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Rana Kabbani (; born 1958) is a British Syrian cultural historian, writer and broadcaster who lives in London. Most famous for her works ''Imperial Fictions: Europe's Myths of the Orient'' (1994) and ''Letter to Christendom'' (1989), she has also edited and translated works in Arabic and English. She has written for '' Spare Rib'', the ''
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'', The ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
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The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
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British Vogue ''British Vogue'' (stylised in all caps) is the British edition of the American Fashion journalism, fashion magazine Vogue (magazine), Vogue. The magazine was launched in 1916 by Condé Nast, linking together fashion and high society.König A ...
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The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', '' Al Quds al Arabi'', and '' Islamica''. She has made and contributed to many television and radio programmes for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, on subjects such as literature, music, minority rights, Islamic culture, food, feminism, women's rights, painting, and British politics. She has spoken out against
Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
, defining its historic roots in colonialism. Her famous relatives include Abu Khalil Qabbani, her uncle Nizar Qabbani, her father Sabah Qabbani, and her daughter Yasmine Seale whose father is Patrick Seale.


Education and personal life

Born in 1958 in
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, to Sabah Qabbani, Her paternal uncle was the renowned poet Nizar Qabbani. Her maternal family were also from a distinguished background: Kabbani's mother, Maha, was the niece of Said al-Ghazzi, former Prime Minister of Syria. In particular, Kabbani was influenced by her maternal grandmother Salwa Ghazzi, suffragette and pioneering feminist from an landowning liberal educated patrician family. Kabbani spent her childhood and young adulthood in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
,
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
and
Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, where her father held a career as a diplomat and Syrian ambassador. She received her BA degree from
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
, her MA degree from the
American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...
, and her Ph.D. in English from
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...
. Her teachers there were
Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribu ...
,
Frank Kermode Sir John Frank Kermode, FBA (29 November 1919 – 17 August 2010) was a British literary critic best known for his 1967 work '' The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction'' and for his extensive book-reviewing and editing. He wa ...
, and
Lisa Jardine Lisa Anne Jardine (née Bronowski; 12 April 1944 – 25 October 2015) was a British historian of the early modern period. From 1990 to 2011, she was Centenary Professor of Renaissance Studies and director of the Centre for Editing Lives and L ...
. As the granddaughter of the Syrian Independence hero Tawfiq Kabbani, and the niece of the Syrian poet Nizar Kabbani, Rana Kabbani had both literature and activism in her blood from a young age. In the way that Nizar Kabbani's feminism was inspired by the life and death of his sister, Kabbani's role as a progressive voice against imperialism was inspired by her experiences with growing anti-Muslim sentiment, her historical research and her family's contribution. Her great uncle Fawzi Ghazzi wrote the first Syrian Constitution - taught as a document of pioneering liberalism - but was assassinated by agents of French colonialism for not accepting to mention their Mandate in Syria in it. Kabbani married Palestinian poet
Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish (; 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinians, Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet. In 1988 Darwish wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which was the formal declarat ...
twice - in 1976 and then again in 1978. They lived together in Beirut during the civil war; in Paris, and in Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia. They had no children together and divorced in 1982. In 1985, she married the British journalist Patrick Seale, and they had two children, Alexander and Yasmine Seale.


Writing career

Kabbani began writing at an early age. She worked as an art critic in Paris, and later moved to London to work as a publisher's editor. Her first book, ''Europe's Myths of Orient: Devise and Rule'', was published in 1985. In it, she evaluated orientalist perspectives and narratives, specifically focusing on erotic stereotypes and sexualization of the "exotic" in literature and painting. The work was translated into Arabic, Dutch, German, Turkish. It is taught at universities, and has never been out of print. After the publication of
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
's ''
The Satanic Verses ''The Satanic Verses'' is the fourth novel from the Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie. First published in September 1988, the book was inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical re ...
'', there was a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment, which prompted Kabbani to write ''Letter to Christendom'' in 1989. Kabbani's other works include her translations from the Arabic of Mahmoud Darweesh's 'Sand and Other Poems' (1985) and her editorship of ''The Passionate Nomad: Diaries of Isabelle Eberhardt'' (1987). Kabbani has written for The Independent, The International Herald Tribune, The New Statesman, British Vogue, The Guardian. In 2011, she wrote about Syria in articles such as "Can Syrians Dare to Hope?" She is active on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, which has led to controversy, as she is of a radical stance and uses brash language, in order to highlight political and social issues. She has been a fund raiser and a spokesperson for British charities that raise money for Syrian refugees, as well as for autism and mental illness. She is trilingual in Arabic, French and English, and has travelled extensively in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Russia, the United States, Canada, Western Europe and Latin America.


Works

* ''Europe's Myths of Orient: Devise and Rule'', London: Pandora, 1986. , * ''Women in Muslim society'', University College, Cork. Department of Sociology. 1992. * ''Letter to Christendom'', London: Virago, cop. 1989. ,


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kabbani, Rana 1958 births Living people Writers from Damascus 20th-century Syrian women writers 20th-century Syrian writers American University of Beirut alumni Georgetown University alumni Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge