Monthly Archives: July 2013

Makarim Al-Ghamri obtained her BA from the College of Linguistics at Ain Shams University in Cairo in 1967, and a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Moscow University in 1973. Her academic career extends over 30 years during which she served as Professor of Comparative Russian Literature at the College of Linguistics in Ain Shams University, Chair of the Department of Slavic Languages and Director of the Translation Department, Vice-Dean and Dean of the College of Linguistics. She added new departments and a center for Chinese Studies. She is a member of the Translation Committee of the Supreme Council for Culture in Egypt, the Egyptian Chapter of the International Pen Club and the Egyptian Society of Comparative Literature.

Her works include: Russian Novel in the 19th Century, and Arabic and Islamic effects on Russian Literature in addition to translations of several Russian articles, novels and plays such as War and Peace by Bulgakov, Alive Forever by Remizov and several works of the 19th Century Russian playwright Aleksandr Ostrvskii (1823-1886). Professor Al-Ghamri also participates actively in the cultural life of Cairo through her writings and participation in cultural radio and television programs.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Hamad Al-Jasir was a prominent writer and a world authority on the history, geography and culture of Arabia. He was educated in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. His remarkable career spanned more than 60 years, during which he emerged as one of the most talented journalists and writers of our time. He authored more than 1,200 articles and numerous books dealing with different aspects of the Arabian society and including detailed analyses of more than 30 works written by early Arab travelers and pilgrims. Among his most important contributions in that respect are his scholastic 3-volume study of Al-Durar al-Farida, by Abd al-Gadir al-Jaziri (16th century A.H.), and Kitab al-Manasik, attributed to Al- Harbi, an Arab traveler of the 8th century A.H.

For more than three decades, Shaikh Al-Jasir was the publisher of Al Yamama, the first newspaper published in Riyadh and Al-Arab magazine, a popular and rich source of information on the life and culture of Saudi Arabia. He also founded Al-Riyadh Printing Press, the first press in the Saudi capital, and Dar Al-Yamama, a research, publishing and translating center that focuses on the history and geography of the Arabian peninsula. One of the major publications that emerged from Dar Al-Yamama was Al-Jasir’s own Geographic Encyclopedia of Saudi Arabian Lands.

Shaikh Al-Jasir’s impact as a writer and publisher earned him prestige among his peers. In addition to the King Faisal  International Prize for Arabic Literature, he received several awards including Saudi Arabian State Prize in Arts in 1988, and King Abd Al-Aziz Order in 1995. He was elected member of the Arabic Language academies of Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo in 1950, the Islamic Academy in Aligarh and the Royal Jordanian Academy for Research in Islamic Civilization.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Salma Al- Haffar was one of the foremost Arab woman novelists and defenders of women’s rights and equality. Her father, Lutfi al-Haffar, was a Syrian prime minister during the French Mandate, and subsequently an avid supporter of Syrian independence. Although she was born during a time when it was against social norms for women to attend school, she was able, with her father’s support, to receive an excellent education in French and English at an elite Franciscan school in Damascus. Meanwhile, she studied and commanded Arabic under a distinguished Lebanese publisher, Mary Ajami, who encouraged her to write.

Al-Kowzbari published her first article at the age of 17 and had since written novels, short stories, and biographies in Arabic, and poetry in French. Following extensive travel in Latin America and Spain, she also gained interest in Spanish studies, particularly the Andalusian legacy. Her first book, an autobiography titled Hala’s Diaries in 1950 was translated to French and was eventually followed by another autobiography, Amber and Ashes. Her greatest passion, however, was to study the early 20th Century women’s rights heroine and literary figure, Mai Ziadeh. She spent 17 years researching Miss Ziadeh. She discovered previously unpublished documents, letters, and manuscripts from Ziadeh, including her two-decade correspondence with Kahlil Gibran. Her works on Ziadeh include Mai Ziadeh and the Tragedy of Genius in 1961, Accomplished Women in 1961.

Al-Kowzbari lived in Marbella, Spain, writing and lecturing in Arab and Western countries. In addition to the King Faisal  International Prize for Arabic Literature, she received a medal from the Spanish government in 1964, and the Mediterranean Literature Award from the University of Palermo in 1980 for her Arabic and Andalusian studies.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Mohammed Abu Al-Anwar obtained his BA in Arabic language and literature in 1960, then proceeded with graduate research, completing an MA in literary studies and a Ph.D. in the history of Arabic literature from Dar Al-Ulum college in Cairo University. Following his graduation in 1971, he pursued an academic career and rose to the rank of professor of Arabic literature in 1980, and Chairman of the Literary Studies Department in Dar Al Ulum in 1985. He was seconded for various periods to teach Arabic Literature in Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

Professor Ali authored numerous research articles and literary essays and more than 10 books focusing primarily on the development of Arabic poetry through different phases of history, from the pre-Islamic era to the present. One of his most important contributions on contemporary Arab writers is his book Mustafa Lutfi Al-Manfalouti, a carefully researched 3-volume documentation of the life and works of this influential writer. Dr. Ali was an avid participant in Egypt’s cultural life and had served on prestigious committees and councils in his country, including memberships of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Culture and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in 1981. He was also a founding member of the Union of Egyptian Writers.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Hamdi El-Sakkout received a bachelor’s degree in Arabic Language and Literature from Cairo University, a Diploma of Education from Ain Shams University, and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University in the U.K. He is a distinguished scholar and a former Professor of Modern Arabic Literature and the Director of Research and Arabic Studies Centers at the American University in Cairo (AUC).

Professor Al-Sakkout’s publications cover a wide range of literary issues, including editions and translations of Arabic documents of the Ottoman period, studies of the Egyptian novel and short story, and current trends in literary criticism. He is credited for his detailed bibliographic study of the life and works of Abbas Mahmud Al-Aqqad, one of the most celebrated modern Arab writers. The book is part of a series of exhaustive bibliographic studies entitled Leaders of Contemporary Arab Literature in Egypt. Five other volumes, comprising bibliographies of Taha Hussayn, Ibrahim Abd al-Gadir al-Mazini, Abd al-Rahman Shukri, Muhammad Hussayn Haikal, and Tawfiq al-Hakim, were co-authored with the late Professor Marsden Jones. He also edited The Modern Arabic Novel: Bibliography and Critical Introduction, an immense 6-volume text covering more than 4,600 individual novels written in Arabic from 1865 to 1995.

Professor Al-Sakkout is a member of leading cultural organizations in Egypt, a life member of Claire Hall at Cambridge University, a former Visiting Professor to the University of California, Berkeley and Washington University in Seattle and organizer of the AUC Arabic Cultural Program.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Wadad Kadi received her B.A. and master’s degrees in Arabic Literature, and her Ph.D. in Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies, from the American University in Beirut (AUB). She taught for three years at AUB and one year as a fellow/ lecturer at Harvard University, then returned to AUB as an associate professor in the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Languages. She was a visiting professor at Columbia University in 1985 and an associate professor of Near Eastern Studies at Yale University for the following two years. In 1988, she was appointed Professor at the University of Chicago and was Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization in Chicago for several years.

An erudite scholar of Arabic literature, professor Kadi has published widely in Arabic and English, including exemplary editions and anthologies of many important early texts. Her major research, which covers a broad area of ancient Arabic prose, examines texts not only as literary works but also as the expression of Medieval Islamic civilization and thought. Her work has reintroduced many important texts from the great tradition of Arabic prose, making them available to students and scholars. She authored ten books and numerous articles, reviews and chapters. She also participated in more than 50 scholarly conferences and symposia. One of her greatest accomplishments is Ibn Hayyan’s Al-Basa’ir wul Zakha’ir (9 volumes), which embodies a superb selection of ancient anthologies and classic prose.

Professor Kadi is an associate editor of E. J. Brill’s Encyclopedia of the Quran, co-editor of Brill’s series: Islamic History and Civilization and member of editorial boards of several academic journals including: Arabica, Journal of Islamic Studies and Al-Abhath. Her honors include academic prizes, visiting professorships at prestigious universities in the US, Europe and the Middle East and memberships of several professional organizations, in addition to the King Faisal International Prize for Arabic Literature.

She was also elected President of the American Society for Middle Eastern studies and her name was entered in the world Reference of Famous Women published by Cambridge University in 1986.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Aisha Mohammad Ali Abd Al-Rahmn was better known in the Arab world by her pen nickname “Bint Al-Shati” (Daughter of the Shore). She completed her general education at home, in defiance of the prevailing tradition at that time, which discouraged females from receiving education. In the national examinations, she consistently came first on the national level. Her family was convinced to allow her to proceed to College and once again her BA, M.A. and Ph.D. degrees were all of the highest distinction. Her subsequent career as professor of Arabic language and literature spanned over 50 years, and took her to Sudan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Egypt. Wherever she went, she was admired by her students and peers for her unique style of combining Islamic and Arabic studies. She employed Quranic eloquence as the basis for teaching language arts, Quranic verses as the basis for teaching linguistics and grammar, and authentication techniques of the Prophet’s sayings (Hadith) as the basis for verifying and authenticating literary citations. Her brilliant manipulation of ancient Arabic prose helped to unravel many obscurities and inaccurate citations in the material and brought it closer to the reader and researcher.

Professor Aisha Abd Al-Rahman was also a strong women’s rights advocate who adhered strictly to Islamic teachings. One bibliographer described her as a feminist wearing a head cover. Her legacy of more than 40 books on Islamic teachings, dozens of books on Arabic literature, novels, hundreds of research papers, and innumerable articles in daily and weekly newspapers over a span of 60 years made her probably the most accomplished Arab female in the 20th Century. Her contributions to Islamic and Arabic culture gained her wide recognition throughout the Arab and Islamic worlds.

She received numerous other prizes, decorations and honors. Her name was given to many schools and lecture halls in the Arab World.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Mohammad Najm grew up in Beirut. He obtained a BA from the Department of Arabic at the American University in Beirut (AUB), an MA from AUB and MA and Ph.D. degrees from Fuad Al-Awal University in Cairo. Following his graduation in 1954, he worked at AUB until his retirement in 1998.

Professor Najm was a distinguished scholar, educator and literary critic. He authored or co-authored numerous books, editions, reviews and articles dealing with different ingredients of Arabic literature (poetry, theater, modern literature and literary criticism). One of his most important contributions in terms of translating classic books of literary criticism was an articulate translation of D. Daiches’ Critical Approaches to Literature, which became a vital reference to students and scholars of Arabic literature. Najm also translated or co-translated several other books, including Stanley Hyman’s The Armed Vision jointly with Ihsan Abbas and others, and Hamilton Gibb’s Studies on the Civilization of Islam jointly with Ihsan Abbas and Mahmud Zayed.

Professor Najm served as a Visiting Professor at Kuwait and Harvard universities and invited lecturer at the universities of Indiana, California (Los Angeles and Berkley), New York, Berlin, Frankfurt, Gottengen, and Tübingen. He was also Chairman of the Permanent Committee of Arabic Culture, and member of the Theater Committee and the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts in the Arab League Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ALESCO). He was also a member of Arabic language academies in Damascus and Cairo, the Royal Jordanian Academy for Islamic Civilization Research in Amman and the Tunisian Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In addition to the King Faisal International Prize for Arabic Literature, Professor Najm received prizes from the Arab League of Nations twice in 1955 and 1957, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science in 1975, and Al Quds Medal for Culture and Arts in 1990.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Born in Kafr Shanwan village in Shebin Al-Koum, Menoufiya (Egypt), Shukri Ayyad studied Arabic Literature at Fuad Al-Awal University in Cairo, earning his BA in 1940, MA in 1948 and Ph.D. in 1953.

Professor Ayyad was a distinguished writer, literary critic and scholar who combined profound knowledge of Arabic heritage and Islamic thought with open-mindedness towards western literary and artistic achievements. He authored numerous articles, books, reviews, editions, translations and short stories. One of his best-known translations is Aristotle on Poetics, which surpasses most other translations by its resourcefulness and clarity. Ayyad also published many other books, including The Protagonist in Novels and Fairy Tales; Taghur, The Poet of Peace and Love; The Art of Literature in a Changing World; Limited Vision and The Arab Diwan from Tribal Unity to One Nation Unity. In addition, he published six series of short stories and numerous popular articles and wrote a chapter on Arabic literature in Islamic Egypt in the Cambridge History of Arabic Literature.

Ayyad was a professor of modern Arabic literature at Cairo, Khartoum and King Saud Universities, Dean of the Theater Institute in Cairo, Chairman of the Department of Arabic Literature, Vice-Dean of the College of Arts at Cairo University and Cultural Attaché at the Egyptian Embassy in Brazil.

He died at the age of 78, after an extraordinary life devoted to

Shukri Ayyad studied Arabic Literature at Fuad Al-Awal University in Cairo, earning his B.A. in 1940, M.A. in 1948 and Ph.D. in 1953.

Professor Ayyad was a distinguished writer, literary critic and scholar, who combined profound knowledge of Arabic heritage and Islamic thought with open-mindedness towards western literary and artistic achievements. He authored numerous articles, books, reviews, editions, translations and short stories. One of his best-known translations is Aristotle on Poetics, which surpasses most other translations by its resourcefulness and clarity. Ayyad also published many other books, including The Protagonist in Novels and Fairy Tales; Taghur: The Poet of Peace and Love; The Art of Literature in a Changing World; Limited Vision and The Arab Diwan from Tribal Unity to One Nation Unity. In addition, he published six series of short stories and numerous popular articles and wrote a chapter on Arabic literature in Islamic Egypt in the Cambridge History of Arabic Literature.

Ayyad was a professor of modern Arabic literature at Cairo, Khartoum and King Saud Universities, Dean of the Theater Institute in Cairo, Chairman of the Department of Arabic Literature, Vice-Dean of the College of Arts at Cairo University and Cultural Attaché at the Egyptian Embassy in Brazil.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Mohammad Badawi obtained his BA from Alexandria University and a Ph.D. from London University. He is a Fellow of St. Anthony’s College, Oxford, and former Professor of Modern Arabic Literature and Director of the Middle Eastern Studies Center at Oxford University. He served for many years as editor-in-chief and member of editorial boards of international journals of Middle Eastern studies. He was also a member of the editorial board of the Cambridge History of Arabic Literature.

Professor Badawi published over 30 books, editions and translations, and numerous scholarly articles and reviews in Arabic and English. His translations of literary classics into Arabic have been invaluable to Arab scholars, especially the translation of I. A. Richards’ Principles of Literary Criticism. Among his many other contributions are his books An Anthology of Modern Arabic Verse, A Critical Introduction to Modern Arabic Poetry, Modern Arabic Drama in Egypt, Modern Arabic Literature and the West, Background to Shakespeare, Coleridge: Critic of Shakespeare, and a translation into Arabic of Prophetic Invocations by Imam Al-Haddad. Badawi also translated modern Arabic classics into English, including Sara, by Abbas Mahmud Aqqad, The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz (translated jointly with Trevor Le Gassick), The Sultan’s Dilemma and The Song of Death by Tewfik Al-Hakim and The Saint’s Lamp and Other Stories by Yahia Haqqi. His books in Arabic, on the other hand, include: Dirasat Fi Al- Shir Wa Al-Masrah and Atlal Wa Rasail Min London.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.