MPs push draft bill making it illegal to insult historic figures
Novelist Zidan has criticised nationalist icon Ahmad Orabi as well as Salah Al Deen
triggered a heated debate by harshly criticising the 19th century nationalist icon Ahmad Orabi and accusing him of giving Britain the pretext to colonise Egypt for more than 70 years.
Orabi’s descendants have filed a suit against Zidan, accusing him of falsifying history and causing public confusion about their ancestor’s national role.
Months earlier, Zidan, an Arabic Booker winner, called the 12th century Sunni ruler Salah Al Deen the “most despicable person in history” and accused him of perpetrating atrocities against members of the Shiite Fatimid dynasty after he ended their rule in Egypt.
Zidan’s critics have accused him of fishing for attention by allegedly ignoring well-established historical facts.