Saturday, May 28, 2022 – 3:59 PM
ABU DHABI, May 28/WAM/ A number of Arab intellectuals, writers and academics participating in the 31st Abu Dhabi International Book Fair confirmed that the Dean of Arabic Literature, Dr. Taha Hussein, an encyclopedic thinker and critic, identified himself in critical approaches with Al-Maarri and it was as if he was uttering his name.
This came in a session entitled “Taha Hussein, a critic and thinker” held within the activities of the 31st Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, in which His Excellency Hassan Nazim, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Iraqi Antiquities, Dr. Mohsen Al-Moussawi, Professor of Arabic and Comparative Studies at Columbia University – New York, and Bahraini writer and researcher Dr. Hassan Modon, Dr. Diaa Al-Kaabi, Associate Professor of Narratives and Modern Literary Criticism, at the College of Arts, University of Bahrain, and Dr. Ahmed Al-Saeed, founder and general manager of the House of Wisdom Group for Cultural Industries, and moderated by Dr. Najm Abdul Karim.
The session was attended by HE Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council, HE Ambassador Dr. Muzaffar Mustafa al-Jubouri, Permanent Representative of Iraq to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), HE Dr. Ali bin Tamim, President of the Abu Dhabi Center for the Arabic Language, a number of official and cultural figures and a crowd of journalists and the media.
His Excellency the Iraqi Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities began the session with a research paper in which he referred to Taha Hussein’s literary status and genius, which led the Arabic language to new ways in his style that provokes thought, explaining that the Dean of Arabic literature is a master of modern prose and a unique insight into modernization and renewal, and contributed to rethinking. heritage of Arab culture.
Dr. Mohsen Al-Moussawi said, “The issue of Taha Hussein’s defense of the educated few, whom he described as living their dreams and drowning them in their days, has always been a concern, as he is a literary and critical stature, and he wanted educated leaders to be able to lead society in one way or another.”
Dr. Hassan Modon said, “Taha Hussein drew basic features for an intellectual and literary road map that we need as Arabs. It is an Arab project that concerns the entire Arab culture. Here we are in Abu Dhabi, meeting as Arabs and discussing its importance as a great literary figure. What is required to rise and enhance our cultural reality is to read Taha Hussein, and touch The essence of what he left of literature, and we develop our tools, for he was the dean of Arabic literature comprehensive in everything and his literary, intellectual and philosophical projects covered many aspects of life.
Dr. Diaa Al-Kaabi said in her intervention, “We are not talking regarding just a passing critic, but rather a founder and an inspirer, a stature who possessed depth of thought and foresight, and there is a correlation between the Dean of Literature and Abu Al-Ala Al-Maarri, who identified himself in critical approaches with him and was as if he was speaking his name, as it can be said that Taha Hussein is another The oralists, as he considered blindness to be the biggest metaphor in his life, and this is what we see in his critical discourses, in contrast with the insight that we read implicit in many of his writings.
Dr. Ahmed Al-Saeed concluded the session by saying, “The echo of Taha Hussein’s literature reached China, and the great Chinese thinkers and writers were interested in it. There, novels are issued for him in honor of the Dean of Arabic Literature for the Blind. I have completed many doctoral and master’s theses that dealt with this character, and a series of articles were written regarding him. The light on him as a large and central figure, which indicates that the dean of Arab literature was not only locally Arab, but also global and for all human cultures.
Wam / Reem Al-Hajri / Abdel Nasser Moneim
