Literature opens a window to the past: Writers

Renowned writers from around the world explored how literature opens a window to the past, helping contemporary readers connect with the richness of history and uncover timeless insights that shape humanity’s shared story at a panel discussion titled “Discovering Ancient Cultures” at the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2025.

Hani Abd AlMurid, Egyptian novelist whose works are characterised by a powerful mixture of reality and symbolism, said: “Whatever we write must be written as an art. There is a connection between civilisation and art.”

Hani’s novels have used Egyptian history, culture and mummies of the pyramids as a base.

The author of best-sellers like Kyrie Elison and I Am the World, recollected being inspired by a Greek novel that he had got from a second-hand shop, how it prompted him to study Greek mythology and write a book about a mythical character.

As the manager of the Nasr Public Library in Egypt, he felt libraries and children are important in a civilisation’s growth.

Dr. Hina Jamshed, from Pakistan who dons many hats including as a researcher, novelist and translator, noted that she was inspired by the Harappan civilisation and living in proximity to the place had made her visualise and write a story based on Harappa. “Connecting our past with our present and the present with the future is important. Understanding the simple lives of people in the past when they lived in harmony will help us face present-day issues like climate change and sustainability,” she observed.

Agustinus Wibowo, a travel writer and photographer from Indonesia whose works include Ground Zero: When the Journey takes you Home, said his travels were done to understand the world from a historical perspective as well as to make an inward journey of contemplation and meditation. As a member of the Chinese diaspora living in Indonesia, it made him want to explore his roots and understand his identity.

“The question of identity is universal. The new perspective is to understand that all identities change and it is more important to promote the civilisation of humanity rather small differences between us,” said the author who has travelled to remote and challenging locations in Papua New Guinea, building connections with local communities and along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border where a 20-metre river “divided life on either side by at least 100 years” due to historical challenges in infrastructure and social development.