The 43-year-old academic said “Profesor”, which was a work four years in the making, marks a shift from his past works that dealt with topics of religion and culture.
“Human rights have been the theme of my novels since my first and second novel ‘Cinta Hari-Hari Rusuhan’ and ‘Perempuan Politikus Melayu’,” said the shariah graduate who has published some 40 books and written extensively on classic Malay literature, sufism, sectarianism and contemporary Islamic issues.
“This one is significant because it shows how I move on from a ‘cultural relativist believer’ to a universalist,” he said, admitting that it could attract the “liberal” label on him..
Profesor, an excerpt of which was published by FMT spans some 73,000 words, and will be launched at the George Town Literary Festival in Penang next month.
The novel has also been translated into English by Brigitte Bresson.
“Profesor” revolves around a character called Suliza, a Malay woman who has been grappling with her sexuality since her days at a religious school in Kelantan.
After a tragic relationship, Suliza continues her studies in the United States, and her exposure there transformed her into a human rights activist, making her a target of conservative groups.
Whereas in the past he was labeled a “Shia” for defending the rights of Shia Muslim adherents in Malaysia, Faisal, who in 2006 was awarded the National Art Award from the Malaysian government, said his work this time centres on another issue close to human rights activists, only that this time, it is about sexual minorities.
“I promise more plot compared to the previous ones. I deal with sensitive matters, the minorities. This time, the sexual minorities,” said Faisal, whose real name is Faizal Musa, a research fellow at the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization (ATMA) in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Early this month, the government banned his novel “Aku ___ maka aku ada”, a collection of his essays on topics dealing with Islam and Muslims.
Among his other books banned include “Sebongkah Batu di Kuala Berang”, “Karbala” and “Ingin Jadi Nasrallah”, all of which the home ministry said were influenced by Shia Islam, the second largest school of thought in Islam which Malaysia’s Islamic authorities label as “deviant”.