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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 May 2000 Issue No. 481 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 May 2000 Issue No. 481
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Books Features Interview Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Students riot over novel
By Jailan Halawi
Police fired tear gas canisters to disperse some 5,000 students demonstrating outside the campus of Al-Azhar University in suburban Nasr City against a Syrian-authored book viewed by fundamentalists as insulting to Islam. The unrest, which began at midnight on Sunday, continued until 5.00pm Monday.
Angry students called for the resignation of Culture Minister Farouk Hosni for allowing his ministry to re-print the novel A Banquet for Seaweed, by Syrian writer Haydar Haydar. Culture Ministry officials say the book, first published in Beirut in 1983, is regarded as one of the best Arabic novels of the 20th century and that the ministry reprinted it in November, according to artistic and literary criteria, as part of a project to publish celebrated Arabic novels.
Protesters called for Haydar's death and slammed Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, for keeping silent over the whole affair. According to the Associated Press, students chanted, "Sheikh of Azhar, where are you? They are insulting Islam in front of you."
None of the students interviewed by AP had read the book. They were set off by an article published last Friday in the bi-weekly Islamist-oriented Al-Shaab newspaper, which said the novel called God "a failed artist," and depicted Prophet Mohamed as "a polygamous man."
Students quoted by the French news agency AFP said the demonstrations began in the women's section of the university after authorities took down photocopies of Al-Shaab newspaper's article denouncing the novel. The students left their hostels, shouting slogans against the novel and the culture minister, before clashing with the police.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Interior said that although the students were informed that the novel is no longer available in stores, and that the government is reviewing the book, "students insisted on escalating the situation, staging the protest outside campus, and hurling stones at police officers."
A judicial source, speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly yesterday, on condition of anonymity, said that a decision to ban the book has been taken and will be announced "within hours".
In the student-police clashes, three officers were injured and 12 public and private cars damaged, the statement said. According to AP, police were seen beating some students with bamboo sticks and shoving them into police trucks and driving off. Witnesses said police also fired rubber bullets, but police sources said only tear gas was used. About 40 students were treated for mostly minor injuries, predominantly from tear gas inhalation.
Farouk Hosni -- long a favourite target of Islamist-oriented newspapers -- has come under vitriolic attacks in Al-Shaab and the independent Al-Osbou newspaper over the publication of the novel. In an interview with Egyptian Television, Hosni stressed that the state and the Ministry of Culture do not accept deriding religion in any form. He added that a committee of writers and religious figures would study the book and prepare a report that would be made public, "so that the whole society may know the truth."
Hosni further noted that the ministry has published hundreds of books displaying the true nature of Islam. He added that the ministry is highly concerned with preserving and renovating Islamic monuments, especially mosques.
In a meeting with students, Al-Azhar University President Ahmed Omar Hashem said the government does not allow insults to religion. Although Hosni affirmed that copies of the book are no longer available, Hashem said that the concerned bodies are only now withdrawing the book from the market because it includes phrases insulting to Islam. Hashem also submitted an official protest to the minister of culture and the People's Assembly, asking for the immediate prohibition of the book; and to put its author on trial.
Meanwhile, the state security prosecutor is questioning 75 students, 15 of whom are in hospital. They face charges of inciting riots, deliberately damaging public and private property and obstructing traffic. The prosecutor-general ordered that the 75 students be remanded in custody 15 days, pending a trial.
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