How does political or religious extremism in society affect writing in the Arab world?
Extremism hardly stops writers from penning their thoughts. Determined writers will write no matter what the conditions of their surroundings. After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, many manuscripts surfaced written by writers who would not have published their work under Saddam. Many would write and just keep their work on the shelves. That work is coming out now. Extremism is a challenge to writing but it varies from country to country. With the advent of the internet however, it has become easier for many people to express themselves. How has Gulf-Arab fiction progressed in recent years? Novel writing is relatively new to the Gulf, but the region is now witnessing a rise in fiction. Storytelling has been a longstanding tradition in the Gulf that is now being put into writing. Last year for example, Saudi writers published 64 works of fiction, 20 of which were authored by women. The UAE Writers Union has also been doing a splendid job in preserving Emirati writing. I believe they have p
