From social and national struggle in Mandate Palestine to combatting fascism in Spain

Yassin’s ʿAlī, Qissat Rajul Mustaqīm (2017)

Bibliographic Data

ID21726565
AuthorsNevine Abraham (0000-0002-2523-3543, Carnegie Mellon University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume26
Issue3
Pages267-288
Publication date2023-09-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMiddle Eastern Literatures (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1475-262X • E-ISSN: 1475-2638
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1475262x.2024.2387019
OpenAlexW4402244380
LanguageEN
References cited13

This article examines Hussein Yassin’s novel (b. 1943-), Alī: Qissat Rajul Mustaqīm (2017), (ʿAlī: The Story of an Honorable Man), the first historical fiction which treats the real story of ʿAlī ʿAbdul Khāliq (b. 1901–d. 1938), a Palestinian member of the Palestinian Communist Party (PCP) who fought in the Spanish Civil War against Francisco Franco’s fascist nationalists. While Jewish participation in the International Brigades has been well-researched, Palestinian Arabs’ role has not received as much attention. This paper contextualizes the novel in its contemporary history and examines its emphasis on ʿAbdul Khāliq's participation in the International Brigades as an extension of his fight for Palestine. This analysis adds to scholarship that has debunked discourses on Arabs’ collaboration with Europe’s fascist regimes. Reading across history, politics, and literature, analysis shows how ʿAlī can be read as a representation of continued anti-Zionist, anti-imperialist struggle and the fight for labor and land

Ancient history · Mandate · Mandatory Palestine · Media studies · Palestine · Political science · Sociology · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies

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