« UK: Wife Of Muslim Bomber On Trial |
| Indonesia: Bali Islamist Bomber Has No Remorse »
March 2, 2008
Indonesia: Islamic Romance Novels Are a Hit
Mention the words "romantic novel" and the response is usually a smirk or denial. In Britain, the leading publisher of romantic fiction is Mills And Boon, a company founded in 1908. This company has 75 percent of market sales. There are plenty of heaving bosoms and sighs of anticipation in these books, as the heroine waits to be grasped in the arms of some strapping hero, usually a doctor or other professional. Sex rarely rears its head in such novels, and the only climax is a wedding at the end.
The undoubted queen of the British romance novel was the late Dame Barbara Cartland, who dressed in peach and cerise garments, even when in her nineties. Cartland wrote 657 novels over a period of almost seventy years.
With a formula that keeps carnality out of its pages, it is not surprising that the "romantic novel" has proved to be popular in Indonesia, where 85% of the population is Muslim.
The Jakarta Post reports on am Islamic book fair at Bung Karno Indoor Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
Here interest in Islamic romance fiction has been triggered by the huge sales success of the publication Ayat-ayat Cinta (Love Verses). One visitor to the book fair described this book as "relaxing, easy to read but on the other side it is capable of enlightening readers with Islamic values."
Ayat-ayat Cinta was written by Habiburrahman El Shirazy, and was first published in 2004. The book, set in Egypt, has been reprinted 37 times, and currently has 750,000 copies in print. It has also been turned into a movie.
The publisher of Ayat-ayat Cinta is a firm called Republika. The company's marketing director claimed that Islamic romantic novels were becoming more successful than Islamic reference books.
Another genre that is gaining popularity amongst female Muslim readers in Indonesia is the romantic biography, where Muslim figures' romantic lives are described. One such biography, entitled "Pena" which has been popular is a biography of Aisha, Mohammed's last and youngest wife.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at March 2, 2008 8:44 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)