Last Saddam novel found

Saddam Hussein is portrayed as a father-figure in Iraq

Saddam Hussein is portrayed as a father-figure in Iraq

Three novels said to have been written by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein are to be taught in Iraqi schools from the start of the next academic year, Iraqi reports say.

The Tikrit newspaper quotes the education ministry as saying it has decided to include the novels - Zabibah and the King, The Fortified Castle and Men and a City - in the school curriculum.

Zabibah and the King tells the story of a monarch who avenges a woman's honour after she is raped on the day United States-led forces launched the 1991 Gulf War. It was adapted for the stage and performed in Baghdad earlier this year.

Although the books appear under a pseudonym, correspondents say the widespread official promotion and reviews have left no real doubts about their real author.

Inciting thinking

Now the books are to be distributed more widely to the country's millions of schoolchildren.

Tikrit newspaper - based in Saddam's hometown - quotes education officials as saying school debates on the content of the three novels will be encouraged so that pupils can develop creative and critical ways of thinking.

The novel thought to be Saddam Hussein's debut - Zabibah wal Malik (Zabibah and the King) - tells the story of a king who falls in love with a poor, married woman.

Zabibah is raped on 17 January - the date that US-led forces launched the offensive which eventually drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

The novel was staged by the Iraqi National Theatre on Saddam's birthday on 28 April.