Da li bi al-Ma'arri "Oprostio" al-Madaniju?
Would al-Ma'arri "Forgive" al-Madani?

Summary/Abstract: The strong movement for uncovering, reevaluating and the creative transformation of its own cultural heritage (turat) is one of the dominant features of the cultural climate in the modern Arab world. The way of finding of a new model of treatement of tradition is difficult, it oscillates between the conservative resistance of the futile traditionalism, and just as harmful pseudo-modern radical appeals for the complete albandoning of the past and its heritage. The paper Would Al-Ma'arri forgive al-Madani? is an attempt of presenting a concrete case of social and cultural differences concerning the modern artilstic treatment of motives and works from the classical literary heritage of the Arab world. The matter in question is a controversy created in Tuisia in 1977 over a modern adaptation for the theatre, of the well-known Message of forgivness (Risala al-gufran), an original and provocative work by the philosopher-poet Abu-al-Ala al-Ma'arri (978-1058). That unique work of the classical Arab literature, which has been attracting an ever increasing attention of scientific and literary circles of the Arab world, was taken as a basis for creating a modern »theatrical message« (risala masrahiyya) by the controversial Tunisian fiction writer 'Izz ad-Din al-Madani (born 1938). Choosing an extremely liberated, creative attitude towards the cultural heritage, al-Madani placed himself among the representatives and prominent members of the certain literary genre in the Arab world, even with his early works (primarily his plays). The place of these writers in their total relationship towards the cultural heritage, is manifested by their establishing of a certain relationship towards those that hold different opinions.

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