The Halva-Maker

The Halva-Maker (in Arabic, Al-Halwani, 2022) is a three-part novel, contributes through the medium of fiction to this different interpretation of the historical record, in that its third segment, entitled ‘The Kurd,’ is set during the final years of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt and the attempts by Amaury (Almaric), Crusader King of Jerusalem, to take advantage of the weaknesses of the Egyptian regime. A central figure—the ‘Kurd’ of the section’s title—is Yusuf ibn Ayyub, known as Salah ad-din (Saladin), who is sent by Nur ad-din Zengi, the governor of Aleppo, Syria, to oust the Crusaders. In 1171, Saladin brings the caliphate of Al-`Adid and the Fatimids to a close, restores Egypt to Sunni Islam, and assumes the sultanate himself, giving his name to the dynasty that follows (Ayyubids). However, before those events are recounted, The Halva-Maker devotes the first two sections of its trilogy structure to the foundation and development of the Fatimid dynasty.