(MENAFN- Muscat Daily)
Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, whose novel 2084 depicted a dystopian state governed by religious law, says writers and artists need to join the fight against extremism.
the 67 year old elder statesman of algerian letters urged writers to use their freedom of speech and do more to fight 'fundamentalism'. an avowed atheist, sansal has long been a free thinker, criticising both religious fundamentalists and algeria's government. he has continued to live in algeria despite being personally threatened. the former high-ranking official and economics graduate began his literary career with a 1999 novel, the oath of the barbarians, describing the rise of fundamentalists in algeria. the success of sansal's first novel launched him on a career that won him prizes in france and germany. his books, published in france, are sold freely in algeria. but he is a controversial figure at home. his 2015 novel 2084 (subtitled the end of the world) described a country, abistan, governed under extreme laws set by a religion. citizens were required to pray nine times a day and the main activities were interminable pilgrimages and public punishments. the book's title was a nod to george orwell's dystopian classic 1984. sansal's work won praise from controversial french novelist michel houellebecq, whose 2015 novel submission imagined france ruled by a radical muslim president. threat of fundamentalism sansal said that nearly 20 years after publishing his first novel on fundamentalism, he still finds 'high-level collective violence... an inexplicable mystery'. his fiction echoes his warnings of what he says is the threat of fundamentalism in europe, particularly france. 'i tell them to be careful because fundamentalism lurks around them, and grows under their feet,' he said. 'they have already suffered, and they could suffer a thousand times more if it reaches a critical mass that triggers a chain reaction.' 'sometimes i have the impression they're doing the exact opposite: they are working to adapt france to islam,' he said. in 2012, with the israeli writer david grossman, sansal launched the 'strasbourg appeal for peace', signed by nearly 200 writers declaring themselves ready to act to advance peace and democracy around the world. trained as an engineer with a doctorate in economics, he began writing novels at the age of 50 after retiring from his job as a high-ranking official in the algerian government. the assassination of president mohamed boudiaf in 1992 and the rise of fundamentalism in algeria inspired him to write about his country. at the 2007 international festival of literature in berlin, he was introduced as a writer 'exiled in his own country'. he claims that algeria is becoming a bastion of extremism and the country is losing its intellectual and moral underpinnings. his debut novel was le serment des barbares (gallimard, 1999).