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Rabat – In a region where literary prizes often spotlight novelists and poets, two Moroccan scholars have placed critical thought and translation at the center of attention.
Mustapha Rajouane and Mohammed El Ouali have reached the shortlist of the 20th edition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 20th edition, one of the Arab world’s most prestigious cultural distinctions.
Their nominations translate Morocco’s deep investment in ideas, scholarship, and dialogue across languages.
In the “Young Author” category, Mustapha Rajouane earned recognition for his study “Intrigues et personnages : approche rhétorique et argumentative du roman arabe”, published in 2025.
He stands alongside Palestinian poet Alaa Al-Qatrawi and Jordanian writer Omar Zakaria in a category.
In the “Translation” category, Mohammed El Ouali received recognition for his Arabic translation of “Traité de l’argumentation : la nouvelle rhétorique” by Belgian philosophers Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca.
The original text reshaped modern argumentation theory in Europe. El Ouali’s translation opens that intellectual tradition to Arabic readers, scholars, and students.
The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center reviewed more than 4,000 submissions from 74 countries for this year’s award.
Against that global field, Morocco secured two places on the shortlist in fields that demand patience and rigor rather than celebrity.
The winners will be announced in March. Each laureate will receive 750,000 UAE dirhams, with a larger sum reserved for Cultural Personality of the Year.
