Non-canonical Arabic Detective Fiction : The Beginnings of the Genre

The focus of this paper is Arabic detective fiction, which began in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, thanks to the broad-scope enterprise of translations, and the subsequent development of an authentic Arabic detective literature in the early 1960s. This paper traces diachronically the emergence of this popular genre at an entirely non-canonical level, in Egypt in particular, and examines its thematic characteristics. The paper also examines the causes of the lack of canonical detective literature until the early 1980s. It argues that Arabic detective literature, canonical and non-canonical alike, is a true reflection of the power relations and the social, political and cultural struggles in the Arab world. It further claims that Arabic detective literature is one of the most important literary strata in modern Arab literature, through which we can clearly discern changes in values and esthetics in modern Arab society, and examine the relations between money and ruling power in Egypt as a mirror of the entire Arab world and the connection between literature, preservation and the undermining of Arab law and social order.


Preface
This article examines the historical development of the genre of non-canonical Arabic detective fiction, mainly in Egypt. 1 It traces the milestones in the development of this genre from the early 20 th century to the present day.This diachronic overview of most of the series through which Arabic detective fiction was published-both translations and original 1 Non-canonical literature refers to genres that were not accepted as part of mainstream literature and remained on its margins.Works of this kind were treated with disdain and thus rarely included in academic research.Reuven Snir stresses the point that most genres that make up the popular noncanonical prose are limited, ignored and suffers from a lack of interest, as is reflected in scientific studies as in the West.Thus Snir describes the state of works belonging to genres not recognized as canonical in modern Arabic literature such as detective stories and science fiction.He also relates to their content saying that 'being sub-canonical is not just a question of the language of the writing [i.e.fuṣḥà vs. ʿāmmiyya] but also of topic and content.Research and criticism in the Arab world has almost completely ignored the sub-canonical sectors, and even when it does relate to them, it is in most cases for extra-literary motives, mainly folkloristic and national, such as, for example, seeking roots or trying to mold a national identity and disprove claims that negate it ' -SNIR 1994: 55.Compare also with SNIR  1998: 87-121.These Western theories anchored this paper and served as a research tool with which to analyze the non-Western detective literature.Among these theories is also Even Zohar's Polysystem Theory, on the basis of which one can explain the process during which Arabic detective literature moved from the margins to the center.According to Even Zohar, what was considered to be at the margins of a literary system in a certain period may subsequently shift and win a place at the heart of this system.Almost the only reference to Arabic detective text was in the translation of Western detective works as part of the popular literature.This is also precisely the reason why these works were ignored by the literary establishment.The theory explains the process of the transition in that the exclusive treatment of the elements comprising the literary center might lead to extreme changes in the literary experience because it ignores the movement and interactions between margins and center.In the end, this state of affairs will yield a completely opposite result: The center element will disappear, and its place will be filled by elements thought marginal until then.For example, poetry lost its central status in the literary center, and the detective text moved towards the center.5

The development of non-canonical modern Arabic detective fiction
As we shall see, the writing of non-canonical modern Arabic detective fiction went through two phases: translations from Western crime fiction, and original Arabic works.The transition from translation to original writing was not a clear-cut change, but rather a gradual and parallel process.The translations often suffered from a lack of professionalism and haste and contained many errors both in content and in language.This damaged the quality of the translated work and, consequently, also the genre as a whole.

Stage 1 -Translation as a first encounter-the origins
The first encounter of Arabic literature with written detective literature, and more precisely, with the genre of detective narrative, came through translation, as was the case also with other non-canonical genres such as science fiction.On this point Snir writes: "Like canonical literature, sub-canonical translated literature constitutes a channel of contact with other literatures and is a source, albeit an indirect one, of changes to the poetics of Arabic literature."6This is the reason why Egyptian and other Arab writers, from Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm to ʿṢunʿallāh ʾIbrāhīm, remember to have read in their childhood and adolescence cheap editions of Arsène Lupin, Edmond Dantes, Sherlock Holmes and Rocambole. 7he most famous character in detective fiction was that of the charming Arsène Lupin, created by French author Maurice Leblanc (1864-1941), so much so that Majdī Yūsuf, one of the few scholars to review the translations of this genre, said: Hardly any Arab intellectual began his journey without reading the detective stories of Arsène Lupin, which gave the translations of these novels a high status that only a fool would ignore in the history of modern Arabic literature and culture, so much so that one may determine a period in the history of every Arab reader called "the Arsène Lupin phase." 8It was ʿAbd al-Qādir Ḥamza who first translated the adventures of Arsène Lupin into Arabic with the adventure entitled 'Gentleman-Cambrioleur'.The translation appeared in 1910, three years after the original edition in French (1907), in the journal Musāmarāt al-Shabāb (Youth Nightlife), which was published in Cairo between 1904 and1911. 9 Also translated were Agatha Christieʼs novels and the Sherlock Holmes novels of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)  10 .Arabic readers were also familiar with the character of Simon Templar (The Saint), created by author Leslie Charteris (1907-1993) 11 as well as Charlie Shane, whom the Arabic readers knew well from the many novels translated in the Riwāyāt ʿĀlamiyya (Universal Novels) series published in Cairo, 12 as well as the character of Mike Shine, whom Arabic readers knew particularly well thanks to several popular series of detective fiction published in Beirut, and those of the famous English detective novelist Edgar Wallace (1875-1932).
The name of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ʾAmīn is mentioned as one of the popular translators of that period.He translated and adapted many Western detective works of fiction and established the weekly Riwāyāt al-Jayb (pocket novels).The names of Ṭānyūs ʿAbduh and ʾAsʿad Dāghir are also mentioned as active translators of that time.Even as late as 1981, we still observe similarly unreliable customs on the side of the translators that led to much confusion regarding the matching of translations with the original texts.A clear example of this is the work of one of the main translators, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ʾAmīn, which was often confusing and lacking in transparency.In one of the pocket novels he published, Khātimat al-Maʾsāh (The End of the Tragedy), the front cover of the book says "Agatha Christie," but the inside cover gives ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ʾAmīn not as the translator, but as the author.This is an indication of how slack and inaccurate the publishers were and how little framework there was to supervise the publishers. 13Abd al-ʿAzīz b. ʿAbd Allāh and Ḥāfiẓ Najīb, who were not recognized as pioneers of Arabic detective fiction because of doubts about the originality of their work, which looked like translations that had undergone serious 'Arabization', published so many books that Najīb was nicknamed the "Egyptian Arsène Lupin," or the "swindler author" (al-ʾAdīb almuḥtāl) because of all the books he translated and then published with no mention of the original Western author's name.
Al-Jundī claims that the translation process was supposed to play a positive role in transmitting great literary works into Arabic in order to strengthen Arabic literature, but this process deviated from its path and purpose because of the colonial hegemony and cultural influence of France and Britain.It is perhaps here that we find the secret behind this deviation of the translation process from its main purpose and its change into a tool to amuse and satisfy the readers. 14We believe that this opinion is not based on objective facts or evidence showing that translations were introduced with the intention to damage Arab culture.It is al-Jundī's personal opinion, and a deeper investigation of the cultural milieu of that period reveals that the people in charge of translation simply preferred the cheaper and economically more worthwhile.The unaesthetic format of these translated books, their linguistic level and even the type of paper they were printed on, all point to financial considerations rather than a Western colonialist plot.Furthermore, other genres considered more canonical, such as novels, short stories and drama, were translated in the same cheap manner.
Thus we see that at the beginning of the 20 th century, Arabic literature, the Arab writer and the Arab reader all encountered detective fiction in its various forms, such as the novel, the short story, the adventure series, and so forth, where the flow was one-directional: from West to East, by way of translation, which for the most part did not adhere to our modern rules of professional translation or its ethics.Moreover, these translations were often deemed suspect both by Arab intellectuals and by the man in the street.These suspicions were mainly expressed in the notion that the colonialists were using them to impose their foreign culture and deprive the Arab and Islamic nation of its values and heritage. 15This might explain the unfavorable attitude, to put it mildly, adopted by academics of Arabic literature towards non-canonical literature in general 16 and detective fiction in particular, as well as the shaky status in which this genre found itself compared to other genres of modern Arabic literature.However, these suspicions did not halt the translation industry for detective works, which continued for over six decades.The main damage caused to the genre was the lack of help in getting it accepted into official mainstream literature.

Stage 2 -Original Arabic detective fiction
In his book al-Dhākira al-Mafqūda (The Lost Memory), ʾIlyās Khūrī says: Arab modernism has managed to borrow from and draw on all the signs of Western modernity, from the system of governance to the police and modern art forms.But one art form has remained impossible and rebellious and couldn't be borrowed.That is the detective story. 17 is echoed by al-Saʿdī, who, while showing the presence of crime in three Arab novels, illustrates this saying: When we relate to this genre of novels, it is important to mention that although they start with the crime of murder, they do not contain the essential techniques and thematic aspects that allow us to consider them detective stories. 18wever, while translation of detective works continued to flourish, with many works from the West finding their way to the translator's desk and from there to the readers, adolescents, for the most part, the first significant change in regard to Arabic detective fiction occurred, signaling the start of the second phase-writing and publication of original detective fiction in Arabic.Snir comments: 'thus we can mark the rise in importance of original detective fiction as opposed to translated detective fiction'. 19he switch from translation to original writing in this genre took place at the noncanonical level which included mainly detective fiction intended for young readers.All the respective original series share common features and a uniform structure and amazingly similar order-they are all full of action, suspense, pursuits and violence.In this field, we may remember a number of milestones:

First juncture
The first appearance of original detective stories and mysteries in Arabic 20 which were not translated from Western literature 21 seems to have been in Egypt in 1968 in the form of a series of mysteries under the heading of Detective stories for children.The first adventure, 22 Al-Kūkh al-Muḥtariq (The Burning Cottage), was written by Maḥmūd Sālim. 23very pocket book in the series included three different descriptions of its content: on the front cover in small letters beneath the heading Detective Stories for Children (Qiṣaṣ  Būlīsīyya), the title always began with: The Mystery of… (Lughz…).Then, on the inside cover it said: Adventure no.n.It is almost always noted that these were adventure stories written for youth rather than for the adult reader. 24At any rate, we believe that the multiple names and the parallels of the subtitles on each pocket book reflected confusion among the authors and publishers, perhaps because of the novelty of the attempt at original writing of the genre.In addition to this series, there were many others which attracted millions of Arabic readers in Egypt and the rest of the Arab world.The overview below of the plethora 18 Al-SAADI 2012: 2.   19 SNIR 1998: 87-121; SNIR 1994: 59.   20 SHARSHĀR 2003: 33.21 CACHIA 1990: 172-173.22 Prior to these adventures, there were a number of very short detective riddles by Maḥmūd SĀLIM (see note 23).The first of these was Lughz al-Zujāj al-Maksūr (The Riddle of the Broken Glass).The group consisted of 13 boys and girls from various Arab countries27 whose goal was to protect the great Arab homeland, "and they stood strong against the plots directed against the Arab homeland," as it stated in each pocket book. 28

Second juncture
The second important juncture in the history of Arabic detective fiction (and the history of other non-canonical genres such as science fiction in modern Arabic literature) in Egypt and the Arab world in general, occurred in 1984 when Al-Muʾassasa al-ʿArabiyya al-Ḥadītha (The Modern Arabic Institute) 29 began publishing a variety of series dealing with science fiction, detective science-fiction, detective adventure stories and other series 30 that became tremendously successful and urged/encouraged the publishers to put out more new series with many nuances and innovations. 31hus al-Muʾassasa al-ʿArabiyya al-Ḥadītha began publishing the new series in the following chronological order: 1. Rajul al-Mustaḥīl (The Man of the Impossiblean adventure series from the files of the Egyptian intelligence service.42 MUṢṬAFÀ [n.d.]a.
44 This is how it was in the original, instead of 'written by' as was customary in al-Muʾassasa al-ʿArabiyya al-Ḥadītha in all its publications.Perhaps this was an effort to increase the sales power by inserting the best-known name in the series it put out-Nabīl Fārūq.See FĀRŪQ [n.d.]a: 2.
In the writings of Nabīl Fārūq and ʾAḥmad Khālid Tawfīq a revolution occurred that went beyond any commercial interest, but was connected to a transition from non-canonical to canonical writing, in other words, a transition from the margins of literature to its center, as Moreover, the institution announced a contest among readers interested in writing to select those with a talent for writing and offer them one or two, sometimes even more new series, to be written in the setting of the stories and adventures such they had read when they were young, with variations in the topics and colourful innovations.The series were published under the above-mentioned umbrella series Sallat al-Riwāyāt (The Novel Basket).
In  (Al-Jīl Comic Adventures), in comic book format, i.e., with cartoon-like drawings 56 SNIR 1998: 87-121.-Compare also EVEN-ZOHAR 1990 and KHOURY 2006.and speech bubble text 59 by Rajāʾ ʿAbd Allāh and illustrations by ʿIffat Ḥusnī.There is also the Mughāmarāt al-Jīl al-ʿIlmiyya (Al-Jīl Science Adventures) series, again in comic book format, written alternately by ʿAfāf ʿAbd al-Bārī and Rajāʾ ʿAbd Allāh, with illustrations by ʾAshraf Saʿīd, Ṣafwat Qāsim, ʾIbrāhīm Samra and ʿIffat Ḥusnī.In each adventure, the plot is devised as a conflict between two forces, good versus evil, where the goal of the forces of evil very often is to harm the world and destroy its order.The authors made sure to write on the back cover of each pocket book a succinct summary of the story's conflict and a brief overview of the events.An example of this appears in Adventure no. 10 of the series, entitled The War of the Metals, where it says: Surprises in scientific progress […] endless inventions that surpass imagination […] with man's dreams of a greater future, Good fights Evil […] while that Evil tries to crush and destroy human happiness […] and this sparks unimaginable and indescribable adventures […] such as those in this story. 60us we see an interesting phenomenon: many Arab authors who wrote detective mysteries and adventures also wrote science fiction, an indication of a link between these two literary genres, especially at the start of original writing, and probably the result of the confusion and lack of distinction or the merging of the two. 61his also indicates the evolution in the attitude towards the genre of detective fiction as original works began to appear, expand and diversify.Likewise, there is indication of the existence of a sense of expertise in this genre that enables writers to constantly introduce innovations.Majdī Ṣābir, an author of children's books and detective fiction born in 1960, explains the reasons that led to publication: "No one thought or dared to publish this kind of series in the past … [ellipses in the original] you might wonder […] why this new series?The answer is that the reader is no doubt tired and bored after reading dozens and hundreds of detective stories and stories of suspense and violence […] and is looking for something new." 62s is evident from the above, the Arab writer obviously is aware, especially in the early 1990s, of the tremendous momentum of production in this area, and concerned that the readers of this genre will get fed up with the familiar format of adventure stories they are used to reading.Therefore, it seems indicated to seek a new style and a new and attractive format that will once again draw in the readers.No wonder then that authors also seek to construct new templates of adventurers/investigators, e.g. that of comedy.
Thus in 1991, Midlayt al-Maḥdūda published a new series entitled Mughāmarāt Jumʿa wa-Shurakāʾih (The Adventures of Jumʿa and his Partners), comic detective stories and adventures.In the first issue, which bore the title The Treasures of Guardian Shanabū, author Majdī Ṣābir writes to the ultimate reader: "You may be surprised and amazed once you have the first issue of this new series in your hands, and, without a doubt, the reason for this surprise and amazement is that this is the first series of its kind-i.e., comic detective stories that you will see with your own eyes." 63t is probably safe to say that this is a clear innovation, an attempt to diversify the genre, or even to lay the groundwork for a new genre that integrates suspense and humour.It reflects the degree of success of detective fiction as evidenced by its wide dissemination.
In 1992, the London-based Midlayt al-Maḥdūda, published, through the Sijill al-ʿArab printing house in Cairo, a new series called al-Firqa al-Intiḥāriyya (The Suicide Unit), authored, again, by Majdī Ṣābir-a series of adventures filled with action and risk-taking.Its heroes are two men and a woman, all members of the Egyptian Intelligence Services. 64ikewise, the same publisher put out another new series called Diskūvirī (Discovery)with science fiction adventures, also written by Majdī Ṣābir. 65 To crown his new endeavours, Majdī Ṣābir began in 1992 writing yet another series, also for Midlayt al-Maḥdūda, entitled ʾIdārat al-Būlīs al-Nisāʾīal-Kubrà (Women's Police Administration -Cobra), in which the key roles are played by female police officers who are responsible for the safety of the public and the state in face of all the dangers that lurk. 66et another series was launched in Amman: Qiṣaṣ Būlīsiyya lil-ʾAwlād (Detective Stories for Children).Apparently, the name is chosen on purpose: it seems to reflect a desire to replicate the tremendous success in Egypt. 67However, this dream did not materialize and the author left Jordan and moved to the USA.
In Syria there was an attempt similar to the one in Jordan.A writer by the name of Suhayl ʾAyyūb wrote a series for children called al-Mughamirūn al-ʾArbaʿa (The Four Adventurers), in analogy to al-Mughamirūn al-Khamsa (The Five Adventurers) by Egyptian author Maḥmūd Sālim. 68n 1994, Dār al-Shurūq (Cairo and Beirut) published a new series entitled ʾAlghāz al-Shurūq (The al-Shurūq Mysteries), by Maḥmūd Qāsim.The heroes are Ḥabḥab and his falcon Rafraf.In each adventure, or 'riwāya', as the author calls it, there is a plot that takes place somewhere else on the globe.It is based on real events (such as wars, combat activities, riots…) which the author uses for the setting of the mystery and the ensuing events. 69In 1996,  68 ḤĀJJ 2011: 21-23.69 QĀSIM 1994: 36.70 QĀSIM 1996.71 ṢĀBIR 1994a, ṢĀBIR 1994b, ṢĀBIR 1995.Mughāmarāt fī 'l-Faḍāʾ wa'l-Khayāl al-ʿIlmī (Adventures in Space and Science Fiction), published by Dār al-Maʿārif, It is worth noting that the level of linguistic and printing quality was superior to its other published series. 72lso in 1994, Dār Nahḍat Miṣr lil-Ṭibāʿa wa'l-Nashr wa'l-Tawzīʿ in Cairo published a series called ʿĀlam al-Jarīma (The World of Crime) which presented crime on three levels: Interpol cases, espionage, and crimes of passion.Some of these crimes were translated (from general world literature…) by Suhayr al-Bīlī, with a preface in Arabic by Maḥmūd Sālim, the ground-breaking pioneer of this genre, while the second part was originalwritten by Maḥmūd Sālim himself. 73rom that same publishing house and in that same year, there is a new series with the grandiose name of Mughāmarāt al-Qarn al-Qādim (Adventures of the Next Century), written by Rajāʾ ʿAbd Allāh. 74It is interesting that the name of the main character, chief scientist Nadīm Ṣabrī, is very similar to the name of the hero in The Man of the Impossible series, ʾAdham Ṣabrī.We believe this is no coincidence, but rather an attempt to imitate the outstanding success of al-Muʾassasa al-ʿArabiyya al-Ḥadītha.Another interesting fact is that the name of Rajāʾ ʿAbd Allāh reappears in more than one series at different times and for different publishers.Thus, it appears, the growing momentum of writing led to situations in which a writer might be writing different series for different publishers, thus actually competing with him/herself.We believe there are also reciprocal influences and a desire to emulate what has already been successful, in the interest of assuring commercial gain.
Also in 1994, Dār al-Bashīr in Amman published a new adventure series entitled ʾAlghāz Būlīsiyya lil-Fityān wa'l-Fatayāt (Detective Mysteries for Boys and Girls), written by ʾAmal ʿIzz al-Dīn.Its heroes are five adventurers. 75n 1996, Dār Hātyīh published in Cairo a series called Rajul al-Faḍāʾ (The Space Man), a detective adventure and science fiction by Ḥusām al-ʿAqqād.Among the newest series we found that in 1998, al-Dār al-Miṣriyya al-Lubnāniyya published in Cairo a science-fiction series entitled Fursān al-Ghad (The Knights of Tomorrow), written by Hishām al-Ṣayyād.These were more like regular books in size and volume than the familiar pocket books of similar series, with better quality paper, and a harder coloured cover.In the preface the author writes: with scientific progress, a group of people has appeared from all over the world, who have a tendency to exploit the dark side of science, trapped in a love of destruction, sabotage and bloodshed, using technology to attain their goals… […] so it was necessary to think about setting up a well-trained science team with exceptional skills to stop these criminals, and because of the important and active 72 ṢĀBIR 1994c, ṢĀBIR 1994d.
74 ʿABD ALLĀH 1995.75 ʿIZZ al-DĪN 1994.role Egypt plays in safeguarding the region and the world, this team was set up in our beloved country. 76 2004, Dār Hāla published a new series entitled al-Fursān al-Thalātha (The Three Knights), written by Hishām al-Ṣayyād.Its heroes are Nūra, Māzin and Mukhtār, who, in each issue, try to solve a very puzzling mystery.What is special about this series is that the author does not give the reader clear answers, but rather ends each issue with one or more questions for the reader to think about until the next issue, which contains the solution.This method is reminiscent of the early days of Maḥmūd Sālim, before the series of al-Mughāmirūn al-Khamsa (The Five Adventurers), when he used to write two pages on a regular basis for the newspaper, asking the readers to send in their answers and solutions. 77n 2005, Dār al-ʾIsrāʾ lil-Nashr wa'l-Ṭibāʿa published a series entitled ʾAjmal Qiṣaṣ al-Mughāmarāt al-Khayāliyya lil-ʾAṭfāl (The Most Beautiful Imaginary Stories for Children), 78 a bi-lingual Arabic-English series with fairy tales, tales of courage, history and science fiction written by Niḍāl al-Bazm, 79 who, in the introduction, writes: The pages of this book contain imaginary stories about the defense of the planet, or a town or a village against foreigners or aliens, in order to instill love of the country and of others in the souls of our beloved young ones. 80 Cairo, Dār al-Ṭalāʾiʿ published an adventure series entitled al-ʾAlghāz al-ʿIlmiyya (The Scientific Mysteries) written by Fatḥī Ṣabrī.In this series, three young adventurers, Ḥasan, ʾAmīn and ʿĀdil, solve detective mysteries related to science, similar to the first series written by Maḥmūd Sālim. www, a horror series by ʾAḥmad Khālid Tawfīq.
 Al-Mutakhaṣṣiṣūn (The Experts) by Nabīl Fārūq, which had only three issues.
76 Al-ṢAYYĀD 1988: 8.   77 Al-ṢAYYĀD 2004.78 Al-BAZM 2005.79 At the end of the book, and in the biography it says that the author has another series entitled Mughāmarāt al-ʾAbṭāl lil-ʾAṭfāl (Heroic Adventures for Children), a name which suggests that it is an adventure series for children, and might also be detective fiction, as is customary in these aeries, it seems.We were unable to actually find this series in the markets. Mūlūtūv (Molotov) -"a series that might explode in your hands," as the publisher, Dār Laylà, described it.Writers included ʾAḥmad Khālid Tawfīq and others.

Series with no dates
In addition to the series bearing a publication date, there are also a number of others that show no indication as to when they were published.Among these we note the following series:  From the Al-Jazīra Library in the Egyptian city of Manṣūra, a series entitled al-Shabaḥ al-ʾAbyaḍ (The White Shadow), described as 'interesting detective novels' by Dr. Ḥusām al-ʿAqqād. Mughāmarāt Būlīsiyya lil-ʾAwlād wa'l-Banāt (Detective Stories for Boys and Girls), by Majdī Ṣābir, who participated in the writing of several detective and mystery stories and series.Dār Gharīb, printers for the Gharīb library publishers and distributors in Cairo, presented it as 'a monthly series for children combining entertainment, cultural enrichment and pleasure […] as well as providing ways to think about solving problems that young readers can read but older readers also don't want to give up on.'There were over 30 adventures.82The structure and some of the names are similar to those of the earlier mystery series.Hence we assume that this series was published in the late 1970s / early 1980s. 83We can see that in this group the names of three adventurers from the series of Detective Stories for Children reappear: Hishām, Muḥsin and Hādiya, and the two last ones from the same group.It seems that this frequency is not a coincidence; rather, it demonstrates the process of copying from one series to another.It seems to indicate that it was hard to avoid such a practice, given the drive of the many publishers and the continuity at the start of every month, and the appearance of the same authors' names (e.g.Muḥammad Qāsim, Rajāʾ ʿAbd Allāh,ʿAfāf ʿAbd al-Bārī, Maḥmūd Sālim and Majdī Ṣābir( in other series published by various other publishers.But this quantity of momentum aimed at catering to the increasing demands of the readership, mostly children and adolescents, it seems in hindsight, was one of the main reasons and one of the drivers of innovation and diversification in the writing and the desire to seek novelty in form, style and content.  The Dār Hatyīh publishers in Cairo once again published a series written by ʿAfāf ʿAbd al-Bārī called Farāfīsh.It contained detective riddles, science fiction stories, leisure games, thinking puzzles, jokes, general knowledge and many other sections. 84 Al-Mughāmirān (The Two Adventurers), written by Samīr Sarḥān, published and distributed by Nahḍat Miṣr .On the outer cover page of the first issue, bearing the title al-Jarīma al-ʾIliktrūniyya (The Electronic Crime), it says that this 'is the first of a series of adventures in which the heroes are two brothers who love to help the police uncover the mystery surrounding the (police) detective puzzle, thus help solve it'.It is worth mentioning the high level of this series, compared to other similar detective series in terms of style, language and the overall quality of the artistic product. 85 Rambo, written by ʿAmr Yūsuf, was published by the Arab Center for Publication and Distribution in Alexandria, the first publishing house not located in Cairo that we have encountered so far.Rāmbū (Rambo) is a pocketbook adventure series revolving around the character of Rambo, inspired by the character of the American film of that name played by Sylvester Stallone, whose picture is prominently displayed on the cover of each adventure. 86 The Safīr (The Ambassador), an adventure series written by ʾAshraf al-Sayyid al-ʿUqbī and published by the Unit for Children's Education, Safīr Co., in Cairo. 87

Translated series
In addition to the series written in Arabic, there are the translated series that added to the panorama of the genre such as The Wheat Sheaves, published by the Global Egyptian Publisher -Longman ( 1992 85 SARḤĀN [n.d.]: the back cover.

Main themes in the series
After examining a considerable number of the adventures in the various series written originally in Arabic, we were able to form a general picture of their contents and their main themes.Within the general framework of a struggle of the good heroes against the forces of evil, one can point in the various stories, to a number of topics common to all of them.

The presence of the régime
The political regime has a strong presence and is involved in the smallest details.It is an integral part of the detective force and the plot.Its representatives are characters who influence the chain of events and the progress of the investigation.This presence is expressed in two ways: a.The character of a security officer (from various forces) who accompanies the young adventurers, guides them and helps them discover the truth.b.The character of the hero himself, a security officer, is a public servant in one of the units; he pursues the forces of evil that are trying to harm the state.He carries out his missions while serving as a security officer.
92 KAMĀL [n.d.]b: inside cover.What is interesting in these series is that they all have a happy ending.The story ends with all the adventurers or security forces safe and well, while the criminals have a bitter destiny, being caught either by the heroes or by the police.This gives rise to several points: 1.The security forces are far-reaching and get to everyone, anywhere, however smart and cunning they might be.This sends a powerful message about the image of the various security forces or anyone representing them or acting on their behalf.2. Criminals and villains are never free forever.They might deceive the state or its people, but only for a limited period of time until order is restored.Good always comes on top.Here, too, one can sense a message that the regime benefits from.3.In life there is hope that injustice will be righted, justice will be seen to be done.
This offers a prime social and religious message.Good vanquishes evil, the angels overcome the devil and his followers in the true spirit of religions.4.There is no domain in which 'big brother'/the security officer cannot intervene and get what he wants.This creates the feeling that criminals might rule, but nevertheless, they are eventually overruled and will inevitably lose their temporary high standing.5.When you are helped by the right people, the outcome will always be good.In these series, anyone who has a connection to any kind of government body is good, kind, willing to help and knows how to do so.He has been trained for this.
Hence we see that the theme was enlisted by the writers, inspired by the regime, in order to present a good, peaceful and happy world in which the forces of good always overcome the forces of evil and the regime always cares for the wellbeing of its citizens-at least in the booklets in the hands of the next generation of the seventies of the 20 th century.

Pan-Arabism and patriotism
Irrespective of series or subgenre, the hostile forces representing the Evil always come from outside the Arab world (outside Egypt, in particular).They seek to breach the security mechanisms of the local intelligence forces and spread death, destruction and panic among the public, in order to undermine national security and stability.In order to achieve optimal success the offenders use every method and means of espionage they can lay their hands on, armed with all the most sophisticated weaponry and electronic equipment in order to steal defense, military, political or scientific secrets, etc.In the texts, these forces appear in two variants: a) external forces.These forces may be from different countries and geographical regions.By the frequency of their appearance as well as their way of operating and their aims, they can be further divided into two categories:  intelligence services from around the world  the Israeli Mossad b) hostile forces active within the country Even in the latter case, the adventurers are helped by agents of the local security forces, who are excellently trained to handle such missions.Thus, the heroes succeed in defeating the attempts to spread destruction.Despite the modest means of the Egyptian and Arab security forces, and despite the sophisticated means at the disposal of the attackers, the young Egyptian/Arab adventurers are prepared to stand up against the attackers and prevent them from achieving their aims.It goes without saying that the high self-confidence of the adventurers and the Arab security forces carries the message of Arab unity and victory at any price over the enemy who is lurking inside or outside the country.The enemy thus serves the goal of highlighting the importance of unquestioned general support for the existing Arab regimes, despite all internal problems.

The character of the investigator
Among the investigators three categories can be distinguished: a) adult investigators.These usually are police officers, detectives or intelligence officers from one of the security forces.The hero is paid by the authorities for whom he works.The motivation to unearth the crime is typically a sense of national-social duty.The task of locating the criminals, pursuing them and bringing them to justice is part of his official job, and he perceives of his activities as such.
ʾAdham Ṣabrī from the The Man of the Impossible series is a prime example of this category. 95 b) The second category is that of the young amateur adventurers.The motives by which they are driven often include a sense of adventure as well as national and social zealotry and concern; some also act out of curiosity and a strong desire to behave like adults and enter into the adult world.Examples of this would be Muḥibb, Lūza, Nūsa, ʿĀṭif, and Takhtakh, the Five Adventurers of Maḥmūd Sālim, or ʿĀmir ʿĀlya and their cat Mūrjān, the Three Adventurers of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Ḥamdī. 96 c) The third category is a combination that falls somewhere between the first two categories.It is found particularly in one of the most widely read series, Majmūʿat al-Shayāṭīn al-13 lil-Shabāb (The 13 Devils Group for Youngsters).They are ʾAḥmad, ʿUthmān, ʾIlhām, Hudà, Bū-ʿUmayyir, Miṣbāḥ, Zubayda, Fahd, Khālid, Rīmā, Qays, Bāsim, and Rashīd.They fall between the two other categories because they are all young people from different Arab countries, full of energy and curiosity, like those in the second category; at the same time, they work officially for a joint Arab intelligence service headed by a mysterious leader called 'Number X', an adult intelligence officer, like those in the first category. 97

Equality-women fighting alongside the men
The girl or woman detective, as she appears in the various series, is very different from the stereotype of the Arab woman who is harnessed to her husband and cannot be an entity capable of living an independent life without the protection of her husband.Here it is a 97 SĀLIM 1984 and SĀLIM 1999.woman of different standards, which sends a different social message.Her antistereotypical behavior provides a very obvious and prominent gender aspect.We can see her through a different gender lens: she thinks, she fights, she is strong and getting stronger; she plays a key role and is a partner in the decision-making and execution of the tough and dangerous missions; she is the man's equal and committed to the values that were until now considered the purview of men only, such as fighting the enemy and putting oneself in danger for the sake of one's country and homeland.The detective story is one of the domains in which the woman can act to effect gender equality, and in this story she advances and reaches areas that used to be a male monopoly.

Conclusion
In 2011, al-Majalla al-ʿArabiyya published an article summarizing the atmosphere of the Arab detective genre.The title-"Iḥtifāʾ al-Qurrāʾ wa-ʾIhmāl al-Nuqqād" (Well received by readers, neglected by the critics)-is in line with our impression that the popularity of Arab detective fiction among the readers was never accompanied by critical research, although detective fiction does indeed exist in modern Arab literature and should not be ignored, both quantitatively and qualitatively.This literature appears on two levels: canonical and non-canonical.The latter offers the broadest level of works, but receives an icy welcome from the academic world, where many scholars consider it to be only marginal literature.Thus, research fails to reflect the scope of the phenomenon.Despite being ignored by academia and research, this literature, especially at the noncanonic level, was extremely widespread among the youth from the 1960s to the 1990s, and continues on a smaller scope as a result of many factors, such as technology that has weakened the amount of reading in general.
In this article, we tried to shed light on the actual existence of non-canonical detective fiction.We traced the development of the genre from the translations of western detective stories through to the establishment of original Arabic detective literature.
As stated, the emphasis was on the non-canonical series, which constitute the vast majority of detective writing in general and the non-canonical detective literature in particular.Certainly, these are not all the series written and published as part of the noncanonical detective genre, but they are the main series we have been able to find during the many years in which we have been monitoring the scene.While we are not the first to address the importance of Arabic detective fiction, we believe that our innovative contribution of the first comrehensive historical mapping of its development and content will serve future scholars as they continue to study this genre in greater depth.
We believe that detective fiction holds a treasure trove of messages and values as we saw in regard to the themes mentioned above.Non-canonical literature was, we believe, a wall of defense for the regimes in Egypt and other Arab states.It is not subversive literature aimed to shock the political order.On the contrary, it is literature in which the members of the regime are an essential part."Justice" as a key value in society is achieved through the generous help of the regime and its members.In most of the detective series mentioned we find the government persona who plays an important part in resolving the mystery and punishing the perpetrators of the crime.As we saw, all the series stayed away from any criminal activity that might lead to blaming the authorities; all the crime scenarios actually justified the existence of the current regime as an active partner in ensuring order, justice and personal safety.
The field is by no means satiated and requires further research.

23
The Egyptian writer Maḥmūd SĀLIM (1929-2013) is considered to have played a key role in establishing the genre of original detective fiction in modern Arabic literature.He published his adapted and Arabized (muʿarrab) detective fiction stories in 1968, in Majallat Samīr (The Entertaining Companion Magazine) with Dār al-Hilāl, Cairo, edited by Nādiyā NASHʾAT.He played a decisive role in expanding the inventory of literary devices in Arabic narrative fiction, enriching the literary experience and offering a renewed perspective on this literature and the conceptual and textual grids.-For more on the author, see SAAD 2013 and PATTERSON-ISKANDER 1993:118-131. of adventure stories and mysteries that quickly emerged in the Egyptian markets uncovers for the first time the start of the writing process of the authentic Arabic detective narrative in new Arabic literature, following the long-term success of the translated series in those same markets. al-Mughāmirūn al-Khamsa (The Five Adventurers): Muḥibb, Lūza, Nūsa, ʿĀṭif, Takhtakh, by Maḥmūd Sālim. al-Mughāmirūn al-Thalātha (The Three Adventurers): ʿĀmir, ʿĀlya, ʿĀrif, and the dog Murjān, by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Ḥamdī. al-Mughāmirūn al-Thalātha (The Three Adventurers): Muḥsin, Hādiya, and Mamdūḥ, by Rajāʾ ʿAbdallāh. al-Mughāmirūn al-Thalātha (The Three Adventurers): Yāsir, Hāla, and Hishām, by Muṣṭafà ʾAḥmad Muṣṭafà  al-Mughāmirūn al-ʾArbaʿa (The Four Adventurers): Farīq al-ʾAdhkiyāʾ (The Smart Ones): Karīm, ʿAlyāʾ, Rāmī, Shādī, by Hishām al-Ṣayyād. al-Mukhbirūn... al-ʾArbaʿa (The Four Informants): Khālid, Mushīra, Filfil, Ṭāriq, and the dog Sabʿ, by Hudà al-Sharqāwī. al-Waḥda Raqm 14 (Unit Number 14): Wāʾil, Rihām, ʾAḥmad, Dālya, and ʿAmr, by Ḥamdī ʿAbbās. al-Tawʾamān (The Twins): Ra'ūf and Randa, by Muṣṭafà Ḥamām. 25In the mid-seventies 26 Muʾassasat Dār al-Hilāl published a new series entitled Majmūʿat al-Shayāṭīn al-13 lil-Shabāb (The 13 Devils Group for Youngsters), written by Maḥmūd Sālim under the heading Kutub al-Hilāl lil-ʾAwlād wal-Banāt (al-Hilāl Books for Boys and Girls. 1987, Dār al-Jīl in Beirut published the Mughāmarāt al-Jīl al-Būlīsiyya (Al-Jīl Detective Adventures), by Rajāʾ ʿAbd Allāh. 57It seems that this was smart thinking and excellent execution by Dār al-Nashr al-Lubnāniyya since it was well aware of the reality of the innovation discovered in Egypt, and thus it called on one of the writers who had written detective mysteries for children for the Dār al-Maʿārif publishing house in Cairo, to write new adventures for them to publish.The adventurers, brothers of an Egyptian father and a Lebanese mother, 58 pursue delinquents and criminals in order to uncover their crimes and wrongdoings, with the help of their uncle, Col. ʿImād Dīb, an officer from Interpol.Mughāmarāt al-Jīl al-Būlīsiyya is one of the series published by Dār al-Jīl in collaboration with writers from Egypt who had connections with the detective stories and adventures published by Dār al-Maʿārif.It was considered a pioneering step in this new genre.In addition to the above series, Dār al-Jīl published the Mughāmarāt al-Jīl al-Ḍāḥika
the same publisher and author put out a new series entitled Khayāl fī Khayāl (Imagination x Imagination), a fantasy set in an imaginary world full of virtue. 70Again in 1994, Dār al-ʾAmīn in Cairo published a new adventure series, al-Qannāṣ al-Muḥtarif (The Professional Sniper).Its hero is an Egyptian intelligence officer of a special kind, as described by author Majdī Ṣābir. 71The same author wrote a series called 63 ṢĀBIR 1991: introduction 64 ṢĀBIR 1992b.65 ṢĀBIR 1991b.66 ṢĀBIR 1992a.67ʿĪSÀ1990, ʿĪSÀ 1991.

80
Al-BAZM 2005: 3. 81 The adventures actually bear the same name: Lughz al-Dhākira al-Mafqūda (The Mystery of the Lost Memory) and Lughz al-ʾAwrāq al-Mafqūda (The Mystery of the Lost Papers), see ṢABRĪ [n.d.]a and ṢABRĪ [n.d.]b.On the back inside cover it says: 'The series is very powerful: pleasure-culture-action,' see ṢABRĪ [n.d.]a.
), containing a variety of adventures such as those of Sherlock Holmes and other thrillers.Some of the pocketbooks were printed by either Nūbār or Dār al-Maʿārif in Cairo, others by the Global Arab House in Beirut, all showing a high quality of production and finishing, coloured illustrations, some also a fully vowelized text.88Another translated series is Arabic title (Safe Road), published by Dār al-Shurūq (in Cairo and Beirut), mentioning the name of the original author and not the Arabic translator.89It is interesting to find that also the Jarīr library in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, published good quality translated series including: Al-Mughāmirūn al-Khamsa (The Famous Five) by Enid Blyton.Al-Mukhbirūn al-Sabʿa (The Secret Seven) by Enid Blyton.84 ʿABD al-BĀRĪ [n.d.]b.
32e first pocket book was called al-Ikhtifāʾ al-Ghāmiḍ (The Mysterious Disappearance).322.Milaff al-Mustaqbal (The Future File)detective adventures in the realm of science fiction (a very new combination), written by Fārūq Nabīl.33 3. Kūktīl 2000: Mā Warāʾ al-Ṭabīʿa (Cocktail 2000: the Supernatural)horror novels, action and science fiction stories, by Fārūq Nabīl.34 4. Mā Warāʾ al-Ṭabīʿa (The Supernatural)horror stories written by ʾAḥmad Khālid Tawfīq, each pocket book title beginning with ʾUsṭūrat... (The Legend of…).35 5. Sāfārī Mughāmarāt fī al-ʾAdghāl (Safari Jungle Adventures), in each of which the hero ʿAlāʾ encountered and defeated evil forces. 36. Fanṭazyā (Fantasia)adventures in imaginary places, where in each adventure ʿAbīr meets a famous detective from a well-known Westerm detective series and solves a mystery.Sayf al-ʿAdāla (The Sword of Justice)stories of resistance to evil and establishing justice, written by Nabīl Fārūq.39 8. Fāris al-ʾAndalus (The Knight of Andalusia)stories of brave adventurers from the time of the Arabs in Andalusia, described as "acts of Arab bravery in the most difficult period the Arabs underwent in Andalusia," written by Nabīl Fārūq.40 9. ʾIdārat al-ʿAmaliyyāt al-Khāṣṣa (Special Ops Administration -Office 19)combining adventure, fiction and commando missions; a series of detective novels from the realm of science fiction, by Sharīf Shawqī 41 .10. Oscaradventures in comic book format, described on the inside back cover as "Egyptian and European stories and illustrations that will remain in your hearts and minds, since these are the strongest comic adventures for youngsters in the world."42 And on the inside page it says: A new series that offers you, for the first time in the history of Arabic literature, the art of the comic book story that contains a lightness of expression and phrasing, the beauty of pictures and the elegance of drawing.This is a pioneering series offered to you by al-Muʾassasa al-ʿArabiyya al-Ḥadītha, written by author-illustrators and Egyptian painters, and the best of world artists.The first buds of a new genre both in literature and in art that adds to the Arabic library, and to young Arabs in order to bring them the modern spirit and contemporary art in a new developed modern format that simultaneously provides both education and pleasure.It is a series of 37This series is very interesting because it indirectly reviews Western detective series by mentioning various sleuths (mukhbirūn) such as Sherlock Holmes and Poirot.What is noteworthy is that in one of the adventures, the heroine ʿAbīr meets up with the heroes of the series entitled The Five Adventures, Muḥibb, Lūza, Nūsa, ʿĀṭif, and Takhtakh, by Maḥmūd Sālim, and thus treats them as classics of the genre of the same stature as Holmes or Poirot. 38nded it in 1960 and published reference and revision books for schoolchildren in Egypt under the odd name of Silāḥ al-Tilmīdh (The Student's Weapon).In 1984 he decided to expand the fields of his publications, summoned two young authors-Nabīl FĀRŪQ and Sharīf SHAWQĪ-and asked them to start writing novels [sic] because he wanted, as he said, to publish "100% pure Egyptian novels, with no guilt of copying or quoting (from the West)."<www.rewayatnet.net>,accessed30March2015.30SĀLIM1984,SĀLIM 1999.31OnthisSnirsays:"Thesamepublisherputouttwoseries of the same type, each of which contained dozens of novels; an indication of the broad scope of the reading circle and of tremendous monetary income."SNIR2000:270-274.32FĀRŪQ[n.d.]b.33FĀRŪQ [n.d.]d.34FĀRŪQ [n.d.]h.35 TAWFĪQ [n.d.]a.36 TAWFĪQ [n.d.]b.37 TAWFĪQ [n.d.]c.38 TAWFĪQ [n.d.]d. 7. daring through which (Egyptian pocket novels) break into a new world full of action, enjoyment, stimulation and beauty.A prestigious series that raises one's level of thinking and imagination, encouraging the Arab mind and taste in an effort to climb up a step, to move on towards the slogan that (Egyptian pocket novels) coined for its inception: 'We publish the best books'.This series stresses the fact that you are an educated person in terms of what you read and what you see.43n the list of editors it says the following: "With the support and assistance of Nabīl Fārūq, supervision Ḥamdī Muṣṭafà."4411.Panorama, a magazine with adventures and correspondence between the readers and the author Nabīl Fārūq (illustrations: ʾIsmāʿīl Diyāb; editor: Ḥamdī Muṣṭafà), described as "a book within a magazine, and a magazine within a book, a new series offering a broad digest of literature, culture and art that the publisher of Riwāyāt Miṣriyya lil-Jayb [Egyptian pocket novels] used to present to the youth in a new and special format, in a simple, modern style, and is a comprehensive picture of everything you like and39FĀRŪQ [n.d.]b.40FĀRŪQ [n.d.]a: 2.41SHAWQĪ [n.d.]a.
Snir puts it. 56nd that is what happened, in our opinion, with Nabīl Fārūq and ʾAḥmad Khālid Tawfīq, the two most senior authors who wrote diverse materials for al-Muʾassasa al-ʿArabiyya in enormous quantities.When they slowed the pace of writing, the various better and less well-known suspense series, such as Rajul al-Mustaḥīl (The Man of the Impossible), Milaff al-Mustaqbal (The Future File), Ḥarb al-Jawāsīs (War of the Spies) etc., turned to a more canonical literary style of novels and short stories, even though the content remained connected to detective and science fiction, crime, fear and horror.The new publications are defined as "novels," have the same size as canonical novels and are displayed at the International Book Fair in Cairo which is preponderantly devoted to canonical literature.At a press conference held in the auditorium of the Faculty of Medicine at Ṭanṭā University on January 11, 2010, Fārūq announced that he was going to stop writing for youth now and instead continue with special editions and novels, one of which is entitled ʾAdham, about the hero of the Rajul al-Mustaḥīl series, and another one, a science fiction novel, entitled Nihāyat al-ʿĀlam (The End of the World).


Silsilat al-ʾAwlād al-ʾAqwiyāʾ (Hardy Boys).A very powerful series for children by Franklin W. Dixon. Silsilat Nānsī Drū al-Mukhbira al-Sirriya (A Nancy Drew series), about a young girl detective who solves mysteries, authored under the pen name of Carolyn Keene.It is possible that these publications indicate a certain literary shift in which Riyadh and cities in the Persian Gulf states began to focus non-canonical literature, while canonical literature began to develop in Cairo-a possible topic for future research.Another comic book series in colour published in English by the Marvel Entertainment Group Inc. was translated into Arabic and published by Dār al-Shām lil-Nashr wa'l-Tawzīʿ.It includes: