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US Consul General in Casablanca, Marissa Scott, hosted a special reception to celebrate both Sougrati’s achievement and the strong partnership between Morocco and the US in the area of justice.
Moroccan judge Mina Sougrati has made history by becoming the first Arab woman to be elected President of the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ). Her election took place on April 9 during the IAWJ’s biennial conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
Judge Sougrati’s new role is a “powerful recognition of her leadership, integrity, and commitment to the judiciary,” the US Consulate General in Casablanca said in a press release.
With over 15 years of experience, Sougrati has worked in Morocco’s administrative courts and has been a strong advocate for women’s rights, human rights, and judicial integrity.
In recognition of her achievement, US Consul General in Casablanca, Marissa Scott, hosted a special reception in her honor on April 22. The event also celebrated the strong partnership between Morocco and the US in the area of justice.
The statement recalled that the US government has supported Judge Sougrati’s work since 2016, when she joined a Moroccan women judges’ delegation at the IAWJ’s conference in Washington, D.C.
That experience led to the creation of the Union of Moroccan Women Judges (UMWJ), which Sougrati now leads. The UMWJ is now an important national branch of the IAWJ and works to promote women’s leadership in Morocco’s judicial system
Her election follows the success of the 2023 IAWJ conference held in Marrakech, which was the first in-person gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic. That event brought together more than 1,200 women judges from around the world, including 75 from Morocco and 75 from the US, and strengthened Morocco’s reputation as a regional hub for legal dialogue and reform.
The consulate added that Sougrati’s new leadership position and the ongoing work of the UMWJ reflect the close cooperation between Morocco and the US in justice and security matters.
“Judge Sougrati’s new leadership role underscores Morocco’s commitment to excellence in the judiciary. We look forward to continued collaboration in strengthening judicial institutions,” said Scott.
Meanwhile, Sougrati said that this honor belongs not only to her, “but to every Moroccan woman who has fought for justice, equality, and dignity in the courtroom and beyond.”
The winners and Cultural Personality of the Year will be honoured on April 28, in a ceremony organised in parallel with the 34th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF).
Lebanese-French author Hoda Barakat won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) in the Literature category for her novel Hind or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, published by Dar Aladab in 2024.
The novel explores a new and contemporary idea, revolving around the female protagonist, who suffers from acromegaly.
With a reflective narrative voice, it investigates the life of people who live on the margins of society. Barakat examines the psychological and physical challenges these individuals face, exploring beauty standards in various cultures through complex characters and a rich, analytical, and human-centric voice.
The winners of SZBA along with the Cultural Personality of the Year for the 19th edition were announced after a meeting of the Board of Trustees, which discussed the final results of the thorough evaluation process led by the judging panels and the award’s Scientific Committee, based on the highest literary and cultural standards.
This year’s winners hail from seven countries around the world, including the UK, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco and the UAE. The selection of the winners was based on objective, scientific criteria and rigorous governance upheld by the award.
Moroccan writer Latifa Labsir won the Children’s Literature category for her book The Phantom of Sabiba, released by Markaz Kitab in 2024.
The book addresses the topic of autism, using a sensitive voice that speaks to children and youth. Narrated from the perspective of the elder sister, telling the story of her autistic brother, the novel highlights the need for public awareness and a positive approach to autism, using a refined, artistic style that combines narrative aesthetic and a deep educational message.
In the Translation category, Marco Di Branco from Italy won for his translation of Orosius by Paulus Orosius from Arabic to English, published by Pisa University Press in 2024.
The publication is a notable scientific achievement that brings a classical work to life that had previously been translated from Latin to Arabic before being translated into English in a tone that makes it easier for readers, including Arabic readers, to understand.
The book includes the Arabic and English versions, offering a valuable reference to study Arab cultural exchange with other civilisations.
Said Laouadi from Morocco received the SZBA in the Literary and Art Criticism category for his book Food and Language: Cultural Excavations in Arab Heritage published in 2023 by Afrique Orient.
His work offers a critique of the complex relation between rhetoric and food in Arab heritage, analysing literary texts from poetry to proverbs and stories from a broad cultural perspective.
With its in-depth analysis and broad scope, his research enriches rhetorical studies with new, unconventional approaches.
The Contribution to the Development of Nations category saw Emirati Professor Mohammed Bechari win for his book The Right to Strive: Perspectives on Muslim Women’s Rights, issued in 2024 by Nahdet Misr Publishing.
The book provides a jurisprudential and foundational study of the concept of striving and effort in Islam, highlighting its ability to adapt to modern social developments. It reinforces involving women as equal partners in society, in a straightforward academic approach backed by credible sources, which makes it a notable addition to Arab and international libraries.
UK researcher Andrew Peacock won in the Arab Culture in Other Languages category for his book Arabic Literary Culture in Southeast Asia in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, published by Brill in 2024.
The book offers a scientific study shedding light on the spread of Arabic language and culture in southeast Asia, and its relation to Sufi philosophy and the official discourses of rulers in that region. It opens up new areas of research into the impact of Arab culture beyond its traditional context, making it an invaluable source for researchers in this field.
In the Editing of Arabic Manuscripts category, the SZBA went to Rasheed Alkhayoun from Iraq/UK for his critical edition of the book News of Women, published by the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies in 2024.
The book is a rare resource on the subject, featuring advanced scientific research where the editor exhibited a deep understanding of the text and its historicity. The book provides a valuable contribution to literary and historical studies, and is considered one of the first global collections of women’s works.
The 19th edition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award honoured renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami as the Cultural Personality of the Year, in recognition of his creative career and widespread literary influence, unbound by borders, impacting both Arab and Western cultures. His works are widely read and translated around the world, reflecting literature’s ability to bring differing cultures closer together.
Murakami is one of the most prominent and popular contemporary novelists, with millions of copies of his novels printed every year and translated into numerous languages, including Arabic. His literature is characterised by its universality, expressing human concerns that transcend cultural boundaries, with a unique blend of Japanese literature and international influences. His writings are renowned for their ability to explore issues of identity, belonging, and individual freedom in a distinctive narrative style that combines realism and fantasy.
The winners and Cultural Personality of the Year for the 19th edition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award will be honoured on April 28, in a ceremony organised in parallel with the 34th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF).
The winner of the Cultural Personality of the Year award is presented with a gold medal, a certificate of appreciation, and a prize of AED1 million, while winners in the other categories receive a prize of AED750,000, along with gold medal and a certificate of appreciation, in honour of their outstanding creative and intellectual contributions.
The 19th edition of the SZBA, organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, received a record-breaking number of submissions with more than 4,000 applications sent in from 75 countries, including 20 Arab nations. Five countries participated in the award for the first time this year, namely, Albania, Bolivia, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mali.
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is one of the most prominent independent literary and academic prizes; it adds notable value to the global cultural scene, supports publishing and translation, and honours creators, thinkers, and publishers for their accomplishments in research, writing, and translation. The award plays a key role in encouraging cultural diversity and building bridges between civilisations, driven by its vision to promote dialogue, openness, and knowledge exchange among nations.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced the selection of Khaled AlShehhi, Executive Director of Marketing and Communication at the UAE Government Media Office, as the first government sector representative worldwide to join the jury of this prestigious festival, established 72 years ago.
This appointment, to the prestigious PR Lions awarding jury, reflects the Festival’s recognition of the UAE’s achievements in shaping innovative, forward-thinking marketing communications.
The UAE Government Media Office has earned over 220 international accolades, including multiple Cannes Lions awards, a 4th-place global ranking in the Effie Index for effective marketing, and recognition as the 2022 Global Brand of the Year by the AME New York Festival.
Khaled AlShehhi’s selection highlights the nation’s commitment to creative excellence and effective public-sector communications on the global stage. AlShehhi has also been widely recognised across the industry. He was named Advertising Person of the Year at Dubai Lynx 2023 and earned the 2023 Loeries Marketing Leadership & Innovation Award, becoming the first Middle Eastern recipient in that show’s 45-year history. Among his other accolades are the 2022 Effie MENA Honorary Award and the 2022 World Media Group Award for Content Leadership & Innovation.
He also serves on the Board of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) in the Middle East and North Africa, and is a member of the Strategic Council of the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA), actively contributing to the growth and development of the region’s communications industry.
Khaled AlShehhi, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at the UAE Government Media Office, said, “It is a privilege to join the Cannes Lions jury, an opportunity that not only underscores our organisation’s achievements globally but also highlights the UAE’s belief in the power of creativity to shape impactful government communications. For me, true creativity begins with a heart-racing insight, and it only grows stronger when you dare to bring it to life. If an idea doesn’t shake you a bit, it’s probably not bold enough to capture hearts and transform realities. I look forward to sharing our perspective and learning from the world’s finest PR campaigns. I am grateful to work in an environment that consistently nurtures bold ideas and encourages pioneering strategies. This culture of innovation enables us to produce campaigns that resonate locally and globally, and I hope to bring those insights to the jury table.
Simon Cook, CEO of Lions, commented, “We are delighted to welcome Khaled AlShehhi to the PR Lions jury. His innovative work in government communications and ongoing commitment to creative excellence in the region and beyond, means he is well placed to represent the region on the global stage. The UAE Government Media Office’s consistent success at Cannes Lions – winning for three consecutive years and the UAE’s ranking at eighth in the Cannes Lions Global Creativity Index highlight the remarkable strides the nation has made in recent years.”
AlShehhi will join leading global professionals in Cannes this June to evaluate groundbreaking PR campaigns, culminating in the Awards Show on 20 June 2025. This appointment stands as a testament to the UAE’s creative influence and its increasing leadership on the international stage.
In the late 1920s, the Italian fascist regime implemented a campaign of ethnic cleansing in eastern Libya to create more land for Italian settlers and quell armed resistance to colonization. Ali Abdullatif Ahmida’s new book, Genocide in Libya: Shar, a Hidden Colonial History, examines this forgotten case of settler-colonial violence and the processes that led to the forced relocation of over 100,000 Libyans to special camps, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands. Ali Abdullatif Ahmida is founding chair and professor of political science at the University of New England. Jacob Mundy, associate professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University and a member of MERIP’s editorial committee, interviewed him in February 2022.
Jacob Mundy: The project of Italian settler colonialism in Libya is not well known, even among regional specialists. Can you provide a short sketch based on your work? You describe it as brief but intense.
Ali AbdullatifAhmida: Italy looked at Libya as the “fourth shore,” an extension of Italy like the French treated Algeria—the same mentality. It was a shorter period of colonization (1911–1943) but very brutal. The dream was designed by the so-called liberal colonial state in 1911. The goal was to settle between 500,000 and 1 million Italians, especially the landless peasants from southern and central Italy. They were supposed to be settled mainly in eastern Libya, in the fertile Green Mountain area. The Italian settlers also thought that they would be welcomed by the local population, assuming the Libyans had resented Ottoman rule (1551–1911). That was a big miscalculation. The Libyan resistance to Italian occupation continued for a long time.
When the fascists under Benito Mussolini arrived in 1922, they came with an even more vicious, more brutal plan—they decided to clear the land of Indigenous people. The concentration camps are, as I argue in the book, linked to the clearing of the land for the settlers and especially to defeating the resistance in eastern Libya. The draconian Italian policy was to move the native civilian population that supported the anti-colonial resistance—between 100,000–110,000 people with their herds—to the deserts of Sirte. Two-thirds of them perished there. The first wave of settlers, a major wave of 20,000, arrived in 1938.
The other myth among the Italian elite was that Italian immigrants were mistreated in South America, North America and other places. The settlers believed that since Libya had been part of the Roman Empire they were simply reclaiming it so they could have a place of their own. The idea of reviving Roman Africa was a very integral part of the propaganda to justify colonization. And after that, more settlers came. Although the Italian fascist experiment in colonialism ended in 1943, when they were defeated by the Allies in World War II, many settlers stayed until 1970.
Jacob: Libya’s population was roughly 1.5 million at independence in 1951, so the ethnic cleansing campaign may have targeted upwards of 10 percent of the population. Why has settler colonialism in Libya, particularly the violence that made it possible, received so little scrutiny?
Ali: Libya is least known in Western scholarship—and even among scholars of North Africa—for historical reasons. Settler colonialism in French North Africa—Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco—is very well known because of its long domination and control. There is a whole body of literature, and we are still dealing with its legacies. Even the definition of the Maghrib often excludes Libya. And you know, after 1969, Libya was not open to Western scholars. Only a small number of scholars were let in—Lisa Anderson, Dirk Vanderwalle and a few others. This situation was very different from other countries. I spent 15 years investigating and researching the genocide because nobody knew about it. When I published Forgotten Voices, I was invited to Yale, UCLA, Columbia and other major institutions in North America and Europe, and the first thing I would ask is “Have you guys heard about the concentration camps in Libya?” No one knew about them, which confirmed for me that the Libyan case had dropped out of modern scholarship.
Jacob: In genocide studies, there are always references to the Namibian (Herero-Nama) and Armenian genocides as a precursor to the Holocaust. How did the case of the Italian genocide in Libya also become an important predecessor to the World War II genocides in Europe?
Ali: I was reading an Italian journal published in Libya, and I read about a visit by [the Nazi military leader Hermann] Goering that was reported as a glorious visit to the colony. When I pursued that lead I discovered, according to a German historian, that Nazi leaders—not just Goering but Heinrich Himmler and others—visited Libya because they thought that Italian Fascism was the most successful example of clearing the land and paving the way for settling, which went along with the Nazi dream of settling 15 million people in Eastern Europe. And that was an incredibly horrific discovery.
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I discovered, according to a German historian, that Nazi leaders—not just Goering but Heinrich Himmler and others—visited Libya because they thought that Italian Fascism was the most successful example of clearing the land and paving the way for settling, which went along with the Nazi dream of settling 15 million people in Eastern Europe.
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I hope my book will start a new debate, a new paradigm shift: that we begin to pay attention to the fact that the Libyan case, even more alongside the German colonial experience, is linked to European history and genocide studies. The Libyan case is the most glaring and the most powerful example of colonial genocide in North Africa, but, at the same time, it has been ignored for 70, 80 years. I hope that this book will be a real turning point—that we begin to dig more, ask new questions and see the linkages. And that we place more pressure on the Italian state to open currently closed archives.
Jacob: I was really struck by your discussion of the Italians’ use of Eritrean auxiliaries—askaris—as a security force. That fact exposes the weakness of analyses rooted in neatly enclosed nation states or regions like “Europe,” “the Maghrib” and “the Mediterranean.”
Ali: Mediterranean studies, to me, is a noble idea, but it’s also quaint and ahistorical and misses the real social history, the interconnections, the contradictions, the linkages and the ability to ask the hard questions. My book is asking hard questions. I try to confront two dominant paradigms—the old nationalist paradigm that I was brought into as a youngster coming from my family that was involved directly in Libyan anti-colonial resistance and by my whole education. And secondly, the area studies paradigm. I edited a book in 2000 called Beyond Colonialism and Nationalism in the Maghrib to question these things, and it was published in Arabic after a lot of reluctance because they didn’t like my critique of nationalism.
The askaris are very important because Eritrea became a source of poor peasant labor for Italy just like North Africa was a source of poor peasants who tried to make ends meet by becoming colonial soldiers in the World Wars. The askaris and Libyans who collaborated with the Italians open a whole can of worms because of that complexity. That history we’re talking about is in eastern Africa, in northern Africa and in Italy. The terrain is very, very complex. And it’s not just an area, this country or that country. We also have to deal with postcolonial conflicts over who became a Libyan citizen, who became an eminent personality, who was deported and the legacies of these institutions and boundaries that still echo around the region.
This book [Genocide in Libya] is not meant to be conclusive, but to bring out Libya and Libya’s brutal, genocidal colonial history. And to get rid of that common and really absurd way of thinking that goes “I don’t know anything about Libya, so I’m going to talk about tribalism, I’m going to talk about [Muammar] al-Qaddafi, about regionalism or religion.” Who doesn’t have regions? Who doesn’t have these social complexities?
Jacob: What was the process that led you, as a political scientist, to explore alternative archival sources, particularly given the Italian policy of colonial amnesia surrounding these atrocities? This genocide has been an open secret in Italian history. How did it become one of those things that is known but not talked about?
Ali: Yes, it’s almost like a secret unless you go through with the work. Otherwise, you don’t understand—you are not even aware of it.
I was guided by a group of terrific Jewish American professors [in political science] at the University of Washington. My late mentor was Daniel Lev, who was not interested in typical political science models and quantifying, so he pushed me and my classmates to understand the historical, the theoretical, the comparative and the critical. And then Daniel Chirot and our beloved Ellis Goldberg. They all pushed me to do the comparative work and go beyond area studies but also to take social history very seriously. Michel Foucault said that we need to investigate the history of the present. So, in that sense, I was really lured into doing historical sociology—not just historical sociology of the Middle East but also Africa and Europe—as well as anthropology. I took four courses in anthropology to prepare for archival and oral history. And so, for my dissertation, I did archival research and oral interviews because most of it was about the nineteenth century and early twentieth century.
So what happened? I learned Italian and I went to Italy to do archival research. And I went to Libya and Egypt to do archival research. The problem was that they kicked me out of the archives. It turned out that some officials at the Italian archives were ex-colonial officers and somewhat fascist. Later I realized that many fascist officials were rehabilitated by the Allies and Italy never confronted its fascist past, especially in the colonies. The second important thing is that Italian society, with a few exceptions, still refuses to confront the horrors of the colonial period, especially in Libya. Angelo del Boca, Giorgio Rochat and Eric Salerno have written on these issues, but the Libyan genocide was otherwise completely ignored. It was then I discovered that the secrecy in Italy is really an issue. If you don’t understand this as a researcher, your work is really doomed.
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But then Angelo del Boca told me, “Ali, don’t even bother. I spent 40 years in the archives. There is nothing there. They manipulated the archives.” Del Boca—a fine historian, a giant standing against the silence and amnesia—advised me to go talk to Libyan survivors.
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But then Angelo del Boca told me, “Ali, don’t even bother. I spent 40 years in the archives. There is nothing there. They manipulated the archives.” Del Boca—a fine historian, a giant standing against the silence and amnesia—advised me to go talk to Libyan survivors. And I went to Libya and asked Libyan scholars of Italy who told me the same thing. And that was the best thing I have done—to go to eastern Libya every summer for ten years to try to find the survivors. I interviewed some people three times to make sure that the stories were correct. And then, after that, I went with my camera to the location of the concentration camps, and I took photos and did fieldwork. What I discovered was more shocking than I had expected, especially when I came face to face with the cemeteries and the mass graves. That was the most painful experience in the whole decade and a half of doing research.
Why should we assume the archive has facts? It reflects certain secrets of a state, a certain narrative, a certain language. And unless we really contextualize it, we become part of the problem. We need to look very carefully at archives, and the archive is sometimes a part of the problem. And the fact that we can’t find something doesn’t mean that we cannot do history or analyze institutions or tragedies like genocide.
Jacob: What do you have to say to scholars who question the evidentiary status of oral testimony and poetry, which is so central to this book?
Ali: If you take seriously the humanity and the agency of ordinary people and the way they express themselves, they are very articulate. But to listen and comprehend what they are saying, and how they’re saying it, we need to be reflexive. Like the anthropologists for the last 40 years, when they began to say, “Gee, our discipline was invented by the colonial state as colonial knowledge, and we need to confront that.” I’m not saying that the postcolonial turn is the solution, but I was educated in independent Libya and also in Egypt, in college where modernization was the dominant paradigm. It dismissed ordinary peasants and ordinary folks; everything had to be a formal document.
What I did [in Genocide in Libya] was what the anthropologist did—to look, pay attention with respect and take the agency of the ordinary survivors very seriously. And then understand the language, their metaphor, their style and their mode of communication, and how they express themselves through a very incredible memory of what happened in the camps. They composed poetry to express the agony, the trauma, the grieving. So I had to, at the beginning, overcome my own modern education. And I began to understand a language within a language or culture within the culture; most of them were semi-nomads and I had to understand that to comprehend the ways they express themselves—they were articulate, they were brilliant. I think I find that my previous attitude, and forgive me, some of my colleagues who dismiss [oral testimony] as not evidence, it’s very arrogant and very patronizing.
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You see that they clearly remember the fascist officers and generals who tried to get rid of them—all the agonies, all the moments of despair, of the horrors that happened to them.
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Yes, you do interrogate the evidence. Yes, you verify the interviews. Yes, you compare with the written evidence, and you do all of that. But when you treat ordinary folks with respect, take them as equal human beings expressing themselves with their own creative, cultural way, it really opens a new horizon. You see that they clearly remember the fascist officers and generals who tried to get rid of them—all the agonies, all the moments of despair, of the horrors that happened to them. That’s really the story of millions of peasants and ordinary folks all over the globe who were victims of genocide. And I think that’s why elitist dismissal really, I’m afraid, reproduces racist attitudes.
Jacob: The final part of the book, where you link colonial violence to Libya’s troubled present, reminded me of debates about Algeria in the 1990s and the extent to which the violence of the civil war was (or was not) rooted in the colonial experience. You raised this question with respect to what has happened in Libya since 2011. How do you make those historical linkages?
Ali: Well, I’m glad you asked. That question is very significant. Algerian and Libyan history are probably the most brutal; they went through the most brutal settler-colonial experiences in North Africa. No wonder they are similar in many ways, and I think it’s something the postcolonial state and societies still grapple with.
What I tried to do after excavating and interrogating what happened in the camps and the genocide is to ask myself, how does it directly impact the postcolonial period? We had so much pain and so many wounds, so many people who collaborated, people who resisted, people who were murdered, people who were hanged, people who were pushed into exile. Under the monarchy and Qaddafi’s Jamahiriya State, in many ways, there were efforts to try to break the silence [on the genocide], but in a really top-down way. But then some of the violence used against opponents echoed some of the violence of the colonial state. I don’t say that so bluntly in the book, but I feel like this way of dismissing critics, opposition and rivals in society has really impacted Libya.
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Under the monarchy and Qaddafi’s Jamahiriya State, in many ways, there were efforts to try to break the silence [on the genocide], but in a really top-down way. But then some of the violence used against opponents echoed some of the violence of the colonial state.
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The Qaddafi regime and the monarchy made a choice as the leaders of Libyan independence to focus on moving forward. But I think it was wishful thinking. The state was built, and the modernization and education were spectacular. But the Qaddafi regime also built its legitimacy on populism. “Nobody cared about you!”—that’s what Qaddafi used to shout all the time to Libyans. He began to make that part of his legitimacy and that of the revolutionary government, a so-called populist government, that it was giving you justice and a voice after what had happened under the Italians. Then, the 2011 uprising came, which unfortunately turned into a civil war, taken over by militias and mercenaries and foreign groups and tremendous, unprecedented corruption. At the early stage [of the uprising], the young men and women who protested in eastern Libya took the anti-colonial resistance heroes, Omar Mukhtar and others, away from the regime.
The repression of memory and collective amnesia that exists until today is really the challenge of the future. This book is not just a scholarly book; I wanted to do a thorough investigation. I saw myself as investigating collective crime, and therefore I had to be thorough, I had to be really patient, and I had to follow the trails. But in Libya, people say, “Professor, this is good what you did, but tell us how to resolve our current problems.” They are referring to the civil war, fragmentation, infighting, the collapse of the police and the army and the blocking of rebuilding. I say, first of all, Libya is big, and regionalism is a fact. But it’s not unusual for large countries to have problems with regionalism. Secondly, what country that has 20 million pieces of arms and weaponry, and had its police, its army, security operatives and borders completely dismantled—wouldn’t be fragmented? They are looking for a simple recipe, a book to provide the solution, but history and postcolonial cultures are complex and contradictory.
How to cite this article:
Ali Abdullatif Ahmida, Jacob Mundy “Genocide, Historical Amnesia and Italian Settler Colonialism in Libya—An Interview with Ali Abdullatif Ahmida,” Middle East Report 302 (Spring 2022).
source/content: merip.org (headline edited)
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This original research on the forgotten Libyan genocide specifically recovers the hidden history of the fascist Italian concentration camps (1929–1934) through the oral testimonies of Libyan survivors. This book links the Libyan genocide through cross-cultural and comparative readings to the colonial roots of the Holocaust and genocide studies. / Part of the cover of Ali Abdullatif Ahmida’s new book, “Genocide in Libya: Shar, a Hidden Colonial History,” published by Routledge, 2021.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has re-elected Hamad Salem Al Muhairi, Assistant Director-General of the Aviation Security Affairs Sector at the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), as Chairperson of the ICAO Aviation Security Panel for the third consecutive year.
This decision was made during the Panel’s meeting held at ICAO Headquarters in Montréal, Canada, on 7th April 2025, in the presence of ICAO Secretariat representatives and technical officers of the Panel.
The ICAO Aviation Security Panel includes 33 experts representing 193 Member States of the Organisation.
Al Muhairi’s re-election underscores the continued international trust in the expertise of Emirati professionals and reflects the UAE’s distinguished global standing and active leadership in shaping the future of civil aviation security.
Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the GCAA Board, stated,” Al Muhairi’s re-election is a testament to the UAE’s growing influence and reputation in the global civil aviation sector. It reinforces the international community’s confidence in our national talents and their ability to contribute meaningfully to global aviation safety and security.”
He pointed out the UAE’s commitment to continuing its efforts, in cooperation with its partners at the regional and international levels, to support the growth and sustainability of the global aviation sector.
Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the GCAA, stated, “This achievement reflects the UAE’s strong commitment to actively contributing to the development of the global civil aviation security system. It also reaffirms the country’s position as an influential partner in shaping international aviation policies and as a leading hub for the exchange of best practices and expertise with partners from around the world.”
Awards, most prestigious in Muslim world, recognize outstanding achievements in science, medicine, Islamic studies, Arabic language and literature, service to Islam.
The King Faisal Prize ceremony, held on Monday night under the patronage of King Salman in Riyadh, honored six distinguished laureates whose contributions have significantly advanced their fields and enriched humanity.
Held under the auspices of King Salman, Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar handed over the awards to laureates at the event’s 47th edition.
Several princes, senior government officials, academics and scientists attended the ceremony at Prince Sultan’s Grand Hall at the Al-Faisaliah Center.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, thanked the dignitaries for attending and congratulated the laureates.
Scholars and experts in service to Islam, Islamic studies, medicine, and science gathered in the Saudi capital to celebrate excellence, knowledge, and service.
This year’s Service to Islam Prize was awarded jointly to two laureates from Saudi Arabia. The Tebyan Qur’an Project by Liajlehum Association for Serving People with Disabilities was recognized for developing the world’s first complete Qur’anic interpretation in sign language, making the sacred text accessible to the deaf community and promoting inclusivity in Islamic education.
The second laureate, Sami Abdullah Almaqlouth, was honored for his outstanding efforts in mapping and preserving historic Islamic sites through his work at the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information. His documentation supports cultural preservation and public awareness of Islamic heritage.
The Islamic Studies Prize, awarded for archaeological studies in the Arabian Peninsula, was also shared between two scholars. Prof. Saad Abdulaziz Alrashid, a leading Saudi archaeologist, was recognized for his foundational contributions to the study of Islamic inscriptions and archaeological heritage. His work has laid the groundwork for a new generation of scholars and brought international attention to the region’s historic richness.
Prof. Said Faiz Alsaid, another prominent Saudi figure in the field, was honored for his comparative studies of Arabian epigraphy and his contributions to decoding the ancient civilizations of the peninsula, bridging pre-Islamic history with Islamic archaeology.
The Arabic Language and Literature Prize on the topic of studies of identity in Arabic literature was withheld this year as the works nominated did not meet the standards of the selection committee.
The Medicine Prize, awarded for cellular therapy, went to Prof. Michel Sadelain, director of the Center for Cell Engineering at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
He was recognized for his pioneering work in CAR-T cell therapy, a breakthrough cancer treatment that involves genetically modifying immune cells to target and destroy tumors. His research has opened new possibilities in treating leukemia and other previously incurable diseases, marking a milestone in medical innovation.
The Science Prize, focusing on physics this year, was awarded to Prof. Sumio Iijima of Japan. Known as the father of carbon nanotubes, his 1991 discovery of these cylindrical nanostructures revolutionized the field of nanotechnology.
Carbon nanotubes are now used in cutting-edge applications across electronics, materials science, energy storage, and even biomedicine. His discovery laid the foundation for countless technological innovations in the 21st century.
The KFP was established in 1977, and was awarded for the first time in 1979 in three categories — service to Islam, Islamic studies, and Arabic language and literature. Two additional categories were introduced in 1981 — medicine and science. The first medicine prize was awarded in 1982, and in science two years later.
Since its inception in 1977 and its first awards in 1979, the KFP has recognized 301 laureates from 45 nationalities who have made outstanding contributions to Islam, knowledge, and humanity.
Each of the five prize categories is endowed with SR750,000 ($200,000), a 24-carat gold medal and a certificate signed by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal.
King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) has revealed that it acquired 400 rare copies of the Holy Qur’an from various Islamic eras, especially manuscripts from the 10th to 13th centuries AH.
The collection is a treasure trove embracing the radiance of Arab and Islamic art in calligraphy, engravings, designing, illumination, and creativity.
Notable among these rare copies of the Qur’an is a roll with the Ayatul Qursi (The Throne Verse) and other decorations engraved along its length. It was colored and gilded with plant decorations at the beginning and end. The text was written within two gilded frames. It was copied by Fakhr al-Din al-Suhrawardi in 1284 AH.
Another of the rare Qur’an copies consists of 30 sheets, with two facing pages forming a complete part of the Holy Book. The first page was decorated with wonderful plant motifs in which bright colors and gold water were used. The rest of the pages were arranged and were completely gilded. The side frames contain colored and gilded plant motifs. This was copied in the Naskh script in 1240 AH/1824 AD.
There is also a copy of the whole Qur’an, from Surat Al-Fatiha to Surat An-Nas, written in black ink with diacritical marks inside red and blue tables. It was completed in Makkah in the month of Ramadan 1025 AH (1616 AD) by venerable scholar Mulla Ali Al-Qari.
There is another copy that contains the complete Qur’an, written in black ink with precise diacritics within golden panels. At the beginning of some suras, there are floral and geometric designs decorated with gold leaf and a number of color combinations. It was written in 920 AH, (1514 AD), and is bound in leather.
Among the notable possessions is also a complete copy of the Qur’an, written in black ink with precise diacritics within tables colored in gold, green, red, and blue. It was decorated with plant motifs dyed with gold water. This is considered one of the royal manuscripts, written with great care over a long period of time. It is also bound in waxed leather decorated with gold-colored motifs and flowers with the beauty of Islamic art.
The library owns a distinctive Holy Qur’an written in the 13th century AH. The decorative colors are blue, red, white, and gold, in the form of roses, small circles, and flowers. The Qur’an was written in the Naskh script, known for its extended and clear letters. It was written in black, with punctuation marks also in black.
A Holy Qur’an written in the 13th century AH contains floral and geometric decorations with coloring and gilding and golden clouds between the lines. It was written in a creative style called “mirror”, where a letter or word in the first line corresponds to the last line, and so each line corresponds to a line according to the type of correspondence.
The collection of Qur’ans in the King Abdulaziz Public Library is distinguished by several types that can be viewed in different ways — the type of script, the region in which it was written, the date of its copying, or its decoration.
All the Qur’ans in the library have decorative intros and conclusions. In addition, there are early Andalusian and Moroccan Qur’ans written on square parchment, as well as Indian Qur’ans with various plant decorations. There are also examples of beautiful Chinese and Kashmiri Qur’ans, as well as some Mamluk examples.
As for the scripts, they range from the Kufic to the Naskh, Thuluth, Timbuktu, and the late Sudanese, in addition to the scripts of the Levant, Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen, as well as many Najdi and Hijazi Qur’ans, indicating the richness of Islamic arts. Each Islamic nation added its own artistic visions and color combinations, decorations, and culture in transcribing the Holy Book.
The fourth Hollywood Arab Film Festival (HAFF), celebrating Arab Heritage Month from 9 to 13 April at Hollywood Universal Studio Cinema in California, will feature multiple Egyptian films, including Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo and The Tale of Daye’s Family.
Actor Ahmed Helmy will receive the Life Achievement Award, and actress Elham Shaheen will head the jury panel.
Directed by Egyptian filmmaker Karim El-Shenawy, The Tale of Daye’s Family (Daye: Seret Ahl El Daye) will open HAFF.
The Tale of Daye’s Family: Opening film
The Egyptian-Saudi co-production Daye, written by Haitham Dabbour, follows the story of an 11-year-old albino Nubian boy who dreams of going on a magical journey from south to north Egypt to pursue his dream of becoming a singer.
Daye, the first Egyptian film to feature an albino actor as the protagonist, had its world premiere as the opening film of the fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival and competed at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The film stars Saudi actress Aseel Omran, Sudanese actress Islam Mubarak, and Egyptian actors Haneen Said and Badr Mohamed.
El-Shennawy directed the highly successful TV series Lam Shamseya (2025), screened during Ramadan. The series shed light on the unique topics of child sexual abuse and family disintegration.
He also directed the film Gunshot (2018), which starred Ahmad El-Fishawi, Mohamed Mamdouh, and Rubi. Before that, El-Shenawy was an assistant director (AD) in several noteworthy productions, including Mohamed Diab’s Clash (2016), which garnered over a dozen awards, including four wins at the Carthage Film Festival (2016) and countless nominations, including at the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival.
Clash was Egypt’s nomination to the Academy Awards but was not shortlisted.
Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo: Screened in the Narrative Feature section
Six films will compete in the upcoming edition of HAFF, including Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo by Khaled Mansour.
The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti Extra section at the 81st Venice International Film Festival (28 August—7 September 2024). It was then screened in numerous festivals and released commercially in Arab countries.
The drama film tells the story of Hassan (Essam Omar), a young man in his thirties who is forced to confront his past fears. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery, which includes a quest to save his dog and best friend, Rambo, from an unknown fate.
HAFF will also screen Mira Shaib’s Arze (Lebanon), Oday Rasheed’s If You See Something (Iraq), Hala Matar’s Electra (Bahrain), and Sina Mohammed’s Transient Happiness (Kurdistan).
Additionally, 16 short films will compete in the short film section, including the Egyptian film Wishes For My Heart (Sherine Diab), Jordanian films The Chant (May Ghouti) and Shadows (Rand Beiruty), Syrian film Weaning (Houssam Hamo), and Algerian film NYA (Imene Ayadi).
Ahmed Helmy: Life Achievement Award
During the festival’s activities, actor Ahmed Helmy will receive the Life Achievement Award, and his film Sorry for the Disturbance (2008) by Khaled Marei will be screened, followed by a discussion.
Helmy, a High Institute for Theatre graduate, is one of the region’s most popular artists.
He launched his career on television with the programme Laab Eyal (Kids’ Games). He rose to stardom in 1999 for his role in Sherif Arafa’s comedy Aboud Ala El-Hedoud (Aboud on the Borders), which starred Karim Abdel Aziz.
He has starred in over 25 successful feature films, including Sahar El-Layaly (2003), Saye Bahr (2004), Zaky Chan (2005), Alf Mabrouk (2009), Bolbol Hairan (2009), Horoob Etirari: Forced Escape (2017), and Scarecrow (2019), among many others. He also voices a storyteller in Amr Salama’s 2014 film La Moakhza (Excuse my French).
Helmy is a prominent promoter of children’s rights and often raises awareness on early childhood development issues in the region.
Elham Shaheen – Head of Jury
Egyptian actress Elham Shahine has been appointed the head of the jury for the narrative feature films programme.
Shaheen launched her career with director Kamal Yassin, who gave her a role in his play made for television, Hooreya Men Al Marikh (Mermaid from Mars).
She then went on to star in numerous TV series, including Akhu El Banat (Brother of the Sisters), A’al El-Bahr (The Ocean Said), Hatta la Yakhtaniq Al-Hob (So Love Doesn’t Suffocate), Nisf Rabia Al-Akhar (The Second Half of Spring), Layaly El-Helmeya (Nights of Helmeya), and Samhoony, Makansh Asdy (I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Mean To).
She also won many awards for her roles in The Gentle and Ya Dunia Ya Gharamy (Oh World, Oh my Love).
HAFF
The 4th edition introduces the new programme, Voices from Los Angeles, which includes screening six films by young filmmakers from American universities.
The festival launched the first edition of HAFF industry days, where five projects in development are competing: Egyptian film The Land Beyond by Nadine Salib, Iraqi film Madness and Honey Days by Ahmed Yassin, Sudanese film Blue Card by Mohamed El-Omda, Lebanese film Plus One by Zayn Alexander, and Palestinian film The Hearse to the Final House of Happiness by Wisam Al-Jafari.
Organized in the heart of Hollywood by the Hollywood Arab Film Festival Foundation, HAFF showcases Arab narrative, documentary, and short films.
Dozens of renowned filmmakers are expected to attend.
The Emirates Libraries and Information Association (ELIA) celebrates Arabic Manuscript Day each year on April 4th to honour the rich history of Arab and Islamic knowledge. This day recognises the importance of Arabic manuscripts, which serve as valuable sources of information and cultural records showcasing the contributions of Arab and Muslim scholars in many areas of study.
To mark this occasion, the association is hosting a symposium called “Manuscripts: Their History and Present,” in collaboration with the Sharjah Heritage Institute. The event will feature well-known researcher Prof. Dr. Bashar Awad, who will discuss how Arabic manuscripts have developed over time, their significance in preserving our shared history, and the challenges they face due to modern technology.
Fahad Al Maamari, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Library and Information Association, highlighted that this celebration shows the association’s dedication to protecting our written heritage and increasing understanding of its importance. He pointed out that manuscripts are not just old documents; they represent the creativity of Arab thinkers and serve as a link between the past, present, and future.
Through events like this, the association aims to promote efforts to preserve, restore, and digitize these manuscripts, ensuring they are accessible for future generations and can be used in various research and academic endeavors.
