Matt Rees's Blog - Posts Tagged "muslim"

I’ve been extraordinarily impressed with the job my Indonesian publisher is doing with my Palestinian crime novels. It also turns out I have something in common with a popular former President of Indonesia.

My editor at Dioma Publishing in Malang, Indonesia, Herman Kosasih filled me in on a couple of events they organized there for the launch of A Grave in Gaza (it’s the second of my Palestinian novels, but Dioma decided to publish it first; they’ve purchased rights to the first four books). That includes a debate at the Islamic University in Malang.

This is particularly important to me because Indonesia is the first Muslim country in which my books have been published. As the hero of the books is a Palestinian Muslim, I’m very keen that his story should be read by Muslims around the world.

Here’s a little of what Herman wrote to me about the debate at the Islamic University: “It was great. There were Quran readings, prayers, speeches. Then the Indonesian National Anthem and the Hymn of Pergerakan Mahasiswa Islam Indonesia, which is the Association of Indonesian Islamic Students. Present were the Vice Rector of the university and the representatives of the movement throughout Malang. 200 people attended it. Wow. I was very surprised to see them all. Out of my imagination.”

Mine, too. Wonderful news.

Herman continues: “There were many questions including whether the author had a plan concerning Palestine and Israel when he wrote this novel. They agreed that cruelty and murders can be done by people with various religions. The atmosphere of religion influenced the discussion.

“The dean of the Law Faculty said that your idea in the novel is similar with what Gus Dur has said concerning Middle East affairs. Gus Dur is a former president of Indonesia, a proponent of minority rights in Indonesia and a champion of religious dialogue. He is much beloved among the students who most of them are followers of NU, a branch of Indonesian Islam. They are usually moderate and traditional.

“I concluded that they appreciate your novel. I also made some friends there.”


It’s clear to me that the debate in Indonesia was thoughtful and carried out with consideration for other people as humans – rather than in a spirit of religious antagonism. I’m very touched by that.

In another email, Herman told me: “On May 15, 2009 we had a kind of talk show in Jakarta in one of the biggest bookstore chains in Indonesia for A Grave in Gaza. The speaker was a journalist who has visited Middle East.”

Herman also sent me a lovely set of playing cards from Bali. I’m using them to teach my little son how to count.

When she was in her early twenties, Egyptian writer Ghada Abdel Aal began the complicated process of seeking a spouse. It involved meetings in parental living rooms over awkward glasses of tea. On one such occasion her potential groom spent his time screaming at a soccer game on tv. Another turned out to have a couple of wives already, and a would-be husband who was also a policeman started investigating her background for criminality or other unwanted elements. She turned to blogging about these meetings and discovered that other Egyptian women had similar experiences. Since then, her blog has become a huge success around the Arab world; her book I Want to Get Married has been published in several languages (it came out last year in English) and has been adapted for television. Ghada, a religious Muslim who covers her hair and who is quite hilariously funny in person and in her writing, has had the kind of cultural impact that makes her countrymen leap around with excitement when they meet her (as I can attest from having seen her at a book festival in an Arab country not long ago.) Here’s what she told me about how she came to write her book and its impact on her life:

How long did it take you to get your book published?

I got the book deal 18 month after I started the blog

Would you recommend any books on how to write?

I'm now reading a very interesting book "A Novel in a Year" which is a one year writing workshop for beginners or for people who are suffering during the journey of writing their novel, written by Louise Doughty.

What’s a typical writing day?

I usually save 4-5 hours a day for writing, I start at 3 am & end at 8 am. Most of this time of course gets wasted staring at the ciling or out of my window. But this is the time I force myself to sit at my desk for the purpose of writing

Do you think more young writers will be “discovered” because they write popular blogs, as you did?

A lot of them have been discovered because of my book, as it showed the publishers that you can be a blogger, you can be young and still be a best seller author

How would you describe what your book is about? And of course tell us why it’s so great?

My book is talking about a girl who is about to be thirty, she is going through this process that we call "living room marriages " and faces a bad suitor everyday. The general idea is showing the pressure that women get from the society to get married before reaching thirty, which is the expiration date of Egyptian girls. I guess it was successful because it spoke out about a problem that all girls face but no one usually talks about. It also does that in a satirical way, which is very popular in Egypt today.

Are you still looking for a husband? Or are you less interested, now that you’re a popular writer?!

I'm not allowed to "look," just to "wait." Well , it's not my first priority anymore, but I would like to have children one day and getting married is the only way to do that.

Read the rest of this post on my blog The Man of Twists and Turns.