It is without a doubt a writer’s worst nightmare to have their work undergo any sort of censorship, a scene that has manifested in Lebanon where freedom of expression is limited and people are robbed from thought-provoking and unorthodox work.
That being said, here’s a sad list of books that have been banned in Lebanon — keeping in mind that some books may reappear in bookstores either as second hands bought from abroad or as newly-ban-lifted numbers.
1. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown:
Who hasn’t heard of this famous 2004 ban decree? TDC was never allowed in the country for its great religious controversy. If you don’t know the (fictional) story, it’s about a detective who is on a mission to decode the Mona Lisa, which in turn, unveils a religious mystery about Christianity — hence the ban. It is unclear whether or not the ban persists today.
2. Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally:
You might recognize the famous 1993 movie directed by Steven Spielberg under the title of Schindler’s List. This historical fiction revolves around a man named Oscar Schindler, a Nazi Party member, who finds himself caught up between saving Jews from concentration camps and having to follow his party’s ideology. The book was banned for its positive depiction of Jews.
3. From Israel to Damascus by Robert Hatem:
Robert Hatem a.k.a. “Cobra”, known to have been a notorious warlord’s right hand, took it upon himself to expose Elie Hobeika in this explicit tell-all, revealing secrets and incidents that he had witnessed his boss doing and sometimes even giving names away. This book was labelled as highly controversial and thrown in the pit of banned books for fear of sparking political outrage.
4. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie:
After its publication, this book caused violent aftermath because of its heavy offence to Islam. The author had a fatwa issued by Iran against him and led a life of fear after the book’s Japanese translator had been murdered and the Italian translator badly beaten up. The book includes a heavily controversial portrayal of good and evil, spirituality, and religion, resulting in incredible outrage and bans in other countries. While banned in English and Arabic, the book could still be found in French.
5. Princess Nina by Marlise Achterberg:
This one is actually a children’s book, which basically talks about a princess pressured into finding a prince, with no avail, until she falls madly in love with, wait for it — another princess. That being said, the homosexual content in the children’s book upset a large number of parents, resulting in its ban.
The list goes on with more banned books of different genres, mainly having similar reasons of disallowing; while some reasons are understandable — considering the country’s history of wars and conflict, as well as the heavy conservatism that is still alive today, the idea of censorship is still infuriating.
