AMMAN — Minister of Culture, Haifa Najjar,
said she bore responsibility for public outrage over a novel condemned as
explicit during a speech before a parliamentary committee, Al-Ghad News
reported.اضافة اعلان
The novel in question, “Mira”, drew public criticism
for appearing in the Culture Ministry’s Family Library.
Najjar, during a speech before the Parliament’s
Committee for National Guidance and Media on Monday, announced that members of
the committee that approved the novel had resigned collectively.
Mira, by the Jordanian writer Qassem Tawfiq, was
published in 2018 by Dar Alaan for Publishing and Distributing in Amman within
the Family Library Project.
The novel sparked outrage amongst social media users
who called for it to be removed from the ministry’s Family Library because it
contained explicit content.
“We must reconsider the novels and stories produced
by the Family Library,” said Najjar. “This error must be addressed.”
“Our national (Jordanian) narrative must be
presented within the context of our history, values, and moral and spiritual
magnitudes that takes into account religion, customs, and traditions,” she
added.
Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh, on November 30,
directed the Culture Ministry to review all novels and literary works that the
ministry supports through the Family Library Project and to withdraw all works
that do not fit the values and traditions of Jordanian society.
The ministry had withdrawn the novel a day before,
on November 29.
The director of the Family Library Project, Ahmed
Rashid, said in previous statements that the ministry had found content in the
novel “that some people do not accept”.
He told Al-Ghad News that out of respect for
Jordanian and Arab readers and the ministry’s aspiration to avoid publishing
any content that could offend the public, the ministry decided to withdraw the
novel from the shelves related to the Family Library project.
The ministry launched the Family Library Project in
2017 to promote cultural awareness and critical thinking.
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