Navid Kermani

Navid Kermani
Born	(1967-11-27) 27 November 1967 (age 57) Siegen, West Germany
Occupation	Novelist, essayist

Navid Kermani (German: [naˈviːd kɛʁˈmaːni]; Persian: نوید کرمانی; [næˈviːd keɾmɒːˈniː]; born 27 November 1967 in Siegen, Germany) is a German writer and orientalist.^[1] He is the author of several novels as well as books and essays on Islam, the Middle East and Christian-Muslim dialogue.^[2][3] He has won numerous prizes for his literary and academic work, including the Peace Prize of the German Publishers' Association on 18 June 2015.^[4]

Life

Navid Kermani was born the fourth son of Iranian parents in Siegen, West Germany. He began his writing career at age 15 as a local reporter for the Westfälische Rundschau.^[5] As a student he published in German national newspapers; from 1996 to 2000 he was a regular contributor to the cultural section of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He studied philosophy, Oriental studies and drama in Cologne, Cairo and Bonn. His doctoral thesis has been published in English translation as God Is Beautiful: The Aesthetic Experience of the Quran.^[6]

He regularly publishes articles, literary reviews and travelogues, especially in Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Der Spiegel.

In the preface of his book Between Quran and Kafka: West-Eastern Affinities he acknowledges that he is an Orientalist and his world view has been shaped by his childhood interactions living in German society.^[7]

Bibliography

Navid Kermani in Priština (2013)

• Offenbarung als Kommunikation: Das Konzept wahy in Nasr Hamid Abu Zaids Mafhum an-nass, Frankfurt et al. 1996 (Peter Lang).
• Kermani, Navid (2000). Gott ist schön (in German). C.H.Beck. ISBN 978-3-406-46738-7.
• Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid: Ein Leben mit dem Islam, Freiburg 1999: Herder.
• Iran: Die Revolution der Kinder, Munich 2000: C. H. Beck.
• Dynamit des Geistes: Martyrium, Islam und Nihilismus, Göttingen 2002: Wallstein.
• Das Buch der von Neil Young Getöteten, Zurich 2002: Ammann: Cologne 2004; Kiepenheuer; Berlin 2013: Suhrkamp.
• Schöner Neuer Orient: Berichte von Städten und Kriegen, Munich 2003: C. H. Beck; Munich 2007: dtv.
• Toleranz: Drei Lesarten zu Lessings Märchen vom Ring im Jahre 2003 (with Angelika Overath and Robert Schindel), Göttingen 2003: Wallstein.
• Vierzig Leben, Zurich 2004: Ammann.
• Du sollst, Zurich 2005: Ammann.
• Der Schrecken Gottes Munich 2005: C. H. Beck.
• Strategie der Eskalation: Der Nahe Osten und die Politik des Westens, Göttingen 2005: Wallstein.
• Nach Europa, Zurich 2006: Ammann.
• Ayda, Bär und Hase, Vienna 2006: Picus.
• Mehdi Bazargan, Und Jesus ist sein Prophet: Der Koran und die Christen, German trans. from the Persian by Markus Gerhold, ed. and with an introduction by Navid Kermani, Munich 2006: C. H. Beck.
• Kurzmitteilung, Zurich 2007: Ammann.
• Wer ist Wir? Deutschland und seine Muslime, Munich 2009: C. H. Beck.
• Ausnahmezustände: Reisen in eine beunruhigte Welt, Munich 2013: C. H. Beck.
• Zwischen Koran und Kafka: West-östliche Erkundungen, Munich 2014: C. H. Beck.
• Ungläubiges Staunen: Über das Christentum, Munich 2015: C. H. Beck.
• Sozusagen Paris, Munich 2016: Hanser.
• Einbruch der Wirklichkeit: Auf dem Flüchtlingstreck durch Europa, Munich 2016: C. H. Beck.
• Entlang den Gräben: Eine Reise durch das östliche Europa bis nach Isfahan, Munich 2018: C. H. Beck.
• Morgen ist da: Reden, Munich 2019: C. H. Beck.
• Jeder soll von da, wo er ist, einen Schritt näher kommen: Fragen nach Gott, Munich 2022: Hanser.

In English translation

• Kermani, Navid (2011). The Terror of God: Attar, Job and the Metaphysical Revolt. Translated by Wieland Hoban. Cambridge, UK: Polity. ISBN 978-0-7456-4527-8. OCLC 668946700.
• Kermani, Navid (2015). God is Beautiful: The Aesthetic Experience of the Quran. Translated by Tony Crawford. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. ISBN 978-0745651675. OCLC 881418248.
• Kermani, Navid (2016). Between Quran and Kafka: West-eastern Affinities. Translated by Tony Crawford. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. ISBN 978-1-5095-0033-8. OCLC 940342167.
• Kermani, Navid (2017). Upheaval: The Refugee Trek through Europe. Translated by Tony Crawford. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. ISBN 978-1-5095-1868-5. OCLC 982184554.
• Kermani, Navid (2017). Wonder Beyond Belief: On Christianity. Translated by Tony Crawford (English ed.). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. ISBN 978-1509514847. (2018 Schlegel-Tieck Prize.)
• Kermani, Navid (2018). State of Emergency: Travels in a Troubled World. Translated by Tony Crawford. Cambridge, UK: Polity. ISBN 978-1-5095-1470-0.
• Kermani, Navid (2019). Love Writ Large. Translated by Alexander Booth. London: Seagull Books. ISBN 978-0-85742-602-4. OCLC 1051682987.
• Kermani, Navid (2020). Along the Trenches: A Journey through Eastern Europe to Isfahan. Translated by Tony Crawford. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. ISBN 978-1-5095-3557-6. OCLC 1097364913.
• Kermani, Navid (2022). Tomorrow Is Here: Speeches. Translated by Tony Crawford. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. ISBN 978-1-5095-5056-2. OCLC 1292971292.
• Kermani, Navid (2023). Everyone, Wherever You Are, Come One Step Closer: Questions about God. Translated by Tony Crawford. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. ISBN 978-1-5095-5628-1. OCLC 1389811523.
• Kermani, Navid (2023). What Is Possible Now: 33 Political Situations. Translated by Tony Crawford. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. ISBN 978-1-5095-5764-6. OCLC 1378713376.

Awards and distinctions

• 2009: Hessian Cultural Prize^[8]
• 2011: Buber-Rosenzweig-Medal
• 2011: Hannah Arendt Prize^[9]
• 2012: Kleist Prize^[10]
• 2012: Cicero Prize for public speaking^[11]
• 2014: Joseph Breitbach Prize^[12]
• 2015: Member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts
• 2015: Peace Prize of the German Publishers' Association^[4]
• 2015: Jan Michalski Prize for Literature finalist for Zwischen Koran und Kafka: West-östliche Erkundungen^[13]
• 2020: Friedrich-Hölderlin-Preis^[14][15]
• 2024: Thomas Mann Prize^[16]

Other activities

• Avicenna-Studienwerk, Member of the Board of Trustees^[17]
• Goethe Institute, Member of the Committee for the Goethe Medal^[18]
• Green Helmets, Member of the Board of Trustees^[19]

Controversy

In 2009, the German state of Hesse decided to award its 45,000 euro Hessian Cultural Prize in July 2009 jointly to a Jew, a Muslim, a Catholic and a Lutheran to honour those involved in interfaith dialogue. There was controversy over Kermani's nomination as one of the three winners because of an essay in which Kermani wrote about his feelings about seeing a painting of the crucifixion by the seventeenth-century Italian painter Guido Reni. The issue was ultimately resolved, and Cardinal Karl Lehmann, Peter Steinacker [de], Kermani, and Salomon Korn jointly received the prize on 26 November 2009.^[20][21] Kermani donated his share of the award to a Christian priest.^[22]

Personal life

Kermani holds German and Iranian citizenship. He has two children with the Islam scholar Katajun Amirpur, from whom he was divorced in 2020.^[23] He lives in Cologne.

References

1. Kermani 2016, p. 9.
2. "Navid Kermani to assume post as guest lecturer in poetry".
3. Lebenslauf
4. "Navid Kermani". Peace Prize of the German Publishers' Association. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
5. Goethe-Institut: Navid Kermani: Schriftsteller, Orientalist und Kölner Weltbürger
6. Kermani 2015.
7. Kermani 2016.
8. Link list on the proposed retraction of Navid Kermani's Hessian Cultural Prize on the City of Münster's website, last accessed 23 July 2014.
9. Award announced in July, 2011; presented in December, 2011.
10. Navid Kermani erhält Kleist-Preis 2012. In: Saarbrücker Zeitung, 21 August 2012, p. B4.
11. Schriftsteller Kermani wird mit Cicero-Rednerpreis ausgezeichnet. In: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 24 September 2012.
12. Navid Kermani erhält Breitbach-Literaturpreis. In: Der Standard, 20 May 2014.
13. "2015 Edition". Jan Michalski Prize for Literature. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
14. "Hölderlinpreis 2020". Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe (in German). 28 August 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
15. Kermani, Navid (7 November 2020). "Der fremde Blick". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Frankfurt. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
16. Eydlin, Alexander (17 November 2023). "Navid Kermani bekommt Thomas-Mann-Preis 2024". Die Zeit. Hamburg. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
17. "Das Studienwerk - Kuratorium". Avicenna-Studienwerk e.V. (in German). 23 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
18. Organization Goethe Institute.
19. Board of Trustees Green Helmets.
20. The Iranian 05/17/2009
21. (in German) Hessen Cultural Prize: Koch apologizes to Kermani
22. The Christian Science Monitor (1 January 2010). "Priest bridges religious divide by funding Germany's biggest mosque". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
23. Frank, Joachim (8 August 2021). "Kermani und Amirpur geschieden". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. Retrieved 11 January 2023.

External links

• Official website
• "Search results for "Kermani"". Goethe-Institut (in German). 23 June 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
• "German-Iranian author receives culture prize after religious row". DW.COM. 27 November 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2021.