Saddam Hussein's novels
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Saddam Hussein, the late President of Iraq, wrote four novels, whether personally or with the help of ghostwriters.
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[edit] Zabibah and the King
Zabibah and the King (زبيبة والملك , or Zabibah wal-Malik), written in 2000, is a novel that the CIA believes was written by Saddam Hussein, probably with the help of some ghostwriters.[1] The plot is a love story about a powerful ruler of medieval Iraq and a beautiful commoner girl named Zabiba. Zabiba's husband is a cruel and unloving man who rapes her. The book is set in 7th or 8th century Tikrit, Hussein's home town.
[edit] The Fortified Castle
The Fortified Castle, written in 2002, is another allegorical work. It concerns the delayed wedding of the Iraqi hero, who fought in the war against Iran, to a Kurdish girl. The power of the "fortified castle" (a reference to Iraq) lies in its unity; despite proposals to divide the property, the hero's mother refuses. She also states that it cannot be purchased with money: "Only those who give it their blood and defend it are its rightful owners."[2]
[edit] Men and the City
Men and the City concerns the rise of the Ba'ath party in Tikrit.
[edit] Begone, Demons
Begone, Demons is Saddam Hussein's fourth and last novel, allegedly finished the day before U.S forces invaded.[3] The novel revolves around a Zionist-Christian conspiracy against Arabs and Muslims. An Arab army eventually thwarts the conspiracy by invading their enemy's land and destroying two massive towers. The book was published in Tokyo in 2006 under the title Devil's Dance.
The characters include the narrator, Abraham, named for the patriarch in Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, and his grandchildren, three cousins named Ezekiel, Youssef and Mahmoud, who represent Jews, Christians and Muslims respectively.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- CIA gets into Saddam's head through a novel
- Pipes, Daniel. "Saddam the Novelist."
- Another side of Saddam - the shy romantic novelist
- BBC: 'Saddam novel' on sale in Tokyo
- Middle East Media Research Institute: Special Dispatch Series No. 509
