Ahmed Elbokhari wrote a novel called "Kashan" that became one of the most contentious pieces of Libyan fiction in the post-2011 period (EP 12).
Someone took sections of the novel out of context and posted them on Facebook. The excerpts — stripped of narrative framing, character development, and literary intent — were presented as if they were Ahmed's personal statements rather than fiction.
Social media erupted. Religious conservatives attacked him. Political factions used the controversy for their own purposes. People who had never read the full novel formed opinions based on decontextualised fragments shared on Facebook timelines.
The accusations came from multiple directions. The novel had touched something in Libyan society that could not tolerate being touched — and the mob responded accordingly.
Ahmed never responded publicly. He did not defend the novel, explain his intentions, or engage with the controversy. His position was clear: the work exists. Read it or do not. A social media mob is not a literary tribunal, and he would not treat it as one.
The silence was not passivity. It was a deliberate refusal to legitimise a process — trial by Facebook — that he considered illegitimate.
The Kashan controversy illustrates a recurring pattern in post-revolution Libya: the tools of free expression (social media, open discourse) being weaponised against the very people who use them to create. The revolution opened space for writers. The society had not yet developed the tolerance to let them occupy it.
It also raises a question about fiction in conservative societies: when a character says something, who is held responsible — the character or the author?