Season of Martyrdom

Alwaleed is a struggling Jordanian youth, searching for meaning and soon seduced by the Recruiters’ promises, fighting the Syrian regime. But is this how he can fight the materialistic excess he despises?

“There is only one person in this world who is of your own flesh and blood: your son … He will appear to you because your death will come at his hands.” The fortuneteller’s words made the Basha’s blood run cold.

This successful businessman living at the pinnacle of Amman’s elite didn’t have a son, or did he? What secrets were hidden in his raucous, excessive past?

A gripping story of coming of age, defiance, and the struggle to understand a world dominated by crumbling Arab regimes.

With nuance and precision, Naji captures the characters and landscape of a post-Arab Spring Middle East, taking readers from Jordan to Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and even India.