Last night, a glance at the (Korba) Shorouk bookstore’s bestseller rack showed, unsurprisingly, that three of the top five slots were taken by books written by scholar-cum-novelist Dr. Youssef Ziedan.*Continue Reading

Over at Al Masry Al Youm, Omar Cheta has an interesting piece about the perceptions and misperceptions of academic and author (and “Arabic Booker” winner) Youssef Ziedan. And this isn’t entirely the public’s fault, Cheta argues. Ziedan has not worked hard enough to make his views on religion clear: inContinue Reading

And the controversy over Azazil continues. Recently, two prominent Egyptian lawyers—Naguib Gobrail and Mamdouh Ramzy—submitted a complaint to Egypt’s Attorney General, Bikya Masr reports. The complaint accuses novelist Youssef Ziedan of committing “blasphemy” and “abusing of the Christian faith” in his Arabic Booker-winning Azazil. The complaint was apparently co-signed by:Continue Reading