Le Talmud by A. Cohen
The Talmud is a central text of Judaism. It is a collection of Jewish laws and traditions. It has a long history of having been banned which goes all the way back to the 12th century. In 1190 Cairo witnessed the first official burning of Hebrew books by orders of Dominicans and Franciscans. Sometime later, in 1242, about 12 000 copies of the religious book were burned in Paris. The proposed version is an analysis of the original text by Abraham Cohen, professor in philosophy and rabbi of the Birmingham synagogue.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
In 1999 the Egypt government banned “70 titles and requested the revision of 450” amongst which was Lolita by Nabokov. Lolita has also been at one time or another banned by France (1956-1959), England, Argentina (1959), New Zealand (1960) and South Africa. Published in 1955, the infamous novel is a dive into the mind of Humbert Humbert, an extremely intelligent pedophile, and narrates his obsessions with “12 year old” little girls with the likes of Dolores Haze whom he is sexually involved with.  The name Lolita has become synonymous to sexually precocious young girls. It is probably one of the most controversial novels of the 20th century.

Children Of The Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
Children Of The Alley was amongst the four works that qualified Mahfouz for a Nobel in 1988.  It was first published in Arabic in the Cairo daily, Al-ahram, in serialised form (1959), then printed in Lebanon in 1967. Attempts to import the Lebanese edition resulted in having the book banned in 1968. Like other Egyptian writers and intellectuals Mahfouz was put on an Islamic fundamentalists’ “death list” for his support of Sadat's Camp David peace treaty with Israel in 1978 and his novels. Mahfouz was placed under police protection but in 1994 two fundamentalists almost succeeded in killing the novelist by stabbing him in the neck outside his home in Cairo. Children Of The Alley is an allegory of the spiritual journey of mankind. Gabalawi's mansion sits in the desert walled in. After his sons argue over the domain, he banishes them from his paradise like estate. They settle outside the walls, miserable and poor, praying for Gabalawi’s salvation.  Adam (Adham أدهم), Satan/Iblis (Idris إدريس), Moses (Gabal جبل), Jesus (Rifa'a رفاعة), and Muhammad (Qasim قاسم) are all portrayed as Gabalawi’s descendants making this a strong metaphor of the history of Monotheism.

الخبز الحافي by Mohammed Shukri
Mohammad Shukri’s autobiography The plain bread  was censored in his native country Morocco until 2001. In Egypt it was withdrawn from course requirements in the American University of Cairo  after parents complained that it was “destructive to the morals of our children”. Sadly the Egyptian press was quick to publish hostile articles on the book and the university professor who taught it. The plain bread was published some three decades ago and translated into 19 languages earning Shukri international acclaim. It recalls Shukri’s difficult childhood, his struggle for survival in a world of misery and defeat and finding himself in literature. 

Woman At Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
Born in rural Egypt in 1931 Nawal El Saadawi has always been controversial. She’s an outspoken Egyptian feminist, sociologist, doctor and militant writer on Arab women's issues. Over the years she has been jailed, put on a death list, forced into exile and several of books have been periodically banned in Egypt and many an Arab country. Woman At Point Zero tells the story of a prostitute who is awaiting death row for having murdered her pimp. A podcast of Nawal el Saadawi discussing her work can be found on the following link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/2009/05/090505_saadawi_wbc.shtml

وليمة لأعشاب البحر by Haidar Haidar
When it was reprinted in Egypt in 2000, Haidar Haidar most controversial work was not only banned but its publishers, Ibrahim Aslan and Hamdi Abu Golail, were prosecuted. The novel’s plot is centered on two leftist Iraqi intellectuals who have fled Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq in the 70s.  The novel explores political oppression and dictatorship in the Arab world and was accused of blasphemy by Egyptian authorities. Some extremist went as far as calling for a fatwa and calling Haidar Haidar the next Salman Rushdie. 

Cities Of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif
Originally published in Beirut in 1984, Cities Of Salt was banned in a number of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The novel is set in what could be Jordan in the 30s and tells of the lives of the members of a Bedouin clan being altered when Americans discover the existence of oil near their settlement. It is told through the eyes of several of the Bedouins. Described by Edward Said as "The only serious work of fiction that tries to show the effect of oil, Americans and the local oligarchy on a Gulf country” Cities Of Salt was brilliantly translated into English by Peter Theroux.

War In The Land Of Egypt by Muhammad Yusuf Quayd
War In The Land Of Egypt, which was banned in Egypt is Muhammad Yusuf Quayd’s first book to be translated into English and received high acclaim. The novel tells the story of Masri (literally meaning Egyptian), a peasant who is enrolled in the Egyptian army, to replace a rich man’s son, on the eve of the 19731 Yom Kippur war. The story is told from several perspectives,the rich man, his son, Masri’s friend, etc., all except Masri’s perspective. Each of these characters are representative of a face of Egyptian society. This political novel is a page turner.

Véronika décide de mourir by Paolo Coelho
Veronika decides to die is just one of the English language books that have been placed on a banned list in Egypt. The reason behind the ban is said to be the title which refers to voluntary death. It tells the story of 24 year old Veronika who despite having everything going for her decides to commit suicide.