Abdelkader Benali ( ar, عبد القادر بنعلي; born 25 November 1975 in Ighazzazen,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

) is a

Moroccan-Dutch Moroccans in the Netherlands (, , also known as Dutch-Moroccans or Moroccan-Dutch) are immigrants from Morocco to the Netherlands and their descendants. Migration history Moroccans were not much represented in the first major postwar wave of mi ...

writer and journalist. When he was four years old, he and his family, of

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

background, migrated to

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and settled in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, where his father worked as a butcher. When he was twenty-one his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

''Bruiloft aan zee'' (Wedding by the Sea) appeared and was a huge critical and commercial success. It was translated into many languages. He received the

Libris Prize The Libris Literature Award or Libris Prize (Dutch: Libris Literatuur Prijs) is a prize for novels originally written in Dutch. Established in 1993, it is awarded annually since 1994 by Libris, an association of independent Dutch booksellers, an ...

for his second novel, ''De langverwachte'' ("The Long-Awaited"). In addition to novels and plays, Benali has published essays and reviews in respected newspapers and magazines including ''

De Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...

'', ''

Vrij Nederland ''Vrij Nederland'' (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The originally weekly and now monthly magaz ...

'', ''

De Groene Amsterdammer ''De Groene Amsterdammer'' is an independent Dutch weekly news magazine published in Amsterdam and distributed throughout the Netherlands. It is conventionally considered to be one of the four major weeklies, alongside ''HP/De Tijd'', ''Vrij Neder ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' and ''

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' () or ''AD'' () (English: "General Daily Paper") is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and is ...

''. Benali is an avid long-distance runner, his personal record being 2:52:19, achieved at the 2007

Rotterdam Marathon The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes. ...

. He also wrote a book about his failed attempt to improve his best result, ''Marathonloper'' (Marathon Runner). Abdelkader Benali has mastered

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, and speaks

and English. He is

irreligious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...

, despite his family's

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

faith and tradition. He is a promoter of the

Great Replacement The Great Replacement (french: links=no, Grand Remplacement), also known as replacement theory or great replacement theory, is a White nationalism, white nationalist Far-right politics, far-right conspiracy theoryPT71 disseminated by French a ...

conspiracy theory which is often associated with the

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

, though he believes it to be a positive.

Works (in English translation)

* • Abdelkader Benali: ''Wedding by the sea''. Transl. by Susan Massotty. London, Phoenix House, 1999.

References

External links

"I migrated to Europe with hope. Now I feel nothing but dread: As the Dutch ban the burqa, one of Holland's leading writers mourns the passing of a welcoming continent"
Abdelkader Benali. ''The Observer''. 3 October 2010.
Europe's complex new fear of immigrants
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benali, Abdelkader 1975 births Living people 21st-century Dutch novelists Dutch journalists Libris Prize winners Moroccan writers Berber writers Dutch people of Riffian descent Dutch people of Moroccan-Berber descent Moroccan emigrants to the Netherlands Writers from Rotterdam Dutch male novelists 21st-century Dutch male writers Dutch former Muslims