The Calicut University in Kerala has decided to withdraw a poem written by an alleged Al Qaeda leader Al-Rubaish from the syllabus of third semester of BA and BSc. The poem ‘Ode to Sea’ is said to have been written when Al Rubaish was a detainee at notorious Guantanamo Bay jail during 2001-06. The poem was first published in 2006 by the Amnesty International as part of an anthology; ‘Poems from Guantanamo: the Detainees Speak.’ The poem is all about the life in exile.
While including the poem into syllabus, the university authority had said the past of the poet was immaterial and what was more important was the content of the poem but later it removed under pressure of some faculties who are of the opinion that there are numerous poems by well-known poets then why to include this one. Al Rubaish, a Saudi national, holds a degree in Shari’ah law from the Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University in Saudi Arabia.