Posts in category: Arabic Language and Literature

The establishment of an Arabic Language Academy in Jordan was envisaged as early as the 1960s when the Jordanian Ministry of Education formed the Jordanian Committee for Arabization, Translation and Publication, which embraced the idea of establishing the Academy. After visiting Arabic language academies in Damascus, Cairo, and Baghdad, and reviewing their activities, regulations, systems and procedures, the Jordanian Council of Ministers in 1973 approved, in principle, the establishment of the Academy. In 1976, a Royal decree was issued ordering the inception of the Jordanian Arabic Language Academy which commenced its activities at that time. Currently, the Academy comprises 30 active members, in different fields of science and literature, in addition to a number of honorary and supporting members.

The primary objectives of the Academy are to sustain the integrity of the Arabic language, ensure that it keeps pace with modern literary, scientific and artistic requirements, fulfills the needs of community knowledge, and revive Arabic and Islamic heritage. It is also the Academy’s objective to publish unified glossaries of terms in literature, science and arts in collaboration with educational, scientific, linguistic and cultural institutions in Jordan and abroad.

In order to achieve these objectives, the Jordanian Arabic Language Academy has exerted inexorable efforts in translating sciences and technology, transferring terms and introducing Arabization in higher education as a prelude towards implementing Arabized science and technology in education throughout the Arab World. In addition, the Academy issues the periodical, Journal of the Jordanican Arabic Language Academy.

The Academy also prepares research and studies pertinent to the Arabic language and encourages writings, translations, and publications on the Arabic language and related issues, in addition to publishing new terminologies, holding conferences and collaborating with universities and other scientific and educational institutions in Jordan and abroad. The Academy also contributed to the initiative of the “Protection of Arabic Language Legislation”.

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

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.

Mohammad Muftah obtained his Licentiate in Arabic Literature in 1966, Certificate of Comparative Linguistics and Literary Studies and Certificate of Competence in Education and Psychology in 1967. He completed his Doctorate Degree (Third Cycle) in 1974 and State Doctorate of Arts in 1981, specializing in Islamic Moroccan Thought and both early and modern concepts of literary criticism. He is currently Emeritus Professor at Rabat University.

Professor Muftah joined Rabat University in 1971 and became full Professor in 1981. During his career, he taught Methods of Writing in Islamic Morocco and Arabic Literary Criticism and Modern Eloquence and supervised a number of post-graduate studies. He has also given introductory classes in Arab Universities, including lectures in Arts colleges in Sfax University in Tunisia, King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Nouakchott University in Mauritania and was Visiting Professor at Princeton University in the USA. He is a member of the National Committee for Academic Reform and Accreditation in the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education, founder and chairman of the Round Table Committee on Literary Theories, member of the Professorial Promotions Committee of Rabat University, Honorary member of the Moroccan University for Integration of

Sciences and former member of the Executive Office of Andalusian Studies and Cultural Dialogue and the Editorial Boards of Arts and Humanities Journal in Rabat and Al-Manahil and Moroccan Culture journals published by the Moroccan Ministry of Culture and Communication.

Professor Muftah’s insightful publications and research, have led him to develop a pioneering intellectual perception of Arabic poetry based on applied analysis of poetic texts and its relation to other arts, and the combination between comprehensive knowledge of Arabic heritage and modern literary concepts, thereby revealing the noble human values expressed in different poetic styles through different eras.

In recognition of his distinguished literary theoretical and critical efforts, Professor Muftah was awarded the Royal Moroccan Order of Officer in 2008. He was also awarded several other prizes including Moroccan Grand Prize for the Best Book in Literature and Arts in 1987, Saddam Prize for Literary Research in 1989, Moroccan Grand Book Prize in 1995, Sultan Al-Owais Prize for Arabic Literary Criticism in 2004 and both Shaikh Zayed’s Book Prize and the Arab Network for Tolerance Prize in 2010.

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