Mujab al-Zahrani

Mujab al-Zahrani (born in 1954) is a Saudi critic and academic. He worked as a faculty member at King Saud University (KSU) and al-Yamamah University, and served as the director of the Arab World Institute in the French capital, Paris, for six years. He was also a member of several scientific and cultural journals.

Mujab al-Zahrani obtained a bachelor's degree in Arabic language and literature from the College of Education at KSU in Riyadh. In 1989, he earned a doctorate in general and comparative literature from Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris. He worked as a faculty member in the Department of Arabic Language at KSU and al-Yamamah University and as a visiting professor at Sorbonne University. In 2016, he was appointed director of the Arab World Institute in Paris, a position he held until 2022. During his tenure, he established the Arab World Institute Cultural Chair.

Mujab al-Zahrani wrote his first novel, 'Raqs' (Dance), in 2010. He later compiled his academic research in a book titled 'Muqarabat Hiwariyah' (Dialogic Approaches), published by Makkah Literary and Cultural Club in 2012. He presented research published in specialized academic journals and daily newspapers. His works include:'al-Tahtawi wa Khurafat al-Bada: Qira'ah Naqdiyyah li-Ba‘d Mafaheem al-Khitab al-Arabi al-Nahdawi' (al-Tahtawi and the Myth of Beginning: A Critical Reading of Some Concepts in the Arab Renaissance Discourse), published in 1988. In 1996, he wrote a study titled 'Mulahazat Hawl al-Tafkikiyyah' (Observations on Deconstruction). In 2003, he published a paper titled 'Khitab al-Mahabbah fi Tawk al-Hamamah li-Ibn Hazm' (The Discourse of Love in Tawk al-Hamamah by Ibn Hazm).

He participated in the critical symposium on short stories and novels in Saudi Arabia at the National Festival for Heritage and Culture 'al-Janadria' in 1996, presenting a research paper titled 'al-Riwayah al-Mahalliyyah wa Ishkaliyyat al-Khitab al-Hiwari' (The Local Novel and the Problematic of Dialogic Discourse). In 1994, he also presented a paper titled 'Ta’thirat Nazariyyat al-Riwayah al-Gharbiyyah fi al-Naqd al-Riwayi al-Arabi' (The Influence of Western Narrative Theory on Arab Novel Criticism) at the Literary Criticism Conference organized by the College of Arts at the University of Bahrain. After completing his tenure as director of the Arab World Institute in Paris in 2022, he published the book 'Maktab Ala Seen' (Office on the Seine), in which he recounted his experience managing the institute.

Mujab al-Zahrani contributed to establishing 'Dirasat Sharqiyyah' (Oriental Studies), a journal published in Paris in Arabic, French, and English since 1988. He was also a member of several scientific and cultural journals, including serving as an editorial board member of Qawafil, a periodical issued by the Riyadh Literary Club since 1993. Additionally, he was a founding and supervising member of 'al-Nass al-Jadid' (The New Text), an independent journal published in Cyprus since 1994.