Mohammed Benzakour

Who is Mohammed Benzakour?

Mohammed Benzakour is a Moroccan-Dutch columnist, essayist, poet, writer and politician. He is the third child in a family of five. At age three, he and mother and siblings settle in Zwijndrecht, Netherlands, where his father worked. He graduated from high school at vwo level and studied sociology at Leiden University and later political science and moved to Rotterdam to finish his master. Meanwhile, he joined the Labour Party. He started his journalism career working for De Volkskrant and also published in NRC Handelsblad, De Groene Amsterdammer and Vrij Nederland. He received the ASN Media Prize in 1999 and the Silver Zebra in 2001 for insights in a 'society in motion'. He later published two books, Abou Jahjah: Nieuwlichter of Oplichter. De demonisering van een politiek rebel in 2004 and Osama's Grot, Allah, Holland en ik, a compilation of his columns, articles and essays from 2001 until 2005, the year of publication. In that same year he also won the Peace Prize for Journalism. In 2008 his 'Stinkende Heelmeesters' was published, a compilation of essays, reviews, columns and reports from 2001-2008.