Safa Khulusi
Encyclopedia
Safa Abdul-Aziz Khulusi (1917–1995) was an Iraq
i historian, novelist, poet, journalist and broadcaster. He is known for mediating between Arabic- and English-language cultures, and for his scholarship of modern Iraqi literature. However, he is also remembered for his theory that William Shakespeare was an Arab from Basra
.
, the son of a lawyer, into a Shi'a family. He travelled to London
in 1935, living there until the latter stages of World War II, insisting on staying in the city during The Blitz
. He returned to Iraq late in the war.
An Arab nationalist, Khulusi refused a ministerial position in the post-war British administration of Iraq. Instead, he divided his time between Britain and Iraq, establishing an academic career in both countries. His first post was as lecturer in Arabic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies
, London University. During his tenure from 1945-50 he completed a PhD in Arabic literature. In 1951 he was appointed as Professor of Arabic at the University of Baghdad
. He was also served as head of the Arabic Department at Al-Mustansiriya University
. In 1959 he married Sabiha Al-Dabbagh (1922-1998), a medical professional and campaigner for women's health. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter.
Khulusi's work mediated modern European and American developments in scholarship. He extended the academic tradition of comparative literature, publishing Studies in Comparative Literature and Literary Schools in 1957. Though concentrating on literary and historical scholarship, Khulusi also published novels, short stories and poetry at this period. In addition, he translated modern Iraqi literature into English, publishing a number of translations of the work of Atika Wahbi Al-Khazraji. In Oxford in 1972, he became one of the editors of the Concise Oxford English-Arabic dictionary of current usage, which sought to match new developments in usage in both languages. His books The Art of Translation and The Art of Poetry were widely read and went through many editions. He was also a regular broadcaster on the BBC's Arabic service and a presenter of cultural programmes on Iraqi television.
While participating in the Arabic literary revival, Khulusi attempted to remain "neutral" in the unstable politics of the era. During Saddam Hussain's regime, Khulusi spent most of his time in England, staying in Iraq for a couple of months a year to avoid the English winter. When in Iraq, he explained to a friend who asked why he lived mainly in England, "our roots are here, but it's there that we flower best."
A devout Muslim, Khulusi was elected Chairman of the National Muslim Education Council
of UK. He sought to improve Islamic education, while also supporting co-operation between faiths. He also defended traditions of tolerance within Islam. He wrote widely for Muslim publications.
poet Abu Nuwas
, wine- and boy-lover, when he is miraculously transported into America, from his presence on a stamp brought into that country. Part parody of Arabic works on the bewildering experience of life in the West, part picaresque novel
, it has the hero tour the louche subcultures, gay and heterosexual, of America from Queens
through Las Vegas to Los Angeles, while rising ineluctably to become an authority in the United States on the Arab world.
Notwithstanding the high satiric energy of the novel, Khulusi's intention was to introduce American culture to an Arab readership. He compares Iraqi and American nationalism and the practice of religion in his adopted culture with the Muslim faith. He concludes that, just as American identity comes from of a melting pot of peoples, so to is Arab identity, a cultural commitment by peoples of markedly different ethnic background who have come to intermarry, and replace the allegiance of blood with an attachment to a shared language and culture.
Following the lead of the 19th-century Arab scholar Ahmad Faris Shidyaq
, Khulusi wrote a book which attempted to prove that William Shakespeare
was an Arab, the original form of his name being "Shaykh Zubayr". Eric Ormsby
summarises Khulusi's claims as follows,
The Egyptian scholar Ibrahim Hamadah devoted a book to refuting Khulusi's thesis. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
endorsed Khulusi's views in 1989.
Khulusi's thesis was expounded in Arabic publications. He also wrote several articles in English on Shakespeare and Arabian literature for the Islamic Review, but did not claim Shakespeare himself was Arabian in these publications. In 1966 he suggested that Romeo and Juliet draws on the "basically Arabian" concept of Platonic love
. In 1970 he summarised his arguments about Shakespeare's language, but confined himself to the suggestion that the poet was "under the influence of Arabic style".
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i historian, novelist, poet, journalist and broadcaster. He is known for mediating between Arabic- and English-language cultures, and for his scholarship of modern Iraqi literature. However, he is also remembered for his theory that William Shakespeare was an Arab from Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
.
Career
He was born in BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, the son of a lawyer, into a Shi'a family. He travelled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1935, living there until the latter stages of World War II, insisting on staying in the city during The Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. He returned to Iraq late in the war.
An Arab nationalist, Khulusi refused a ministerial position in the post-war British administration of Iraq. Instead, he divided his time between Britain and Iraq, establishing an academic career in both countries. His first post was as lecturer in Arabic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
, London University. During his tenure from 1945-50 he completed a PhD in Arabic literature. In 1951 he was appointed as Professor of Arabic at the University of Baghdad
University of Baghdad
The University of Baghdad is the largest university in Iraq and the second largest Arab university following the University of Cairo.- Nomenclature :Both University of Baghdad and Baghdad University are used interchangeably....
. He was also served as head of the Arabic Department at Al-Mustansiriya University
Al-Mustansiriya University
Al-Mustansiriya University is a university located in Baghdad, Iraq. It was established in 1227 by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir and is one of the oldest universities in the world. Formerly named Mustansiriya Madrasah, it was restructured as a modern university in 1927...
. In 1959 he married Sabiha Al-Dabbagh (1922-1998), a medical professional and campaigner for women's health. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter.
Khulusi's work mediated modern European and American developments in scholarship. He extended the academic tradition of comparative literature, publishing Studies in Comparative Literature and Literary Schools in 1957. Though concentrating on literary and historical scholarship, Khulusi also published novels, short stories and poetry at this period. In addition, he translated modern Iraqi literature into English, publishing a number of translations of the work of Atika Wahbi Al-Khazraji. In Oxford in 1972, he became one of the editors of the Concise Oxford English-Arabic dictionary of current usage, which sought to match new developments in usage in both languages. His books The Art of Translation and The Art of Poetry were widely read and went through many editions. He was also a regular broadcaster on the BBC's Arabic service and a presenter of cultural programmes on Iraqi television.
While participating in the Arabic literary revival, Khulusi attempted to remain "neutral" in the unstable politics of the era. During Saddam Hussain's regime, Khulusi spent most of his time in England, staying in Iraq for a couple of months a year to avoid the English winter. When in Iraq, he explained to a friend who asked why he lived mainly in England, "our roots are here, but it's there that we flower best."
A devout Muslim, Khulusi was elected Chairman of the National Muslim Education Council
National Muslim Education Council
The National Muslim Education Council is a British charity founded in 1978 by the Union of Muslim Organisations of UK. Its first chairman was Safa Khulusi....
of UK. He sought to improve Islamic education, while also supporting co-operation between faiths. He also defended traditions of tolerance within Islam. He wrote widely for Muslim publications.
Abu Nuwas in America
His novel Abu Nuwas fi Amrika ('Abu Nuwas in America'), written during Khulusi's sojourn in Chicago, has been called an "hilarious satire" recounting the extraordinary adventures that befall the AbbasidAbbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
poet Abu Nuwas
Abu Nuwas
Abu-Nuwas al-Hasan ben Hani Al-Hakami ,a known as Abū-Nuwās , was one of the greatest of classical Arabic poets, who also composed in Persian on occasion. Born in the city of Ahvaz in Persia, of an Arab father and a Persian mother, he became a master of all the contemporary genres of Arabic poetry...
, wine- and boy-lover, when he is miraculously transported into America, from his presence on a stamp brought into that country. Part parody of Arabic works on the bewildering experience of life in the West, part picaresque novel
Picaresque novel
The picaresque novel is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society...
, it has the hero tour the louche subcultures, gay and heterosexual, of America from Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
through Las Vegas to Los Angeles, while rising ineluctably to become an authority in the United States on the Arab world.
Notwithstanding the high satiric energy of the novel, Khulusi's intention was to introduce American culture to an Arab readership. He compares Iraqi and American nationalism and the practice of religion in his adopted culture with the Muslim faith. He concludes that, just as American identity comes from of a melting pot of peoples, so to is Arab identity, a cultural commitment by peoples of markedly different ethnic background who have come to intermarry, and replace the allegiance of blood with an attachment to a shared language and culture.
Shakespeare theory
Ahmad Faris Shidyaq
Ahmad Faris Shidyaq was an Ottoman scholar, writer and journalist. Maronite by birth, he converted to Protestantism and then to Islam. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of modern Arabic Literature.-Biography:Mystery shrouds the life of Ahmad Faris Shidyaq...
, Khulusi wrote a book which attempted to prove that William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
was an Arab, the original form of his name being "Shaykh Zubayr". Eric Ormsby
Eric Ormsby
Eric Linn Ormsby, born in Atlanta in 1941, is a poet, a scholar, and a man of letters. He was a longtime resident of Montreal, where he was the Director of University Libraries and subsequently a professor of Islamic thought at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University...
summarises Khulusi's claims as follows,
In a massive tome, the professor argued that the lone survivor of the shipwreck of an Arab merchant vessel washed up on the shores of Elizabethan England and made his way, wet, bedraggled, and famished, to the nearest village where he found hospitality and shelter. Establishing himself, there our mariner quickly mastered English and in short order was churning out remarkable poems and dramas. Relocated to Stratford-on-Avon and London, he rose to prominence in the theater, even winning the favor of the Virgin Queen. His original name had been Shaykh Zubayr, but (though there is no letter p in the Arabic alphabet) this was soon anglicized to Shakespeare.
This thesis, which would have delighted Jorge Luis Borges, rested not merely on fanciful historical supposition but on a mad, meticulous, and painstaking inventory of Shakespeare's vocabulary. The Iraqi argued, with the unassailable logic of the truly demented, that most of Shakespeare's language could be traced back to Classical Arabic.... Even more telling, our scholar detected scores, even hundreds, of borrowings and "cognates" in the Bard's works. To give but one example: the Arabic adjective nabil, which means "noble," occurs, naturally enough, throughout the plays and poems.
The Egyptian scholar Ibrahim Hamadah devoted a book to refuting Khulusi's thesis. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
endorsed Khulusi's views in 1989.
Khulusi's thesis was expounded in Arabic publications. He also wrote several articles in English on Shakespeare and Arabian literature for the Islamic Review, but did not claim Shakespeare himself was Arabian in these publications. In 1966 he suggested that Romeo and Juliet draws on the "basically Arabian" concept of Platonic love
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
. In 1970 he summarised his arguments about Shakespeare's language, but confined himself to the suggestion that the poet was "under the influence of Arabic style".
Selected publications
- Abu-Nuwas in America (1956)
- Studies in Comparative Literature and Western Literary Schools (1957)
- Islam Our Choice (1961)
- The History of Baghdad (1962)
- Arabian Influence on the concept of Platonic love in Shakespeare, Islamic Review, (Oct 1966)
- Shakespeare and Arabic Grammar, Islamic Review, (Oct/Nov 1970)
- Jafar Khalily and the Story of Modern Iraq (1976)
- 'Ma'rūf al Ruṣāfī in Jerusalem', in Arabic and Islamic garland: historical, educational and literary papers presented to Abdul-Latif Tibawi, Islamic Cultural Centre London (1977), pp.147-152.