MAKE KNOWN A BOOK THAT DECODES RADICALIZATIONS RELATED TO ISLAM.

By buying the book here for €25 including delivery (in France), you enable its release in English. Updated August 28. Given sales during signing sessions, I therefore have about 100 copies left to sell to close the gap.

To ship to the Mahbreb countries, Belgium and Switzerland, I’m sorry but Colissimo shipping costs are expensive, I must ask you for €32 instead of €25,



.

MY ACTIVITY AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA AND RADICALIZATIONS RELATED TO ISLAM

I started this activity with the workshops “Slams under the Moon” aimed at 11–14 year-old children in Val-de-Marne, from 2016 to 2018. The idea was to have children write slam texts on themes related to Islam. It is the so-called “project pedagogy” method: the goal is to get to the heart of concerns and to work from them.

I faced decision-makers who consider laïcité to be a pure and simple rejection of the “religious fact,” and Islamists who did not appreciate me coming onto their territory. These workshops were a success. See my documentary film “Slams under the Moon” to be convinced. It too was successful. At the end of this text, see the information and viewing links.

Today most people admit that this experience should be repeated elsewhere to prevent radicalizations related to Islam among children. You can get an idea in the debate that followed screenings of the film on the Public Sénat channel, with notably the writer Tahar ben Jelloun. Also look at my Facebook page - Armand Bernardi - to see how many French Muslim men and women were touched by this adventure.

In this fight against radicalizations related to Islam, we have two enemies at once: Islamist radicals and radical Islamophobes.

I CONTINUE MY COMMITMENT WITH A NOVEL: SHAÏTAN

This novel went on sale on April 14 on the main platforms and on the publisher M+ EDITIONS’ website, in paperback and e-book formats. I wanted the book to be released on April 23, the first day of Ramadan in 2020. I will tell you why that date.

To follow the promotion of the novel: https://www.facebook.com/pg/roman.shaitan/posts/?ref=page_internal

Here is a short summary of the novel:

>

You understood. This tale in the style of great adventures is a metaphor for the themes about Islam that concern us today. I stage everyday Muslim men and women, true sages, men of power, arrogant imams, zealots, criminals, also people who hate Islam. Everyone clashes, and the one who surely profits from their conflicts is Satan, in Arabic SHAÏTAN. The book cover was designed to attract the eye of both Francophone Muslim and non‑Muslim audiences. I would have liked to make it a bit “more Muslim” by putting this sentence in Arabic: _“God, light of the earth and the sky”_ (Sura 24. An-Nur, The Light. Verse 35). Impossible. Nowadays, no question in France of displaying Arabic characters. Our media decision-makers shy away from anything that touches Islam. As a result, radicalized Muslims, or those in the process of radicalization, rush to the thousands of Arabic books in Muslim bookstores, where no so‑called “native” French person understands what is written, and becomes frightened...



.

In this context, I quickly understood that no “major publisher” would dare to release a book that respects Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia is fashionable, even if it really affects only part of the public. So I signed SHAÏTAN with an independent publisher: M+ Editions.

As a result, you will see this Arabic letter on the cover, at the very top: SHIN. It plays an important role in the story. Look at it closely. It resembles the Hebrew letter that actually bears the same name. It has the same symbol: the "vivification of the Divine Fire." It was placed right in the middle of the name of God YHVH (יהוה) – or Yhavé – to give YHSVH (יהשוה), i.e. Yeshoua or Jesus.

You didn’t know that? Normal. You weren’t told. Ignorance is the soil of fanaticism. Secular France was however created by people like Jean Macé, Victor Hugo, etc., who respected faith and explained symbols much better than the priests of their time. That is why people listened to them. Thanks to them, France became a secular state. So much ignorance too among our self-proclaimed imams thanks to the power of the internet, and the despair of our suburban youth. So much ignorance still among our decision-makers who refuse the study of the “religious fact.” And one wonders at the ignorant Islamism that spreads continuously, provoking growing animosity among non‑Muslims. From this opposition, only one will come out a winner: Shaïtan.

WHY THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE NOVEL "SHAÏTAN"

As you understand, I am not engaging in “Muslim proselytism” in this campaign "English translation of the novel Shaïtan". If you share with me the desire to make known what Islam is when intelligently understood, you are not proselytizing. You simply tell yourself that it is impossible that this spirituality, which touches 1.8 billion women and men, be limited to what French media say. You know, or you guess, that there is something behind it. Something that produced the Arab‑Muslim civilization which transmitted the sciences of Antiquity. Something that is not finished, and that we call “the Islam of the Enlightenment.”

The road to Peace is long. There are people in this world who move consciences. I invite you to be part of them, at your level.

Today, May 20, 2020, we can say that we worked well during the lockdown. We communicated a lot on social networks, and we sent copies to readers while waiting for bookstores to reopen. The book is prominently placed on all sales platforms, and FNAC has just given it exceptional promotion: https://www.fnac.com/Shaitan-d-Armand-Bernardi-un-roman-initiatique-vers-l-islam-des-Lumieres/cp48029/w-4?fbclid=IwAR2D3k_3KGRB7pHxG8kUX1TJhtglrOi-AQJ-_Nhz6pXSfqCr9xkPCykv_rY

This early success stems only from promotion done with small means, across several social networks, notably here https://www.facebook.com/roman.shaitan.

This figure testifies to the public’s interest in the subject the book carries: many insights on verses of the Quran, what exactly the major pilgrimage to Mecca consists of, why Islam is probably the most fragile of the religions in History, how people with bad intentions manipulate Islam, how and why a terrorist is manufactured,_ etcetera_...

To give more visibility to this novel, I will have it published in English for an anglophone non‑Muslim audience and also for Muslims living in Great Britain, the USA, Canada… I will not achieve this by receiving 10% of sales (an author’s average rate). By contributing to finance this English translation, you allow it to gain visibility. Become a patron, sponsor, and funder. Support the English translation of a novel devoted to Islam.



.

THE TRANSLATOR GEORGIA DE CHAMBERET After searching for the best English translator, I settled on GEORGIA DE CHAMBERET, translator of TAHAR BEN JELLOUN’s books (the most translated Francophone author in the world, by the way).

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahar_Ben_Jelloun

http://sonja-schade.de/category/3ieme-etape/tahar-ben-jelloun

I let you discover Georgia de Chamberet’s translations. She specializes in the Orient. She perfectly translates the subtleties of Arabic and Islam. She will do excellent work.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/24/georgia-de-chamberet-lesley-blanch-on-the-wilder-shores-of-love

THE COTIZUP CAMPAIGN

With this English edition, I hope the novel will contribute to moving toward this “Islam of the Enlightenment.” The road to Peace is long.

By participating in this campaign "English translation of the novel Shaïtan", you will pay a bit more for the novel SHAÏTAN than in bookstores or on the M+ EDITIONS publisher site: €25 instead of €16.80, i.e. €8.20 more. You will receive it before its bookstore release, and you will appear on the first page of the English edition, because without you it would not exist. That is why I will call you the “230 PATRONS.”

230 PATRON NAMES AT THE TOP OF THE ENGLISH EDITION COPIES**

I commit to listing the names of the “230 PATRONS” at the beginning of the novel in the English edition. Your name will of course be mixed with 229 others. 230 names on a page will be a bit like a Star Wars credit roll, or like an ancient stele!



.

I ALMOST FORGOT…**

Why does the French novel come out on April 23, 2020, the first day of Ramadan? One of the promotional videos explains by saying: _“This novel is meant to nourish the mind. And to nourish the mind, you must be hungry and thirsty._ _That is indeed the primary meaning of the Ramadan period, is it not?”_

_“Fasting has been prescribed for you […]. Perhaps you will be mindful?”_ (Sura 2, The Cow. V. 183). Several hadiths also speak of this period as one when “the devil” is less strong, or temporarily chained. It is therefore the time to look it in the eye.



.

I also forgot to say that each mailed novel will include a dedication. All authors promise a dedication on crowdfunding sites. I find that a bit old‑fashioned, but why not. It will therefore be a sincere word of thanks, with your name, and a specific text for each of you if, in your comments, you say something that matters to you. I almost forgot to show you my mug. That of a man who has seen a lot. On the planet, and also with authentic initiates of the Amazon, Siberia, India, the Maghreb, Lebanon, Europe too. Wise or sorcerous, women and men of goodness or of darkness, they taught me something. This learning is paid for by leaving traces on the body.

My cv: https://www.fichier-pdf.fr/2019/12/16/bio-bernardi-11-11-19/

About the film “Slams under the Moon”

Trailer of the documentary film "Slams under the Moon" about these workshops: https://vimeo.com/303712783

The full film (52 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=kXuKDmE-kXo&fbclid=IwAR1ETcOHOwpvnxix50EXa4CzvUBjF7JF3TveOpzFwvNuNARtbxIvhxxuEpQ

22 broadcasts on the Public Sénat channel (the 13) from December 26, 2018 to January 10, 2020. Debate “Slams under the Moon,” with notably the writer TAHAR BEN JELLOUN* *and AKLI MELLOULI, deputy mayor of Bonneuil‑sur‑Marne without whom these workshops would never have existed: https://www.publicsenat.fr/emission/un-monde-en-docs/l-islam-vu-par-les-enfants-regards-naifs-ou-lucides-146512



WHAT THE FUNDRAISER WILL BE USED FOR

Choosing my publisher as I did with Marc DUTEIL / M+ Editions, working with him in full transparency, satisfied for me a need for independence that authors generally do not have in the publishing world. I retained the rights to the English edition to ensure its realization. The solidarity with you, this small‑scale patronage, allows taking risks and succeeding.

WHAT IS THE COST FOR THIS PROJECT?

Translation of the book into English (3 chapters to start and find a British publisher): €3,000 (Translators Association London rate at £95 per 1,000 words).

Production of the 230 books that I will send you: €713 (thanks to my publisher who will take no profit on these copies).

Postal shipping costs (bubble envelopes): €7.30 per book.

An assistant to help me with this management: €250.

Cotizup commission (1.9% of €5,750 + 0.25% of 230 contributors): €166.75.

Which makes €5,750 for the completion of this project. That is 230 contributors for €25.

For information, I have paid a 50% deposit to the translator. She has started work.

YOU CAN LEAVE A COMMENT AND YOUR POSTAL ADDRESS SO AS TO RECEIVE THE BOOK AT HOME.

IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR ADDRESS TO APPEAR, SEND YOUR ADDRESS BY EMAIL TO "mailto:[email protected]", OR BY FACEBOOK "Armand Bernardi".**

IF YOU FORGET TO DO SO, I WILL HAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO ASK YOU FOR IT.

IF THE GOAL IS EXCEEDED, THE ARABIC EDITION WILL BE LAUNCHED EARLIER THAN PLANNED

All additional donations will be used to immediately finance the translation of the novel into Arabic. This is a project I plan to launch right after this one. One has rarely (or even never?) seen a Western novel translated into Arabic, the market being too small.

Yet what recognition it would be for those millions of Muslims who read only Arabic to be taken into account. My choice of publisher and translator is not yet made. I am negotiating with some distributors in the Maghreb and Lebanon.

That’s it. As the hero of this story says each time he undertakes something: YALLAH!



.

IF YOU CANNOT PARTICIPATE FINANCIALLY, YOU CAN SHARE THIS LINK AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU!