Born in Damascus, Syria in 1946, Schami is the son of a baker from an Arab-Christian family. His schooling and university studies (diploma in chemistry) took place in Damascus. From 1965, Schami wrote stories in Arabic. From 1964-70 he was the co-founder and editor of the wall news-sheet Al-Muntalak (The Starting-Point) in the old quarter of the city. In 1971 Schami moved to Heidelberg and financed further studies by typical guest worker jobs (factories, building sites, restaurants). He earned his doctorate in chemistry in 1979 and began career in the chemical industry. In his spare time, he co-founded the literary group Südwind in 1980 and was part of the PoLiKunst movement. Schami became a full time author in 1982. He lives in Kirchheimbolanden with his Bavarian wife and son and he holds dual citizenship. Schami's books have been translated into 20 languages.

Syrian-born Rafik Schami rates as one of the leading figures of German Gastarbeiterliteratur (Guest-worker literature) or Migrantenliteratur (migrant literature). Invited to help with the post-war rebuilding of Germany, Arbeitsmigranten (migrant workers) from Mediterranean countries - mainly Turkey - began to arrive in 1960, and by 1968 their numbers were over 150,000. A distinctive migrant literature began to emerge in significant quantities in the late 1970s. Schami's importance lies both in his own writing and in his role as a facilitator for other writers: in 1980 he co-founded the literary groups Südwind (South Wind) and PoLiKunst (Polinationaler Literatur und Kunstverein; Polynational Literary and Art Society) aimed at fostering the work of non-native German authors.