The airing of a TV series showing the life of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna has fueled a surge in the group's book sales, according to Secretary-General of the Egyptian Publishers Federation Assem Shalaby. “The group's bookstores sold ten times more copies of the Brotherhood's books after the series was broadcast,” said Shalaby. He added that The Preacher's Diary, al-Banna's memoir, stands out as the highest-selling book. Shalaby, who also heads the Brotherhood's Media Committee, said the memoir used to sell at 10,000 copies every six months, but following the series it is selling at ten times that rate. “Thanks to the series, people now know more about the group and its founder,” Shalaby said. “Drama reaches the hearts more than books.” Al-Gamaa, or "The Group," has become one of the most popular of this year's Ramadan series. The show illustrates how al-Banna created Egypt's largest and most influential Islamist group during the 1920s. Brotherhood supporters accuse the government of using the series to villify the Brotherhood as fanatical. But many say the program has had the opposite effect. Political analyst Ammar Ali Hassan said the TV series has caused people to sympathize with the group. “History school textbooks don't talk about the Muslim Brotherhood,” he said. “People went to buy books about the group after they watched the series.” The group, founded in 1928, was banned in 1954 on charges of violence. But it has since renounced violence, expanded its international presence, and its members have participated in Egyptian elections as independents despite frequent crackdowns. The group's members surprisingly won about 20 percent of the 454 seats in the 2005 parliamentary elections. The Al-Gamma TV series was produced by the private company Albatros Film Production in association with state-owned television. Episodes of the show, broadcast nightly on state TV and re-run later on a privately owned channel, have reportedly been among Egypt's top ten most-watched Ramadan soap operas. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
