PM directs Culture Ministry to review all endorsed publications

AMMAN — Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh on Wednesday directed Culture Minister Haifa Najjar to review all novels and literary materials supported by the ministry through the Family Library Project and withdraw all materials that do not “accord with the values of Jordanian society”.

Khasawneh stressed the need to not license any content that could affect the values of Jordanian society and its modest cultural heritage, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The prime minister also called for taking all the necessary legal procedures regarding any violations.

Earlier in the day, the Culture Ministry decided to withdraw all copies of the novel “Mira” by Jordanian writer Qassem Tawfiq, published in 2019. The novel was chosen to be republished this year as part of the Family Library Project, Petra added. On the first day of hitting the stands, “two paragraphs in the novel were found to be contradictory to public ethics and values”.