Biography

Kader Abdolah (1954) is an Iranian-Dutch writer, poet, and columnist. Born in Iran, he was active in the political opposition before fleeing to the Netherlands as a refugee in 1988. Learning Dutch became his new form of resistance, and he soon established himself as a literary voice. His bestselling novel The House of the Mosque (2005) was voted the second-best Dutch novel of all time. As one of the first highly successful refugee authors in the Netherlands, Abdolah is seen as a pioneer in Dutch literature, blending Persian storytelling with Dutch language and themes of exile, cultural identity, and political struggle. His work has been translated into 25 languages, and he remains a prominent literary and cultural figure.