Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies • 18 (2018): 23-49 © Basilius Bawardi (Bar Ilan University) and Alif Faranesh (Oranim College) ISSN 0806-198X Non-canonical Arabic Detective Fiction: The Beginnings of the Genre BASILIUS BAWARDI (Bar Ilan University) and ALIF FARANESH (Oranim College) Abstract The focus of this paper is Arabic detective fiction, which began in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, thanks to the broad-scope enterprise of translations, and the subsequent development of an authentic Arabic detective literature in the early 1960s. This paper traces diachronically the emergence of this popular genre at an entirely non-canonical level, in Egypt in particular, and examines its thematic characteristics. The paper also examines the causes of the lack of canonical detective literature until the early 1980s. It argues that Arabic detective literature, canonical and non-canonical alike, is a true reflection of the power relations and the social, political and cultural struggles in the Arab world. It further claims that Arabic detective literature is one of the most important literary strata in modern Arab literature, through which we can clearly discern changes in values and esthetics in modern Arab society, and examine the relations between money and ruling power in Egypt as a mirror of the entire Arab world and the connection between literature, preservation and the undermining of Arab law and social order. Key words: Non-canonical Arabic detective writing, Arabic popular literature, Detective fiction, Crime fiction. 1. Preface This article examines the historical development of the genre of non-canonical Arabic detective fiction, mainly in Egypt. 1 It traces the milestones in the development of this genre from the early 20 th century to the present day. This diachronic overview of most of the series through which Arabic detective fiction was published —both translations and original 1 Non-canonical literature refers to genres that were not accepted as part of mainstream literature and remained on its margins. Works of this kind were treated with disdain and thus rarely included in academic research. Reuven Snir stresses the point that most genres that make up the popular non- canonical prose are limited, ignored and suffers from a lack of interest, as is reflected in scientific studies as in the West. Thus Snir describes the state of works belonging to genres not recognized as canonical in modern Arabic literature such as detective stories and science fiction. He also relates to their content saying that ‘being sub-canonical is not just a question of the language of the writing [i.e. fuṣḥà vs. ʿāmmiyya] but also of topic and content. Research and criticism in the Arab world has almost completely ignored the sub-canonical sectors, and even when it does relate to them, it is in most cases for extra-literary motives, mainly folkloristic and national, such as, for example, seeking roots or trying to mold a national identity and disprove claims that negate it’ – SNIR 1994: 55. Compare also with SNIR 1998: 87-121.