Kamel Daoud
Kamel Daoud (; born June 17, 1970) is an Algerian writer and journalist. He currently edits the French-language daily "Le quotidien d’Oran," for which he writes a popular column, "Raïna Raïkoum" (Our Opinion, Your Opinion). The column often includes commentary on the news. Early life and education. Daoud was born in Mostaganem, Algeria on June 17, 1970. The oldest of six children, he was raised in an Arabic-speaking Muslim family in Algeria. Daoud studied French literature at the University of Oran. Daoud was married but divorced in 2008, after the birth of his daughter as his wife  had become increasingly religious (and started wearing the hijab). He is a father to two children (the eldest, a son, the youngest, a daughter) and dedicated his novel "The Meursault Investigation" to them. Journalistic career. In 1994, he entered "Le Quotidien d'Oran", a French-language Algerian newspaper. He published his first column three years later, titled "Raina raikoum" ("Our opinion, your opinion"). He was the Editor in Chief of the newspaper for eight years. He is a Columnist in various media, an editorialist in the online newspaper "Algérie-Focus" and his articles are also published in "Slate Afrique". Controversies. Recommendation  of execution. On 13 December 2014, on "On n'est pas couché" on France 2, Kamel Daoud said of his relationship to Islam: Three days later, Abdelfattah Hamadache Zeraoui, a Salafist imam at the time working on Echourouk News, responded to this statement by declaring that Daoud should be put to death for saying it, writing that "if Islamic sharia were applied in Algeria, the penalty would be death for apostasy and heresy." He specified: He then reiterated his threats on Ennahar TV, an extension of the Arabic daily Ennahar newspaper. Daoud filed a complaint in Algerian court and the judiciary  delivered a judgment on March 8, 2016 that Daoud's attorney called "unprecedented": Zeraoui was sentenced to three to six months in prison and a 50,000-dinar fine. However, this sentence was annulled in June 2016 by the Oran Court of Appeal for "territorial incompetence". Work. Daoud's debut novel, "The Meursault Investigation" (in French, "Meursault, contre-enquête") (2013), won the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman (Goncourt Prize for a First Novel), as well as the prix François Mauriac and the Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie. It was also shortlisted for the Prix Renaudot. In April 2015, an  excerpt from "Meursault, contre-enquête" was featured in the "New Yorker" magazine. The November 20, 2015, issue of the "New York Times" featured an op-ed opinion piece by Daoud titled "Saudi Arabia, an ISIS That Has Made It" in both English (translated by John Cullen) and French. The February 14, 2016, issue of the "New York Times" featured a controversial second op-ed piece by Daoud, "The Sexual Misery of the Arab World" in English (translated by John Cullen), French, and Arabic. Both of these articles were republished in his 2017 collection of essays "Mes Indépendances". In 2018, his  Le Quotidien d'Oran articles (2010-2016) were translated into English.