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A book that is banned in its own country has become a leading contender for a new literary prize that aims to encourage wider reading of novels written in Arabic.

In Praise of Hate has been banned since it was published last year. By the award-winning Syrian scriptwriter and novelist Khaled Khalifa, it is set in Syria in 1982, and centres around the army's brutal shelling of Hama, where opposition groups were fighting the late President Hafez al-Assad.

It is one six titles shortlisted for the first “Arabic Booker Prize”. Khalifa describes himself as staunchly secular, and has said that the novel attacks political ideologies based on religion: “There is fierce and direct criticism of sectarianism which produces the culture of hatred.”

Another shortlisted title dealing with conflict in the Middle East is June Rain by Jabbour Douaihy, which explores the civil war in Lebanon.

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is run in association with the Booker Prize foundation and is funded largely by the Abu Dhabi Emirates Foundation. None of the shortlist, announced this week, has been translated into another language, and Sigrid Rausing, owner of Granta, has agreed to fund an English translation of the winner.

The shortlist has touched other sensitive political nerves, with complaints that its geographical range is too narrow, with two authors from Lebanon, two from Egypt, a Syrian and a Jordanian, but none from the Gulf and Iraq.

There are also fears that encouraging authors to write with a Western audience in mind will undermine the authenticity of Arabic literature, and provoke authors to write belligerently or to hide social behaviour that may be controversial.

One judge, the Moroccan writer Mohammed Berrada agreed that this happened with some entries, but added: “Many of the novels deal with the position of women or sexuality. They seek to interrogate their own country.”

Some also feared that the novels' subjects will reinforce cultural stereotypes. But the judges see this as inevitable in the Middle East.

Another judge, the Palestinian author Feissal Darraj, said: “The themes may be pessimistic but the writing itself is a source of optimism: it is an act of resistance.”

The other shortlisted titles are The Land of Purgatory by Elias Farjouh, Walking in the Dust by May Menassa, Swan Song by Mekkaoui Said and Sunset Oasis by Baha Taher. The winner will be announced on March 10.

www.arabicfiction.org

Region :Middle East and North Africa
Country :Morocco
Topic :Investigative Reporting, Fellowships and Awards

01/02/2008
Journalists have the opportunity to enter a contest for the best investigative story of 2007, sponsored by Press Now. The deadline to apply is February 28.

The contest is open to Moroccan journalists. Winning journalists will receive prizes in the following cash amounts: first place 15000 Dirhams (approx. US$1,961), second place 8000 Dirhams (approx. US$1,046) and third place 6000 Dirhams (approx. US$784). Winning stories will be published in a Moroccan newspaper or magazine. Articles must be submitted in French, Arab or Amazigh and should deal with one of the themes posted on the website.
To learn more, click here.