Haidar Haidar, 1936-2023: Author Who Shunned Spotlight and For Whom Writing Was Truly Its Own Reward

 

As a young man, Syrian author and novelist Haidar Haidar had been silently involved in political events in his country. Like many Arab and Syrian intellectuals, he participated in the Algerian Arabization process, volunteering to teach the Arabic language in Algeria. His works have been translated into German, English, French, and Italian and remain read in the Arab world, achieving various success. His novel, “The Leopard,” was adapted into a movie directed by the late prominent director Nabil Al-Maleh, winning many awards in international festivals. He often explored his connection to nature in his writing, touching on the relationship between hunter and prey and his own reflections as a novelist and hunter. 

 

Haidar’s works have been celebrated but also received criticism and controversy. His novel “A Feast for Seaweed — Ode to Death” (1983) sparked controversy in Egypt after claims by Islamists that it offended Islam, leading to massive demonstrations at Al-Azhar University. The novel, which novelist Mahmoud Saeed previously reviewed in Al Jadid, Vol. 6, No. 31, Spring 2000, revolves around protagonist Mahdi Jawad, an Iraqi Communist who rebels against the Communist Party leadership and takes up arms against the Baathist government, which seized power in 1963. Jawad finds temporary refuge in the Ahwar region alongside his comrades and launches several military operations against the government. Still, the Baathists mercilessly crush the Communist movement, killing several rebels, wounding others, and forcing some, including Jawad, to flee the country. He finds himself in Algeria, teaching Arabic in the small town of Muna.