Abdelkader Benali is a Moroccan-Dutch

Moroccan-Dutch

The terms Moroccan-Dutch or Dutch-Moroccans refer to immigrants from Morocco to the Netherlands and their descendants. They are one of the larger allochtoon groups, making up 10.4% of the country's total population of foreign background....

 writer and journalist. He has been described as one of the Netherlands' leading writers.

When he was four years old, he and his family, of Berber

Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...

 background, migrated to The Netherlands and settled in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

, where his father worked as a butcher. When he was twenty-one his debut novel

Debut novel

A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...

 Bruiloft aan zee (Wedding at the Sea) appeared and was a huge critical and commercial success. It was translated into many languages. He received the 'Libris prize for literature' for his second novel, De langverwachte (The Long-Awaited).

In addition to novels and plays, Benali has published essays and reviews in respected newspapers and magazines including De Volkskrant

De Volkskrant

de Volkskrant is a national daily Dutch morning newspaper, the leading centre-left broadsheet, although now in tabloid size.-History:...

, Vrij Nederland

Vrij Nederland

Vrij Nederland is a Dutch magazine which was established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper but has since grown into a magazine. The weekly magazine is generally considered to be intellectually left-wing...

, De Groene Amsterdammer

De Groene Amsterdammer

De Groene Amsterdammer is an independent Dutch weekly newsmagazine published in Amsterdam and distributed throughout the Netherlands. It is conventionally considered to be one of the four most influential written media in its sector, along with HP/De Tijd, Vrij Nederland and Elsevier.- History and...

, Esquire

Esquire (magazine)

Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...

and Algemeen Dagblad

Algemeen Dagblad

The Algemeen Dagblad is a Dutch newspaper. Founded in Rotterdam in 1946, it currently has a daily circulation of 315,000. The newspaper is owned by AD NieuwsMedia, a joint venture between Wegener and PCM Uitgevers....

. Benali is an avid long-distance runner, his personal record being 2:52:19, achieved at the 2006 Rotterdam Marathon

Rotterdam Marathon

The Rotterdam Marathon is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April of every year since the third edition in 1984, and attracts many top athletes. It has also been ranked as one of the top 10 marathons in the world by Runner's World...

. He also wrote a book about his failed attempt to improve his best result, Marathonloper (Marathon Runner).

Abdelkader Benali masters Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

, and speaks Berber and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. He is a non-believer, despite his family's Muslim

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

faith and tradition.

Works

• 1996 Bruiloft aan zee (Wedding at the Sea)
• 1999 De ongelukkige (The Unhappy One)
• 2001 Berichten uit Maanzaad Stad (Reports from Maanzaad City)
• 2001 Yasser (Yasser)
• 2002 De Argentijn (The Argentinian)
• 2002 De langverwachte (The Long-Awaited)
• 2003 Onrein, de vader, de zoon en de hond (Unclean, the Father, the Son and the Dog)
• 2003 Gedichten voor de zomer (Poems for the Summer)
• 2005 Laat het morgen mooi weer zijn (May the Weather be Good Tomorrow)
• 2005 Marokko door Nederlandse ogen 1605-2005, verslag van een reis door de tijd (Morocco Seen Through Dutch Eyes 1605-2005, report from a journey through time)
• 2006 Panacee (Panacea)
• 2006 Wie kan het paradijs weerstaan (Who Can Resist Paradise)
• 2006 Berichten uit een belegerde stad (Reports from a Beleaguered City)
• 2006 Feldman en ik (Feldman and I)
• 2007 De eeuwigheidskunstenaar (The Eternity Artist)
• 2007 Marathonloper (Marathon Runner)
• 2009 De stem van mijn moeder (My Mother's Voice)
• 2009 Het museum van de verloren geliefden (The Museum of Lost Loved Ones)