Saddam‘s "Get out of here, curse you!" banned

Jordan has banned Saddam Hussein’s new novel titled "Get out of here, curse you!".

Censors and the publisher said that the tale of an Arab tribesman who defeats a foreign intruder might hurt relations between the two countries.

The novel depicts the story of a man who tries to overthrow a town's sheikh, but is later defeated in his quest by the sheikh's daughter with the help of an Arab warrior.

It was written by the toppled Iraq leader before the U.S.-led war in March 2003. It was set to be published in Jordan and other Arab countries this week by a Jordanian company with the permission of the former President’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 reporters on Sunday.

10,000 copies were already printed for distribution in Jordan and other Arab countries, including Iraq, the publisher said. But after a local newspaper reported the upcoming launch, the censors changed their mind, he added.

"They gave us the okay from day one, but with all this publicity the censors called and told us to stop everything," the publisher said.

The publisher asked that his name and his company not be printed fearing government reprisals.

"I will change the cover and publish it abroad. This book is going to be published in the Arab world, I tell you that."

The Jordanian-Iraqi ties have been strained following reports that a Jordanian was behind a bomb attack that claimed the lives of about 125 people south of Baghdad in February, which prompted Iraqi protesters to break into the Jordanian embassy in Iraq.

The two countries briefly recalled their envoys over the incident.

Saddam's daughter Raghad, now living in Amman, had given the publisher permission to publish the book, in which she wrote a dedication to her father.