Mohd Faizal Musa (born 7 August 1974), also known under the pen name Faisal Tehrani, is a Malaysian author and playwright. Due to his frequent writing and ideas he was known as a controversial person."Tidak syak lagi, sejauh ini, suaranya, suara ‘menentang’ yang cuba mencari kewarasan setiap peristiwa yang sedang berlaku di seputarnya." (A. Samad Said dalam Dewan Sastera, November 2002)
"There is no doubt, so far, his voice, the 'opposing' voice that tries to find the sanity of every occasion that is happening around him." (A. Samad Said in the Literature Council, November 2002) He is the author of many books and literary works of various lengths, including stage plays. National Laureate Anwar Ridwan praises of Faisal's writing "conscious of high literature and full of vision."An Interview with Anwar Ridhwan: A Malaysian National Laureate
Faisal has won numerous literary prizes and awards, including the National Art Award (Anugerah Seni Negara) in 2006.
Education Mohd Faizal Musa was born on 7 August 1974 in Kuala Lumpur before moving to Malacca at the age of 5. He started school at Sacred Heart School of Malacca, then at Primary School Jalan Dato Palembang. Faisal continued his studies at Sekolah Menengah Sultan Muhammad until the age of 15, managing to get excellent Lower Certificate of Education results, after which he continued his studies at the Klang Islamic College (now the Sultan Alam Shah Islamic College). Faisal often honed his skills by supplementary writing of his teenage experiences in a teenage magazine.
Expertise Mohd Faizal is a graduate of Bachelor of Syariah-Politics of the University of Malaya (1998), a Master of Arts from Universiti Sains Malaysia (2000), Doctor of Philosophy from the National University of Malaysia (2010). He now works at the National University of Malaysia. As a Research Fellow at the Institute of Malay World and Civilisation, his research is on the Shiite minority in the Malay world. In 2019, he was appointed as an Associate of the Global Sh’ia Diaspora at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Project on Shi’ism and Global Affairs at Harvard University, United States of America.
Writing career Faisal began his writing career with Cinta Hari-hari Rusuhan published by Creative Enterprise and Perempuan Politikus Melayu by Penerbitan Pemuda, both published in 2000. Both of his works lead to his nomination in the 2000-2001 Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia. There was also Maaf Dari Sorga, which only managed to be published in 2003 by Zebra Publications. Johan Jaafar, a famous literary critic named some good political novels from Malaysia and the Malay Politic Women as "highlighting the pattern of women's political thinking".
In 2002 he released 1515, an alternative historical fiction that takes on the Portuguese conquest of Malacca with victory siding instead to the Malacca Sultanate. It won first place in the 2002 Utusan Malaysia-Exxon Mobil Literature Prize plus the 2005 National Book Award in the General Malay Fiction category. The book is also used as a reading text for Malay studies at the University of Cologne in Germany. The book was eventually translated in 2011 by the National Translation Institute of Malaysia (Institut Terjemahan Buku Malaysia, or ITBM). 1515 is considered to be the most significant work by Faisal Tehrani at the beginning of his writing. For instance, professor emeritus Dr Salleh Yaapar, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), talks about the greatness of 1515; "which re-reveals the history and identity of the Malays".Karya Sastera Melayu perlu diantarabangsakan In an academic paper, Professor Salleh also named 1515 as a masterpiece.Identity in Faisal Tehrani’s novel 1515 Professor Sohaimi Abdul Aziz, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), also named 1515 as a novel full of techniques and literary approaches. Rosma Derak from Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia, described 1515 as the best of Faisal Tehrani's works and his strength was the use of 'deconstructing historiography' or 'rewriting history'. 1515 is also the only contemporary Malaysian novel mentioned in The Encyclopedia of the Blackwell issue of the novel (2011).Razif Bahari. 2011. 'Southeast Asian Archipelago'. Dlm. John Wiley & Sons. The Encyclopedia of the Novel. Wiley Blackwell Publishing. UK. Hlm. 754.
Rahsia Ummi published by Zebra Publications, 2003. In the meantime there are also used to find the Tunggu Teduh Dulu serialized in the room of Utusan Malaysia and expired in December 2003. The novel was published by Penerbitan Se-lain (2004) and Ameen Publishing (2008). Another of his famous novel is 1511H Kombat by Utusan Publications and Distributors (2004).http://www.ukm.my/penerbit/akademika/ACROBATAKADEMIKA75/akademika75%5B01%5D.pdf It won first place in the 2003 Utusan Malaysia-Exxon Mobil Literature Prize in 2003; and Advencer Si Peniup Ney by Utusan Publications and Distributors (2004). It won first place Hadiah Sastera Utusan Malaysia-Exxon Mobil in 2004.
He wrote the young adult novel Detektif Indigo in 2004, published by Utusan Publications and Distributors. It won second place Hadiah Sastera Utusan Malaysia-Exxon Mobil in 2004. In the meantime, he began composing the historical novel Surat-surat Perempuan Johor, which was released by Yayasan Warisan Johor in the following year. He won the Sayembara Novel Sejarah dan Tradisi Johor 1. The popularity of Detektif Jingga lead to a sequel titled Ikan Fugu, Lukisan & Jimson in 2007. In the academic papers 'Adolescent Knowledge Indexes in Detective Indigo' (2013), published in Malay Literature 26 (12): 80–99, two University Malaya scholars, Dr Tengku Intan Marlina Mohd Ali and Dr Salinah Ja'afar from the Malay Studies Academy stated that Detective Indigo novel is very loaded with science knowledge for teens and useful for practicing skills.
The Novel Tunggu Teduh Dulu and Surat-surat Perempuan Johor received praise by Siti Rabeah Masri, Kamariah Kamarudin and Pabiyah Hajimaming (Universiti Putra Malaysia) in their paper entitled 'The Muslim Woman's Personality and the Development of Insan Al-Kamil in the Novels of Faisal Tehrani and Isa Kamari , published in Malay Literature 26 (1): 38-64; the scholars stated 'Faisal Tehrani's novels are more dominant in putting forth depictions Muslim women with extraordinary character.'
In 2007, Faisal Tehrani wrote Bedar Sukma Bisu, published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. It won the Sayembara Jubli Emas DBP general novel category. Bedar Sukma Bisu also won the Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 2006/2007. The work was translated into English under the title of The Prau with the Silent Soul in 2009 by Zawiyah Baba. SM Zakir in the paper The Myth and Religion in the Fu Numeral and The Prau With the Silent Soul (Bedar Sukma Bisu) published in Malay Literature 22 (2): 168–190, praising Faisal's uses of composed myth in the novel.http://www.myjurnal.my/filebank/published_article/22886/168_190.PDF
Manikam Kalbu by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (2007). It won the Sayembara Jubli Emas DBP teens novel category. Manikam Kalbu was awarded the winner for the Teen Fiction Book of the Year category in the National Book Award at a ceremony held by the Ministry of Education and the National Book Council on 22 December 2009. Also won the Manikam Kalbu, Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 2006/2007. In a study, this novel is regarded as saturated with local knowledge by Dr Wan Zaliha Wan Othman and Professor Dr. Mohamad Mokhtar Abu Hassan.
Faisal continued the prolific producing Tuhan Manusia by Ameen Publishing (2007). Independent writer and director Amir Muhammad calls it "a provocative and surprising work. It is thematically conservative, but why should conservatives not be allowed to be provocative?"Amir Muhammad. 2009. You Gotta Have Faith. Malay Mail. 25 February. Faisal however disowned the work and Tunggu Teduh Dulu during a panel meeting at the Singapore Writers Festival 2015, saying it was just 'water under the bridge'. Mohd Faizal also refused to be associated with the movement of Islamic literature to the next phase of his writing, by asserting Islamic literature has distanced the audience and failed to achieve the purpose of humanity. Faisal, however, has yet to write anything critical essay about his points he is. The same thing he repeated during his opening remarks at the Fourth ASEAN Literary Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2017, ten years after the publication of Tuhan Manusia, Faisal stated in his column article in Free Malaysia Today that he hoped to rewrite the novel after believing the aspect of belief or religion was the affair between man and God.
He continued writing children's literature with Nama Beta Sultan Alauddin (2007) published Aberdeen World. In 2008, he released a continuation of the Detektif Indigo series, Detektif Indigo Kembali published by Ameen Publishing. It was followed by Ketupat Cinta, originally published in Harian Metro from 13 January to 5 August of the same year and reissued by Ameen Publishing as Ketupat Cinta Musim Pertama in 2009 followed by Ketupat Cinta Musim Kedua Penggal Pertama in 2012.
Then, another historical novel authored the issue Saasatul Ibaad Aberdeen World (2008) and a novel Bahlut about the origin issue Ameen Publishing (2010). In 2011, Faisal Tehrani produce novel Sebongkah Batu di Kuala Berang with PTS Litera.
In 2012, he released Perempuan Nan Bercinta published with the Institut Terjemahan Buku Malaysia (ITBM), which had caused repercussions by the government. It was later banned by the government of Malaysia in 2014. Undeterred by government pressure, he published the novel Bagaimana Anyss Naik Ke Langit with independent publisher DuBook Press that tells of the fate of an academic-activist who fights for the rights of the Penan people. Faisal also wrote a poem titled Di Tembok Berlin on the same year, which was dedicated to Chris Gueffroy, the last victim of the Berlin Wall who was killed on 5 February 1989. The poem was translated into German as An der Berliner Mauer by Hedy Holzwarth, Holger Warnke, and Volker Wolf in the Kuala Lumpur-Berlin anthology released by ITBM.
In the field of drama, Faisal Tehrani is work; Rintih Chicago (winning the Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 1996/97). Angin Madinah (Hadiah Sastera Berunsur Islam organized by Yayasan Pelajaran Islam Malaysia-DBP and won the Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 2000–2001). MISI (1999–2000) was sponsored by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka to carry around Malaysia, it was staged in Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Penang. TiVi is an adaptation of a novella national laureate Shannon Ahmad and directed himself in 2003 and funded under the program by the Teater Kecil of the Sastera Kebangsaan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Faisal also released a collection of short stories published by Sasbadi titled Sehari Dalam Perang (1997). Also mini collection of short stories published Sasbadi under the title Safari Gilgit (1997), a collection of short stories with Azman Husin in 2000, a collection of short stories ‘Lagi-Lagi Underground’ with Sharil Hasril Sanin 2002. Short story collection Perempuan Anggerik published DBP in 2002, this collection of short stories shortlisted for Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 2002/2003, kumpulan Cerpen Kekasih Sam Po Bo issue Aberdeen World (2006). In 2010 he published a collection of short stories Tiga Kali Seminggu.
In the field of poetry Faisal Tehrani came with his first collection of poetry, namely Ingin Jadi Nasrallah in 2010. It is published by Ameen Publishing. National Laureate Datuk Anwar Ridwan described Ingin Jadi Nasrallah as "a publication that highlights his talent as a poet. Some of his poems have thought deeply reinforced with imagery, metaphor, and diction effective."
He also writes creative writing handbook with the title Karya Nan Indah (Ameen Publishing, 2007).
Adaptations of his works