Iraqi producers are planning a television version of a novel believed to have been written by Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi daily al-Thawra reported that the script of the anonymous novel Zabibah and the King would be supervised by Mizahim al-Baiati.
It would be a success in the Arab world, al-Baiati said, because
of the "powerful meanings and thoughts indicated in the novel."
Zabibah and the King has been a hot topic in Iraq since it appeared last year. Publicity was unusual, with adverts appearing days before it reached bookshops. Since then, it has been in high demand.
The novel tells of a king who falls in love with a poor married woman called Zabibah. Other kings are jealous of his close relationship with the common people, as symbolised by Zabibah, causing them to plot against him. She is raped and killed on January 17 - the date of the start of the 1991 Gulf War.
Most Iraqis believe Saddam wrote the story, but some say that his womanising son Odai was the author because of unusually frank sex scenes.
The CIA reportedly believes that Saddam at least closely supervised production of the novel, and the agency is said to have studied the book for insights into his thinking.
- INDEPENDENT
