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Book-Crazy Beirut

April 23, 2009 marked the beginning of Beirut's year as the World Book Capital, an honor granted by UNESCO to one major city each year. To explore the Lebanese site in Arabic, English, French, or Spanish, click here.

Muslim Calligrapher Prepares Gospel of Luke for Pope

The Associated Press reports that Yasser Abu Saymeh, a Muslim calligrapher, is "writing the Gospel of Luke in ornate Arabic script," at the request of Bethlehem's mayor, Victor Batarseh. The work will "be presented to Pope Benedict XVI when the Roman Catholic leader visits the Holy Land next month." 

Iraq: Government Sponsoring Book Fairs

The headline says "Iraq, once a country of fervent readers, now starves for books." And to meet that need,

... the government has begun sponsoring book fairs. So far there have been two, one at Baghdad University that ended last week and another in northern Iraq. [Alaa Makki, a Sunni Muslim lawmaker who heads the Iraqi parliament's education committee,] hopes for more.

So many people turned out for the Baghdad fair that its organizers extended the event from nine days to 15.

With 60,000 titles spread across dozens of folding tables in the university's gymnasium, the fair's selection included books in Arabic and English, on subjects ranging from medicine and engineering to acting and safe driving.

About 40 publishers participated, almost all of them foreign.

Middle East: Better Book Distribution Needed; Globalization

At the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, Bachar Chebaro, the secretary general for the Arab Publisher's Association and general manager of Arab Scientific Publishers, lamented the lack of effective book distribution systems in the Middle East. Abu Dhabi's The National reports:

Although there are 340 million people living in the Middle East and North Africa and an additional 442m Arabic speakers living outside the region, there is currently no way of selling an Arabic-language title to all of them at once.

“There are no pan-Arab or local book distribution companies," [says Chebaro.] "There are no companies specialised in [distribution to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council], Middle East or North Africa. We have no mega-distributors.”

Globalization is also having an impact in the region:

The increasing intermixing of the world’s markets has created a new demand for fiction, children’s books and philosophical writing. “In the last decade, translation was based on academic books, because universities needed them,” he said. “But with globalisation, translation has started to move to a different phase. There is more importance given to the novel.”

Globalisation, combined with the internet, has also helped to roll back censorship in the region, he said, which the Arab Publishers Association opposed “in all its colours.”

Turkey: Dereliction of Duty a Factor in Zirve Publishing Case

Seven police officers have been found guilty of dereliction of duty in the 2007 murder of the workers at Zirve Publishing in Malatya, Turkey. One of the murder suspects was detained the day prior to the massacre for firing a gun into the air, but his weapon, confiscated for a brief time, was returned to him the same day.

Christian Today Australia reports that "the next hearing for the trial is to commence on 13 April and is expected to focus on the identities of the middlemen in the murders – those linking the actual killers with the ones who planned the murders."

Please continue praying for the families of the victim and for the long-term impact of this case on the witness of Christians in Turkey.

Arabic Prize Goes to Beelzebub

A controversial novel on the adoption of Christianity in fifth century Egypt won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, reports The Guardian:

Beelzebub, which purports to be the autobiography of an Egyptian-born monk who witnesses early Christian disputes in Alexandria as the city adopts the new religion, has caused a storm of upset in Egypt, where it has been denounced by the Coptic church as offensive, and described as the Arabic version of The Da Vinci Code. Critics particularly object to [author Youssef] Ziedan's violent portrait of one of the fathers of the Coptic church, St Cyril; one detractor said the novel attempted to "Islamise Christian beliefs and [take] the side of heretics".

Turkey: Murder Investigation Continues

Today's Zaman reports:

Investigators believe retired Col. Mehmet Ülger might strengthen the suspected link Ergenekon has to the murders of three non-Muslims in a Bible publishing house in Malatya in 2007. Ülger reportedly previously served at the Malatya Provincial Gendarmerie Battalion Command. He was to testify in court as a witness in the murder of the three Malatya Christians, sources said.

Turkey: Malatya Murder Suspect Retracts Statement

Bianet reports,

Following an additional interview with the prosecution, main murder suspect Emre Günaydın has returned to his original statement, where he denied that he or his friends were encouraged to commit the murders.

On 18 April 2007, Tilman Ekkehart Geske, Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel were killed at the Zirve publishing house.

As the trial continues, please pray for ongoing strength, encouragement, and peace for the families of the murder victims.

Turkey: Christian Book Stores Vandalized

Christian World News reports,

Following threats from Muslim nationalists, a Turkish Bible Society bookshop in the southern city of Adana was vandalized for the second time in a week on Thursday.

Security camera footage shows two youths attacking the storefront of the Soz Kitapevi bookshop, kicking and smashing glass in both the window and the door. The door frame was also damaged.

... The bookshop has received threats from both Muslim hardliners and nationalists. Last November, a man entered the shop and began making accusations that the Soz Kitapevi bookshop was in league with the CIA, saying, "You work with them killing people in Muslim countries, harming Muslim countries."

... The attacks are another example of the animosity that Turkish Christians have faced recently, especially the small Protestant community.

Please pray for all involved in literature ministry in Turkey and other places where Christians face persecution.

Turkey: More Arrests Related to Malatya Murder

As the trial of those responsible for the 2007 murders of Zirve Christian Publishing house continues, two more people have been charged with instigating the crime, reports Cross Rhytms for Open Doors.