International Symposium

Born in 1970 in Mostaganem, Kamel Daoud is an Algerian writer and journalist who studied French literature at the University of Oran.
Daoud worked as a journalist for Le Quotidien d’Oran and gained international recognition for his incisive and provocative columns published in prestigious outlets, including The New York Times and Le Monde.

Daoud became a target of an Islamic fatwa due to his outspoken criticism of Islamic culture.
This stemmed from his disillusionment with the Islamist movement he had been drawn to as a teenager.

In a broadcast interview, he explained his relationship with Islam: “If we do not tackle the question of religion, we will not “rehabilitate” ourselves; we will not advance. The role of religion in the Arab world has become integral to all Arabs.
We must limit its role; we must reflect on the extent to which it dominates all our lives.
Addressing the religious question has become vital if the Arab world is to advance.”

Daoud gained global literary fame with The Meursault Investigation, which won the François Mauriac Prize in 2014 and the Goncourt Prize for Best First Novel in 2015.
In 2024, Daoud received the prestigious Prix Goncourt for Houris, a novel that tells the story of Algeria’s civil war through the voice of a female victim.
Because the novel deals with a war that is constitutionally banned from being discussed in Algeria, he has had two international arrest warrants issued against him, and all his books are currently banned from sale throughout the country.

photo copyright © Eric Fougere - Corbis