As a novelist I was interested to read the views of Abdelhamid Akkar. The president of the Union of Moroccan writers (UEM), Abdelhamid Akkar, considered that Moroccan intellectuals are called to strengthen their presence in society and express their opinions about the social changes that are taking place.
In an interview published on Sunday by the Moroccan daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, Akkar indicated that Moroccan intellectuals have to “search for an added value in the field of their speciality and be interested in analysing and treating the diverse social issues”.
The president of the UEM emphasised the importance of respecting the freedom of expression within the limits of the acceptance of the other, adding that the intellectual cannot develop this added value in the absence of creation and innovation.
In this context, he stressed that the UEM, as space of dialogue, will pursue its mission which consists in setting up a cultural approach aiming to contribute to solving the social conflicts, defending the plurality and the presence of social issues in the cultural programme of the UEM in this season.
Abdelhamid Akkar became president of the Union of Moroccan Writers at the 16th congress when the replaced the poet Hassan Nejmi who had run the Union for six years. Akkar is a little known 59-year old literature critic who spent thirteen years within the union's central bureau, from 1983 to 1996.
Born in the 1940s, Akkar wrote mainly in the 70s and the 80s, and published several articles in magazines such as “Tarbaouia” or “Anfi.” From 1981 to 1984, Akkar directed the Arabic language magazine “Jossour.” He also used to publish articles in dailies such as “Anoual”, “Al Bayane”, “Al Quds Al Arabi” and “Asharq Al Awssat.” A literature critic and a researcher, Akkar is now a university professor in Rabat.
Tags: Morocco, Fès, literature, Fez,
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