June, 1st 2012 - 19:00
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Salim Bachi was born in 1971 in Algiers, Algeria. He has published five novels, "Le Chien d’Ulysse", "La Kahéna", "Tuez-les tous", "Le silence de Mahomet" and "Amours et aventures de Sindbad le Marin", which were hailed by the critics and have won many literary prizes. His latest novel,Amours et Aventures de Sindbad le marin (2010) . For a short while now, he has recently been working as director of the Alliance Française in Cork.
Le silence de Mahomet
Mahomet fut un homme passionné avant d’être le prophète de l’islam. C’est à présent un personnage de roman. Un roman qui se déploie aux alentours de l’an 600 après J.C., entre la Mecque et Médine, des sables du désert d’Arabie aux abords de Jérusalem. Mahomet naît, vit et meurt à travers les confessions de sa première femme, Khadija, de son meilleur ami, le calife Abou Bakr, du fougueux Khalid, le général qui conquit l’Irak au cours de batailles épiques, et enfin de la jeune Aïcha, devenue son épouse à l’âge de neuf ans. Homme singulier, homme contesté, controversé par les siens au début de sa prédication, orphelin enrichi par son mariage avec Khadija, bien plus âgée que lui, marchand et caravanier prospère visité par Dieu à quarante ans, prophète et homme d’État visionnaire à cinquante, amant et conquérant impitoyable, Mahomet ne cesse de fasciner et d’embraser les âmes plus de quatorze siècles après sa mort à Médine sur les genoux d’Aïcha, son dernier amour.
Shortlisted for two French literary prizes, this is both a novel and the telling of the story of Islam. Chronicling all the notable stories, such as Mohammed's shock over receiving the first Qur'anic revelation; his marriage to the older Khadija; Khadija's Christian cousin Waraqa's recognition of Mohammed's prophecy; his friendship with Abu Bakr, non-Muslim readers will learn a great deal about Islam, and Muslim readers will enjoy the fictionalized re-telling. Interspersed are verses from the Qur'an, which enhance the storyline. Though Mohammed himself does not narrate, the main figures in his life, including his beloved Khadija, Abu Bakr, and Aisha among others, each take a chapter, telling their own version of Mohammed's and early Islam's story. Bachi departs with some long-held views, including his depiction of Mohammed as literate, which will surprise many knowledgeable readers and perhaps not pleasantly. The author's boldness is admirable; it is the rare writer who can question the veil, depict the jealousy of Mohammed's wife Aisha, and portray the lechery of an Arab warrior.
Bilingual Literary Conference Friday, 1st June 2012 
Bilingual Literary Conference Friday, 1st June 2012 
