Table Of Contentss s s
rr r r
ee e e
‘This volume on the work of Navid Kermani, Iranian-German writer, Islamic scholar and
the first German Muslim awarded the prestigious German Book Trade Peace Prize in kk k k
2015, could not have come at a more opportune moment. Few writers have written aa a a
as compellingly and thoughtfully about the urgency for peaceful assimilation into the mm m m
European fabric as Kermani. This is an important contribution to the literature on
questions of immigration, cultural identity and integration, tolerance, and resistance N mm m m
to extremism, not only in Germany but the world over.’ a
—Professor Azade Seyhan, Bryn Mawr College v ll l l
id ii i i
Navid Kermani – author, journalist and academic – is one of the most prominent public FF F F
K
intellectuals in Germany today. Kermani has been at the forefront of recent debates about
e
dd d d
Islam and its role in Germany’s political, social and cultural life. Instead of emphasizing r
m
the differences between ethnic affiliations and religious beliefs, Kermani questions nn n n
a
the Western notion of a clear dividing line between Islam, Christianity and Judaism,
n aa a a
highlighting instead their affinities. In addition to his political essays, Kermani’s travel i
journalism introduces western audiences to diverse Muslim societies in the world and ss s s
his fiction provides accessible meditations on first love, contemporary music, death rr r r
and friendship. ee e e
tt t t
This is the first volume of criticism in English dedicated to Kermani’s varied work. The
ii i i
book features an extensive interview with the author, a reproduction in German and rr r r
D
English of Kermani’s famous 2014 Bundestag speech and a collection of critical essays WW W W
r
u
on Kermani’s writing. The essays, by major scholars in the field, cover issues such as
x
e
gender, religion, cosmopolitanism, mystical experiences, and the power of the liberal s
, nn n n
arts in a time of neoliberal distraction. M
a Navid Kermani aa a a
Helga Druxes is Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Williams College. c
h mm m m
Her books include Resisting Bodies: The Negotiation of Female Agency in Twentieth- ta
n
Century Women Writers (1996), The Feminization of Dr. Faustus: Female Identity Quests s rr r r
from Stendhal to Morgner (1993) and, with Patricia Simpson, Far Right Digital Media a ee e e
n
Strategies Across Europe and North America (2015). d GG G G
M
Karolin Machtans is Assistant Professor of German Studies at Connecticut College. She is
the author of Zwischen Wissenschaft und autobiographischem Projekt: Saul Friedländer ih
a Helga Druxes, yy y y
und Ruth Klüger (2009) and co-editor, with Martin Ruehl, of Hitler – Films from Germany: ilo rr r r
History, Cinema, and Politics since 1945 (2012). v Karolin Machtans and aa a a
i
c
Alexandar Mihailovic is Professor Emeritus of Russian and Comparative Literature at ( rr r r
e Alexandar Mihailovic (eds)
Hofstra University and a Visiting Professor of Literature at Bennington College. He is d oo o o
the author of Corporeal Words: Mikhail Bakhtin’s Theology of Discourse (1997) and the s) pp p p
edited volume Tchaikovsky and His Contemporaries (1999). He has published on on
mm m m
religious studies, nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian and Ukrainian literature,
cultural relations during the Cold War, and LGBTQ and gender.
ee e e
ISBN 978-3-0343-1886-0
tt t t
nn n n
oo o o
www.peterlang.com Peter Lang
CC C C
ss s s
rr r r
ee e e
‘This volume on the work of Navid Kermani, Iranian-German writer, Islamic scholar and
the first German Muslim awarded the prestigious German Book Trade Peace Prize in kk k k
2015, could not have come at a more opportune moment. Few writers have written aa a a
as compellingly and thoughtfully about the urgency for peaceful assimilation into the mm m m
European fabric as Kermani. This is an important contribution to the literature on
questions of immigration, cultural identity and integration, tolerance, and resistance N mm m m
to extremism, not only in Germany but the world over.’ a
—Professor Azade Seyhan, Bryn Mawr College v ll l l
id ii i i
Navid Kermani – author, journalist and academic – is one of the most prominent public FF F F
K
intellectuals in Germany today. Kermani has been at the forefront of recent debates about
e
dd d d
Islam and its role in Germany’s political, social and cultural life. Instead of emphasizing r
m
the differences between ethnic affiliations and religious beliefs, Kermani questions nn n n
a
the Western notion of a clear dividing line between Islam, Christianity and Judaism,
n aa a a
highlighting instead their affinities. In addition to his political essays, Kermani’s travel i
journalism introduces western audiences to diverse Muslim societies in the world and ss s s
his fiction provides accessible meditations on first love, contemporary music, death rr r r
and friendship. ee e e
tt t t
This is the first volume of criticism in English dedicated to Kermani’s varied work. The
ii i i
book features an extensive interview with the author, a reproduction in German and rr r r
D
English of Kermani’s famous 2014 Bundestag speech and a collection of critical essays WW W W
r
u
on Kermani’s writing. The essays, by major scholars in the field, cover issues such as
x
e
gender, religion, cosmopolitanism, mystical experiences, and the power of the liberal s
, nn n n
arts in a time of neoliberal distraction. M
a Navid Kermani aa a a
Helga Druxes is Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Williams College. c
h mm m m
Her books include Resisting Bodies: The Negotiation of Female Agency in Twentieth- ta
n
Century Women Writers (1996), The Feminization of Dr. Faustus: Female Identity Quests s rr r r
from Stendhal to Morgner (1993) and, with Patricia Simpson, Far Right Digital Media a ee e e
n
Strategies Across Europe and North America (2015). d GG G G
M
Karolin Machtans is Assistant Professor of German Studies at Connecticut College. She is
the author of Zwischen Wissenschaft und autobiographischem Projekt: Saul Friedländer ih
a Helga Druxes, yy y y
und Ruth Klüger (2009) and co-editor, with Martin Ruehl, of Hitler – Films from Germany: ilo rr r r
History, Cinema, and Politics since 1945 (2012). v Karolin Machtans and aa a a
i
c
Alexandar Mihailovic is Professor Emeritus of Russian and Comparative Literature at ( rr r r
e Alexandar Mihailovic (eds)
Hofstra University and a Visiting Professor of Literature at Bennington College. He is d oo o o
the author of Corporeal Words: Mikhail Bakhtin’s Theology of Discourse (1997) and the s) pp p p
edited volume Tchaikovsky and His Contemporaries (1999). He has published on on
mm m m
religious studies, nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian and Ukrainian literature,
cultural relations during the Cold War, and LGBTQ and gender.
ee e e
tt t t
nn n n
oo o o
www.peterlang.com Peter Lang
CC C C
Navid Kermani
Contemporary German Writers
and Filmmakers
Edited by
Julian preece (swansea University)
Frank Finlay (University of leeds)
Editorial Board
professor stephen Brockmann (Carnegie mellon University)
professor Friederike eigler (Georgetown University)
dr michael minden (University of Cambridge)
professor moritz Baßler (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität münster)
professor sabine Hake (University of texas at austin)
Volume 3
peter lanG
oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am main • new york • Wien
Navid Kermani
edited by Helga druxes and karolin machtans
peter lanG
oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am main • new york • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche National-
bibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Druxes, Helga, 1959- editor. | Machtans, Karolin, editor. |
Mihailovic, Alexandar, editor.
Title: Navid Kermani / Helga Druxes, Karolin Machtans, and Alexandar
Mihailovic (eds).
Description: Oxford ; New York : Peter Lang, 2016. | Series: Contemporary
German writers and filmmakers ; 3 | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015047997 | ISBN 9783034318860 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Kermani, Navid, 1967---Criticism and interpretation. |
Kermani, Navid, 1967---Political and social views.
Classification: LCC PT2711.E75 Z55 2016 | DDC 838/.9209--dc23 LC record avail-
able at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015047997
Cover image © Heike Bogenberger/autorenfotos.com
issn 1664-6916
isbn 978-3-0343-0869-4 (print)
isbn [tbc] (eBook)
© Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2016
Hochfeldstrasse 32, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
[email protected], www.peterlang.com, www.peterlang.net
All rights reserved.
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.
Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without
the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming,
and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.
This publication has been peer reviewed.
Printed in Germany
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Navid Kermani: Biographical/Bibliographical Chronology ix
Helga Druxes and Karolin Machtans
Introduction: The Intercultural Project of Navid Kermani 1
Navid Kermani
‘Was zählt, ist das gesprochene Wort’ [What Counts is
the Spoken Word], Bundestagsrede Celebrating the 65th
Anniversary of the Basic Law, 23 May 2014, Berlin 15
Helga Druxes and Karolin Machtans
Interview with Navid Kermani 35
David N. Coury
Kafka and the Quran: Patriotism, Culture, and
Post-national Identity 49
Klaus von Stosch
Kermani’s Writing on Islamic Religion 69
Karolin Machtans
The Beauty and Terror of Love: Große Liebe and Du sollst 87
Jens Hobus
Down by the River: Music, Love, and Memory in
Navid Kermani’s Work 107
vi Contents
Torsten Hoffmann
Literary Cemeteries: Recalling the Dead in
Kurzmitteilung and Dein Name 121
Esther Schießer
Kermani’s Reception of Jean Paul: Reconsidering his Frankfurt
Lectures Über den Zufall and his Novel Dein Name 143
Helga Druxes
The Crisis of (Re)Productivity in Dein Name 163
Elke Segelcke
The Political Anthropology of Navid Kermani’s Travelogues 181
Bibliography 201
Works Cited 201
Works by Navid Kermani 207
Works on Navid Kermani 209
Notes on Contributors 213
Index 217
Acknowledgments
Peter Lang commissioning editor Laurel Plapp was interested in publishing
the first English-language collection on Navid Kermani, and the series edi-
tors, in particular Julian Preece, made incisive comments and suggestions
that, we hope, made this a better volume. The editors would like to thank
Bronwyn Becker for her attentive copyediting. Helga Druxes is grateful to
Williams College for its research support that allowed her to experience
some of Navid Kermani’s public speeches in Cologne and Berlin, and its
generous financial support with the publishing costs. Karolin Machtans
would like to thank Connecticut College for its generous research support
and for supporting Navid Kermani’s visit to Connecticut College in April
2014. Most of all, we would like to thank Navid Kermani for taking the
time to meet with us at Connecticut College. Without his helpful sugges-
tions this volume would not have come about.
