Mohamed Fathi Osman (March 17, 1928 – September 11, 2010) was an Egyptian author and scholar who advocated on behalf of cooperation between Islam and other religions and whose writings include an overview of the

Koran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

for the general public.

Biography

Osman was born on March 17, 1928, in

Minya, Egypt MinyaAlso spelled '' el...'' or ''al...'' ''...Menia, ...Minia'' or ''...Menya'' ( ) is the capital of the Minya Governorate in Upper Egypt. It is located approximately south of Cairo on the western bank of the Nile River, which flows north ...

. He joined the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

in the 1940s and worked on its weekly journal. Osman was awarded an undergraduate degree in 1948 from

Cairo University Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

where he majored in history in 1948. He broke with

Sayyid Qutb Sayyid Ibrahim Husayn Shadhili Qutb (9 October 190629 August 1966) was an Egyptian political theorist and revolutionary who was a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood. As the author of 24 books, with around 30 books unpublished for differe ...

and the Muslim Brotherhood during the 1950s and wrote the 1960 book ''Islamic Thought and Change'', which presented a more progressive view of the religion, earned a law degree in 1960 from

Alexandria University Alexandria University () is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an independent entity in 1942. It was known as ...

in 1960 and returned to Cairo University where he received a master's degree in Islamic-Byzantine relations in 1962. He was on the faculty of

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

during the 1960s, where he worked on restructuring the teaching of Islam at universities and colleges in Egypt. He was granted a doctorate in

Near Eastern studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

in 1976 from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where he wrote a dissertation on the subject of Islamic land ownership and taxation and later taught history at

Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) (), commonly known as Al-Imam University (IMAMU) (Arabic: إمامو), is a public university in the sub-municipality of Shemal in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1950 as an Islamic semin ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

.Grimes, William
"Fathi Osman, Scholar of Islam, Dies at 82"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', September 19, 2010. Accessed September 21, 2010. Osman's writings, including 40 books written in English and Arabic, were aimed at making Islamic civilization and culture more understandable to non-Muslims and at showing followers of Islam that the religion provided the flexibility to adapt to modern times. ''

'' cited Osman's "monumental" 1997 book ''Concepts of the Quran: A Topical Reading'' as "his most important work in English", in which he explicated concepts in Islam for non-Muslims. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called the book "a milestone in Islamic scholarship that has made the central text of the Muslim religion more accessible to English speakers". Other works written by Osman covered subjects such as

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

and civil law, the rights of women,

religious pluralism Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religion, religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following: * Recognizing and Religious tolerance, tolerating the religio ...

and the applicability of Western ideas by Muslims, topics he covered in Arabic in the 1963 text ''The Individual in Muslim Society: Mutual Rights and Obligations'' and ''Human Rights in Western Thought and Islamic Law'' in 1981. English language publications include the 1990 publication ''Muslim Women in the Family and the Society'' and the 1995 releases ''Islamic Law in the Contemporary Society: Shari'a Dynamics of Change'' and ''Children of Adam: An Islamic Perspective on Pluralism''. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1987, where he was chosen as a scholar in residence at the Islamic Center of Southern California. There he helped establish the Institute for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World and served as a senior scholar at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement The Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement (CMJE) was a faith-based coalition whose stated mission was to "promote dialogue, understanding and grassroots, congregational and academic partnerships among the oldest and the newest of the Abrahamic faith ...

. Dafer M. Dakhil of the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement called Osman someone who believed that "Islam is a dynamic and flexible religion able to engage modernity and the issues of human rights and women's issues". Osman died at age 82 on September 11, 2010, at his home in Montrose, California due to

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

.Woo, Elaine
"Fathi Osman dies at 82; voice for modernism in Islam: Osman wrote 'Concepts of the Quran,' an English commentary that organizes the text by topic and includes his interpretations of the Koran's major teachings."
''

'', September 15, 2010. Accessed September 21, 2010. He was survived by his wife, Aida Abdel-Rahman Osman, as well as by his daughter Ghada Osman, a professor of Arabic studies at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

Bibliography

*Concepts of the Quran (1999), pub. Multimedia Vera International

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osman, Fathi 1928 births 2010 deaths Cairo University alumni Alexandria University alumni Academic staff of Al-Azhar University Princeton University alumni Egyptian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Egyptian historians Egyptian Muslims University of Southern California faculty People from La Crescenta-Montrose, California People from Minya Governorate