Before leaving the Book Fair Exhibition.. Publishers said: Doha embraced Arab and international cultures

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According to the Ministry of Culture, before leaving the exhibition, the publishers said that the exhibition witnessed the display of various sciences, arts and publications that included the cultures of Arab and foreign peoples, which was evident in the volume of participations that exceeded (500) publishers from (37) Arab and foreign countries.

Mr. Ali Qassem Yassin, the owner of the Iraqi “Basatin Al-Maarifa” bookstore, who participated in Al-Mutanabi Street in the exhibition, said, that: “We received an invitation from the Ministry of Culture to present a model of Al-Mutanabi Street in Baghdad to be among the galleries of the exhibition, hence. (6) Iraqi publishing houses based in old Al-Mutanabi Street in Baghdad participated in this book fair to provide examples of the Iraqi libraries that are interested in selling old books,” pointing out that these libraries provided audiences in Qatar who are lovers of heritage and old books with glimpses of Iraq’s history, culture, arts, literature, heritage and popular proverbs.

He explained that the most important characteristic of Al-Mutanabi Street in Doha exhibition is the display of books dating back more than a hundred years, pointing to the interest of Iraqi publishers in this aspect in presenting books on political and literary figures in Iraq and former kings and presidents, along with genealogical books, Iraqi folk literature and folk stories in addition to the diversity of books between politics, economics, history and geography.

For his part, Mr. Gamal Mostafa, the representative of Dar Al-Maarif from Egypt, confirmed the house’s keenness to participate in Doha International Book Fair, stressing that the book fair is receiving global attention and pointed out that Dar Al-Maarif is one of the oldest institutions in the field of Egyptian and Arab publishing, and that the house is participating along with more than (50) Egyptian publishing house at Doha Book Fair, to contribute to the definition of literature, history and economics in Egypt, and in the various fields of human creativity.

He said that Dar Al-Maarif presented many books at Doha International Book Fair, especially its well-known series such as the series “Thakhira Al-Arab”, which is one of the house’s investigations, in addition to the books of the Dean of Arabic Literature, Dr. Taha Hussein, and the books of Dr. Shawqi Daif, Kamel Kilani and other figures of Arab culture as well as the Green Library series for children, and others.

As for the publisher, Imad Eddin Abu Madin, the Director of Al-Reem Publishing House from Sudan, he appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Culture in overcoming all obstacles to the Sudanese participation, which was represented this year in 5 publishing houses.

He said that the Sudanese role was keen to reflect the Sudanese culture and what it expresses in terms of politics, economy, history and literature, as well as interest in the Sudanese heritage, especially its various elements.

As for Mr. Ali Nour El-Din from Dar Insanacomedia, from Lebanon, he said that: “We are keen annually to participate in Doha Book Fair, based on the cultural interests of the State of Qatar, which has put its mark on the map of global creativity,” pointing out that Dar Insanacomedia is characterized by expertise in certain types and specializations of books. Related to design, arts, literature, decorations, books on architecture, decoration, fashion and economics, in addition to a special section for important foreign books that the house imports from abroad to meet the needs of the Arab library in these areas.

Mr. Mahmoud Al-Biruni, the Director of Al-Biruni Publishing House in Turkey and Syria, believes that Doha International Book Fair presents a cultural meal with a variety of aspects for many cultures of the world, mentioning that the house specializes in books of Sharia sciences such as jurisprudence, hadith, interpretation and belief, in addition to books on heritage and the Arabic language, which reflects the diversity in the exhibition from various knowledge and even children’s books.