- Ṣāliḥ Mursī (1929 – 1996, Egypt), is one of the pioneers of the Arabic spy novels. Many of his novels, such as Dumūʿ fī ʿUyūn Waqiha (‘Tears in ugly eyes’, 1980) and the series Riʾafāt al-Hijān (‘Rifaat al-Hijan’) were based on files from the Egyptian intelligence service.
Dumūʿ fī ʿUyūn Waqiha is about Jumʿah al-Shawmān, whose real name is Aḥmad al-Hawān. Aḥmad is a young man who works in the port of Suez to support his mother and blind wife. When the Mossad seeks to recruit him, he informs the Egyptian secret service, and they devise a plan to deceive their enemy that lasts six years (reference). The novel was made into a series in the same year of 1980.
Riʾafāt al-Hijān tells the story of Rifaʿat ʿAlī Sulaymān al-Jamāl, who manages to enter Israel and make friends with senior statesmen such as Moshe Dayan and Golda Meir. The series is based on a trues story, although the name of the character us changed. The series was adapted into a tv-series in 1988.
Refrences:
In order of appearance
- Aljazeera. 2023. “Rāʾid Adab al-Jāsūsī fī al-ʿĀlim al-ʿArabī … Ṣāliḥ Mursī al-Adīb wa al-Riwāʾī al-Maṣrī.” www.aljazeera.net, 6 January 2023, https://www.aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/2023/1/6/%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%8A-%D8%A3%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%AF-%D8%A3%D8%AF%D8%A8 (last accessed 29 October 2023)