Egyptian author and screenwriter Ahmed Mourad covered the front of “Alam Alketab” or "the book world" magazine for the September issue, which has stirred the anger of Egyptian intellectuals.
[caption id="attachment_151647" align="alignright" width="207"]
"the book world" caver[/caption]
The cover was published by journalist Sameh Fayez, the managing editor of “Alam Alketab", which is issued by the General Book Authority.
It featured the author with his name written on the cover, without any other headline or subtitles.
Many intellectuals expressed their rejection of Mourad being the sole person on the cover, which they consider an upholding for the bestseller, who does not express the Egyptian culture in its true form.
Some even quit working at the prestigious magazine over the matter.
Many writers and intellectuals in Egypt and the Arab world have a great animosity against Mourad, who has achieved huge sales rates in recent years, in addition to adapting most of his works to films that have achieved great successes and revenues, such as “the Blue Elephant”, “Diamond Dust”, and “Vertigo”.
This is due to the analyzes of those intellectuals who see in the author's writing as an imitation and re-creation of Hollywood styles that should not be considered as a literary creation.
While Mourad has not yet to comment on the matter, however, the editor-in-chief of “Alam Alketab, Dr. Zein Abdel-Hadi did not keep his silence and took to Facebook to address the allegations.
[caption id="attachment_151648" align="alignright" width="300"]
Dr. Zein Abdel-Hadi[/caption]
He released a lengthy statement on the platform, noting that it was not about being a trend and achieving fame through creating controversy.
"I do not see in the attack on Ahmed Mourad more than jealousy from his great success; it comes in the form of cultural terrorism, and confiscation of the right to be different,” Abdel-Hadi noted.
He added: “This writer whose book sales exceed the 5 million books whilst they distribute their books to their friends, while some of them dub themselves as the revivification of novel, Mourad did not call himself anything, as well as did not approach the problematic issue of normalization with Israel, as some did nor did he servile towards the Authority, as others have done,”
"Ignoring the influence of Ahmed Mourad on the publishing movement in Egypt and his movement to change the form of the Arabic novel is ungracious because it is a successful extension of the late writer Ahmed Khaled Tawfik and prominent fiction writer Nabil Farouk," Abdel-Hadi stressed.
[caption id="attachment_151649" align="alignright" width="194"]
"Kira & El Gin" poster[/caption]
He concluded: “Alam Alketab magazine concerned with bookmaking as well as discussing its issues and aspects of its development. It is not concerned with criticism; this is a mistake in the magazine’s previous editorial policy, which is now the time to change it."
It is worth mentioning that Ahmed Mourad's latest novel, "Lokanda Bear Al-Wattat", achieved huge sales and obtained the “No.1 bestseller” status in book stores.
Moreover, it is set for the author’s latest film adaption “Kira & El Gin” to hit the theaters soon.
The film stars Ahmed Ezz and Karim Abdel Aziz, and more. Mourad is currently busy with writing the third part of "The Blue Elephant".
Contributed by Yara Sameh
Follow the latest news on Google News
