Abdelwahab Meddeb

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Abdelwahab Meddeb (2011)

Abdelwahab Meddeb , Arabic عبد الوهاب المدب, DMG ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Madabb , (born January 17, 1946 in Tunis ; † November 6, 2014 in Paris ) was a Tunisian-French author and Muslim critic of Islam . He lived in Paris and in Spain.

Meddeb, son of an alim , a high theologian of the Islamic Zitouna University founded in the 9th century , immigrated to France from Tunisia at a young age . There he studied literature and art history at the universities of Paris and Aix-Marseille . He then found employment as a lecturer at Editions du Seuil . He founded an international magazine called "Dédale" (Dädalus). He turned down a professorship in comparative literature at the University of Paris X. From 1974 to 1988 he was in charge of his own fiction series at Editions Sindbad. Most recently he was visiting professor at various universities, including Yale and Geneva . Meddeb worked on the "Cultures d'islam" program on the radio station "France Culture". In 2002 Meddeb became known in German-speaking countries for his pamphlet The Disease of Islam . Meddeb died in Paris in November 2014 at the age of 68 of complications from cancer.

Transculturality and criticism of Islam

Meddeb was particularly attentive to what he calls his "dual origins" as European and Muslim, French and Arab. In addition to the spatial, he also crossed the boundaries of time. In his work he drew on pre-Socratic philosophy, Sufism , Arabic, Persian and European poets from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as classics from China and Japan. The writings of Ibn Arabî , Averroes , Dante , Nietzsche and Thomas Mann were of particular importance to him .

Meddeb was very interested in current historical events. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, he delved into issues of multiculturalism, integration and Islamism . The result of this is his book La maladie de l'Islam (German: "The Disease of Islam", 2002), for which he received the " François Mauriac " literary prize and which sparked heated debates within the Islamic world, but also in Europe. In 2007 he was awarded the “Prix international de francophonie Benjamin Fondane” for his book “Contre-prêches” , “ Between Europe and Islam (15 counter sermons)” (2007). His novels “Talismano” (1993) and “Aya” (1998) were published in German.

After the lecture by Pope Benedict XVI, which was perceived as a provocation by conservative Muslims . At the University of Regensburg on September 12, 2006, Meddeb stood before the Pope despite criticism of the content: “He must not, under any circumstances, soften the dispute or be intimidated. He has already apologized too much. ”Meddeb supported Turkey's accession to the European Union and was convinced that a democratic Islam was just as possible as a democratic Christianity.

Works (selection)

Books
  • Between Europe and Islam. 115 Counter Sermons (March 2003 - January 2006) (Original title: Contre-prêches , translated by Rainer G. Schmidt), Wunderhorn, Heidelberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-88423-288-0 .
  • Ibn Arabis Grab (poems), Heidelberg 2004, Verlag Wunderhorn
  • The disease of Islam , Wunderhorn, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-88423-201-0 ; as Union-TB 396, Zurich 2007, ISBN 978-3-293-20396-9 .
  • Aya (novel). (Original title: Phantasia). Heidelberg 1998, Verlag Wunderhorn, ISBN 3-88423-136-7 .
  • Talismano (novel). (Original title: Talismano). Heidelberg 1993, Verlag Wunderhorn, ISBN 3-88423-087-5 .

Web links

Commons : Abdelwahab Meddeb  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tunisian-French writer Meddeb has died. In: Focus from November 6, 2014 (accessed November 6, 2014).
  2. ↑ a b “Islam was born with violence” - A conversation with the French writer Abdelwahab Meddeb about the sources of fanaticism and the overdue reinterpretation of the Koran. In: Die Zeit , September 21, 2006, No. 39.
personal data
SURNAME Meddeb, Abdelwahab
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Tunisian-French author and Muslim critic of Islam
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Tunis
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 2014
Place of death Paris