The Houbeini case: The African Book Festival and its questionable rhetoric

Opinion The Houbini case

The African Book Festival and its questionable rhetoric

As of 5:58 p.m | Reading time: 2 minutes

Mohamedou Ould Slahi Houbeini in 2007

What: Lando Hass/laif

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First, the ex-Guantánamo prisoner Mohamedou Ould Slahi Houbeini was to curate the African Book Festival in Berlin, which was funded by the Capital Fund. Now he shouldn’t. What is particularly surprising is the justification.

Dhe management of the African Book Festival decided “after careful consideration” to part with Mohamedou Ould Slahi Houbeini as this year’s curator, read the festival website on March 14. And further: The supporting association of the festival, InterKontinental eV, will take over the artistic direction this year so that the festival is not damaged by the “continued discussions” about the curator.

What were those “discussions”? The Mauritanian author Houbeini, born in 1970, was a member of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda and was a prisoner in Guantánamo for 14 years. His “Guantánamo Diary” became a bestseller and was made into a Hollywood film as “The Mauritanian”. Houbeini himself is said to have distanced himself from his Islamist past; He recently described Israel as an apartheid state on Twitter. Houbeini himself has so far remained silent on the debate about him; Inquiries from WELT remained unanswered.

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The African Book Festival, which has been taking place in Berlin for five years, has received funding of 95,000 euros from the Capital Cultural Fund. So far, inquiries about the background to the festival’s personnel have been met with the accusation that it is German Islamophobia and that the designated curator is a victim of prejudice.

The current notice on the website that Houbeini will not be appearing at the festival, which takes place in Berlin in August, is in the same responsible tone: the aim is to prevent the festival from being damaged, even if the allegations are “unsubstantiated”. and one is convinced that “from an artistic point of view” there is nothing to be said against a collaboration with Houbeini.

Does that justify the dismissal? It is not yet known whether she was inspired by politics or whether more prominent authors threatened to withdraw. The justification of the festival management in their rhetoric remains questionable. Houbeini’s portrait was emblazoned on the website above the notification of the curator’s dismissal, with the words “Breaking free” next to it.