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{{Short description|Algerian writer}}
{{advert|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = AhlemAhlam Mosteghanemi
| image = File:Ahlem Mosteghanemi at Beirut Book Fair 2012.JPG
| image_size =
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| citizenship =
| education =
| alma_mater = University of Algiers (BA)
Sorbonne University (PhD)
| period =
| genre =
| subject =
| movement =
| notableworks = * '''Memory in the Flesh''' (1993), published as '''The Bridges of Constantine''' by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2013
* '''Chaos of the Senses ''' (1997)
* '''Bed Hopper''' (2003)
* '''The Art of Forgetting''' (2010)
* '''Black Suits You so Well''' (2012)
* '''Delicious as Parting Dreams''' (2018)
| partner =
| children =
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}}
 
'''Ahlam Mosteghanemi''' ({{lang-langx|ar|أحلام مستغانمي}}),; born 13 April 1953, Tunisia,) is an Algerian poet and [[writer]]. She was the first Algerian woman to write poetry and fiction in Arabic,.<ref>{{cite web |last=Davies |first=Stevie |title=The Dust of Promises, by Ahlam Mosteghanemi - book review |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-dust-of-promises-by-ahlam-mosteghanemi-book-review-allegories-of-erotic-love-and-acts-of-political-resistance-a6819926.html |website=The Independent |access-date=16 December 2022 |language=en |date=18 January 2016}}</ref> and She has published four novels and six anthologies, and is best known for her 1993 novel ''Memory of the Flesh''. In 2007 and 2008, she was ranked #96 and #58 respectively as the most influential Arab by the [[Arabian Business]] magazine.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-05-02 |title=Power 100, The World's Most Influential Arabs, Rank List 2007 - ArabianBusiness.com |newspaper=Arabian Business |url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/power100/2007/list?clr= |access-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502075428/http://www.arabianbusiness.com/power100/2007/list?clr= |archive-date=2010-05-02 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-06-07 |title=Power 100, The World's Most Influential Arabs, Rank List 2008 - ArabianBusiness.com |url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/power100/profile/508 |access-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607055108/http://www.arabianbusiness.com/power100/profile/508 |archive-date=2008-06-07 }}</ref>
 
Ahlam has won many awards and honours, among them most successful Arabic writer in 2006, most distinguished Arab Woman of 2006, Algerian Cultural Personality of the year in 2007, and best Arabic writer in 2014. For three years in a row, (2006, 2007, 2008), she was named one of the 100 most powerful public figures in the Arab World.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}
==Biography==
 
===Early Lifelife and Educationeducation===
Mosteghanemi's family was originally from [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine]] in eastern [[Algeria]]. Her father, an Algerian nationalist, was imprisoned following the [[Sétif and Guelma massacre|1945 Sétif riots]] in which two of his brothers were killed. He was released in 1947 and the family relocated to [[Tunis]], Tunisia, where Mosteghanemi was born in 1953. Her father continued his activism and support of Algerian independence, and. afterAfter Algeria gained independence in 1962 he took prominent positions in the government of [[Ahmed Ben Bella]]. In 1965, the [[1965 Algerian coup d'état|Boumediene coup d'état]] removed Ben Bella from power, and her father suffered a mental breakdown and was sent to a hospital in [[Algiers]]. His mental struggles and the continued political turmoil in Algeria left him resentful, confused, and disillusioned. <ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mustaghanmi, Ahlam (1953–) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mustaghanmi-ahlam-1953 |access-date=2020-04-28 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>
 
In the absence of her father, Mosteghanemi, as the eldest sibling, provided for her family by working as a radio host.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carty |first1=Peter |title=Chaos of the Senses by Ahlam Mosteghanemi, book review: Art stalks real-life |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/chaos-of-the-senses-by-ahlam-mosteghanemi-book-review-art-stalks-reallife-9969200.html |access-date=16 December 2022 |website=[[The Independent]]|date=9 January 2015 }}</ref> At the age of 17seventeen, she became popular in Algeria with a poetic daily show, ''Hammassat'' (Whispers). In 1973, she became the first woman to publish a compilation of poetry in Arabic when she published ''Ala Marfa al Ayam'' (To the Day's Haven). This was followed in 1976 by ''Al Kitaba fi Lahdat Ouray'' (The Writing in a Moment of Nudity). Mosteghanemi belonged to the first generation in Algeria that was able to study and write in Arabic, after more than a century of prohibition by the French.<ref name="about">{{Cite web |title=Ahlam Mosteghanemi - احلام مستغانمى - أحلام مستغانمي - Website |url=http://www.ahlammosteghanemi.com/#!about-english/c1pfk |access-date=2017-11-21 |website=Ahlam Mosteghanemi - احلام مستغانمى - أحلام مستغانمي - Website}}</ref>
 
Mosteghanemi received her first degree in Literature from the [[Algiers 1 University|University of Algiers]]. Following involvement in women's rights activism, she was then denied enrolment in a Master's programme at the same university, with the board of directors stating that her freedom of expression would have a negative effect on the other students. She was also expelled from the Union of Algerian Writers for not conforming to the established political line.<ref name="about" /> Mosteghanemi consequently pursued her doctoral studies in France, earning a PhD in sociology from [[Sorbonne University]] with her thesis, later published as ''Algérie, femmes et écritures'' (Algeria, Women, and Writings) in 1985,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mostaganem |first=Ahlam |title=Algérie, femmes et écritures |publisher=Éditions Harmattan |year=1985 |isbn=2-85802-506-92858025061 |language=fr |trans-title=Algeria, Women, and Writings}}</ref> about the representation of women in both Francophone and Arabic literature.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Restor(y)ing the Postcolonial Algerian Na(rra)tion in the Fiction of Ahlam Mosteghanemi |url=https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/restorying-the-postcolonial-algerian-narration-in-the-fiction-of- |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=Research Explorer The University of Manchester |language=en}}</ref>
 
== Literary Careercareer ==
It was during Mosteghanemi's fifteen years she spent in [[Paris]] writing for various magazines and fragments of what would, after four years, become a novel that she transitioned from poetry to prose, stating that "When we lose a love, one writes a poem, when we lose our homeland, one writes a novel". She said Algeria was never far from her mind. "There are countries that we live in and countries that live in us".<ref name="about" />
 
In 1993, Mosteghanemi settled in [[Lebanon]] and presented her first novel, ''Zakirat el Jassad'' (Memory of the Flesh), towas thepublished. The editor of the publishing house ''Dar Al Adab'', who said the book was "a revelation." He described the novel as a poetic love story, told with political bravado, that echoed the disappointment of a generation of Arabs, and predicted that it would be a success throughout the Arab world. In a letter to the author, contemporary Arab poet [[Nizar Qabbani]] said, "This novel gave me vertigo."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabworldbooks.com/authors/ahlam_mustaghanmi.html |title=Ahlam Mosteghanemi |publisher=Arabworldbooks.com |access-date=2014-05-27}}</ref> President Ben Bella said from exile, "Ahlam is an Algerian sun that illuminates the Arab world".{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}
 
''Memory of the Flesh'' earned Mosteghanemi the [[Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature|Naguib Mahfouz Prize]] in 1998, the Arabic equivalent of the [[Prix Goncourt|Goncourt]], and the Nour Prize for the best female work in the Arabic language.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Femmes d'influence – Jeune Afrique |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/204897/societe/femmes-d-influence/ |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=JeuneAfrique.com |language=fr-FR}}</ref> The jury for the "Ahlam is a light that shines in darkness. She was able to break out of the linguistic exile into which French colonialism had relegated Algerian intellectuals."<ref>{{cite web |title=Author Profile: Ahlam Mosteghanemi |url=http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/features/2005/01/13/feature-01 |access-date=2014-05-27 |publisher=Magharebia}}</ref> By 2008, ''Memory of the Flesh'' had entered its 19th edition and had sold over 130,000 copies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-06-07 |title=Power 100, The World's Most Influential Arabs, Rank List 2008 - ArabianBusiness.com |url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/power100/profile/508 |access-date=2024-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607055108/http://www.arabianbusiness.com/power100/profile/508 |archive-date=2008-06-07 }}</ref>
By 2021, more than a million copies of the book had been sold across the Arabic-speaking world, not counting the pirated editions which vastly outnumbered the legal editions, and the novel helped to reconnect Arab readers with the Arabic language.<ref name="about" />
 
Mosteghanemi continued her literary career with two sequels: ''Fawda el Hawas'' ''(''The Chaos of Senses'')'' in 1997 and ''Aber Sareer''” ''(''Bed Hopper'')'' in 2003. Each part of the trilogy was a bestseller throughout the Arab world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.banipal.co.uk/book_reviews/88/the-art-of-forgetting-by-ahlem-mosteghanemi/ |title=(UK) Magazine of Modern Arab Literature - Book Reviews - The Art of Forgetting by Ahlem Mosteghanemi |publisher=Banipal |access-date=2014-05-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423213335/http://www.banipal.co.uk/book_reviews/88/the-art-of-forgetting-by-ahlem-mosteghanemi/ |archive-date=2014-04-23 }}</ref> In 1998, Ahlam received the Naguib Mahfouz literary prize for ''Memory of the Flesh'', with the jury commenting that, "Ahlam is a light that shines in darkness. She was able to break out of the linguistic exile into which French colonialism had relegated Algerian intellectuals."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/features/2005/01/13/feature-01 |title=Author Profile: Ahlam Mosteghanemi |publisher=Magharebia |access-date=2014-05-27}}</ref>
 
In 2010, she published ''Nessyan.com'' ''(''The Art of Forgetting'')'', a break-up manual for women, which brought her closer to a female audience.
 
In 2012, her novel, ''El Aswad Yalikou Biki'' ''(''Black Suits You So Well'')'', was published. The story described the struggle of a young Algerian teacher whose father, a singer, had been killed by terrorists opposed to any form of art and joy in society. The novel addresses the challenges of standing up not only to terrorism, but also to the power of money and the media.
 
In 2001, Mosteghanemi established the [[Malek Haddad]] Literary Prize to encourage more Algerians to write in Arabic.<ref name=":0" />
Mosteghanemi's work enriched the Arabic literary scene for more than 35 years, targeting corruption, injustice, fundamentalism, and the denigration of women's rights. [[UNESCO]] has printed all her work in Braille for blind readers.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} Mosteghanemi established the [[Malek Haddad]] Literary Prize in 2001 for the Algerian writer.<ref name=":0" /> Interviewed in June 2001, she spoke of the lack of Arabic literature in Algeria, and said she hoped that the Malek Haddad Literary Prize would encourage more Algerians to write in Arabic.<ref name=":0" /> Like Ahlam, [[Malek Haddad]] was from Constantine, Algeria.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Malek Haddad {{!}} Algerian poet |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Malek-Haddad |access-date=2020-04-28 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> He had given up writing because he was not allowed to write in Arabic. She had quoted him throughout "Memory in Flesh", and loved what he stood for.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mosteghanemi |first=Ahlam |title=Memories in the Flesh |publisher=American University in Cairo Press |year=2003 |isbn=9774247345 |pages=214}}</ref>
 
Since June 2008, she has been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations.<ref name=":1" />
Mosteghanemi's novels have been adopted in the curricula of universities and high schools worldwide. In 2003, the [[French Ministry of Education]] used parts of ''Memory in the Flesh'' for the French baccalaureate tests and in 15 countries where students chose Arabic as a second language.
 
== Personal Lifelife ==▼
Mosteghanemi has also lectured and worked as a visiting professor in universities around the world including The [[American University of Beirut]], 1995; [[University of Maryland]], 1999; University of [[University of Paris (post-1970)|Sorbonne]], 2002; [[Montpellier University]], 2002; [[University of Lyon]], 2003; [[Yale University]], 2005; [[MIT]] Boston, 2005; [[University of Michigan]], 2005.
Mosteghanemi married Lebanese journalist Georges El Rassi in Paris in 1976.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zouari |first=Fawzia |date=21 January 2003 |title="Un doux parfum de scandale" |work=[[Jeune afrique]] |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/89686/archives-thematique/un-doux-parfum-de-scandale/}}</ref> They have three sons together.<ref name="about" /> and live in [[Beirut]], [[Lebanon]].▼
 
▲== Personal Life ==
▲Mosteghanemi married Lebanese journalist Georges El Rassi in Paris in 1976.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zouari |first=Fawzia |date=21 January 2003 |title="Un doux parfum de scandale" |work=[[Jeune afrique]] |url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/89686/archives-thematique/un-doux-parfum-de-scandale/}}</ref> They have three sons together.<ref name="about" />
 
==Works==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|viaf= 119088257 }}
 
===Novels===
# ''Zakirat el Jassad'' (''[[Memory in the Flesh]]''/''The Bridges of Constantine'') - Published by Dar al adab, Beirut, 1993, 34 printed editions. Considered by critics as a turning point in Arabic literature.
# ''Fawda el Hawas'' (''[[Chaos of the Senses]]'') - Published by Dar al adab in Beirut 1997, 30 printed editions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ThriftBooks |title=Chaos of the Senses book by Ahlem Mosteghanemi |url=https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/chaos-of-the-senses-algeria-trilogy-2_ahlem-mosteghanemi/20326762/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=ThriftBooks |language=en}}</ref>
# ''Aber Sareer'' (''Bed Hopper'') - Published by Dar al adab in Beirut 2003, 22 printed editions.
# ''El Aswad Yalikou Biki'' (''Black Suits You so Well'') - Published by Hachette-Antoine in Beirut 2012
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# ''Nessyane.com'' (''The Art of Forgetting'')- Published by Dar Al-Adab in Beirut 2009.
# ''Shahiyyan ka firâq (Delicious as Parting Dreams)-'' Published by Hachette-Antoine/Naufal 2018.
 
===Academic research===
# Academic research for her doctoral thesis, Paris 1982, supervised by [[Jacques Berque]].<ref>[http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2005/01/13/feature-0] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225142036/http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2005/01/13/feature-0|date=February 25, 2012}}</ref>
 
== Awards and honors ==
* Named [[UNESCO]] Artist for Peace by director [[Irina Bokova]] in Paris, 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/algerian_novelist_ahlam_mosteghanemi_designated_unesco_artis/|title=Algerian novelist Ahlem Mosteghanemi designated UNESCO artist for peace |otherspublisher=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|website=www.unesco.org}}</ref>▼
[[File:Ahlem Mosteghanemi's UNESCO Artist for Peace title.jpg|thumb|Ahlem Mosteghanemi's [[UNESCO Artist for Peace]] title]]
* Identified by [[Forbes]] Magazine in 2006 as the most successful Arabic writer, having exceeded sales of 2,300,000, and one of the ten most influential women and the leading woman in literature in the Arab world.
* Awarded the Shield of Beirut by the Governor of Beirut in a ceremony at UNESCO Palace attended by 1500 people when “nessyane.com” was published in 2009.
* Received the Shield of Al Jimar Foundation for Arabic Creativity in Tripoli, Libya, in 2007.
* Named Algerian Cultural Personality of the year in 2007 by Algerian News Magazine and the Algerian Press Club.
* Named for three years in a row (2006, 2007 and 2008) as one of the 100 most powerful public figures in the Arab World by [[Arabian Business]] Magazine.
* Named Most Distinguished Arab Woman of 2006 (selected from 680 nominees) by the Arab Women Studies Center of Paris / Dubai
* Received a medal of honor from [[Abdelaziz Bouteflika]] the [[President of Algeria]] in 2006.
* Received the Medal of Appreciation and Gratitude from Sheikh [[Abdelhamid Ben Badis]] Foundation, Constantine, in 2006.
* Received Pioneers of Lebanon Committee Medal for her overall work, 2004.
* Received George Tarabeh Prize for Culture and Creativity, [[Lebanon]], 1999.
* Received [[Amman]] Loyalty Medal for Creativity, [[Amman]], [[Jordan]] 1999.
* Received [[Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature]] for 'Memory of the Flesh' in 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.magharebia.cm/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2005/01/13/feature-01 |title=Author Profile: Ahlam Mosteghanemi |publisher=Magharebia.com |access-date=2013-03-11 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* Received Nour Foundation Prize for Women's Creativity, Cairo, 19*6.
* Named Best Arabic Writer in Beirut International Award Festival (BIAF), 2014.
* Received at Regent's University, London, Arab Woman of the Year Award, 2015.
▲* Named [[UNESCO]] Artist for Peace by director [[Irina Bokova]] in Paris, 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/algerian_novelist_ahlam_mosteghanemi_designated_unesco_artis/|title=Algerian novelist Ahlem Mosteghanemi designated UNESCO artist for peace |others=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|website=www.unesco.org}}</ref>
 
== See also ==
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[[Category:University of Algiers alumni]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Algerian women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Algerian people]]
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