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THE SHORT STORIES OF ZAKARIA TAMER HARTMUT FÄHNDRICH The Execution of Death ZAKARIA TAMER IN GERMAN TRANSLATION1 When Ulrike Stehli-Werbeck first decided to make Zakaria Tamer’s stories known in Germany and adjacent German-speaking countries – since only a slim volume had till then been published2 – there was the question of which stories to select. Our “orientalist” background directed our attention to a very particular kind of story, in the main published in Tamer’s collection Nida’a Nouh (Noah’s Summons), with a few in Al-Ra’d (The Thunder) and one in Al-Hisrim (Sour Grapes). These were tales about “reviving” characters, both historical and mythical, from Arabic and Islamic history, looking at them, to put it neutrally, from a particular perspective. There are poets (e.g. al-Shanfara) and seafarers (e.g. Sindbad), conquerors (e.g. Genghis Khan) and intellectuals (e.g. Ibn al-Muqaffa’), storytellers (e.g. Scheherazade) and the wise fool Joha. Yet none of these stories in fact lays claim to historicity or to an historical interpretation. They are all satires aimed at the deplorable reality of the power structure and/or of the state of societies in the Arab world at the end of the 20th century. They are stories about individuals caught in a net of oppressive rule and repressive societies or suffering from the absurdity of fate, topics that are pivotal to Zakaria Tamer’s writings. Thus, in “The one who burnt the ships”3, Tariq Ibn Ziyad is taken to account for having burnt the ships (state property!) without the order of his superior. The fact that this destruction of the fleet led to victory, the Arab-Berber conquest of Andalucia, is not taken into 96 BANIPAL 53 – SUMMER 2015
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ZAKARIA TAMER IN GERMAN TRANSLATION consideration by the subaltern investigators, who themselves did not participate in the battle. Another story4 focuses upon Ibn al-Muqaffa’, who is accused before the caliph by some subservient viziers of inviting or even urging the common people to think. Yet, the caliph, knowing well that his sword would, if necessary, be stronger than the pen, scolds them for being pusillanimous. And in “The Accused”5 Omar al-Khayyam is even taken out of his grave to be tried for his inclination for wine-drinking, which, necessitating the import of wine, was damaging the power structure of the country. Arab readers may not have excessively profound knowledge of these personalities but their names will in any case ring some kind of a bell adding to their reading a certain dimension of Middle Eastern history, be it cultural or political, a dimension completely absent for Western readers. We therefore decided to “intervene” in favour of elucidating this dimension, adding to each story a brief introductory note explaining the who, where, when and what of each of these figures. This kind of commentary, surely, could not, and was not meant to, help with comprehension of the satirical and bitter allusions contained in Zakaria Tamer’s stories. It was only to indicate the vast cultural horizon from which Arab authors can still draw – for parodic or other purposes. And, it must be said that reviewers in German newspapers did indeed appreciate this help. Notes: 1 Sakarija Tamer: Die Hinrichtung des Todes. Unbekannte Geschichten von bekannten Figuren. Translated from the Arabic by Hartmut Fähndrich und Ulrike Stehli-Werbeck (Basel, 2004) 2 Sakarija Tamer: Frühling in der Asche. Syrische Erzählungen. Translated from the Arabic by Wolfgang Werbeck (Basel, 1987). 3 “Der die Schiffe verbrannte” 4 “Abdallâh Ibn al Mukaffaa der Dritte” 5 “Der Angeklagte” BANIPAL 53 – SUMMER 2015 97

THE SHORT STORIES OF ZAKARIA TAMER

HARTMUT FÄHNDRICH

The Execution of Death ZAKARIA TAMER IN GERMAN TRANSLATION1

When Ulrike Stehli-Werbeck first decided to make Zakaria Tamer’s stories known in Germany and adjacent German-speaking countries – since only a slim volume had till then been published2 – there was the question of which stories to select. Our “orientalist” background directed our attention to a very particular kind of story, in the main published in Tamer’s collection Nida’a Nouh (Noah’s Summons), with a few in Al-Ra’d (The Thunder) and one in Al-Hisrim (Sour Grapes). These were tales about “reviving” characters, both historical and mythical, from Arabic and Islamic history, looking at them, to put it neutrally, from a particular perspective. There are poets (e.g. al-Shanfara) and seafarers (e.g. Sindbad), conquerors (e.g. Genghis Khan) and intellectuals (e.g. Ibn al-Muqaffa’), storytellers (e.g. Scheherazade) and the wise fool Joha. Yet none of these stories in fact lays claim to historicity or to an historical interpretation. They are all satires aimed at the deplorable reality of the power structure and/or of the state of societies in the Arab world at the end of the 20th century. They are stories about individuals caught in a net of oppressive rule and repressive societies or suffering from the absurdity of fate, topics that are pivotal to Zakaria Tamer’s writings.

Thus, in “The one who burnt the ships”3, Tariq Ibn Ziyad is taken to account for having burnt the ships (state property!) without the order of his superior. The fact that this destruction of the fleet led to victory, the Arab-Berber conquest of Andalucia, is not taken into

96 BANIPAL 53 – SUMMER 2015

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