Saqi Books, an independent publishing company run by two Lebanese, is making waves in international markets and, perhaps even more importantly, helping to counter misunderstandings between the Arab and Western worlds. The ethos of the company is radical, progressive and international. “We believe in a cultural dialogue between the Arab and Western worlds, never more needed since the events of September 11,” said managing director Andre Gaspard, who, with his partner Mai Ghoussoub, founded the company as a bookshop in 1979 and now runs the company from offices in a cosmopolitan area of West London. Today, the company has an annual turnover of $3 million and publishes 27 English and 39 Arabic titles a year. “We don’t think in terms of Arab or Western blocs and we don’t see all Arabs as fanatics and all Americans as imperialists – that’s crude and simplistic. We try to provide an outlet for
