Jordan bans novel written by Saddam Hussein

Jordan has banned the printing and publication of a novel said to be written by the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in order to avoid trouble in its relations with Iraq.

The Jordanian printing and publication director Ahmad al-Qudat said that the novel "Ikhruj Minha Ya Mal'oun" (get out of it you damned) gave no mention to a house of publication, rather tried to get a permit for printing the novel.

The Jordanian Arab al-Youm daily stated that the said novel tells the story of a man called "Hasqil" who moves to his city "al-Mutarrah" where he conspired to expel the Sheikh (ruler) of the city. However, the daughter of the Sheikh helps one of the "knights" from her family to expel this man.

Last Thursday, the same paper said that the novel, whose copies have been sold in the markets since a while, would be officially issued in Iraq, shortly.

On the other hand, Ziad al-Najdawi, the lawyer of Saddam Hussein's family owns a copy of the novel which has been sold in Baghdad since March 2003, defining not the name of the author and confined just to a preface by its "author." There were two other novels said to be written by Saddam Hussein, theyr are "Zabeiba and the King " and "fortified castle."