Islamist and Kurdish texts banned under Assad openly displayed at Damascus book fair |
DAMASCUS, Syria (Reuters) — Owning a copy of Sayyid Qutb’s “Milestones” could land you in jail or worse in Syria when the Assads ruled. But at a Damascus book fair this month, the title by the radical Islamist ideologue was on prominent display and selling well.
Held for the first time since Bashar al-Assad was ousted, this year’s Damascus International Book Fair reflects deep changes in Syria since its nominally secular order was overthrown by Islamist rebels led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
In addition to once forbidden Islamist texts, there are titles by secular critics of the ousted government and a section dedicated to Kurdish culture and language, which was banned under Assad’s Ba’athist state but recently recognized as a national tongue by Sharaa.
“In the new Syria, it’s a fair where no book is banned,” said Zuhair al-Barri, the event coordinator, adding that the country had been in “intellectual and cultural darkness” under Assad.
All books are permitted, he said, except for those that are at odds with “civil peace and social cohesion,” that “violate the values and customs of Syrian society,” or that glorify the Assad regime.
Works by Qutb, who produced much of his writing while imprisoned in Egypt under president Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960s, were selling very well, said Atef Namous, owner of a publishing house that has reprinted them.
“The demand is huge, not just for ‘Milestones’… all of Sayyid Qutb’s works are in........