The Invisible Tie
Literary Fiction, Fiction
The sins lurking in Beirut
In the Lebanese mountains, a girl is growing up in the ultra-strict, patriarchal Druze community. She desires only one thing, which is to study. But women have no rights: Her grandmother, for instance, is separated by a wall from her religion-obsessed husband. At least, her mother is allowed to bake bread and the sales allow them to pay the school fee. There she hears an Egyptian author speak – which changes everything. She learns what true empowerment entails, and how to love fully.
In her debut novel, Haneen Al-Sayegh describes the turmoil faced by Arab women who are searching for their own path. A poetic and touching text about freedom, tradition, religion, and family ties.
- A literary contribution to the struggle for freedom of Arab women
- Insights into the little-known, isolated religious Druze community
Haneen Al-Sayegh, born in 1986 in Mount Lebanon, studied English Literature at the American Unicersity of Beirut and works as a lecturer and translator. She has published three poetry books and was awarded the prestigious Naji Naaman Literary Award. She lives in Beirut and Berlin.
.jpg "Haneen Al-Sayegh")
Hamed Abdel-Samad studied English, French, Japanese, and Political Science. He has worked for UNESCO and held a professorship in Islamic Studies at the University of Erfurt and at the Institute for Jewish History and Culture at the University of Munich. Abdel-Samad is one of the most profiled Islamic intellectuals in the German-speaking world. As a result of his taboo-breaking autobiography an official fatwa was placed on him in 2013. Since then, he has lived under permanent police protection.
.jpg "Hamed Abdel-Samad")
The sins lurking in Beirut
In the Lebanese mountains, a girl is growing up in the ultra-strict, patriarchal Druze community. She desires only one thing, which is to study. But women have no rights: Her grandmother, for instance, is separated by a wall from her religion-obsessed husband. At least, her mother is allowed to bake bread and the sales allow them to pay the school fee. There she hears an Egyptian author speak – which changes everything. She learns what true empowerment entails, and how to love fully.
In her debut novel, Haneen Al-Sayegh describes the turmoil faced by Arab women who are searching for their own path. A poetic and touching text about freedom, tradition, religion, and family ties.
- A literary contribution to the struggle for freedom of Arab women
- Insights into the little-known, isolated religious Druze community