that even the most heinous acts can be perpetrated by socialists and Marxists. The teachings of Islamic theology about predestination, with fatalism as a result, are criticized – and thus the belief in an almighty god. But again, the Marxist Hisham doubts his own guideline: “'Dialectical materialism' and 'historical materialism' crossed his mind; weren't they also forms of inevitable 'predestination'? ”
It is Hisham's reading of Marxist (read: forbidden) scriptures, his more or less haphazard attitudes to sexuality, as well as his doubts about an almighty god, that have set minds on fire in the Orthodox clergy of Saudi Arabia; and in 1999, the first death sentence was issued for al-Hamad. Shortly after, he signed The National Reform Document, a plan that seeks to modernize Saudi Arabia in a more "western direction". As a result, he was subjected to three new fatwas. The moderate Prince Abdullah (who is currently regent, due to King Fahd's ill health) has given al-Hamad protection in the form of bodyguards, but has reportedly had to admit to the author (according to the website foreignaffairs.org) that he has no control over the government's radical groupings. Nevertheless, al-Hamad continues to live in Riaydh, and yet he continues to write. The other books in the trilogy, Shumaisi og karadib, has not yet been translated into English. May it happen soon – and Adama to Norwegian – and not least: Get this man to Kapittel in Stavanger, our international festival for literature and freedom of speech!
