Cairo: A book on Egypt's late president Anwar Sadat, who was slain by militants in 1981, has angered his daughters, who say it is biased.
Sadat President — A Pictorial Documentary Record, published by the state-run Library of Alexandria, contains hundreds of pictures, many of them are rare.
"I am angry because the book has no photos of my sisters by Sadat's [first] wife Iqbal. We do not need recognition from anyone that we are Sadat's daughters," Rokaia, Sadat's elder daughter, said in comments to the press.
Sadat, who ruled Egypt from 1970 to 1981, married twice — Iqbal and Jihan. The controversial book is signed by Jihan.
"I am angry because the publisher ... was not unbiased in producing this volume. In addition, the book has historical mistakes and ignores landmark events such as Sadat's demolition of a prison where political detainees were held after he became president and his reopening of the Suez Canal in 1975," explained Rokaia.
The Library of Alexandria already has a museum featuring Sadat's memorabilia, opened by his second wife Jihan earlier this year.
The recently published book includes a photo of Sadat playing with his dog — a picture that was not published in Egypt while Sadat was alive apparently because Muslims see dogs as unclean animals.
Born in December 1918, Sadat became Egypt's president after Jamal Abdul Nasser, a champion of Arab nationalism, died in September 1970. Sadat antagonised many inside the Arab world when he visited occupied Jerusalem in 1977 and signed a peace treaty with Israel two years later.
"The quality of the book is great, but it does not mention us, his daughters by his first wife Iqbal Madai," said Kamelia, another daughter of Sadat. "We are a very important part of Sadat's life and history. Nor does the book refer to Sadat's parents," she added.
Focus
According to the book's editor Amr Shalabi, it took him three years to compile the book.
"I think there are photos of Sadat's daughters, though they are not many. This may be due to the quality of the photos," said Shalabi. He added that the book focuses on Sadat's part of life as president, "being the most important phase of his life".
