CAIRO, April 30 (AFP)-Egyptian Culture Minister Faruq Hosni ordered the
removal from store shelves of a novel deemed offensive to Islam, and opened
an inquiry into who had authorized its publication.
Syrian writer Haidar Haidar in Egypt had singled out Hosni for criticism by
the Islamist newspaper Al-Shaab, and by a teacher at the Islamic Al-Azhar
University two months ago.
The minister ordered the book*s immediate removal from shops, and set up a
committee to find out who was responsible for publishing it, said an
official from his office. Disciplinary measures against several people have
already been decided on, he added.
The bi-weekly Al-Shaab said parts of the novel insult the Muslim holy book,
the Qur"an, and call the Prophet Mohammed a "skirt-chaser."
The book, published 15 years ago in Beirut, tells the story of an Arab who
is a political and social failure dealing with the absurdity of life.
Al-Shaab called in an editorial this week for Muslims throughout the world
"to implement the law on infidels," that is, the book"s author and
publishers at the Culture Ministry.
The paper also demanded that President Hosni Mubarak take steps against the
ministry"s officials. Al-Arabi newspaper reported Sunday that during weekly
prayers, a teacher at Al-Azhar, the highest authority in Sunni Islam,
called on the faithful to demand that Hosni resign and face trial.
Ibrahim al-Kholi was quoted by the opposition newspaper as saying that the
Culture Ministry "is the foremost corrupter of Islamic values and spreader
of moral decadence in society."
Wassalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarokaatuh
