Kader Abdolah meets with 'other language'

Kader Abdolah

Kader Abdolah (Iran, 1954) studied physics in Tehran and was active in the student resistance movement. He published two novels about life under the Khomeini regime before fleeing his homeland in 1985, first to Turkey and then to the Netherlands.

He started writing in Dutch after quickly mastering the language. He has won awards for his collection of short stories “De adelaars” (Eagles), the bestselling debut of 1993, and “Cuneiform,” a novel that explicitly deals with communication and translation.

So far, Abdolah’s work has been published in 21 languages. The novel, “The House of the Mosque” (2006), catapulted Abdolah onto the Dutch bestseller lists and was voted the second-best Dutch novel ever in the Netherlands. The English translation was released worldwide in January 2010.

In 2008 he published “De boodschapper” (The Messenger), and an alternative translation of the Quran underlining a more moderate and “human” Islam. Abdolah is a well-known and popular author who has become prominent in discussions about religion and society. Abdolah will speak on literature in other languages on the first day.