IBN RUSHD PRIZE for Freedom of Thought 2004

Members of the Jury

Sabry Hafez

The Egyptian professor Sabry Hafez first studied Sociology (1962) before dedicating himself more and more to the study of literature. After he graduated in literary criticism and drama at the Academy of Arts in Cairo in 1970 he travelled to London to continue his studies in literature. His PhD was on „The Rise and Development of the Egyptian Short Story (1881-1970)”. He was awarded the Richter Memorial Prize for best PhD thesis in University of London 1979. He was visiting professor at several universities such as Oxford, Cairo (AUC), Edinburgh, Stockholm, Uppsala, California and London. Since 1988 he teaches Arabic literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. In 1988 Prof. Hafez was selected as one out of 9 members of the Panel for Modern Languages of The Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), which is responsible for financing the research in modern languages in all British universities.

In the sixties Sabry Hafez worked side by side with the renowned writer Yahya Haqqi editing at different Magazines such as al-Majallah and at-Tali’a and the newspaper al-Ahram. Before he left Egypt Sabry Hafez became member of the High Council of Arts, Literature and Social Sciences in Cairo. Sabry Hafez is member of the Author’s Union in Egypt, of the international PEN Club (Cairo), the Society of Film Critics, the Union of University Teachers at British universities, the Royal Trust for the Maintenance of National Heritage and others.

Publications: Chechov’s Drama, 1972; Departure to the Cities of Dreams: A Study in the Poetry of ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayyati, 1973; Conversations with Naguib Mahfouz, 1975; Experimentation in the Theatre: Studies and Reviews of the English Theatre, 1984; Literature and Revolution, 1984; Mahmoud Darwish, 1992 u.a.

Faissal Darrag

Faissal Darrag was born in Palestine in 1942. After he finished his postgraduate studies (PhD) in France in 1974 he worked at the Centre for Palestinian Studies in Beirut from 1975 to 1979. Faissal Darrag tought at the Academy of Arts in Damascus from 1995 to 1998. Together with Ihsan Abbas he edited from 1979 to 1983 a series in six volumes under the title „The Harvest of Arabic Thought“ and along with the playwright Saadallah Wannous and the novelist Abd ar-Rahman Munif he published the cultural magazine Issues and Reports (1989-1994). He is also editor of the six-volume-series The future of Political Parties in the Arab World published in Arabic Centre for Strategic Studies. For his book Theory of the Novel he received several prizes, such as the Prize of Palestine and the Prize for best Arabic non-fiction book at the Book fair in Cairo in 2002. He supervised the translation of Misery of the World by Pierre Bourdieu and Traurige Umlaufbahnen by Claude Lévy-Strauss. He took part as jury member in a couple of committees in Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Publications: On the Relationship between Culture and Politics; The Semantics of Literary Relations; Memory of the Defeated; Theory of the Novel; The Arabic Novel; The Arabic Novel and Interpretation of History and The Future of Literary Criticism in the Arab World.

Khalil Sheikh

The Jordanian professor Khalil Sheikh (born in 1954) is teaching professor for Arabic Literature at the University of Yarmuk in Irbid. He got his PhD in 1986 at the University of Bonn/Germany. He worked as university teacher in several universities at Yarmuk University, at the Jordanian University and the University of Sultan Qabus in Oman. He is founding member of the Magazine Tolerance (Tasamuh) which is published in Oman. His main interests are studies in comparative literature and modern Arabic Prose. PhD: The Devil in Modern Arabic Literature. Adopting a European Motif in Theatre and Poetry of the 19th and 20th Century. His Master thesis was about „The Arab Protagonist in Confrontation with Western Culture from 1935 to 1978.“

Further Publications: Modern Criticism; Suicide in Modern Arabic Literature, 1997; Paris in Modern Arabic Literature, 1998; Recurring Possibilities of Comparison: Studies on the Relationship between the „Self“ and the „Other“, 2000; „Jabra Ibrahim Jabra’s Autobiography and autobiographical Traces in his Works of Prose“ in Abhath al-Yarmuk, vol. 7, Nr. 1(1989), S. 71-96 u.a.

Youmna el Eid

The Lebanese writer and critic Youmna el Eid took her PhD-degree Literature at Sorbonne University in Paris (1977). After Graduation she went back to Lebanon to teach Arabic Literature at the AUB until 1999. She was invited as visiting professor to many Arab Universities and research institutes, to Sanaa/Jemen from 1985 to 1990 and at the Centre for Applied Sciences and Feminist Studies in Sanaa/Jemen from 1998 to 1999, as well as visiting professor at Sorbonne University in Paris in 1996. In 2001 she was invited to take part in a symposium in Tunisia, where she held a couple of lectures in various universities. In 1992/1993 she was awarded the Owais-Prize for her academic work in literature and criticism. Since 1996 she is consulting committee member for a book series entitles „Book in the Magazine“, which is published by the UNESCO. She is active and consulting member in several institutions and editorial boards of Arabic magazines.

Publications: Literary Terms and Arabic Cultural Movement, 2004; On Israeli Hypocrisy, 2003; The Art of the Arabic Novel, 1998; Writing as Change in a Change – Opposing Literary Writings During the Lebanese Civil War, 1993; Techniques of Narration, 1990; On Poetry, 1987; The Narrator – Position and Form, 1986; Ways of Presenting the Text, 1983; The Social Symbolism of the Romantic Literary Movements in Lebanon, 1979; Practicizing Literary Criticism, 1983; Qasim Amin – Woman is the focus of Reform, 1970; Amin ar-Raihani – Traveller of the Arabs, 1970.

Together with Mohamed al-Bakri she translated the non-fiction book Marxism and Michael Bachtin’s language philosophy, 1983.

Beside her academic work Youmna el Eid has written a couple of short stories which were published in different Arabic Magazines.

Salwa Bakr

Salwa Bakr was born in Cairo in 1949. After she graduated in Economy (Management) at Ayn Shams University in Cairo (1972) she studied a second time in Drama at the Academy of Arts in Cairo (1976). From 1974 to 1980 she worked in the inspection at the governmental food supply in Cairo, then she gave up this job and started a carrier as journalist. Since 1985 she finally gives up this job, too, to attend to her writings. Salwa Bakr is teaching at the American University in Cairo from 2001. She is member of the Higher Committee for Arts, Literature and Social Sciences in Cairo, as well as member in the Egyptian Writer’s Union and jury member in the first Arab Film Festival in Paris.

Publications: She has written seven anthologies of short-stories, seven novels and one theatre play. Some of her books have been translated into several languages such as English, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Korean and Serbian.

Following novels have been translated into German: Atijas Schrein, 1992; Der goldene Wagen fährt nicht zum Himmel; Die einzige Blume im Sumpf, 1998; In 1992 her novel Al-Araba adh-dhahabiyya la tas’adu ila as-sama’ was made into a Film The Golden Chariot.

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