Youssef Zidan, author of the controversial novel “Azazel, discussed his best-selling novel in an open forum at the Heliopolis branch of Diwan Bookstore the end of last week. Those expecting to find concrete answers to Zidan’s rather questionable stance against the church and Christianity were confronted with remarks that further raised eyebrows.
“Azazel tells the fictional story of Hypa, a Coptic monk in the fifth century A.D. witnessing troubled times in the Church’s history as it faces a fresh wave of heresy spear-headed by Nestorius, the Archbishop of Constantinople. The title “Azazel is an ancient Hebrew name for the Devil who remains the monk’s companion and philosophical debater throughout his journey. The novel is full of accurate historical details driven from decades of research. Its portrayal of the Church of Alexandria as a scheming villain has sparked controversy, disapproval, and suspicion of bias.
As inviting as the forum’s atmosphere was, one could tell the audience were ready to start firing questions at Zidan the moment he walked in.
The queries raised by the audience were expected, considering the several thorny paths the novel marches straight into. Zidan’s response closely resembled, to a great extent, the same concerns of his protagonist.
As the discussion turned into the subject of the heresy of Nestorius, its origins, and the church’s reaction to it, Zidan, delved deeply into detailed historical account completely devoid of theology, avoiding presenting the Church’s viewpoint.
Asked about the part in the novel where Hypa ponders the trustworthiness of the then-popular Coptic bibles and whether it’s difficult to understand God and feel his presence, Zidan gave quite a mystifying response, asserting that anyone attempting to ask the same questions might probably reach Hypa’s conclusions.
This was just the perfect timing for the forum’s young coordinators to exchange timid if not slightly fearful glances. Undeterred, Zidan went on to compare Hypa’s religious skepticism to similar ones in Islamic history, quoting Mansour Al-Hallaj, a famous Persian mystic and writer who lived in 800s AD and was executed for heresy.
Along with the novel’s much debated introductory Hadith quote, several remarks made by Zidan raised the question of whether the author is against Christianity per se or if he endorses an individualistic view of the spiritual and the religious, a view which brings to mind the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.
A member of the audience asked why Hypa is portrayed as extremely weak when it comes to temptations. Faced with two sexual temptations, he is easily won over by the devil each time. Zidan answered that the image of saint-like monks that Copts inherit has been more than 1500 years in the making, so readers shouldn’t try to apply today’s standards to Hypa.
In a discussion about how the Coptic Church depict the heretics as super villains and how this extremity is rarely re-examined by adults who were instilled with it as little children, Zidan drew attention to a similar practice in the case of Islam.
Islamic infidels for example are always described as evil masterminds who wish to destroy the world and who have no room for good in their hearts. Similarly, he added, the pious are described as saints who, in their ultimate purity, the concept of sin doesn’t even cross their minds. The humanity of these characters is sacrificed so that ideals can be preached. Zidan in “Azazel does the opposite and presents Hypa as a flawed incredulous human.
The highlight of the evening was Zidan discussing the origins of the heretic wave the Chruch faced starting with Aruis in the fourth century going through Nestorius almost a century later, leading into the split of the Oriental Orthodox Church after the council of Chalcedon. Zidan attributes the reason for these disagreements to pre-Christian history.
The Copts and Romans had no motive to reject the idea of Jesus being God as they have been quite comfortable with the idea of human gods passed on by their ancestors. On the other hand, the Byzantine Christians residing in the Eastern Roman empire found the idea very unsettling as their gods have long before Christianity been pagan, a mindset that eventually lead to the creation of separate Nestorian sects that couldn’t believe that Jesus was God.
Zidan stressed that nations don’t change completely or overnight, even after embracing a new faith, but they rather adapt their new religion to fit within their older worldview.
