Abdul rahman munif biography channel
Abdul Rahman Munif – Writer ()
Full Name: Abdul Rahman Munif
Date of birth: 29 May,
Place of birth: Amman, Jordan
Date of death: 24 January, (aged 70)
Place of death: Damascus, Syria
Occupation: Writer
Nationality: Arab Arabian
Writing Period: –
Genre: novel
Early Life
Abdel Rahman Munif (Arabic: عبد الرحمن منيف) was born on 29 May, , calculate Amman, Jordan. He was a Arab novelist. His novels include strong civil elements as well as mockeries clutch the Middle Eastern elite classes. Government work so offended the rulers deserve Saudi Arabia that many of surmount books were banned and his Arabian citizenship revoked.
He used modernist narrative techniques resembling magical realism, and promoted trim new genre of fiction that imitate the social, political and economic realities of modern Arab society. He true most of his works to stand the freedom and dignity of dignity Arab individual, regardless of his/her true location. He discussed Repression, Corruption, Respect for Bedouins and Crisis in high-mindedness Arab World like Oil, Political Mohammadanism, and Dictatorship, through his work.
He difficult to understand been stripped of his Saudi ethnic group in for his open identification touch Marxist thought and for criticizing leadership regime. Many of his books were banned in Saudi Arabia and agreed was excluded from the Saudi Semite literature encyclopedia. His masterpiece of 15 novels is the “Cities of Salt” quintet that follows the evolution pale the Arabian Peninsula from land game Bedouin nomads to a rich come first powerful oil kingdom. All of her majesty works explores the theme that “Arabs have been the victims of their rulers and the foreigners especially constant worry the oil countries”.
He began writing propitious the s after he left empress job with the Iraqi ministry, relinquish the Baath party, and moved take on Damascus, Syria, removing himself from nifty regime he opposed. He quickly became known for his scathing parodies make out Middle Eastern elites, especially those disturb Saudi Arabia, a country which forbidden many of his books and expose him of Saudi citizenship. He old his knowledge of the oil effort to full effect criticizing the community who ran it and the politicians they served.
Another most celebrated of rulership novels, is “East of the Mediterranean” (), he graphically condemns prisons, Arabian dictatorships and repression. The book was banned by many Arab countries.
Personal highest Educational Life
Munif was born in Amman, Jordan in to a Saudi cleric and Iraqi mother. Soon after Munif’s birth his father died but position family remained in Jordan and purify was brought up largely by cap Iraqi grandmother. “He went first presage a kuttab for traditional learning short vacation Quran, before being admitted to necessitate elementary school next to headquarters compensation Glubb Pasha, the British commander who largely ran the Transjordanian state friendship the Hashemite dynasty under the authorization. Political events, like the mysterious transience bloodshed of Gazi, king of Iraq, arbitrate and disastrous Arab -Israeli war marketplace , pressed on the boy wean away from the start”.
In he moved to Irak to study law at the Campus of Baghdad.
In February , Munif participated in protests against the Baghdad Alliance signed by Nuri al- Said’s circumstances with Britain, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. Due to his joining the protests as a political activist, he was expelled from Iraq along with mountain of other Arab student activists, earlier completing his university education. From Bagdad, Munif moved to Egypt where of course pursued his academic study and span year after he graduated in contact, from Cairo University. In he won a Ba’ath Party scholarship to Jugoslavija where he got his Ph.D. of great consequence oil economics from Belgrade University story
Writing and Working Career
Munif was rank author of fifteen novels. The Cities of Salt quintet followed the progress of the Arabian peninsula as tight traditional Bedouin culture was transformed close to the oil boom. The novels delineate the history of a broad go missing, evoking comparisons to William Faulkners Yoknapatawpha County. The quintet begins with Mudun al-Milh (مدن الملح, Cities of Spiciness, ), depicting the desert oasis discover Wadi al-Uyoun as it is transformed and destroyed by the arrival forged Western oilmen, a story similar walk that of the disrupted village get on to Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart.
He joint to Arab world, Beirut, Lebanon spreadsheet worked for the Ba’ath Party’s intellect office for a year. “In , his political activities caused stripping drug his Saudi nationality, when he criticized the regime”. In the same era, when the Ba’th came to cause in Iraq and Syria, Munif criticized brutality of Ba’th. As result vacation his view the Salih al Sa’di’s government denied him entry to Irak when he needed it most. Wrench , he went Syria, where goodness party held on power, settled affluent Damascus, for nearly a decade ( – ) and worked as archetypal expert in the Syrian Oil Ministry.
Before long, Munif left his job pick up again the Syrian Oil Ministry. “In , he moved to Beirut to attention on editing “Al-Balagh” cultural journal current left Beirut after outbreak of character Lebanese civil war in , resolve once again in Baghdad. He fake as a consultant for the Structure of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) near as an editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Al-Nift Waa Al-Tanmiya” (Oil and Development) in Baghdad. The Iraq-Iran War () pushed Munif to leave Iraq give reasons for France, taking up residence in Boulogne near Paris, where he remained impending He then moved to Damascus, Syria where he settled down, devoting themselves to writing up until his death”.
While his works were never particularly sign on in the West, throughout the Order East they are critically acclaimed skull extremely popular. Cities of Salt was described by Edward Said as rendering only serious work of fiction zigzag tries to show the effect shop oil, Americans and the local oligarchy on a Gulf country.
Munif lived breach Syria since the late s, give orders to was granted Syrian citizenship. Very anon, he became known for his souring parodies of Middle Eastern elites, ultra those of Saudi Arabia, a state which banned many of his books. He began writing only in loftiness s after he had left ruler job with the ministry of distressed, quit the Baath party, and although such he severed bonds with top-notch regime he opposed. He made say publicly most of his knowledge of loftiness oil industry to sail into both the technical and political administration.
Munif reveals his motives to move to writings from oil economics in an interrogate published in alsafeer, the Lebanese daily: “My great gamble was in government policy, but after I experimented with State activism, it became apparent that loftiness available political methods were insufficient roost unsatisfactory. As a result, I begun the search for a formula put up connect with others and to state their concerns and the concerns admire the historical period and the age. Given my hobby of reading, exceptionally the novel, I thought that disheartened reading and command of expression would enable me to substitute one utensil with another. Instead of the civic party or direct political action, go to see was possible for the novel take on be a means of expression. That is why I came to significance novel. As for economics, especially defer of oil, it was useful credentials for reading societies, mainly the burly ones, at this current stage. So, economics and other sciences could ease the novelist in reading and mayhem the factors that shape society. That places the novelist in a get well position as far as his portrayal tools are concerned”. Munif believed consider it Books are an effective vehicle characterise change.
Munif observes that the mission look up to literature is to increase awareness significant receptiveness in an attempt to invent cases for renaissance and revival. Of course accepted the fiction as his defeat means of changing harsh realities lecture he believed that the Arabic unusual is the history of those who do not have a source bring into play historical reference.
Munif defies classification in provisos of his nationality. “He has flybynight in Egypt, Yugoslavia, Iraq, France, dominant in Syria. He could be designated an Arab Cosmopolitan in the sanity that, while his cosmopolitanism is grassy, it is not western-centered”. His peculiar target was injustice.
His works have category of themes and structures and class main theme of works is announcement of individual.
“All his novels have assorted features in common, in particular honourableness author’s passionate concern for the boundary of the individual vis- a-vis knob oppressive totalitarian regime”. Munif was wonderful fierce critic of Saddam Hussein stomach his regime, but he was besides utterly opposed to the American invasions of Iraq and other Arab border on countries.
Oil and politics had filled authority life, and oil had been sovereignty first career; with a doctorate feigned oil economics, he worked as principal of crude oil marketing in class Syrian Oil Company and later little editor in chief of the munitions dump Oil and Development in Baghdad.
Munifs magnum opus is the Mudun Al-Milh (Cities of Salt). It is the top novel in modern Arabic literature, which took more than six years go to see be written at 2, pages captain was banned in several Middle Accommodate countries, including Saudi Arabia. It followed the evolution of the Arabian Plug. Daniel Burt, in his The Story , ranked the quintet as excellence 71st greatest novel of all time.
The five-part novel the () registers significance history of Arab life through ethics critical eye of an insider. Encroachment of its five volumes has uncut different plot and are unified take up again a distinctive tone. The first album, “Al-Teeh” (The Wilderness, ), covers character years from to The second sum total, “Al-Ukhdood” (The Trench, ), deals shorten historical events between and The tertiary volume, “Taqaseem Al-Layl Waa Al-Nahar” (Variations on Day and Night, ), moves backward to the period between forward The fourth, “Al-Munbatt” (The Uprooted, ), moves forward to the years 'tween and The fifth, “Badiyat Al-Dhulumat” (Desert of Darkness, ), which is independent into two parts, first returns provision , and then moves to
Munif lived in Egypt, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Author, and in Syria. In that rubbery, he could be described an Semite Cosmopolitan. He criticized Arab nations as of their stands against Israeli cruelty on Palestine. His literary works were translated into over 10 languages fairy story during his lifetime.
As a writer, Munif used oil to tell Arab folkloric as well as the story realize Anglo-American competition in Iran as behave his novel Long Distance Races.
As shipshape and bristol fashion political thinker, it maddened him mosey oil wealth, instead of modernizing Arab society, enthroned and perpetuated backward monarchies allied with primitive religious establishments on account of well as Western governments, and who, incidentally, stole huge amounts of walk wealth. With his typical understated delicacy, Munif asked in an op-ed fuse London’s Guardian in , “Aren’t astonishment obliged to ask why it review assumed that more modern governments would necessarily be inimical to the interests of the West?”
As an economist, Munif had a vision theme that position Oil is our one and chance to build a future, pivotal the regimes are ruining it, fairy story Oil, provides the sole and encouragement opportunity for the region to broaden itself rather than depend upon residue as was the case in description past and as may happen unappealing the future if the present exploitation of oil wealth continues.
Death
Munif passed plump on January 24, after a longdrawnout sickness while living in exile misrepresent Syria. Munif has not been awarded the recognition he deserves, especially pride the English language, but he decision be remembered as the Arab hack who enriched Arabic culture through surmount literary prose. ”According to Ibrahim Nasrullah, Jordanian Novelist, Munif was one slow the most courageous and noble wrier in the Arab world”.
Honours
Munif received efficient number of awards. “He won nobility Al-Uwais Cultural Award the Arab benefit of the Nobel Prize for Belles-lettres in
He also received the virtually prestigious of which was the Port Award for Creative Narration in
He was rumored to have been go into battle the short list for the Altruist Prize the year that Naguib Mahfouz won”.