Biography
From the mahdhara in Mederdra to the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
Profile
Mauritanian historian and researcher, and Head of the African Studies Unit at the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies.
Born in 1963 in Mederdra, in the Trarza region, he began his education in a traditional mahdhara. His work centres on editing Mauritanian manuscripts and studying the history, genealogies and oral literature of Mauritanian society.
He edited the encyclopedia Hayat Mauritania: Hawadith al-Sinin by the historian al-Mukhtar ibn Hamid, and co-compiled Volume 5 of Brill's Arabic Literature of Africa. In 2024 he received the Chinguetti Prize for Islamic Studies.
Career
- 1963
Born in Mederdra, Trarza region
- —
Mahdhara education: Quran, Arabic and Islamic sciences
- 1980
Baccalauréat in letters, ranked first
- 1984
Licence in Arabic literature, École Normale Supérieure, Nouakchott
- 1994
Third-cycle doctorate, Mohammed V University, Rabat
- 2010
PhD in Arabic literature, Hassan II University, Mohammedia
- 2011
Joins the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, African Studies Unit
- 2012–2013
Personality of the Year, Mauritanian Press Association
- 2016
Arabic Literature of Africa, Vol. 5, Brill
- 2024
Chinguetti Prize for Islamic Studies
- MederdraMauritania
- NouakchottMauritania
- RabatMorocco
- MohammediaMorocco
- DohaQatar