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“He Who Is Worthy of Love” , by Abdellah Taïa (FRENCH VERSION)

Published at 06 14,,, 19 2019

January 31, 2019. Casa Árabe, Cabaret Voltaire and Kif-Kif, Migraciones y Refugio LGBTI+ have organized the presentation of this book by Moroccan author Abdellah Taïa. Taking part in the meeting with the author were Samir Bargachi, president of Kifkif, Migraciones y Refugio LGBTI+. The event was presented by Karim Hauser, Casa Árabe’s International Politics Coordinator. Ahmed is 40 years old, lives in Paris and is Moroccan. He writes to his mother, who passed away five years ago, to deal with topics that have remained unresolved, and finally to tell her that he is homosexual. He sends a letter to break up with Emmanuel, the man he loves passionately, the man who took him to France and changed his life, though not for the better in every way. Ahmed also receives letters from Vincent and Lahbib. An epistolary novel that harks back in time to the origins of all that pain. A book on French colonialism that endures in the young Moroccan’s love life. The book’s presentation will delve into such topics as sexuality, colonialism and identity as a Moroccan LGBTI+ individual. Abdellah Taïa will visit Casa Árabe thanks to the collaboration of Fundación Tres Culturas. Abdellah Taïa (Salé, 1973) is a Moroccan writer and filmmaker who has been living in Paris since 1998. Through his father, a concierge at a local Rabat library, he comes into contact with literature and studies French Literature in Rabat. He gets the opportunity to leave Morocco in the mid-1990s when he studies abroad for one semester in Geneva. He later studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 2006, he made his sexual orientation public in an interview with the political magazine Tel Quel, becoming the first Moroccan intellectual to do so in that way. Taïa’s books don’t just deal with his life as a gay man in a homophobic environment, but also perform reflection over an autobiographical background showing the social experiences of the generation of Moroccans who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/“he-who-is-worthy-of-love”

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Iraqi literature in exile (in Arabic)

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Published at 06 22,,, 16 2016
Book presentation: "The Era of Jihad"

From 2001 until today, Patrick Cockburn’s coverage of the conflicts in the Middle East and other regions has been outstanding. His chronicles make use of his extensive direct experience and in-depth knowledge of the region’s history to offer fine-tuned analysis in the midst of very complex crises. For instance, he upheld that the Western invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq would be unsustainable and that it was very likely that the Libyan rebels would end up facing off against each other. Perhaps what is most surprising is that he reported on the advent of ISIS as the main force in the region even before the British government’s intelligence services were aware of the threat it represented. This led the jury of the British Journalism Awards to ask itself “whether the authorities should study the possibility of sending the MI6 as a whole into retirement and hiring Patrick Cockburn to replace them.” Written in the form of a fascinating diary, this book combines a careful selection of Cockburn’s writings from the war fronts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.

Published at 10 03,,, 16 2016
Book presentation: Le Piano oriental

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Published at 06 03,,, 16 2016
The Arabic Language in Spain (in Arabic)

Presentation of a study published in Arabic by the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for the Arabic Language. Casa Árabe hosted this event, organized by the office of the Cultural Attaché of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Spain, on the occasion of publishing a study titled “The Arabic Language in Spain,” in Arabic, by the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for the Arabic Language (KAICA). This study forms part of a series of monographic works by the KAICA on the Arabic language published in different languages and countries. It was coordinated by Maoulainine Maoulainine al-Atiq, then a visiting a professor at the University of Granada, as well as the aforementioned authors, along with Bárbara Boloix Gallardo, a professor from the Department of Semitic Studies at the same university.

Published at 23 20,,, 16 2016
Presentation of the book “Silk Nights” by Aicha Bassry (Arabic)

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Published at 40 11,,, 16 2016