Un article en anglais sur la science fiction arabe

[jerome]

Je signale un article sur la Science Fiction Arabe ici en anglais et signé Nesrine Malik.

Voici le début :
When I was a child, I was an avid fan of science fiction. The Foundation and Dune series in particular were engrossing in their depiction of a human race trying to re-establish itself after upheaval. Despite its geeky stigma, sci-fi seemed to me a genre with a philosophical belief in the tenacity of humanity and the potential of the mind. I was disappointed to find that while Arabic and Middle Eastern literature seemed replete with fantastical anthologies such as One Thousand and One Nights where mystical creatures abound, there appeared to be a dearth of truly futuristic science fiction works rooted in Arab or Muslim culture.

During Ramadan, it is customary for most Arabic TV channels to show high-budget historical dramas focusing on some revered warrior such as Khaled ibn-al-Walid (known as the Sword of God) or medieval soap operas outlining the shenanigans of those cheeky Muslim caliphs and their concubines during the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad or the Umayyad period in Andalucia. While rich in culture, history and characterisation, these works went over familiar ground and fostered an identity fixated on a charismatic past.