Egyptian anger at Islamist call to ban Arabian Nights

[frigidmagi]

BBC

Egyptian writers have condemned a call by a group of Islamic lawyers for the classic book Arabian Nights to be banned because it is "obscene".

The group, Lawyers Without Shackles, filed a complaint with Egypt's prosecutor general after the collection of folk tales was republished.

They called for the new edition to be pulped and the stories to be banned.

But the country's writers union has said it will fight the group in the courts if they try to proceed.

'Like the Taliban'

"I was shocked at the offensive phrases it contains," Ayman Abdul Hakim of Lawyers Without Shackles was quoted by the TV station Al Arabiya.

Egyptians are avid readers and they will not be influenced by a bunch of people who take advantage of Islam in order to suppress freedom
Ahmed Megahed
Publisher

They catalogued several references to sex in the book and said they were "calls to sin".

But Writers' Union spokesman said the lawyers were behaving "like the Taliban".

"Those who want to destroy our heritage are taking the same path as the Taliban when they destroyed Buddha's statues," Mohammed Salmawy told the news agency AFP, referring to the destruction of the giant sculptures of Buddha in Bamiyan.

The books publishers, the state-run General Organisation Cultures Palaces, said the republishing had been very popular and the print run had sold out.

"Egyptians are avid readers and they will not be influenced by a bunch of people who take advantage of Islam in order to suppress freedom," Ahmed Megahed, Chairman of the GOCP was quoted by Al Arabiya.

Arabian Nights, also known as The 1,001 Nights, is a centuries-old collection of Arabic and south Asian folk tales.

It includes the stories Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Wait... You want to ban Arabian Nights... For being Unislamic and sinful? That's like me wanting to ban the 10 Commandments.

[Hotfoot]

I think a better analogy would be to ban the Chronicles of Narnia, but yeah, this is stupid.

[Cynical Cat]

There is a lot of sexual innuendo and a fair number of ribald stories in the unabridged version and I'm sure that is part of what got their underwear twisted up. So it's actually more like trying to ban the Decameron or Canterbury Tales.

[SirNitram]

There is a lot of sexual innuendo and a fair number of ribald stories in the unabridged version and I'm sure that is part of what got their underwear twisted up. So it's actually more like trying to ban the Decameron or Canterbury Tales.

Song Of Solomon?

[Batman]

Curiously, Bible Thumpers tend to seem to largely ignore the actually INTERESTING parts of the Bible:)

[Cynical Cat]

There is a lot of sexual innuendo and a fair number of ribald stories in the unabridged version and I'm sure that is part of what got their underwear twisted up. So it's actually more like trying to ban the Decameron or Canterbury Tales.

Song Of Solomon?

Too short and part of the relevant holy book so less appropriate as an analogy.

[Norseman]

Actually the unabridged version of the Arabian nights has multiple cases of beastiality (and yes explicit though not graphic), homosexuality (including a debate on the relative merit of boys and women), infidelity, adultery, sex with genies, and so forth. It can really be remarkably lewd.

[frigidmagi]

Look I'm aware that Arabian nights is a really sexed up book. Hell I've read it. But still this is the towering literal work of their culture, it's what's taught in college classes has the Arab Work (seriously in my World Lit class it was this right alongside the Ramayama, which is a pretty... earthy book to and so on). Shit like this tells me that the Wabbahist aren't trying to purify Islam, they're trying to choke the life out of Arabic culture and any other culture they can reach. It's ridiculous.

Aha! I got one, it's like that bunch of parents in Tennessee who wanted Juliet and Romero plays censored.