Events

The evening includes two talks: 

• The Magic of the Desert

Ibrahim al-Koni grew up in a Tuareg community in the Libyan desert and his mother tongue is Tamasheq. He learned to read and write Arabic at the age of twelve. This nomadic background and the images and experiences of the desert characterize his literary work. Time and again, he uses the traditionally borderless habitat of the Tuareg, which is disrupted by political borders, to address essential questions of human existence.

From 1993, Ibrahim al-Koni lived in Switzerland for many years, where he also met his German-language translator of many years, Hartmut Fähndrich. With over 90 novels and volumes of short stories, he is considered one of the most prolific Arabic-language writers. He uses poetic language to build bridges between cultures – from the Sahara to Switzerland. 

Talk in Arabic with German translation.
 

• Bread on Uncle Milad's table

In Libya, there is the expression “a family with an Uncle Milad”. This refers to a man “who does not exercise his power over the women for whom he is responsible and thus harms their honor”, according to the first chapter of “Khobz ’ala tawilat al-khal Milad”. It is the first novel by Libyan author Mohammed Alnaas, for which he was awarded the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2022, the youngest winner and first Libyan ever.

Milad’s father is a master baker who teaches him never to mix yeast and salt directly, as these two ingredients are like men and women. He not only passes on his passion for the craft and his deep love of bread, but also tries to make a "real" man out of him. But when Milad meets Zeinab and later marries her, he chooses a highly unconventional male role: he takes on the household duties while Zeinab focuses on her career. Through the story of this young couple, Mohammed Alnaas challenges traditional gender roles and sensitively—and often ironically—explores the tension between social expectations and individual self-realization.

Talk in English.