Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September/October 2006, page 74

Books

The Yacoubian Building

By Alaa Al Aswany, The American University in Cairo Press, 2004, 245 pp. List: $19.95; AET $18.

Reviewed by Amie Daraves

A RARE AND penetrating look into modern Egyptian society can be found in Alaa Al Aswany’s novel, The Yacoubian Building. Set in an actual building in downtown Cairo, the controversial best-seller weaves together the lives of several characters to create a daring social critique.

From the underprivileged locals who squat on the roof, to the building’s legitimate tenants—a politician, a store owner, and a gay scholar—the Yacoubian is home to Cairenes young and old, rich and poor. Representing a cross-section of class and religion in Egypt, as their lives unfold for the reader so, too, do the many hardships of contemporary Cairo life. By intertwining their stories, Al Aswany creates an ensemble of sympathetic characters living at the crossroads of change in a modernizing society.

Since it was first released in Arabic in 2002, The Yacoubian Building has been shrouded by controversy in a country where the Ministry of Information (and, by extension, the state-owned media) have a history of controlling content with an iron fist. By using non-traditional characters, Al Aswany sheds light on a number of the country’s most sensitive taboos, most notably corruption, prison torture, homosexuality, and the rise of fundamental Islam. Thus the underlying tension, which the novel boldly puts forth, is one of religious morality versus secularism, and one of tradition versus modernity. 

Indeed, The Yacoubian Building was a rare victory for freedom of expression in Egypt. Regrettably, in July 2006 the Egyptian Parliament censored the film version of the novel.

Amie Daraves is a Washington Report intern.

Hizbullah: The Story From Within

By Naim Qassem, Saqi Books, 2005, 277 pp. List: $29.95; AET: $24

Reviewed by Hanaan Sarhan

IN RECENT WEEKS Hezbollah has emerged as the most visible force in contemporary Lebanese politics. Yet with widespread visibility comes even wider misconception, as the global media try to make sense of current headlines. To some, Hezbollah is a political party; others consider it a jihadist militia. And while the U.S. and Israel label it a “terrorist organization,” to many in the Arab world (and for a nation of displaced Lebanese) the Hezbollah party stands for resistance.

Missing from the current discourse on Hezbollah, however, is an internal point of view from within Hezbollah itself. What is this “enemy” organization, its mission and strategy for Lebanon? And how closely is it associated with other regional powers, particularly Syria and Iran?

In his official history of the party, Hizbullah: The Story from Within, Naim Qassem offers insight into these and other questions. As a founding member of the organization in 1982, Qassem provides a rare and probing look into Hezbollah as a political/military entity. Furthermore, as the current second-in-command to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Qassem enjoys unparalled access to historical documents.

In an attempt to shed the “terrorist” label imposed upon it by the West, Qassem portrays Hezbollah as a legitimate social presence, resisting Israeli oppression and providing crucial services for Lebanon. Highlighting such efforts as building reconstruction, water distribution, agricultural development, health care centers, educational institutions and mosques, the author insists that “the essential nature of [Hezbollah] is moderate.”

Hezbollah places little faith in negotiations with Israel. Resistance is “the only available solution for the power imbalance,” Qassem argues, adding, “It is not permissible to squander the land of Muslims…liberation is a natural obligation for which all Muslims are liable.”

While some undoubtedly will dismiss Hizbullah as propaganda, now more than ever an historical and internal perspective is needed to balance the prevailing world view—which once again has led to renewed violence in the region.

Hanaan Sarhan is director of the AET Book Club.