Navid Kermani (born 27 November 1967 in Siegen, Germany) is a German writer and orientalist. He is the author of several novels as well as books and essays on Islam, the Middle East and Christian-Muslim dialogue. He has won numerous prizes for his literary and academic work, including the Peace Prize of the German Publishers' Association on 18 June 2015.

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. 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. 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.

In English translation

Awards and distinctions

Other activities

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,, Kermani, and Salomon Korn jointly received the prize on 26 November 2009. Kermani donated his share of the award to a Christian priest.

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. He lives in Cologne.