Stefan Weidner (born 1967 in Cologne) is a German

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

scholar, writer, and translator. Due to his contributions to the reception of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and other Middle Eastern literatures, the Islamic scholar described him as a "leading mediator of Middle Eastern poetry and prose into German".

Life

Already as a schoolboy, Weidner travelled to North Africa and made his first experiences with Islam. He later studied Islamic studies, German and philosophy at the universities of Georg-August-Universität Göttingen,

University of Damascus The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

. Weidner works as an author, translator, literary critic. From 2001 until the last issue in 2016, he was editor-in-chief of the journal '' Fikrun wa Fann,'' which was published by the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

and aimed to contribute to the dialogue between Western and Islamic-influenced cultures. He has translated numerous poems from

, including

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by ...

and Mahmud Darwish. Since October 2012, Weidner has been a founding member of the in Cologne. Weidner is a member of the

Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (in English German Academy for Language and Literature) was founded on 28 August 1949, on the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. It is seated in Darmstadt, ...

and the writers' association

PEN Centre Germany PEN Centre Germany is part of the worldwide association of writers founded in London in 1921, now known as PEN International. One of over 140 autonomous PEN centres around the world, PEN Centre Germany is based in Darmstadt, Hesse. Work PEN Ce ...

. He writes for the ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. History ...

'' the ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

'' ''

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

'' and

Qantara.de Qantara.de (Classical Arabic: ', meaning "bridge") is an Internet portal in German, English, and Arabic, produced by Deutsche Welle in order to promote intercultural dialogue between the Western and Islamic worlds. The portal was founded on the ...

. His 400-page non-fiction book ''1001 Buch: Die Literaturen des Orients'' has been described as an expert "walk through the centuries of the literatures of the Orient". Islamic scholar Stefan Wild commented on the book as follows: "Now, with 1001 Buch, he eidnerhas succeeded in his greatest throw yet: an overall view of Arabic, Persian and Ottoman/Turkish literature from the seventh century to the present day."

Publications

; Author * ''Erlesener Orient. Ein Führer durch die Literaturen der islamischen Welt.'' Edition Elene, Vienna 2004, (Literary criticism). * ''Mohammedanische Versuchungen. Ein erzählter Essay.'' Ammann Verlag, Zürich 2004, , 237 pages * ''„…und sehnen uns nach einem neuen Gott…“ Poesie und Religion im Werk von Adonis.'' Verlag Schiler, Berlin 2005, . * ''Allah heißt Gott. Eine Reise durch den Islam.'' Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt 2006 (Non-fiction book for the youth) * ''Fes. Sieben Umkreisungen''. Amann Verlag, Zürich 2006 . * ''Manual für den Kampf der Kulturen. Warum der Islam eine Herausforderung ist. Ein Versuch''. Verlag der Weltreligionen, Frankfurt 2008 * ''Mohammedanische Versuchungen. Ein erzählter Essay''. Neuausg. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 2008, * ''Aufbruch in die Vernunft. Islamdebatten und islamische Welt zwischen 9/11 und den arabischen Revolutionen''. Verlag J.H.W. Dietz Nachf., Bonn 2011 * ''Das Morgenland des Gefühls braucht eine Neue Sachlichkeit''. Essay, FAZ, 14 January 2013, * ''Anti-Pegida: Eine Streitschrift''. Create Space Independent Publishing, 2015 * ''Fluchthelferin Poesie. Friedrich Rückert und der Orient''. Wallstein, Göttingen 2017, * ''Jenseits des Westens: Für ein neues kosmopolitisches Denken.'' Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2018, . * ''1001 Buch: Die Literaturen des Orients'', Verlag Edition Converso, Bad Herrenalb 2019, . *''Ground Zero: 9/11 und die Geburt der Gegenwart'', Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2021, . ; Publisher * ''Die Farbe der Ferne. Moderne arabische Lyrik.'' C.H. Beck Verlag, Munich 2000, , 296 pages * ''Kaffeeduft und Brandgeruch. Beirut erzählt. Ein Lesebuch.'' Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt, 2002, , 314 pages *

: ''Wortgesang. Von der Dichtung zur Revolution.'' S. Fischer, Frankfurt, 2012 ; Translator *

Ibn Arabi Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , 'Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influenti ...

: ''Der Übersetzer der Sehnsüchte. Liebesgedichte aus dem arabischen Mittelalter.'' Jung und Jung, Salzburg 2016

Awards

* 2006:

Clemens-Brentano-Preis Clemens-Brentano-Preis of the city of Heidelberg is a literary prize of Germany. It was established in 1993, and named after the German poet Clemens Brentano (1778–1842). The prize money is €10,000. Recipients Source: * 1993 Günter Coufal ...

der Stadt Heidelberg * 2007:

Johann-Heinrich-Voß-Preis für Übersetzung The Johann Heinrich Voß Prize in Translation (german: Johann-Heinrich-Voß-Preis für Übersetzung) is awarded yearly by the German Academy for Language and Poetry in Darmstadt.

* 2008: * 2011: Thomas-Kling-Poetikdozentur der Universität Bonn * 2014:

Paul Scheerbart-Preis Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

für die Adonis-Übersetzung * 2017: Member of the

* 2018: First prize of the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding for his translations of Ibn Arabi's "Übersetzer der Sehnsüchte"

References

External links

*
Stefan Weidner
on Literaturport *
Zur Verleihung des Scheerbart-Preises, Laudatio
von Hans-Jürgen Balmes, im Bericht von ''Verleihung der at St. W., and

Bettina Abarbanell Bettina Abarbanell (born 1961 in Hamburg) is a German literary translator, best known for her English-to-German translations of novels by authors F. Scott Fitzgerald, Denis Johnson, Rachel Kushner, Elizabeth Taylor, Catherine Lacey, and Jonath ...

,'' Frankfurt, 10 October 2014; zu Weidner die Kapitel: ''Wie von einem Kristall umschlossen'' und ''E-Book als Architektur aus Glas.'' In ', 1, 2015, S. 5f.
Deutschlandfunk ''Essay und Diskurs'' vom 20. Januar 2019: ''Liberalismus. Unsere Freiheit, von außen gesehen''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidner, Stefan German Islamic studies scholars Translators from Arabic Arabic–German translators German literary critics 20th-century German journalists 1967 births Living people Writers from Cologne

Life

Publications

Awards

See also

References

External links