Censorship in Jordan

It's a quagmire! Er, what, wait... What's the story? Oh, let me rewrite this sign, then... *rewrites sign* It's a censorship conspiracy!

AMMAN, Jordan (Reuters) -- Jordan has banned Saddam Hussein's new novel on the grounds the tale of an Arab tribesman who defeats a foreign intruder could hurt relations between the two countries, censors and the publisher said on Sunday.

"Get out of here, curse you!," believed to have been penned by the ousted Iraqi leader before the U.S.-led war, was set to be released in Jordan and other Arab countries on Thursday by a Jordanian company with the permission of Saddam's family.

"Publishing this novel will harm the Iraqi-Jordanian relationship and we are keen to have the best relations with Iraq. Jordan will not approve its publication. If they want to publish it they have to do it abroad," Ahmad al-Qudah, head of the government's Press and Publication Department, told Reuters.

And what could the story be about?

His latest book tells the story of Salem, a noble Arab tribesman who represents righteousness and Arab nationalism, and defeats his American and Jewish enemies. Illegal copies of the book have circulated in Amman.

The tale describes how Salem unites divided Arab tribes in Iraq to defeat Hisquel, a foreign intruder who represents evil.

Apparently "Salem" represents Saddam/Iraq, "Hisquel" represents the United States, and there's a romantic connection with some evil woman who tries to sell "Salem" out, and that woman represents Israel. The whole thing sounds like an absolute page turner to me, I'm shocked that nobody wants to publish it!