A number of publishers in the Arab and foreign countries, who participated in Ramadan Book Fair in its second edition, confirmed that the exhibition is an opportunity to invest the atmosphere of the holy month in the development of religious and cultural knowledge.
They explained that the exhibition, which is currently being held at Darb Al-Saai headquarters in Umm Salal, is an important Qatari initiative to enhance cultural awareness, especially related to a religious occasion such as the holy month of Ramadan, with the aim of spreading reading and knowledge.
For his part, Mr. Bassem Adwan from “That Al Salasil Company (Kuwait)” said that: “We are participating for the first time in Ramadan Book Fair, which is a distinguished initiative to promote Islamic culture and knowledge, culture in general, and we found out that there is a public turnout with it,” indicating that the house was keen to participate with books and topics. Which is appropriate for this occasion. Children’s books related to child education in terms of language and behaviour are presented in the exhibition, along with adult books, the most important of which are history books and self-development books, along with some Islamic books such as the love of God, the love of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, the literature of the Companions, and others.
For his part, Mr. Mahmoud Abu Touq, the Director of the National House for Publishing and Distribution (Jordan), said that we are happy to participate in Ramadan Book Fair for the first time, which is a distinguished initiative, and we have found a distinguished turnout for the exhibition, pointing out that the house presents many publications in history, politics and literature, pointing out to the house’s interest in political and literary memoirs, in addition to a large number of poetry books by major Arab poets.
For her part, the publisher, Maryam Al-Sulaiti, the director and founder of Yildiz Dar (Turkey), stated that the house had previously participated in the Doha International Book Fair and was the first of its publications with the novel “The Sultans Altan” by the Qatari writer Ibrahim Al-Mutawa, bringing the number of publications currently to twelve books, appraising the selection of the month of Ramadan to hold a book fair, and pointing out that the house is interested in publishing and translating into Turkish and vice versa.
She added that the house is keen to participate in Qatari exhibitions, “and we always present the first publication, and thus we are interested in publishing literature and novels by Qatari authors with the translation of Turkish works. In this exhibition, the house presented a group of new authors, especially young people, the most important of which is the novel “Emelia” by the student Fatima Al-Hajri in (Preparatory stage), and the novel “A Man After Storms” by the student Youssef Fahd Al-Hudaifi (Secondary school), stressing that the publishing house is interested in publishing real creations and working on developing literary projects as well.
She explained that her endeavour to establish a publishing house in Turkey as the first Qatari publisher came to open the horizons of direct dialogue with Turkish culture, with which we have been linked for a long history, and that we belong to one civilization while preserving the cultural specificity of each society, pointing out that the interest in publishing the book stems from the interest of the state Qatar has spread culture since the era of the founder, Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, May God Rest His Soul, who was commissioned to print many science books at his own expense.
In turn, Mr. Qassem Mansour of the Arab Network for Research and Publishing confirmed the network’s keenness to participate in Doha International Book Fair, “but this is the first time that we participate in the Ramadan Book Fair, which is characterized by its connection to the privacy of the holy month, and its being an international fair that has earned it more additions and distinction.”
For his part, researcher and publisher Majed Shubar, the Director of Al-Warraq Publishing House (Britain), expressed his happiness at participating in Ramadan Book Fair, as it is considered an investment of this time in promoting culture in general, especially after the end of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, because this cultural movement contributes to the launch of Knowledge march in the State of Qatar.
He added that: “We wanted to present a simple participation during this exhibition, to present an expanded participation in the Doha International Book Fair in its next edition, which is scheduled for next June,” pointing out that the publishing house has published nearly 500 books in various fields of thought, as it is interested in solid scientific writings, where we try to contribute to the intellectual process and applied sciences.
For his part, Mahrous Mohamed from Madbouly Library (Egypt) said that Ramadan Book Fair is a good initiative and has proven successful, as we witnessed a clear turnout for the exhibition, pointing out that the library, which is keen to participate annually in Doha Book Fair, presents the reader with various types of thought and knowledge from the history of the book, and the literature, cinema and theatre, in addition to political science and children’s books in particular.
It is worth mentioning that Ramadan Book Fair will conclude its activities tomorrow, Sunday, with the participation of 79 Qatari, Arab and foreign publishing houses.