Palestine: Is literature in Gaza dead? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

With the death of Mahmoud Darwish, the Arab world has mourned the loss of one of its greatest poets. However some Palestinians have been critical of Darwish. One Gazan blogger can't understand this, and he asks what has happened to literature and creativity in Gaza today.
In a post entitled ‘Is literature and poetry and art “haram” in Gaza?’, A Seagull from the Shore of Gaza says:
International literature and poetry belongs to all humanity, and is not the monopoly of a religion or political ideology or party. It should encapsulate the overall experience of the people or the emotional experience of an individual, expressing their inner feelings and emotions – of course using the appropriate linguistic and literary style, and reaching the hearts and minds of the audience.
As for the connection of Islam to Arabic poetry, we have the poet of the Prophet, Hassan bin Thabit. A great deal of Hassan’s poetry records events and situations and also the life of the Holy Prophet, as did the poetry of Ka'b bin Malik and Abdullah bin Rawahah and many others.
After examining a little of the history and background of Arabic literature, and the way literature can help people deal with and even transform their lives, Seagull turns to the situation in Gaza today: