The Element of Socialism in the Novel “Al Tha’ir Al Ahmer” (The Red Rebel) by Ali Ahmed Bakathir

Abstract

“Al Tha’ir Al Ahmer” (The Red Rebel) is a historical novel by Egyptian author and playwright Ali Ahmed Bakathir, in which he narrates the events of an era of Islamic history between 200-300 AH. The novel tells the story of the emergence of the Batini sect of Qarmatians and its founder Hamdan al-Qarmati, and their revolt against the Abbasid dynasty, which was going through a state of stagnation at that time and the feudal lords were in control of many of the reins of affairs. The novelist tries in this work to decode many of the ambiguities surrounding the events of those era as the history of Qarmatians is full of dubiety as well as most of the historians who documented that period of time in the history were scholars having allegiance to the Abbasid Caliphate. This paper deals with the phenomenon of socialism and its various manifestations in the novel, “Al Tha’ir Al Ahmer” (The Red Rebel) and its impact on Arab society in that period of time.