Ibdaa (magazine)

Ibdaa

Categories	Literary magazine
Frequency	Monthly
Publisher	General Egyptian Book Organization
First issue	1 January 1983; 42 years ago (1983-01-01)
Country	Egypt
Based in	Cairo
Language	Arabic

Ibdaa (Arabic: Creativity) is a monthly Arabic literary magazine based in Cairo, Egypt. It has been in circulation since 1983.

History

Ibdaa was launched in January 1983.[1] The magazine, based in Cairo,[2] is published by the General Egyptian Book Organization, an agency of the ministry of culture.[1][3]

Egyptian poet Ahmed Abdel Muti Hijazi became chief editor of the magazine in 1990 which he held until 2002 when he resigned from the post.[4] He was reappointed chief editor of Ibdaa in 2006.[4] As of 2015 the editor of Ibdaa was Egyptian novelist Mohamed Mansi Qandil.[5]

One of the major contributors was Ahmed Morsi, an Egyptian painter and poet.[6] His column was Risalat New York (Arabic: Dispatch from New York) which included his writings about Allen Ginsberg, Jasper Johns, and Toni Morrison.[6]

Bans

Ibdaa has been banned several times.[4] For instance, it was banned following the publication of a painting portraying Adam and Eve naked.[4] The other ban occurred after publishing a study about Jewish culture.[4]

In April 2007, the magazine was banned and its license was revoked by the Egyptian State Council Administrative Court on 7 April 2009 due to the publication of a poem entitled "On the balcony of Leila Murad" by Egyptian poet Hilmi Salem (1951-2012).[1][7][8] The poem in which God was likened to an Egyptian peasant was regarded by the court as "blasphemous".[9][10] The petition to the court was made by the authorities at Al Azhar University.[9] However, the earlier prints of the poem in Salem's 2006 anthology and in Al Wafd daily and Al Arabi magazine did not cause any stir.[11] In addition to the ban, the magazine was harshly criticized by Hamdi Rizq writing for Almasry Alyoum, a daily in Egypt, due to its publication of the poem.[12] The ban and license revoking were reversed on appeal in June 2009.[13][14]

See also

List of magazines in Egypt

References

1. "Ibdaa magazine to reappear on newsstands". Daily News Egypt. 4 May 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
2. "At a glance". Al Ahram Weekly (459). 9–15 December 1999. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
3. Mahmoud El Wardani (8–14 July 1999). "Books. At a glance". Al Ahram Weekly. 437. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
4. Robier Al Faris (22 April 2007). "When a father kills his baby". Arab West Report. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
5. "Ibda'e magazine releases January issue". Egypt Independent. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
6. Ahmed Morsi (December 2017). "Intermediality and Cultural Journalism". Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics (37): 291.
7. "Statements". AFTE. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
8. "'God Is Not a Policeman': Helmi Salem Dies at 61". Arabic Literature. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
9. Jenna Krajeski (10 April 2009). "Good Shepherd". The New Yorker. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
10. Mohamed El Bendary (2010). The Egyptian Press and Coverage of Local and International Events. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-7391-2431-4.
11. "Egypt court bans magazine for blasphemy". Al Arabiya. Cairo. Reuters. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
12. Hamdi Rizq (31 May 2007). "A Legitimate Edition". Almasry Alyoum. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
13. "The impact of blasphemy laws on human Rights" (Policy Brief). Freedom House. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
14. "Egypt court reinstates magazine licence after poem". Reuters. Cairo. 15 June 2009. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.