The other is a little book called “عشان ما تنضربش علي قفاك,” or “So As Not To Be Hit On the Back of Your Neck”. (To hit someone on the back of the neck is a gesture of deep disrespect–a big “fuck you”–in Egyptian culture.) It’s a manual, in Colloquial Egyptian Arabic, by a former police officer and lawyer, explaining their rights to Egyptian citizens and giving them advice on how to deal with the police. It’s written in question and answer format, and addresses questions such as when the police have the right to search you, when they have the right to take you to the station, etc. Of course it’s terribly revealing that the Egyptian authorities have confiscated a book that does nothing but inform citizens of their legal rights (the tone of the book is carefully respectful of the police).
Also, let me just explain that these books were confiscated, not banned. Al Azhar has the authority to censure books that deal with religious topics, but other than that In Egypt there is no agency with the mandate to ban books. What happens, though, is that if a book is charged with “disturbing the public order,” “defaming Egypt,” or some such nonsense, then state security confiscates the book from the market while the investigation and eventual court case takes place. I’m not sure if this confiscation is legal or not. What I do know is that “confiscated” books are often still available–book sellers and newspaper vendors hide them away, then sell them (“Psst, I have a hot book for you!”) at a slightly inflated price. It’s actually often a boost to the book’s sales.
What a great review blog! Excellent! I’ve been longing for a space where Egyptian (and/or Arab) arts are discussed.
A question concerning this piece. I’ve been told that in order to publish a work, you must send it for approval to the Central Censorship Bureau, or one of its subdepartments. Wheras al-Azhar only has authority in work on Islam, the bureau is authorized to approve or prevent the publication of any work, regardless of written, musical or visual. (Like how film must be approved in three stages, for the scenario, shooting and release) Is this not correct or has it been changed?
Hi Maria.
I don’t think this is correct, I don’t know that any such Central Censorship Bureau (do you know what would the name in Arabic be?) exists. I’ve been told repeatedly, by writers, that there is no official censorship of books in Egypt (except for books on religion). Certainly private publishers do not send books to be reviewed before publishing them. What happens as I understand is that after a book is published the author or publisher can be taken to court on a variety of charges, and the book may be confiscated (illegally, I mean without a court order). Books and publications that are coming into Egypt from abroad are a different story–I believe they are reviewed by state censors.
Best,
u.
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