Beirut by the Book
Rayyan Al-Shawaf, a writer and freelance reviewer takes an exhaustive look at Beirut and its connection to books and literature
That the atmosphere in Lebanon is significantly freer makes all the difference insofar as the annual book fair is concerned, as well as that of the general state of publishing. Not only are censorship laws relatively lax, but cultural norms tend toward the liberal on the subject of freedom of expression. Direct criticism of Islam and Christianity and their respective symbols is theoretically prohibited, and a few specific works that question the orthodox religious historiography of either religion or assail one or another of Lebanon’s myriad religious sects have been banned. Yet there remains a good deal of leeway for critical authors focusing on religion.
Comments are closed for this post.