Professor Mohamed Abdalmotaleb Mostafa
King Faisal Prize in Arabic Language and Literature 2016 Laureate
Topic: "Analysis of the Arabic Poetic Text"
Modern culture failed to displace poetry from its position through its march, because Arabic poetry possesses the tool of expression that marched with it across times and places
Muhammad Mustafa obtained his Licentiate of Arts from Dar Al-Ulum College, Cairo University in 1964, and a master’s degree in Literary Criticism and Eloquence from Dar Al-Ulum in 1973, and a Ph.D. in Literary Criticism and Eloquence from Ain Shams University in Cairo in 1978.
Professor Abdul Muttalib pursued an uninterrupted academic career for about 35 years during which he progressed from Instructor in the Department of Arabic Language and Arts at the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University in 1979 to full professor of Literary Criticism and Eloquence in 1990 and Chairman of the Department of Arabic Language in 2000. He is currently an Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University. Professor Abdul Muttalib’s rich academic career witnessed his authorship of about thirty books and numerous publications in Arabic journals, supervision of many Masters and Ph.D. theses and participation in most literary and cultural conferences in Egypt and the Arab World. He is noted for his accomplishments in applied analysis of Arabic poetry and for competently and skillfully coining his analysis of poetic texts with deep knowledge of Arabic culture and insight of contemporary literary and stylistic concepts. He has participated and continues to participate actively in his country’s cultural and literary life, being Chief Editor of the Literary Studies series published by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture’s General Commission for Books, Karmat ibn Hani journal, Litterateurs periodical published by the Litterateurs Club and Literary Voices published by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. He also serves as Convener of the poetry committee in the Supreme Council for Culture and member of the Secretarial Committee of Bait al-Shi’r (Home of Poetry), as well as the Egyptian Union of Writers, the Literary Society, the Egyptian Society for literary Criticism and the literary assignments committee of the Supreme Council for Culture.
Professor Abdul Muttalib was awarded the Order of Cavalier by the French Government in 1997 in recognition of his literary and cultural contributions. He has also received several other honors, including Ain Shams Distinguished Research Award in 1986, Al Babtain Foundation Prize for Arabic Literary Criticism in 1991, Yamani Foundation Prize for Poetry Criticism in 1994, Ain Shams Appreciation Award in 2007 and the Writers Union Prize (Rajaa Al-Naggash) in 2009.
This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.
