Palestinian writer afraid to go home amid uproar over novel

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By MOHAMMED told The Associated Press that he bar, where the murder of a young lyzed, unsure whether he should some graphic sexual language that DARAGHMEH was visiting Doha when he learned chase the killer or try to save his woman takes place. many see as unacceptable in this The Associated Press of the ban and the arrest warrant, One of the three, a gay youth, is conservative society. dying girllniend. arrested and interrogated about the The criticism of the novel and its Unable to stand the torment any published by the official governRAMALLAH, West Bank crime.

Although he is cleared of any mental news agency.

He said he longer, he ends up killing himself. author has been widespread, even A Palestinian author is stranded among his colleagues. in Oatar after Palestinian authoriThe scene is meant to symbolis now stuck in the Qatar capital. charges, the officers realize he is gay ize the Palestinian national moveties in the West Bank confiscated Yahya "went too far in crossing Tearing he would be arrested as and they beat and humiliate him.

He ment, which has failed to rescue the soon as he returns home. the red lines .., ends up moving to France, looking all copies of his latest novel and " literature professor Adel Osta said. "The novel present"I don't know what to do.

If go issued an arrest warrant for him for a society that accepts him. nation or deliver independence from The second man faces huge outIsrael's 50-year-old occupation ed a bad image of the Palestiman accusing him of including "sexual back, I will be arrested, and if I stay terms" in a provocative work that here, I can't stay far from my home "Like all societies in the region, rage from members of his conAuthority, and it uses unfamiltakes am at taboo issues such as servative family after they learn iar sexual words which drove the and family.

" he said. our society is seeing the growth The novel, "Crime in Ramallah," fanaticism, religious that he works in a bar that serves of fanaticism and extremism and Palestiman Authority to ban it. extremism The head of the and homosexuality. Palestinian alcobol, which is banned by Islam. tracks the lives of three young is reproxlucing social conservativYahya said.

"These trends Writers Union, Murad Sudani, critPalestiman men who meet in the Later in the book, he tums into a The crackdown on Abbad Yahya, ism, appear in the society in a mixture regious extremist. city, which serves as the headquaricized the writer, saying he wrote a 29, has set off a wide public debate between the Palestinian society's "silly novel that violates the nationof religious and national slogans." The third man is the boyfriend ters of the Palestinian government that rules in autonomous enclaves makes of the murdered woman.

He is large conservative segment and the al and religious values of the sociof the Isracli-occupied West Bank Palestinian leaders and portrays small liberal minority. haunted by the killing, which he ety in order to appease the West them as losers. It also includes In a telephone interview, Yahya The youths work together in a witnessed while remaining paraand win prizes."

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"Palestinian writer afraid to go home amid uproar over novel," Park City Daily News, 11 February 2017. Covering Palestine archive, CP-2017-023. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-2017-023