CAIRO: When Merit publishing house reissued Khaled Berri’s “The World Is Better Than Paradise, it was a surprise to find the book has already been banned by Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Council.
“But we will distribute it any way, said Merit’s owner, Mohamed Hashem, who believes public opinion is the real motivator for the authorities to take action to stop the distribution of a banned book.
“The way authorities deal with banned books is situational . according to the trouble a book could make, added Hashem.
The book is an autobiography that narrates the story of a man joining Gamaa Islamia, the dissolved Islamist group that was active in the 1980s.
Berri, who currently works as a journalist for the BBC in London, describes his personal perspective on attacking Copts and his disappointment in not reaching the position of Emir in the disbanded group.
“The authorities are not likely to fight a book that combats terrorism and fundamentalism, said Hashem, whose publishing house received the Jerry La Pierre award for boosting freedom of expression in 2006.
“Love and Sex in the Prophet’s Life was another book that might cost a publisher and a budding writer their lives. The book by Bassant Rashed approaches the subject through analysis of previously published books and researches.
“I found it an important and interesting topic and I decided to publish it. I didn’t expect the repercussions it caused, the publisher, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Daily News Egypt.
When the book hit the shelves, the hard-line Islamic channel El-Hekma (Wisdom) criticized the work in a talk show, revealing the publisher’s contact details.
“The channel did it unprofessionally. They called me with a false identity, putting on air what I was supposed to say, he added.
The publisher, who received a handful of phone calls accusing him of blasphemy in addition to death threats, informed the Egyptian State Security of his situation. The author of the book is now in hiding, according to the publisher, and could not be reached by Daily News Egypt.
Of the books published in languages other than Arabic, those in English are most likely to catch the eye of the censorship authorities.
“Veronica Decides to Die and “Eleven Minutes, both from the well-known novelist Paulo Coelho, are the most recent English-language books to top the list of banned works.
“The title [of Veronica Decides to Die] is obviously the reason for its being banned: it shows someone’s decision to die, said Shaimaa Yassin, a supply manager of English books in Dar El-Shorouk publishing house.
Around 16 different security, media and religious authorities are involved in the censorship of art productions and publications in Egypt, among which is a department called the Art Productions Investigations.
Yassin said that the department sends the publisher a list of books that are banned, but that it does not physically confiscate them. “Only if they inspect and find the banned books do they have the power to fine us, she said.
In the last two decades Egypt had witnessed the interference of religion institutions in realms of arts and entertainment.
“According to law, Al-Azhar should revise any book that tackles the divinity , said Hamdi El-Asiouti, a lawyer who advocates freedom-of-expression cases.
In 1999, the State Council gave Al-Azhar and the Islamic Research Center the right to examine any form of audio, visual or published art productions that include reference to religion.
“Unfortunately, the process is given over to those who are wrongly oriented . They never revise dozens of books full of false Hadith (Prophet Mohamed’s sayings) and superstitions, El-Asiouty added.
“There should be no interference of any religious authority in the fields of arts and expression, said Gamal El-Banna, an Islamic scholar.
“This harms our intellectual development and ruins our culture. It creates a mess in which the unprofessional have control, he added. El-Banna, the younger brother of Hassan El-Banna the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, said that Islamic Research Center shouldn’t act as a superior authority watching over intellects.
Among these books targeted by the religious authorities was one dealing with the situation of Copts in Egypt, titled “The Prosecuted , which was removed from the offices of the Middle East Christians Organization (MECO). The owner of the confiscated copy was kept in custody for around two months.
Al-Azhar has also banned Shia books on Islam. “My Journey with Shia and Shi’ism in Egypt written by the Egyptian author Ahmed Rasem was banned in October 2007. Al-Azhar, which had banned three other books by the same author, said this one embraced Shia perspectives in contradiction of those of the Sunni school.
The process of censorship has also caused writers to flee the country, as in the case of Nawal El Saadawi, author of “God Resigns in the Summit Meeting.
The Islamic Research Center filed a suit against the play, which was published at the end of 2006. Both the play and the latest edition of El Saadawi’s autobiography were pulled by her publisher, Madbouli, and the copies were destroyed.
Not long after the book was banned, El Saadawi was sued on the grounds of “condemning religions. Amid calls to revoke her Egyptian citizenship, she left for Brussels.
