 |
| Riche Cafe in downtown Cairo |
Some
may think these lines are out of political context where many are competing
hard to show and display their political skills. However, I think it’s in the
core of our Egyptian cultural and civilized identity that may include as well Radh[1] in our old popular alleys
and arts of Farsh melaya[2] and slandering your enemy,
lying side by side to Akhenaton’s poems, the Pyramid Texts[3], Imhotep[4]’s innovations, Ibn al-Farid[5] poems, al-Layth Ibn Sa’d[6] reasoning contributions,
Ibn Aroos[7]’ four-verse poems, poetry
of Ahmed Shawqi[8],
Hafez Ibrahim[9],
Bayram[10], Fouad Haddad[11], Salah Abdel-Sabour[12], and Salah Jahin[13], sculptures of Mukhtar[14], Weshahi, paintings of
Mahmoud Said[15],
Picar[16], Gazbia Sirry[17], music of Sayed Darwish[18], al-Sunbati[19], Zakaria Ahmed[20], Muhammed Abdel Wahab[21], Muhammed el-Mogi[22], Kamal el-Tawil[23], beautiful voices of Um
Kulthum[24], Shadia[25], Abdel Halim Hafez[26], and Farid al-Atrash[27]… and tens others where
this issue of Al Ahram may not be enough to list here.
I
hurried to catch up with my friend Magdi Abdel-Malak[28] before leaving us to the
afterlife. I stood with other friends, females and males, watching in silence
and contemplating while listening to the deacon reciting chapters of the New
Testament while the priest is swinging the censer with his right hand setting out
the fragrant sweet odor of incense. A moment afterwards, the microphone moved
from the deacon to the priest to recite himself certain chapters in Arabic and
in Coptic. Madgi was the owner of Riche Café, long-time friend, secret keeper of
tens of intellectuals and innovators, and guard of that place established in
1908 and throughout years became the warm place holding and gathering
revolutionists from 1919 to 2013 and many other novelists, artists,
journalists, writers of all ideologies and political schools. After we had
placed him in the tender hands of our mother… land of Egypt, I sat alone
recalling memories. First I wondered where Magdi’s picture was to be placed
among those of all late figures hanged on the Café walls; some of them were close
friends of mine. Suddenly it occurred to me that Magdi’s picture may not be
hanged at all for this historical place is threatened to shut its doors and
turn into shoe-selling shop or american fast-food restaurant which Magdi had
long resisted for years and rejected millions-worth offers in return.
I
believe I have to mention the suggestion presented by actor Mahmoud el-Heddini
and stated by my colleague journalist Hamdi Rizq in his words mourning Magdi.
This suggestion is about forming a committee of some figures who shall work to
turn Riche Café into a monumental place that should not be demolished or
transformed into any other activity, and to guarantee it will continue to
fulfill its significant cultural role. I couldn’t agree more with the
initiative promoted by some Egyptian youth, ahead of them is Engineer Manar
Ahmed who launched a Facebook page to help keep this place running. Confirmations
and agreeing initiatives started to come out until they reached hundreds; which
means the nation’s conscience is still alive.
Few
hours later after we bid my friend Magdi farewell, I received an invitation to
commemorate the anniversary of the late innovative satirist Mahmoud el-Sa’adani[29]; the man whose spirit still
exists among us with all his great influence that cannot be described. I also
remembered my mentor and friend Kamel Zoheiri[30]… and then I went into an
endless moment of recalling memories. Mahmoud el-Sa’adani used to have his own
historical café; Abdallah Café in Giza where he used to sit with Zakaria el-Heggawi[31], Abdel Qader el-Qut[32], Anwar el-Ma’adawi[33], Muhammed Reda,
Abdel-Hamid Qatamesh. Those who read what el-Sa’adani the eldest – for there
are three generations of al-Sa’adani family; that of Mahmoud, followed by Salah[34], and finally the
generation of Akram – wrote about Abdallah Café and its humors and rich discussions
would know that “the Café” was a key point in the social and cultural life of
our beloved country, as Egypt knew many Cafés where people of certain
profession used to sit in like that of musicians, Fawa’aliya[35], carpenters, background
actors, the deaf… etc. There were also cafés where aristocrats like big
merchants and wealthy owners of agriculture land used to sit like Al-Borsa[36]
and Al-Toghariya[37].
There were also cafés targeted by revolutionists who used them as platforms to
spread their words and ideologies like Matatiya Café[38] which existed until the
seventies of the twentieth century where prominent politicians like al-Afghani[39], Muhammed Abduh[40], Sa’ad Zaghloul[41], his brother Fathi
Zaghloul[42],
Qasim Amin[43],
and many others used to sit.
I’m
proud to be one of those who sit there along with my late professor Dr. Ahmed
Abdel Rahim Mustafa where he used to gather a bunch of his close students and
accompany them to Matatiya café or to Windsor Hotel cafeteria where we once sit
together along with late professor Dr. Muhammed Anis and other history
professors and post-graduate studies’ students of masters and PhDs. I remember
when I used to grab some peanuts for my professor Abdel Rahim Mustafa for his
short arm wouldn’t allow him to.
Kamel
Zoheiri had his own café as well. He once told me about Liza; owner of the café
and bar next to headquarter of Rose al-Yusuf[44] magazine where he used to
go accompanied by his colleagues, ahead of them was the poet and writer Ahmed
Abdel Mu’ti Hegazi[45] who, as per the account
told by Kamel Zoheiri, used to enter the place giving his orders and when
leaving he used to give his last order “please Kamel… pay!!” Master Kamel
laughed when recalling the stories telling the skillfulness of Egyptian prostitute
girls who used to sit in the café where troops of international forces after
the war of Suez were used to go to spend the vacation in Liza’s bar. Some girls
meant to choose those soldiers whose vacation is due to end soon, after
negotiating and receiving underpayment, they used to sneak through the other
door while voices of other soldiers go higher and then the café owner; Liza
used to shout loud “more music, Barakat” as Barakat was the café pianist. She
meant to raise the sound of music to silence protests of deceived soldiers. In
the same time, Kamel el-Shannawi[46] used to sit in some grand
hotels’ cafeterias like Semiramis and Nile Hilton. He had his rituals as well,
as his evenings used to end prior to sunrise for he believed, as told by Mahmoud
el-Sa’adani, that angel of death usually comes at night and that’s why they
used to wait until night is over to go to sleep.
Back
to Riche café, last stronghold of literature, art, and thought which was looked
after by Magdi Abdel Malak until the last moment of his life. That place is now
threatened to be closed and transformed into another activity as I said earlier
in the article. I appeal to both ministers of culture and antiquities and all
officials in charge and who care about Egypt’s history and cultural identity to
protect this monumental and historical place against demolition and distortion.
This
article was published in Al Ahram newspaper on May 7, 2015.
To
see the Arabic version, go to:
#alahram #ahmed_elgammal #riche_cafe
#matatiya #Egypt #magdy_abdel_malak #mahmoud_elsaadani #café
#Egyptian_cultural_identity
[2] Farsh melaya: (Arabic: فرش ملاية)
an Egyptian idiom, literally means “to lay the sheet down on the ground”, but
actually means to insult and defame someone; just like Radh. Women living in
modest neighborhoods in Egypt used to wrap their bodies in black sheets when
they come out of home, when a woman disagree with another and wants to insult
her, she used to unfold and lay her sheet down on the ground and sit over it in
order to feel comfortable and take her time in insulting her rival with the
worst vulgar words she knew; and hence came the idiom.
[3] The Pyramid Texts:
(Arabic: متون
الأهرام) are
a collection of ancient
Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved on the walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during the 5th and 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom. The
oldest of the texts have been dated to between ca. 2400–2300 BC. Unlike the
later Coffin Texts and Book of the
Dead, the pyramid texts were reserved
only for the pharaoh and were not illustrated. Following the earlier Palermo Stone, the pyramid texts mark the next-oldest known mention
of Osiris, who would become the most important deity associated
with afterlife in the Ancient Egyptian religion. (Source: Wikipedia)
[4] Imhotep: (Arabic: أمحوتب) (2650–2600
BC) was an Egyptian polymath who served under the Third Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to
the pharaoh and
high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He is considered by some to be
the earliest known architect and engineer and physician in
history, though two other physicians, Hesy-Ra and Merit-Ptah,
lived around the same time. The full list of his titles is: Chancellor of the
King of Egypt, Doctor, First in line after the King of Upper Egypt,
Administrator of the Great Palace, Hereditary nobleman, High Priest of
Heliopolis, Builder, Chief Carpenter, Chief Sculptor, and Maker of Vases in
Chief. He was one of only a few commoners ever to be accorded divine status
after death. The center of his cult was Memphis.
From the First Intermediate Period onward,
Imhotep was also revered as a poet and philosopher. His sayings were famously
referenced in poems: "I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hordedef with
whose discourses men speak so much." (Source: Wikipedia)
[5] Ibn al-Farid or Ibn
Farid: (Arabic: عمر بن علي بن الفارض) (1181–1235) was an Arab poet. His name
literally means “son of the legal advocate for women”, and his father was well
regarded for his work in the legal sphere. He was born in Cairo, lived for some time
in Mecca and
died in Cairo. His poetry is entirely Sufic, and he was esteemed
the greatest mystic poet of the Arabs. Some of his poems are said to have been
written in ecstasies. The poetry of Shaykh Umar Ibn al-Farid is considered by
many to be the pinnacle of Arabic mystical verse, though surprisingly he is not widely known in the West.
(Rumi,
probably the best known in the West of the great Sufi poets, wrote
primarily in Persian, not Arabic.) Ibn al-Farid's two
masterpieces are The Wine Ode, a beautiful
meditation on the “wine” of divine bliss, and “The Poem of the Sufi Way”, a profound
exploration of spiritual experience along the Sufi Path and perhaps
the longest mystical poem composed in Arabic. Both poems have
inspired in-depth spiritual commentaries throughout the centuries, and they are
still reverently memorized by Sufis and other devout Muslims today.
(Source: Wikipedia)
[6] Al-Layth
Ibn Sa'd: (Arabic: الليث بن سعد) was
the chief representative, Imam and eponym of the Laythi school of Islamic jurisprudence and was regarded as a scholar of Egypt. (Source:
Wikipedia)
[7] Ibn Aroos: (Arabic: ابن عروس)
he is believed by some to be a fictional character. However, some others
believe he was a real character of Tunisian origin. He’s known for his slang
Arabic four-verse poems which are still used by people until today.
[8] Ahmed
Shawqi: (1868–1932) (Arabic: أحمد شوقي)
nicknamed Amir al-Shuaraa (The Prince of Poets, Arabic: أمير الشعراء), was one of the
greatest Arabic poets laureate, an Egyptian poet and dramatist who pioneered the modern Egyptian literary movement, most notably introducing the genre of poetic epics to the
Arabic literary tradition. (Source: Wikipedia)
[9] Hafez Ibrahim: (Arabic: حافظ إبراهيم)
(1871–1932) was known as the Poet of the Nile, and sometimes the Poet
of the People, as his writings were widely revered by ordinary Egyptians. His
poetry was often about subjects with which the majority of Egyptians were
familiar, such as poverty and the politics of foreign occupation. He was one of
several Egyptian poets
that revived Arabic poetry during the latter half of the 19th century. While
still using the classical Arabic system of meter and rhyme, these poets wrote
to express new ideas and feelings unknown to the classical poets. Hafez is
noted for writing poems on political and social commentary. (Source: Wikipedia)
[10] Mahmud Bayram el-Tunsi: (Arabic: بيرم التونسي;
born in 1893 in Alexandria, Egypt - died 1961) was an Tunisian-Egyptian poet
who was exiled from Egypt by the British for his nationalist poetry.
Bayram el-Tunsi received his education at religious (Muslim)
schools. However, he learned the art of poetry by listening to oral
presentations in the form known as zajal. In 1919, the year
of the first Egyptian revolution, he began to
publish his poetry in the journal Issues. These satirical ballads, based on the
traditional zajal form, were critical of both the British occupation and the
Egyptian monarchy, which was referred to as a puppet. This led to his exile
from Egypt, which he spent in France and Tunisia.
El-Tunsi returned to Egypt in 1938, where he continued to publish political
poetry. Bayram el-Tunsi coined the term Adab al-iscrif (the literature of
rescue) to describe "the successful rejection of external threats, the
reorientation and redistribution of power in society, and construction of a
strong and independent nation. In addition to zajal, of which Bayram el-Tunsi
was considered a master, he was proficient with maqama which
he preferred in much of his later output. Among those who have been influenced
by Bayram el-Tunsi were Salah Jahin and Ahmed Fouad
Negm. (Source: Wikipedia)
[11] Fouad Haddad: (Arabic: فؤاد حداد)
(1928 – 1985) was a prominent Egyptian poet of Lebanese origins. He was born to
a protestant Christian family but later averted to Islam. He graduated from the
American University in Beirut holding a degree in Financial Mathematics and
afterwards came to Cairo prior to World War I to work as a teacher in the
school of commerce in King Fouad University, later Known as Cairo University.
He got the title of Bey. Since he was a child, he had a strong will to earn
Knowledge and read about heritage of poetry. He also got affected by his
Francophone study. Fouad Haddad was first arrested in 1953 for political
reasons and later incarcerated for several times. Through his stay in prison,
he developed his poetry into slang one called Amieya. He wrote many Diwans, among
them was el-Messaharati. (Source: Wikipedia)
[12] Salah Abdel Sabour: (Arabic: (صلاح عبد الصبور(May
1931 – 14 August 1981) was an Egyptian free verse poet, editor, playwright and essayist.
He showed an interest in literature in his early life and started to write
verses at the age of 13. Salah graduate from Cairo
University in 1951 with a degree in Arabic literature. Soon
after graduation from the university, he took up teaching Arabic at state high
school, a job he did not enjoy doing. He eventually abandoned it and began
working for Rose al-Yūsuf Magazine as journalist then
became the literary editor for al-Ahram.
Afterwards, he held the position of undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture.
From there, he became the editor-in-chief for the Cinema and Theater magazine.
Between 1977 and 1978, he served as a press counselor for the Egyptian embassy
in India and then headed the General
Egyptian Book Organization until his death. His first
collection of poems, al-Nas fi Baladi (The People in My
Country) published in 1956, marked the beginnings of the free verse movement in
Egyptian poetry. (Source: Wikipedia)
[13] Mohammad
Salah Eldin Bahgat Helmy :(Arabic: صلاح الدين بهجت حلمى), known
as "Salah Jaheen" or "Salah Jahin" (Arabic:(صلاح جاهين (December 25, 1930 – April 21, 1986) was a
leading Egyptian poet, lyricist, playwright and cartoonist. (Source: Wikipedia)
[14] Mahmoud
Mukhtar: (Arabic: محمود مختار) (May 10, 1891 -
March 28, 1934) was an Egyptian sculptor. He attended the School of Fine Arts
in Cairo upon its opening in 1908 by Prince Yusuf Kamal, and was part of the
original "Pioneers" of the Egyptian Art movement. Despite his early
death, he greatly impacted the realization and formation of contemporary
Egyptian art. His work is credited with signaling the beginning of the Egyptian
modernist movement, and he is often referred to as the father of modern
Egyptian sculpture. (Source: Wikipedia)
[15] Mahmoud Said Bey: (Arabic: محمود سعيد)
(April 8, 1897 – April 8, 1964) was an Alexandrian judge and modern painter.
Mahmoud Said was born in Alexandria, Egypt son of Muhammad Said Pasha, a Prime Minister of Egypt. Queen Farida
of Egypt was his niece and she described him as "a quiet,
gentle, oppressively timid man”. After receiving his high school diploma, he
went on to law school, receiving his degree in 1919. Between 1919 and 1921 he
traveled through Europe, ultimately studying at the Académie Julian. He returned to Egypt and
worked at the Mixed Courts of Egypt until his
father's death in the 1950s. Between 1919 and his death in 1964, Said was a
prolific oil painter. In Alexandria, his first trained for two years with
Italian painter, Amelia Casonato Da Forno from 1912, and later with Arturo
Zanieere from 1916. He often shared the studio of his good friend, the Greek
painter, Aristomenis Angelopoulos. Said’s works are now worth fortunes and sold
at very high prices. (Source: Wikipedia)
[16] Hussein Amin Bicar:
(Arabic: حسين بيكار) (1913
in Alexandria –
November 2002) was one of Egypt’s most prominent artists of the 20th century, after
graduating from the Cairo higher school of fine arts in 1934, he spent more
than 60 years of his life teaching art at schools and universities and then
through the press, he is credited for initiating a style of journalistic art
that elevated illustrating for news papers to a level close to that of the fine
art, he is known for his simple and clear style reflecting the influence of Pharaonic art
with its harmony, serenity and mystic. Bicar’s journalistic contributions go
beyond illustrations to include art criticism and narrative poetry. Being the
first Egyptian artist to illustrate Arabic children’s books, Bicar has played a
major role in establishing and promoting this field. Furthermore, his portraits
and oil paintings depicting graceful peasants, Nubian scenes or Pharaonic themes
as well as his elegant, gracious nature has earned him great recognition and
honors. (Source: Wikipedia)
[17] Gazbia Sirry: (Arabic: جاذبية سري)
(born 1925) is an Egyptian painter. Born in Cairo. Gazbia Sirry
studied fine arts and became a professor in the painting department of the
Faculty of Art Education, Helwan
University. She was also a professor at the American University in Cairo. She has had
more than 50 personal exhibitions, official purchases by international museums,
international prizes, scholarships and university chairs. (Source: Wikipedia)
[18] Sayed Darwish: (Arabic: سيد درويش)
(17 March 1892 – 15 September 1923) was an Egyptian singer
and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian
popular music and one of Egypt's greatest musicians and its
single greatest composer. Darwish died of a heart attack in Alexandria on 15
September 1923 (aged 31). He is still regarded as a noble and adored figure in
Egyptian history. (Source: Wikipedia)
[19] Riad Mohammed Al Sunbati: (Arabic: رياض محمد السنباطي)
(30 November 1906 – 10 September 1981) is a 20th-century Egyptian composer and
musician who is very well known around the Arab world.
The number of his lyric works is 539 works in Arab opera, operetta, cinematic
and religious song, poem, Taqtouqa and Mawalia. The number of song poets who he
composed for is more than 120 poets. He composed for many famous Arab singers
like:Umm Kulthum, Asmahan, Warda
Al-Jazairia, Najat Al
Saghira, Mounira El Mahdeya, Fayza Ahmed, Saleh Abdel
Hai, Souad Mohamed, Aziza Jalal (who was the last singer to sing one
of his melodies) and others. (Source: Wikipedia)
[20] Zakaria
Ahmad: (Arabic: زكريا أحمد) (1896
– 1961) was an Egyptian musician and composer. He composed many pieces in a
traditional Egyptian folk style. His works include solo pieces and film scores, and he composed for Umm Kulthum beginning with a taqtuqa written in 1925. (Source: Wikipedia)
[21] Mohammed
Abdel Wahab: (Arabic: محمد
عبد الوهاب) (March
13, 1902 – May 4, 1991) was a prominent 20th-century Arab Egyptian singer and composer. (Source: Wikipedia)
[22] Muhammed
el-Mogi: (Arabic: محمد الموجي) (March
4, 1923 – July 1, 1995) was a prominent composer who shined after the July 23
revolution of 1952. He worked in several jobs until his talent in composing
came to lights. He was an ambitious and talented composer who helped discover
other talents. He left a legacy of beautiful Arabic songs. (Source: Wikipedia)
[23] Kamal el-Tawil: (Arabic: كمال الطويل) (11
October 1922 – 9 July 2003) was a distinguish Egyptian composer and
music author. He graduated from the school of applied arts, and worked after
graduating in 1942 at the Ministry of Social Affairs; however he joined the
evening classes at the Higher Institute of Arabic music. In 1965, he was
dedicated only to music writing. Kamal had a distinctive relationship with the
late singer Abdel Halim Hafez. (Source: Wikipedia)
[24] Um
Kulthum: (Egyptian Arabic: أم كلثوم) on an
uncertain date (December 31, 1898 or May 4, 1904) and who died February 3,
1975, was an internationally famous Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress active from the
1920s to the 1970s. She is given the honorific title, Kawkab al-Sharq كوكب الشرق ("Star of the East") in Arabic. Known for her extraordinary vocal ability and style,
Om Kulthum was one of the greatest and most influential Arab singers of the
20th century. (Source: Wikipedia)
[25] Shadia: (Arabic: شادية) is
an Egyptian actress and singer. Now retired, she is famous for her
roles in light comedies and drama in the 1950s and 1960s. (Source: Wikipedia)
[26] Abdel
Halim Ali Shabana: (Arabic: عبدالحليم
علي شبانة),
commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez (Arabic: عبد الحليم حافظ) (June 21, 1929 –
March 30, 1977), is among the most popular Egyptian and Arab singers. In addition to singing, Halim was also an actor, conductor, business man, music teacher and movie producer. He is considered to be one of the
Great Four of Arabic music (along with Om Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, and Farid Al
Attrach). He is known as el-Andaleeb el-Asmar (The Dark-Skinned Nightingale, Arabic: العندليب
الأسمر). He is also known
as an icon in modern Arabic music. To this day, his music is still enjoyed
throughout the Arab world. (Source: Wikipedia)
[27] Farid
al-Atrash: (Arabic: فريد الأطرش) (October 19, 1910 –
December 26, 1974) was a Syrian–Egyptian composer, singer, virtuoso Oud player, and actor. Having immigrated to Egypt in
childhood, al-Atrash embarked on a highly successful career spanning more than
four decades—recording 500 songs and starring in 31 movies. Sometimes referred
to as "King of the Oud", he is one of the most important figures of
20th century Arab music. (Source: Wikipedia)
[29] Mahmoud el-Sa’adani:
(Arabic: محمود السعدني)
(Novemver 20, 1928 – May 4, 2010) was a prominent journalist and writer who was
famous for being satirist. He founded and established many Arab magazines and
newspapers in Egypt and abroad. He also held editor-in-chief position in many
of them. He was also participated in political life and was jailed many times
during Nasser era and later his successor Sadat. (Source: Wikipedia)
[30] Kamel
Zoheiri: (Arabic: كامل زهيري) (May
3, 1927 – November 24, 2008) was a prominent journalist, ex-chief of the
Egyptian syndicate of journalists, and ex-chief of union of Arab journalists.
(Source: Wikipedia)
[31] Zakaria
el-Heggawi: (Arabic: زكريا الحجاوي) (June
4, 1915 – December 7, 1975) was a pioneering figure of Egyptian folklore. His
most prominent achievement was presenting the Egyptian folklore heritage
through modern media outlets like journalism, radio, and TV. He also worked as
a journalist. (Source: Wikipedia)
[32] Abdel
Qader el-Qut: (Arabic: عبد القادر القط) (1916
– 2002) was a prominent Egyptian poet, critic, and writer. (Source: Wikipedia)
[33] Anwar el-Ma’adawi:
(Arabic: أنور المعداوي)
was a prominent Egyptian critic and journalist. He died aged 45. (Source:
Wikipedia)
[34] Salah el-Sa’adani:
(Arabic: صلاح السعدني)
an Egyptian actor and brother of Mahmoud el-Sa’adani. He starred in many films
and TV drama series. His most prominent role was in Lyali el-Helmiya TV
drama series written by Osama Anwar Okasha and directed by Ismail Abdel Hafez.
(Source: Wikipedia)
[35] Fawa’aliya: (Arabic: الفواعلية)
people working in simple construction tasks that needs no skills like smashing
down a wall or lifting demolished buildings’ wreckage or rubbish. These people
suffer very bad conditions in Egypt as they have no medical or social
insurance. They have no syndicate to represent them or advocate their rights.
[38] Matatiya
Café: (Arabic: قهوة متاتيا) a
historical café established in 1875 and was situated in al-Attaba square in midtown Cairo. It was not only a café but a
place gathering many who contributing to enriching the social, cultural, and
political life in Egypt at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.
[39] Sayyid Jamal ad-Din
al-Afghani: (Arabic: جمال الدین الأفغاني) and commonly known as al-Afghani (1838/1839
– 9 March 1897), was a political activist and Islamic ideologist in
the Muslim world during the late 19th century,
particularly in the Middle East, South Asia and Europe. One of the founders of Islamic
Modernism and an advocate of Pan-Islamic unity,
he has been described as being less interested in minor differences in Islamic
jurisprudence than he was in organizing a Muslim response
to Western pressure. (Source: Wikipedia)
[40] Muḥammad
Abduh: (Arabic: محمد عبده) (1849 – 11 July
1905) was an Egyptian Islamic jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer,
regarded as one of the key founding figures of Islamic
Modernism, sometimes called Neo-Mu'tazilism after the medieval Islamic school of theology based on
rationalism, Mu'tazila. He
broke the rigidity of the Muslim ritual, dogma, and family ties. He also wrote,
among other things, "Treatise on the Oneness of God", and a
commentary on the Qur'an. (Source: Wikipedia)
[41] Sa’ad
Zaghloul: (Arabic: سعد زغلول) (1859 – 23 August
1927) was an Egyptian revolutionary, and statesman. Zaghloul was the leader
of Egypt's nationalist Wafd Party. He served as Prime Minister of Egypt from 26 January 1924 to 24 November 1924. (Source:
Wikipedia)
[42] Ahmed
Fathi Zaghloul: (Arabic: فتحي زغلول)
(February, 1863 – March 27, 1914) was the younger brother of Sa’ad Zaghloul, in
addition to his political, educational, and journalistic interests, he was one
of the pioneers in translation in Egypt as he mastered both English and French.
(Source: Wikipedia)
[43] Qasim
Amin: (Arabic: قاسم أمين)
(December 1863, in Alexandria – April 22, 1908 in Cairo) was an Egyptian jurist, Islamic
Modernist and one of the
founders of the Egyptian national movement and Cairo
University. Qasim Amin was considered
by many as the Arab world's "first feminist". As an Egyptian
philosopher, reformer, judge, member of Egypt's aristocratic class, and central
figure of the Nahda Movement, Amin advocated Egyptian women's rights. He
argued that refusing women their natural rights and treating them as
"slaves of their husbands" with no identity of their own kept the
nation in the dark. (Source: Wikipedia)
[44] Rose
al-Yūsuf: (Arabic: روز اليوسف) is an Arabic political magazine published in Egypt. (Source: Wikipedia)
[45] Ahmed Abdel Mu’ti Hijazi: (Arabic: أحمد عبد المعطي حجازي)
is an Egyptian contemporary
poet. (Source: Wikipedia)
[46] Kamel al-Shennawi:
(Arabic: كامل الشناوي)
was a prominent journalist, poet, and song writer. He wrote many songs for
famous Egyptian singers like Abdel Halim Hafez and Nagat. (Source: Wikipedia)
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