Awful biography of Saddam Hussein turns out to be the work of esteemed Independent journalist. Funnily enough
Listen, we know hard it is to get people to read in the Middle East. Frankly, it’s a little depressing. But to actually publish a book of limited journalistic worth, in Arabic, and simply slap on the name of a world-renowned author on the front just to sell more copies smacks of desperation. (Like, this month’s NOX is edited by Hugh Hefner!) But someone in Cairo thought it was a good idea, and just after New Year, a biography of Saddam Hussein appeared in the nation’s bookstalls apparently written by Robert Fisk, NOX 15 cover star, Beirut resident and unashamed exposer of all kinds of local barbarity.
From Birth to Matyrdom is a 272-page book of bland Saddam-related information that, frankly, looks like it was pulled exclusively from Wikipedia – with almost no analysis, no references or sources, no personal insight and none of that breathless anger that characterised the likes of Pity The Nation or The Great War For Civilisation. Indeed, the author’s name only appears twice – once on the cover and again on the contents page – and, bizarrely, the 13th is100 words long and contains words and phrases coined by Saddam, like Um al-Maarek, the famed “mother of all battles”. Best of all, though, is chapter 15, which is a collection of jokes about Saddam Hussein. “A man caught a fish from the Tigris, but his wife could not find anything to cook it with – no coal, no gas, no oil, no salt. So he decided to throw it back into the river. The fish swam away shouting ‘long live Saddam Hussein’.” Very Fisk-like, no?
According to Fisk himself, he received a copy in the post from a friend with a note “Robert, did you really write this?”. And being in the intrepid journalist he is, he flew to find a Mr Madgi Chokri, the book’s alleged publisher. Unsuccessful, he surrendered to the fact that if you try to track down forgery in Egypt you are an idiot.
And “idiots” is where we come in. We called the publisher, Ibda, to ask for permission to republish precious excerpts from the book. And here is how the conversation went:
Ibda man: Alo…
NOX: Is this Ibdaa publishing?
Ibda man: Yes
NOX: We have Saddam’s biography by Robert Fisk and we are seeking permission to republish some excerpts of the book..
Ibda man: No problem
NOX: Can you please tell us who is the author of the book?
Ibda man: It is Robert Fisk, but it is a different one. It is Robert David Fisk. I bought it from a translator without knowing it was a different Fisk.
NOX: We heard that the real Robert Fisk contacted you and he was not happy…
Ibda man: Yes. He had a little problem with the fact that it was not him who wrote the book. But I worked things out with him. I told him that I would make an announcement to clear up the fact that the book was written by a different Robert Fisk. The book has been selling really well.
NOX: Do you know the name of the translator who sold you the book?
Ibda man: Mohammad Abdel Aleem
NOX: Have you bought anything else from him? Do you have his contact info?
Ibda man: No. I deal with many translators. I only keep phone numbers and addresses of those who I deal with repeatedly. This one was a “fly by” deal.
NOX: And who are we talking to please?
Ibda man: Magdi Chokri.
