Mohammad Fathi Al Miqdad

Mohammad Fathi Al Miqdad

Mohammad Fathi Al Miqdad is a Syrian novelist, literary critic, and cultural researcher currently residing in Jordan. Known for his prolific literary output, his work spans novels, short stories, essays, and cultural heritage literature. He is the editor-in-chief of Afaq Hurra (Free Horizons) and is a member of several literary associations across the Arab world. His writing often explores themes of exile, war, memory, and the lives of Syrians in the diaspora. His most notable work is The Road to Zaatari. In May 2025, he was awarded the international Naji Naaman Literary Prize for his novel The Backstreet Pension.

Early life and education

Mohammad Al Miqdad was born in 1964 in Bosra al-Sham, in the Daraa Governorate of southern Syria. Alongside his literary activities, he worked as a barber, a fact he frequently references as part of his ordinary life identity. He later moved to Jordan, where he continued his literary career and became active in the cultural scene.

Career

Al Miqdad is a member of:

• The Syrian Writers Association (Ittihad al-Kuttab al-Suriyin)
• The Jordanian Writers Association (Ittihad al-Kuttab al-Urduniyin)
• The Syrian Writers' League in Paris (Rabitat al-Kuttab al-Suriyin fi Baris)
• The Arab Cultural House in Jordan (Al-Bayt al-Thaqafi al-Arabi fi al-Urdun)

He also co-authored a five-volume literary encyclopedia titled Afaq Hurra Guide to Arab Writers and Authors in collaboration with Jordanian writer Mohammad Hussein Al-Sawalha.

Selected works

Novels

• Al-Ṭarīq ilā al-Zāʿtarī Archived 2025-01-23 at the Wayback Machine – The Road to Zaatari (2018)
• Shāhid ʿala al-ʿAtamah – Testimony to the Darkness (2015)
• Dawwāmat al-Awghād – Swirl of the Wicked (2016)
• Fawq al-Arḍ – Above Ground (2019)
• Saklama – Saklama (submitted for the Katara Prize in Doha, Qatar)
• Khaymah fī Qaṣr Baʿbda – A Tent in Baabda Palace (forthcoming)
• Khalf al-Bāb – Behind the Door (forthcoming)
• Bansiyūn al-Shāriʿ al-Khalfī – The Backstreet Pension (forthcoming)
• Bayna Bawwābatayn – Between Two Gates
• Trajāna – Trajana
• Daʿ al-Azhār Tatafattaḥ – Let the Flowers Bloom
• Additional works are currently in progress

Short stories and essays

• Bi-Tawqīt Buṣrā – At the Time of Bosra (2020)
• Zawāyā Dāʾiriyyah – Circular Corners
• Ruʾūs Mudaḇḇabah – Pointed Heads
• Daqīqah Wāḥidah – A Minute Only
• Qīla wa-Qāl – Said and Heard
• Taghārīd – Twitter Whispers (micro-reflections)

Reflections and literary criticism

• Aqwāl Ghayr Maʾthūrah – Unauthored Sayings
• Bilā Muqaddimāt – Without Introductions
• ʿAlā Qāriʿat Khāṭir – On the Edge of Thought
• Iḍāʾāt Adabiyyah – Literary Illuminations
• Ṣarīf al-Aqlām – Scratches of the Pens
• Qirāʾāt fī al-Adab al-Urdunī al-Ḥadīth – Readings in Modern Jordanian Literature
• Qirāʾāt Riwāʾiyyah fī al-Adab al-ʿĀlamī – Narrative Readings in World Literature
• Qirāʾāt fī al-Adab al-ʿArabī al-Ḥadīth – Readings in Modern Arab Literature
• Qirāʾah fī Riwāyat 1Q84 li-Haruki Murakami – Reading Murakami's 1Q84

Cultural heritage works

• Al-Kalimāt al-Munqariḍah min al-Lahjah al-Ḥawrāniyyah – The Vanishing Words of the Hawrani Dialect
• Al-Wajīz fī al-Amthāl al-Ḥawrāniyyah – The Concise Dictionary of Hawrani Proverbs
• Jaddī al-Miqdād – My Grandfather al-Miqdad (on the companion of the Prophet, al-Miqdad ibn ʿAmr)

Dialogues and joint works

• Ḥiwārāt fī al-Manfā – Interviews in Exile
• Ḥiwārāt Sūriyyah fī al-Manfā – Syrian Dialogues in Exile
• ʿAlā Kursī al-Iʿtirāf – On the Confession Chair
• Qirāʾāt Adabiyyah Sūriyyah wa-Lubnāniyyah – Readings in Syrian and Lebanese Literature
• Qirāʾāt fī al-Adab al-ʿArabī al-Afrīqī – Readings in African Arab Literature
• Al-Muḥarrir al-Thaqāfī (2 vols) – The Cultural Editor
• Faḍāʾāt Muḥammad Iqbāl Ḥarb al-Adabiyyah – The Literary Spaces of Mohammad Iqbal Harb
• Al-Durr al-Makīn fī Kitāb al-Masākīn (by al-Rāfiʿī) – The Precious Pearl in The Book of the Poor
• Kitāb ʿan Tajribat Muḥammad Zaʿl al-Sallūm – On the Experience of Mohammad Zeal al-Salloum

Academic and critical studies

Several theses and peer-reviewed papers have addressed his works:

• A master’s thesis on Swirl of the Wicked at Mu’tah University (Jordan)
• A doctoral dissertation on The Road to Zaatari at Mu’tah University
• A study on the portrayal of women in Syrian war literature
• A paper titled Corona: A Turning Point about his collection Corona Sacrifice
• Comparative research on “scene-based” language in poetry and narrative fiction, featuring his novels

Media and recognition

Al Miqdad has participated in numerous literary events in Jordan and Syria. He has appeared in televised interviews on Orient TV, Al-Araby, Al-Rafidain TV, Al-Hiwar, Syria TV, and others. He is also a contributor to numerous literary websites and publications.

External links

• "الروائي محمد فتحي المقداد: الحكاية السورية لم تعد متكررة". Almadad.net (in العربية). 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
• "مقالات ملفقة ج1 لمحمد فتحي المقداد". SyriaLit.net (in العربية). Retrieved 2025-07-22.
• "سكلمة رواية للمسابقة كتارا". Katara Prize Official Site. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
• "تعادلات لغوية - محمد فتحي المقداد". Afaq Hurra (in العربية). Retrieved 2025-07-22.

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