Al-dunya aǧmal min al-ǧanna by Ḫālid al-Birrī (2006): A memoir and a journey through national imaginary

Al-dunyā aǧmal min al-ǧanna(“This world is more beautiful than paradise”) by the Egyptian writer Ḫālid al-Birrī is a memoir—firstly serialized in 2001, and then republished as a volume in 2006—recounting the author’s militancy in the fundamentalist group al-ǧamā‘a al-islāmiyya, for around five years.While scholars have referred to this book, generally, as a historical source and as a documentary about the activities and strategies adopted byal-ǧamā‘a al-islāmiyya,I will attempt here an analysis of the text as a memoir, in dialogue with both theTwentieth Century life-writing tradition inEgypt, and the memoirglobal tradition. Under this perspective, I will discuss some tropes and discourses developed by the author. In particular, I will analyze how the author develops through this legitimizing genre themes as thequest for identity, the building of a new “self,”the relationship between the self and the Nation, represented through a tight network of cultural and literary references.Keywords:Arabic memoir, Ḫālid al-Birrī, Al-Dunya aǧmal min al-ǧanna, Egyptian contemporary life writing, jihadism.1.IntroductionWhen it appeared in 2006, Al-dunyā aǧmal min al-ǧanna(“This world is more beautiful than paradise”)1bythe Egyptian authorḪālid al-Birrī2caused a significant stir in the media, because of the sensitive content narrated in it. The book—a memoir written in first person—is the account of a period of militancyin the fundamentalist group al-ǧamā‘a al-islāmiyya. After having entered the group in 1986 1Al-Birrī(2009).The bookappearedin 2001 in a serialized version, in the periodical al-Nahar. The translation in French has been done fromthis serialized version, and the translation into Italian has been done from the French translation. The passages I quote in this article have been translated by myself, and the page numbers are referred to the Arabic re-editionby Dār al-Mīrit (Al-Birrī2009). A translation of the book is available in English (2009): Life is more beautiful than Paradise. A jihadist’s own story. Translated by Humphrey Davies, AUC Press.2Al-Birrī(Khaled al-Berry) is an Egyptian novelist and journalist born in 1972. He studied medicine at Cairo University and moved to London after graduation. His second novel is An Oriental Dance, which was nominated for the Arabic Booker Prize.