The writer and businessman known as the “owner of dualism” Abdel Maqsoud Khoja wrote the final chapter in his cultural journey that spanned decades, as the late is known to spend most of his 100-year life near science, literature, culture and those who love those fields.
The owner of the twofold is the nickname given by the people of Jeddah to the late “Khoja”, as he was hosting in those evenings that lasted for years, scholars, intellectuals and thinkers.
A long journey for a educated grandmother’s son
The writer Abdel Maqsoud Khoja, who was born in 1924, passed away from his loved ones and friends, specifically in the United States of America, following a long treatment trip that caused the absence of “two-second” evenings, as the late health condition and the ailments he experienced forced him to retire from his hobby of sitting with writers and scholars.
It seems that Khoja’s absence from life will not affect his presence in the hearts of culture lovers in Jeddah, especially since his cultural house used to receive hundreds of scholars and thinkers, which prompted the director of programs at the Gulf Center for Studies and Research, Dr. The literary and cultural role played by the late.
Signs of his cultural life
Literary critic Saeed Al-Suraihi considers that the late had two prominent signs in his life, namely the establishment of the honoring salon for the elite class of the intellectuals of the nation and the Arab world, as well as the keenness to facilitate publication for those who take their first steps in literature and culture.
As for the former broadcaster and former director of Radio Jeddah, Dalal Aziz Zia, she noted that Abdul-Maqsoud Khoja is considered the companion of her father, Aziz Zia, noting that he did not honor in his salon only prominent men in the fields of science, literature and culture, but even women found honor in his two. The most prominent names honored were Princess Lulua Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, and Soraya Obaid.
It is reported that Abd al-Maqsoud Khoja passed away on Saturday. In a hospital in the United States, where a number of eminent personalities mourned him and praised him and his fragrant biography.
It was known regarding the late that he was the owner of the most famous cultural forum in the Kingdom, and he had previously honored hundreds of scientific and literary personalities, and he was influential on himself, vowing himself to honor others and rejecting any honor for him.
Khoja had previously been sent as a delegate from the royal court to the Saudi commission in Beirut and then to the press office at the embassy, and worked as director of the private office of the General Directorate of Broadcasting, Press and Publication in Jeddah.
After that, Khoja resigned from government work in the year 1383 AH / 1964 AD, and turned to self-employment, where he established several companies in the field of construction, contracting and industry, and has other activities inside and outside the Kingdom.
In the cultural field, Khoja is credited with being the owner of the “Al-Thaniya” literary forum, which is held every Monday in his house in Jeddah, and is attended by men of thought, the press and literature from inside and outside the Kingdom. The “Dinism” documented the activities honoring 440 scholars, thinkers and writers from inside and outside the Kingdom.
The late was a member of a large number of entities, including the Equestrian Club in Jeddah, the Literary Cultural Club in Jeddah and Makkah, the board of directors of “Al Nadwa” newspaper, a founding member of the Asir Foundation for Press and Publishing, and an honorary member of the Higher Scientific Complex for Islamic and Arabic Sciences in Damascus, among others.
