{"product_id":"the-fetishists-cmes-modern-middle-east-literatures-in-translation-9781477317891","title":"The Fetishists (CMES Modern Middle East Literatures in Translation)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Fetishists  originally published in Arabic as Al Majus  is considered the masterpiece of Ibrahim al-Koni  one of the most prolific and important writers in Arabic today. In The Fetishists  Al-Koni explores what happens when a writer asks the novel to speak of and for the Sahara  when rival cultures clash  and when communities seek to build a utopia on Earth as individuals struggle between a desire for material well-being (represented by gold dust) and a need for spiritual meaning. As the story opens  Sultan Oragh of Timbuktu  who has already lost most of his power to Fetishist Bambara leaders of the forestlands  fears he will lose his only daughter  Tenere  as a human sacrifice to their god Amnay. The sultan sends Tenere to seek refuge with fellow Tuareg nomads in the plain. But even in their traditional  nomadic community  a competition rages between jihadi militant Islam; moderate Anhi Islam  which is the ancient Tuareg Law; and the cults of gold dust and of traditional African folk religions. In this epic novel  Al-Koni blends Tuareg folklore and history with intense  fond descriptions of daily life in the desert  creating a mirror for life anywhere. Through its tragic rendering of a clash between the Tuareg and traditional African civilizations  the novel profoundly probes the contradictions of the human soul as it takes the reader on a unique spiritual adventure inside the Tuareg world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45914181500981,"sku":"ByrdShop_1477317899","price":335.31,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781477317891.jpg?v=1787338897","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-fetishists-cmes-modern-middle-east-literatures-in-translation-9781477317891","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}