Crowdfunder launched to build new home for Arabic books in London

A former Al Saqi Books employee wants to create a new home for Arabic literature in London. 

Al Saqi Books, the largest Middle Eastern specialist bookseller in Europe, closed in December 2022 owing to economic difficulties. Now, Mohammad Masoud – who oversaw day-to-day operations at the bookshop for two years – has launched a campaign to revive the Westbourne Grove premises as a new Arabic literary hub named "Maqam".  

The Bookseller spoke to Masoud shortly after Al Saqi closed its doors for the final time. He said: “There’s still lots of emotions. I was the last person who told everyone ‘please leave’. I’m the one who closed the doors of an iconic place after 44 years. I have a lot of love and respect for them. But when Al Saqi decided to close, I felt there was a deep need for a new space not only to sell books, but to showcase and present Arabic culture.”

Masoud is aiming to crowdfund £90,000 to launch the new space and is currently in talks with the building’s owners. The funds will ultimately go towards buying Al Saqi’s old stock of 900 books, securing a storage unit in which to keep them and paying for rent, operational and staff costs further down the line. He plans to supplement the book stock with his personal library of 400 titles.  

Al Saqi was founded by 1978 by André and Salwa Gaspard, along with the late author Mai Ghoussoub, and was a magnet for Arabic language lovers the world over. Over a 44-year period, it welcomed a host of cultural icons, among them rapper and author Akala, singer and songwriter Damon Albarn and the late Egyptian novelist Nawal El Saadawi. But Masoud is quick to point out that he is “not trying to save” Al Saqi. “It’s legacy is alive and well with the publishing house,” he said, referring to Saqi Books, which specialises in general interest and academic books on North Africa and the Middle East.

With Maqam – which loosely translates as “sacred space” – Masoud hopes to develop a new template for Arabic bookshops. As well as selling literature from the SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) region, Maqam will be a community space. “Besides selling books, I’m going to have Arabic lessons, art and calligraphy sessions, workshops where you can improve your writing skills, even learn how to do embroidery,” he said.  

Masoud also hopes to expand people’s understanding of Arabic language and culture, while opening the region’s literature up to a younger generation of readers. “Arabic literature and language is not just about the Quran, or Islamic books or politics and religion,” he said. “It’s about culture. We have a rich history. In Arabic, the same word can have many meanings. We need to teach younger generations how beautiful the language is.”

Joining Masoud is a creative director known as "Abdulisms", alongside author Heba Al Hayek, designer Ghaith Hilal, writer Asia Khatun and artist Redwan (also known as calligraffenomenal), who will all lend their skills to the campaign. The crowdfunding campaign is currently live on JustGiving and Masoud plans to host the first Maqam event in February 2023.