The other day I visited the International Book Exhibition in Jeddah. I sensed an air of relative freedom compared to past book exhibitions. Certain books which were not allowed in the Kingdom in the past were displayed openly. This suggest that the banning of books in the past was not always properly and thoughtfully carried out. Books on religious jurisprudence and our cultural heritage were in great demand according to a salesman at the exhibition. After walking round and having a look at what was available, I concluded that my own personal library at home was better than what I saw. In fact, almost every book I picked up at random was already among the volumes on my shelves.
I selected no more than five new books from the large numbers on display. They included a biography of Abdul Rahman Al-Kawakibi, who wrote the Nature of Repression, Mother of Cities, and some other legal books. Contrary to my expectations, the prices at the exhibition were high. You can buy 100 of the latest titles for 500 Egyptian pounds at Al-Haj Matbouli in Cairo. I paid approximately the equivalent amount here for only a small number of books. Showing me one small book, the salesman said it was selling like hot cakes. When I had a look, I found it was a collection of jokes and crude messages from mobile phones.
Arab News Features 20 November 2002
