Jurji zaydan autobiography of a facebook profile

Jurji Zaidan was a pillar of the intellectual movement known as the Nahda or Renaissance , which laid the foundations for a secular pan-Arab national identity. To this day he remains a household name across the Arab world for 21 phenomenally popular historical novels that, together with histories, helped give Arabs a sense of community through their shared history and a unique language.

Eminently entertaining reads, they proved phenomenally popular to boot. Zaidan played many roles in the Nahda: historian, linguist, novelist, journalist, educator as well as political scientist and social reformer. His phenomenal output was nothing short of astounding. He founded and for nearly 22 years singlehandedly edited the great magazine Al-Hilal , during which time he was remarkably prolific.

Zaidan wrote The History of Islamic Civilization five volumes , The History of the Arabs before Islam , and The History of Arab Literature and Culture four volumes , as well as three books on the history and philosophy of Arabic, one non-historical novel, an autobiography and several other books on a range of subjects. My professional life took me to the World Bank for 30 years to promote the economic and social development in developing countries.

After my retirement I established the Zaidan Foundation in with the intention of informing the public in Egypt and abroad on Jurji Zaidan and his works.

Zaydan is the author

It was then that I realized I did know him after all, through reminiscences and values passed onto me by my father, Choucri, and my uncle Emile; and through witnessing how they built the Dar Al-Hilal publishing house into what it became and remains today. I also read what Jurji wrote about the secrets of his success in his autobiography and his Al-Hilal articles as well as the letters he exchanged with family and colleagues.

Zaidan, the son of an illiterate qahwaji or coffeehouse proprietor , was born into the lower classes of Beirut; he was an autodidact and a self-made-man. His father forced him to drop out of elementary school to help him run his business. He adopted middle-class values and his roots gave him a good understanding of his readers.

He would credit this social sensitivity al hassa al ijtimayeyyah with much of his success as a journalist and writer. Zaidan believed that self-realization and personal growth are the responsibility of the individual.