Zabibah and the King
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Zabibah and the King (زبيبة والملك , or Zabibah wal-Malik) is a novel, originally published anonymously in Iraq in 2000,[1] that was purportedly written by Saddam Hussein. The CIA believes that it was written ghostwriters with the direct influence of Hussein.[2]
The plot is a love story about a powerful ruler of medieval Iraq and a beautiful commoner girl named Zabibah. Zabibah's husband is a cruel and unloving man who rapes her. The book is set in 7th or 8th century Tikrit, Hussein's home town. Although the book is on the surface a romance novel, it is (and was intended to be read as) an allegory. The leader is, of course, Hussein and Zabibah represents the Iraqi people. The vicious husband is the United States and his rape of Zabibah represents the U.S. invasion of Iraq at the end of the Persian Gulf war.
The book was a best-seller in Iraq when it was originally published for 1,500 Iraqi dinars (less than USD$1.00). It is estimated that over one million copies were sold.[3] Royalties, according to the back cover, were to go to "the poor, the orphans, the miserable, the needy, and [other] charities". A 20-part television serial and a musical based on it were later produced.[1]
An American businessman commissioned the book's translation into English in 2004. Saddam Hussein receives no money from sales of the English translation as the copyright is owned by the editor, Robert Lawrence.
Some (outside of Iraq) have expressed doubts that Hussein is the real author. However, the book promotes a sort of quasi-democratic form of government which many believe would have prevented its publication in Iraq unless Saddam were at least involved in the project. The Iraqi publishers appropriated four paintings of Canadian artist, Jonathon Earl Bowser, to illustrate the novel, putting his "The Awakening" on the cover. Bowser did not authorize their use of his work and has attempted with no success to obtain compensation for copyright infringement.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Ofra Bengio, "Saddam Husayn's Novel of Fear", 9 Middle East Quarterly 1, 2002.
- ^ Elaine Sciolino, "C.I.A. Sleuths Study a Novel for the Thinking of Hussein", The New York Times, 24 May 2001.
- ^ a b Jonathan Earl Bowser, "The Artist and the Dictator", www.jonathonart.com, accessed 4 November 2006.
