The Trinity of Fundamentals

by Wisam Rafeedie, Muhammad Tutunji (Translator), George Habash (Foreword)

On the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, the Palestinian Youth Movement’s (PYM) Popular University Committee is thrilled to announce the English translation and publication of Wissam Rafeedie’s The Trinity of Fundamentals. Written in 1993 during Rafeedie’s time in Zionist prison and confiscated by prison guards, the novel was smuggled out by Wisam’s comrades, and soon after became a significant text for the Palestinian prisoner’s movement.
The Trinity of Fundamentals follows the story of 22-year-old Kan’an during his nine years of hiding from the occupation between 1982 and 1991. Driven by an unshakable commitment to the Palestinian cause, Kan’an takes the reader through his compelling journey filled with sacrifice and struggle, love and pain, isolation and liberation. All the while, major political and historical transformations unfold across international, regional and local contexts, including the First Intifada. Throughout all this, Kan’an maintains a spirit of revolutionary optimism so strong that the reader is bound to be transformed. It is all the more moving to know that Kan’an’s story is inspired by the real life experience of Rafeedie as he organized and struggled against the Zionist oppression of his people.
Love, revolution, and life—these are the “Trinity of Fundamentals'' that pave Kan’an’s path of struggle. Although the novel is set in the past, it holds many lessons that resonate with our current political moment, mobilizing us into collective action.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Middle East, Memoir, Social Justice, Historical

331 pages, Paperback

Published January 19, 2024

Reviews

[Kate LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read it yet, just rated for visibility 💛

[Karla Correa · Rating 5 out of 5]

TY Palestinian Youth Movement for translating this important piece of revolutionary history <3 COLLECTIVE STRUGGLE is how this incredible book was produced from start to finish — from the circumstances that led to it being written, to the transcript being smuggled out of prison through tablets, and to the PYM translating it to English <3

Everyone involved in the struggle against capitalism should read this book. Kan’an and his many contradictions are the friend I needed rn personally through this time in the struggle. Can’t recommend this book enough and will be making everyone I know IRL read it

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best revolutionary novel I've ever read. Obviously an autobiographical novel from a Marxist revolutionary fighting for the liberation of Palestine is gonna have good politics, but critically The Trinity of Fundamentals is also incredibly well written. The way Rafeedie plays with time and alternates between an inner monologue and dialogue make Kan'an an extraordinarily relatable figure.

Fantastic novel, everyone should read it, Free Palestine!

[Vic u · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the most incredible reads you will ever experience. Reading this book was an absolute privilege. In the political moment we are in now, this piece of revolutionary literature is more important than ever. Please do yourself a favor and read and reread this piece of art.

[Tooba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immensely looking forward to this book getting released. Just saw a tt on it, and the story behind how it got written should itself be a movie. This book feels so precious already!

[Jaxon Ostrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The importance of understanding the history of the Palestinian struggle against Zionist occupation cannot be overstated, and this book does an incredible job of painting the painful timeline of its events. There is incredible stress put upon extensive description of events, terms, phrases, people, and culturally important information, which makes the book invaluable.

Aside from the power of the book, it is so beautifully written, it could have been set anywhere and I would have still adored the characters, descriptions and thoughts. Arabic is a stunning language and the translation by Dr. Muhammad Tutunji is amazing as well, if I highlighted every eloquent line, my whole book would be soaked with ink.

I would recommend this story to everyone and anyone, it is one of the best books I have ever read.

Free Palestine!!

[jac · Rating 5 out of 5]

a book that changed me. hard to sum up my thoughts as i feel so deeply touched.

some questions this book gave me more answers and more questions about:

how does one live with desires of life, love and revolution within us? what kind of person puts revolution first? how does the contradiction between the three soften us, harden us? what kind of person does it take to win?

thank you wisam and pym for this gift to struggle everywhere ❤️‍🔥

[Yasmin Zeidan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it’s quite the feat that this book exists but i honestly had a horrible reading experience.

I really wanted to like it but I found Kanaan to be so annoying. #sorrynotsorry . The misogyny was so unnecessary. Just because you’ve decided to hand over your life to the cause, doesn’t mean you get to shit on people that don’t.

Also the references to theory really hurt my head. This book felt like non-fiction trying really hard to be fiction.

I think I understand what the intention was with this, but the execution was so bad. It almost felt unedited. ALSO OMG IT WAS SO REPETITIVE, I got so bored.

I would’ve been more interested to learn about how this book came to life.

[Daniela · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like 2.5.

It’s very clear this author refused to have an editor. It’s extremely repetitive and after a certain point I just wanted it to end. That’s not to say that I don’t understand why so many people love this book and the importance of it within the context of Palestinian resistance/resilience, but it just wasn’t for me!

I honestly would’ve preferred to read a book based on how this book came to be. That’s what ultimately made me buy the book in the first place.

[&#x1d4dd; &#x1065a; · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 ⭐️ wow wow wow! A must read for everyone

“I have chosen my path in life, the path of resistance in the name of our people and the freedom of our homeland”.
“What sort of a man would I be if I remained idle spectator while our homeland was occupied and our people enslaved and I did nothing”.


Liberated from Zionist prisons, The Trinity of Fundamentals is a chance for all those in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle to experience Palestine's national literature and take inspiration from its steadfast tradition of resisting Zionist oppression.

[charlotte, · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rep: Palestinian cast & setting

[Selma Stearns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an interesting insight into how and why the author spent 9 YEARS (!) in hiding, and the internal struggle between Kan’an the man and Kan’an the revolutionary.

“A clandestine existence is a choice of resistance, not a way of life. If anyone chose to treat a secret life with all its deprivations and hardships as romantic, they may be right in a metaphorical sense, but not in actuality. It becomes a romantic force by its contribution to the creation of an enjoyable and romantic life, but it is not inherently a romantic experience.”

[raheema · Rating 5 out of 5]

In trying to get back into reading regularly, I read this book interspersed throughout this year, it reminded me of the fragmented narration of Kan'an, flicking back & forth through his memories in hiding.

In Kan'an's narration, it often felt quite intimate and personal — at times it felt like he was simply telling you this story personally. In telling the story of Kan'an, we were able to see this struggle for liberation, not simply as romantic heroism, but as it is — a struggle. We saw how Kan'an turned looking beyond your own human needs for a greater good into a daily practice. In this struggle of isolation, we witnessed Kan'an attempt to hold onto what keeps him whole, what comforts him, what steadies him. I saw this in those moments where he sees the glimpses of beauty in the monotonous life between those walls, the songs he played, the food he made, the domestic rituals, people and nature he sometimes caught through his window.

Love is also a strong and central theme throughout this book, it's something that Kan'an grappled with, in his years-long isolation, you feel how he realises that love is a necessity for him. The toll of not being within arm's reach of someone he loves or could love, whether that was his mother, a romantic partner, even his country he is striving for. In his narration, you feel this most human need palpably in those inner thoughts, it almost felt instrusive to read it.

To read Kan'an's story through Wisam's words felt like getting to know the human face behind the concept of revolution and struggle for liberation. Knowing the backstory of how this book came to be, it felt like an honour to read Wisam's book and I'm glad that I had that honour.

[Emmanuelle Sussman · Rating 5 out of 5]

every time i read a book translated from Arabic I’m just blown away by the enrichment of prose and sentence structure that would have seemingly never been constructed within the confines of English vocabulary. On top of the writing, Rafeedies real life experiences are fictionalized to make an unbelievably remarkable story. The insight into resistance, the interludes Rafeedies real-time reactions, the poetry of it all…just incredible.

[MY NM]

DNF - I couldn't finish this. Maybe it's not the right time, maybe it's the translation, maybe something else, but I couldn't budge past the halfway point. Having read so many Palestinian authors, old and new, I was disappointed, but understand its importance and its incredible backstory - but as a novel, I couldn't get through it. At least not now

[olivia sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

genuinely one of the most stunning books i have ever read. cannot emphasize the importance of this one during this political moment.

[Zach Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wisam Rafeedie's titular fundamentals - life, revolution, and love - can be mutually reinforcing. You can see that in his motivations for becoming a revolutionary. At the same time, all three present internal contradictions that he (Kan'an) must reckon with while in hiding. The tendency to romanticize revolutionaries can be safely put to bed here, as he so clearly tells us in his reaction to a song about prison being an honor: "Chains are a humiliation, should we be singing about our debasement and humiliation? If a revolutionary is taken prisoner, his organization should hold him accountable by reducing his rank; his imprisonment should not be regarded as a step up. That is the same mentality that transforms defeat into victory through shouting and clamor and feigned initiative."

As Kan'an navigates his various terrains of struggle and resistance, particularly at the close of the Intifada and the imperialist aggression against Iraq in 1991, he says something simple and profound: "Those are the headlines of our times". It feels easy to despair when scrolling through images of children blown up by (U.S. made) Zionist bombs and then read a NYTimes headline about the emotional toll on the IDF. Those are just headlines. With Trump in office and his team of neocons assembling in full force, expect more headlines. But don't waiver: they are the headlines of our time, but as Rafeedie profoundly reminds us, we were here before and we will be here after.

There's something so beautiful in how this book came together - the introduction/preface alone was so thrilling and engaging that it could be a standalone story. It's a clear demonstration of the power of prose in shaping how we communicate struggle. Or, as Kan'an so appropriately and beautifully tells us:

"Literature nourished him, gave him pleasure, strengthened his moral fiber, cultivated his taste for art and beauty, fanned the flames of enmity within him towards the tyrants, boosted his opposition to all manifestations of oppression. It nurtured a sense of compassion and empathy with the toiling masses, and there is nothing better than this for a man in hiding. The development of a refined sensitivity for justice and the adherence to sublime human values will lighten the weight of daily existence's hardships."

[Cora Galpern]

Wisam Rafeedie wrote this book while he was a political prisoner. It was confiscated by prison guards and then the entire novel was copied onto scrolls that were put in little pill capsules. Prisoners smuggled the capsules across multiple Zionist prisons to get it published. This book was amazing. It's engaging, educational, and inspiring. This is the type of book that changes the reader for reasons that are hard to describe but easy to feel. I think everyone should read. Also the book cover is so beautiful

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me so much to ponder and expanded my world view.

I am very grateful to have been handed it and will plan to read it again, as I think there was much more to discover and understand.

The writing was strong but has a density and language use that occasionally seemed beyond me. I always like to circle back around on fascinating books like this where I think I have missed meaning.

[Brendan Campisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly absorbing; an evocative portrayal not only of the Palestinian liberation struggle but of revolutionary militancy as a way of life. It deserves to, and I'm sure it will, become a classic among all those who seek a better world.

[marwa elessawy · Rating 4 out of 5]

a book that has taught me about the power of conviction in taming desires, extents of revolutionary sacrifice, and most importantly, imagination and revolutionary optimism

[jq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who would win? He who has nothing except canines and molars to grind and a stomach to digest, or those with iron crowbars? (119-20)

[hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

the translator for this did such a phenomenal job. the translation was so beautiful and it's such a miracle to even be able to read this at all.

this book reminded me of two books i've read this year: Against the Loveless World by susan abulhawa and Long Walk to Freedom by nelson mandela. the trinity of fundamentals, i think, is framed very similarly to against the loveless world: the present-day portion of the book is actually very scant. we get brief descriptions of what occurs in the present, and then the narrator transports us back in time. this makes sense, because in both books our protagonist has been captured by the occupation, so they are reflecting on their past. content-wise, it reminded me of long walk to freedom for what i hope are obvious reasons. like mandela, kan'an sacrificed his entire life for the cause. he believes the/his trinity of fundamentals are life, revolution, and love, and he struggles to have all three at the same time. mandela, too, struggled to marry his revolutionary life with his family life, and the latter suffered because of it (by his own admission). a life dedicated to revolution does not come without sacrifice, and wisam rafeedie attempts to portray that here.

as said above, i thought the translation for this was so fantastic. i sometimes struggle to get through translations because the language can feel stilted or choppy, and i didn't get any of that here. i was so captivated by kan'an and his thoughts, so enamored by the translator's use of language. rafeedie portrays revolution and sacrifice here in a way that, if you were not keyed in already, really humanizes the revolutionaries who are fighting for their countries' and their peoples' futures.

[Comrade Zupa Ogórkowa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autobiographical account of the 9 years a core member of the PFLP spent in hiding, contributing to the operations of the party clandestinely. Very interesting and illuminating account of the necessary sacrifices required to fight for liberation.

[sylvie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been waiting to read this one for months before finally getting my hands on a copy! This book was written in 1993 in a Zionist prison, where it was confiscated by prison guards but eventually was smuggled out by Wisam’s comrades. Years later it was collectively translated by the Palestinian Youth Movement.

This book really touched me a lot and underlined yet again how important embodied accounts are in garnering an understanding of larger historical and ongoing events that endless impersonal and detached headlines fail to convey.

I was really happy to read it even if at times was a little slow-paced and repetitive for my taste, but bc it’s a book that takes you into the story of Kan’an who spent 7 years hiding from the Israeli occupation, moving from safe house to safe house to protect and maintain the party's infrastructure, it fits the mood the story very well. At the same time, the story far supersedes any of these narrow aesthetic value judgments, and this is the least important note about it. If anything, the book is a schooling of some sort.

What I got out of the book the most, comes from Kan'an's descriptions of the land, before the occupation, his Marxist read of everything he has experienced and saw (like the predatory behavior of the factory owners in the West Bank during the economic boycotts, but who is surprised at this point?) but above all the historical time in which the story is set that I didn't know much about: the expulsion of the PLO from Jordan, the first war between Israel and Lebanon, the first Gulf War, the First intifada as well as changes within the political and revolutionary consciousness of the Palestinian liberation movement. It was also very informative on being a “full-time” revolutionary and the sacrifices it takes. It made me aware of how complicated this relationship of "offering up your individuality for the collective" is, and how intensely you need to trust in the people and party you struggle with.

[Radia · Rating 5 out of 5]

a semi-autobiographical story of resistance, written while Rafeedie was incarcerated in an Israeli prison. Above all, what I loved about this book was the way it humanizes and complicates the experience of a political revolutionary. Kan’an grows in his perspectives as the book progresses, but love, revolution, and life remain his core tenants. I appreciated the historical context shared throughout the book. It felt like I was able to learn about Palestinian history in a more intimate way. I also enjoyed the non-linear movement of time as a literary device. I felt it effectively allowed the reader to feel Kan’an’s true memories and feelings.


From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

[alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has such a unique, vulnerable perspective of being a revolutionary. Rafeedie provides a multi layered account of his clandestine life. Centering reflection and philosophical monologues, Kan’an ponders what it means to be a revolutionary and human. Each reflection encapsulates his daily battle of choosing to sacrifice his life to the resistance. His choice to live in hiding is a big f u you to the imperial entity. He chose to live a restricted life under his own circumstances as opposed to imprisonment by the colonial power. Hiding from his oppressors is an active choice to life. Kan’an created unique memories, art, and wisdom from his 9 year commitment, which contradicts the definition of a life in hiding.

Rafeedie, Kan’an, and The Trinity of Fundamentals are a physical testament of Palestinian perseverance, the socio-political experience under generations of occupation, and the human condition to create meaning despite colonial violence and oppression. I also liked its emphasis on optimism as resistance, the community effort in keeping Kan’an hidden, memory, and the glimmers of life that seeped into the safe houses throughout the 9 years. Revolution and resistance does not come without sacrifice and giving up your life for a cause does not always mean by death.

[Riley Neither]

This is a tricky book to rate, for me.

As a novel, it's middling.  Stilted prose might just be the fault of translation, but the big-picture writing techniques (most significantly, the time hops and the internal conflict in the climax) are as stiff and dull in their implementation as the line-by-line writing, and there's no excusing the way the book portrays women.  They're routinely judged for their looks and described as weak, passive, and pitiable, on top of stereotypes like being gossipy and shallow, and the objectification of women is pivotal to the climax (more on that later).  There are also large sections of the book that step away from the story in order to deliver history and politics in a way that's simultaneously detailed but distant, so that it feels at times like reading a history textbook (though certainly the content is not any you're likely to find in Western textbooks); I suppose this, together with the largely autobiographical nature of it, is why some readers have shelved this book as "nonfiction."  It is, indeed, a far more valuable read if you pick it up, as I did, looking not so much for a good story, but for insight into Palestinian resistance, but even there, I don't think I would recommend this for someone looking to be introduced to the topic.  If you want to learn about the history and politics of Palestine, start with nonfiction first (and be aware of the biases of different sources!) to get a clear big-picture grasp of things, because where this book really shines is that it zooms in from the big picture to expose smaller, individual struggles of resistance.

The narrative centers on Kan'an, who lives in hiding for nine years to work for a resistance party.  I found him abrasive.  Though his motives and dedication to the cause are admirable, the way he thinks about others--all others, allies and enemies, men and women--is judgmental, dismissive, and sometimes downright dehumanizing.  For instance, p143: "if one does not respond to aggression and savagery with spite, that person's humanity is deficient or nearly nonexistent;" throughout the book, there are comments like this both about generalized types or groups of people and about specific characters, presented in contrast to an idealized vision of a revolutionary with which Kan'an naturally identifies himself.  Though the book gives surprisingly little attention to what Kan'an actually does for the party, preferring to detail all the mundanities of his life, there's a great deal of glorification (though explicitly not romanticization) of a life of resistance in hiding.

As the book unfolds, though, it becomes clear that these thought patterns come from a place of profound deprivation, a symptom of the psychological burden of extreme social isolation that comes with living in hiding for years, in conditions that often border on solitary confinement, though with the key difference that he finds this life meaningful and went into it willingly, even if not fully grasping the hardships it would entail.  The textbook-like sections, too, can be read as a reflection of his isolation: he's deeply concerned with the larger movement and all its details, but often separated from it, unable to participate directly in protests, actions, and celebrations.  You end up with the impression that Kan'an has a desperate need to assure himself that his life has meaning and value, because his circumstances prevent him from directly seeing much of the impact of his own work, and without confidence in it nonetheless, he wouldn't be able to withstand the psychological hardships of secrecy and isolation.

As the climax unfolds, even his dehumanization of others becomes a reflection of an internal struggle over his own sense of humanity.  Two streams of inner monologue that have run throughout the book become clarified in opposition to each other: one, the "inner self," whose humanity and human needs have waged attacks on Kan'an's commitment, and who Kan'an resents and holds apart from himself; the other, the revolutionary, who feels no want or need but for the party and who Kan'an actually considers himself to be.  The conflict between them centers on the second element in Kan'an's "trinity of fundamentals," which is sometimes framed elegantly as "life, love, and revolution," other times more basely as "beer, woman, and revolution."  A character, Hind, who has so little appearance before the climax that I was still waiting for any explanation about who she was or how she was part of Kan'an's life, turns out to be a construct of his lonely imagination.  She becomes a central object of the conflict between inner self and revolutionary as Kan'an imagines different scenes with her to inspire different emotions in himself.  Ultimately, he imagines her leaving him, much as did a previous (real) love interest when he first went into hiding, and he dismisses her (like the previous love interest) as weak and unsuitable for a revolutionary; in so doing, he seems to relinquish his own humanity and forsake any chance of future human connection or love, deeming the lack of any such need to be his only hope of survival through whatever awaits him now that he's been found and detained by Israeli forces.  I read this as tragic, though his revolutionary self feels triumph and walks into the police truck with head held high.

Overall: I found this book frustrating and tedious, but it offers a stark window into one experience of social isolation and Palestinian resistance.

[Dresden Savastano · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wish this book were well-written; Palestinian perspectives of the occupation are important. Unfortunately, the author's inconsistent use of symbolism and rather egregious misogyny mar what would otherwise be an important work. Other Palestinian perspectives exist, and I would recommend those over this one.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words cannot describe how good this book is. Pure humanity in the form of a novel.