“If Mali didn't exist, you'd have to invent it.”

Mojomodou Houssouba proceeds to invent Mali, inventing the country, its inhabitants and its history.

In this short document enriched by the multilingualism of the author, the reality of contemporary Mali appears: fragmented yet connected, easy-going, a country created from the coming and going between villages and the world, poor and beautiful. We come to realise that Mali stretches well beyond its administrative boundaries but also that it sometimes doesn't exist.

In this way the text manages to touch on current topics - Islam, Franco-Africa, humanitarianism, ethnicity, football...

At a certain instant chosen by Mohomodou Houssouba, we discover Mali for what it is: the provisional centre of the world.

MH was born in the North of Mali in the Sixties. Having taught for several years at the University of Chicago, he lives and works between Bamako, Gao and Basle. From his private experiences, he has produced a true discourse on Sahelian Islam and the capacity of Mali society to regulate religious or personal fanaticism. This is his first book.