Hafid Bouazza ( ar, حفيظ بوعزة, ḥafīẓ būʿazza; 8 March 1970 – 29 April 2021) was a Moroccan-Dutch writer. Born in Oujda, Morocco, Bouazza came to the Netherlands in October 1977 as a seven-year-old boy. He lived with his parents in the village

Arkel Arkel is a town in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. A part of the municipality of Molenlanden, it lies about 3 km north of Gorinchem. Arkel is a former municipality; in 1986 it became part of Giessenlanden. In 2017, the village o ...

, near

Gorinchem Gorinchem ( or ), also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. It had a population of in . The municipality of Gorinchem al ...

, until he went to study Arabic language and literature at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

. He received the E. du Perron prize for his 1996 debut ''De voeten van Abdullah (The feet of Abdullah)''. Later works include ''Momo'' and ''Solomon'', in 2001 ''Een beer in bontjas'' ("A bear in a fur coat"); the play adaptions ''Apollien'', ''De slachting in Parijs'' ("The massacre in Paris") and

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

; and ''Het monster met de twee ruggen : een kameropera'' ("The beast with two backs: a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

"). Bouazza gave the 2002

Mosse Lecture The Foundation George Mosse Fund of the University of Amsterdam (Stichting George Mosse Fonds van de Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a Dutch foundation (stichting) that aims to promote gay and lesbian studies. It was founded in 2001 at the Univer ...

, titled ''Homoseksualiteit en Islam'' (''Homosexuality and Islam''). His 2004 novel ''Paravion'' won the 2004

Golden Book-Owl The Golden Book-Owl (De Gouden Boekenuil) is a Belgian prize for original Dutch language literature. Originally it was named Golden Owl (De Gouden Uil). It has been awarded annually since 1995. Development It has changed categories several times d ...

prize. His novel ''Spotvogel'' appeared in 2009, after years of silence. Bouazza, an atheist, is known for his

criticism of Islam Criticism of Islam is broadly defined as criticism of the Islamic religion in its beliefs, principles, and/or any other ideas attributed to Islam. Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written disapprovals came fr ...

. His sister Hassnae is a noted journalist. In 2014, the Dutch

freethinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

association

De Vrije Gedachte Vrijdenkersvereniging De Vrije Gedachte (DVG) (English: ''Freethinkers association The Free Thought''), is a Dutch atheist–humanist association of freethinkers. It was founded in 1856 and known by the name De Dageraad ("The Dawn") before assum ...

honoured him with the title of "Freethinker of the Year". Bouazza died in hospital in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

on 29 April 2021. He had been struggling with poor health and drug use.

Works

* 1996 ''De voeten van Abdullah (The feet of Abdullah)'' * 1998 ''Momo (Momo)'' * 1998 ''Apollien (Apollien)'' * 2000 ''Schoon in elk oog is wat het bemint (Beauty in each eye is what it loves)'' * 2001 ''Een beer in bontjas: autobiografische beschouwingen (A bear in a fur coat: autobiographical considerations)'' * 2001 ''De slachting in Parijs (The massacre in Paris)'' * 2001 ''Salomon (Salomon)'' * 2002 ''Rond voor rond of als een pikhouweel (Round for round or as a pickaxe)'' * 2003 ''Othello (Othello)'' * 2003 ''Het monster met de twee ruggen : een kameropera (The beast with two backs: a

)'' * 2003 ''Paravion (Paravion)'' * 2005 ''Het temmen van een feeks (The taming of the Shrew)'' * 2006 ''De zon kussen op dit nachtuur (Kissing the sun at this hour of the night)'' * 2006 ''De vierde gongslag (The fourth beat of the gong)'' * 2006 ''Om wat er nog komen moet : pornografica (Because of what's to come: pornographics)'' * 2009 ''Spotvogel (Hippolais)'' * 2014 ''Meriswin''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouazza, Hafid 1970 births 2021 deaths Former Muslim critics of Islam Dutch atheists Dutch former Muslims Dutch male writers Former Muslims turned agnostics or atheists Moroccan atheists Moroccan emigrants to the Netherlands Moroccan former Muslims Moroccan writers Dutch critics of Islam People from Oujda