Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013

On the Trail of Taslima

Author Hanifa Deen will discuss with Vasiliki Nihas her new book On the Trail of Taslima

Icon or Outcast? Opportunist or Idealist?

The Taslima merry-go-round continues while she remains trapped in exile, with her life on hold.

Hanifa Deen travels around the world on the trail of dissident writer Taslima Nasreen intent on discovering the woman behind the headlines. After tracking down the unhappy Bangladeshi author living in exile, she becomes enmeshed in a subculture inhabited by freedom of expression activists: International PEN, Reporters Sans Frontiers, Amnesty International and other fellow travellers ready to do battle with Muslim extremists threatening the controversial writer.

Deen moves from city to city in Taslima’s wake: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Berlin, Cologne, London, Paris, New York, Atlanta, Dhaka and Kolkata trying to make sense out of what she is hearing. Something is wrong—everything is not what it seems. The Taslima saga has acquired a life of its own and the real story has been lost.

An intriguing tale unfolds featuring the two main antagonists: hardline Muslim ‘Dragons’ versus the ‘Dragon Slayers’ from the West, hell bent on defending free speech—and Taslima. Cast as a female Salman Rushdie, Taslima is having trouble meeting the West’s expectations and eventually slips from her literary pedestal.
Brilliantly researched and critically insightful, a behind the scenes account of what really took place during the ‘save Taslima’ campaign that captivated the world in the 1990s, brings to light a complex narrative filled with larger-than-life personalities with their own agendas and shifting loyalties.


Hanifa Deen is an award-winning author who writes narrative non-fiction. Her books include: Caravanserai: for which she won a NSW Premier’s Literary Award; Broken Bangles, short listed for a WA Premier’s Award, and The Crescent and the Pen published in the USA. Her other books include The Jihad Seminar - short-listed for the Australian Human Rights Commission, Non-Fiction Award and Ali Abdul vs. The King. Her new book being launched tonight –the first Australian launch is-- On the Trail of Taslima.

In her early career, Hanifa worked in the public service: Deputy Commissioner Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission WA and Director Community Education, Victorian Ethnic Affairs Commission. She also served as a Hearing Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission of Australia and on the Board of Directors, Special Broadcasting Services (SBS).

Hanifa Deen gave a fascinating talk about The Jihad Seminar at Asia Bookroom in October 2008. As anyone who attended will remember it was a very good evening and this is sure to be another!

Hanifa Deen will be in conversation with Vasiliki Nihas. Vasiliki Nihas is a well-known Canberra identity with a long and active career as both a senior public service executive and private consultant. She has specialised in Cultural Diversity and the arts and is a published author of short stories. Her work has appeared in a number of anthologies of Greek-Australian women writers in both English and Greek.

Nothing is what it seems. Join us for what is sure to be a thought provoking night....

When: 6pm Tuesday 23rd of April, 2013

Where: Asia Bookroom, Unit 2, 1 - 3 Lawry Place, Macquarie. ACT

RSVP: By 22nd of April please by phoning 6251 5191 or Email Us

Admission by gold coin donation to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Don't miss this event, but, if you can't join us on the 23rd of April and would like to buy a signed copy let us know as it can easily be arranged.