Mahmoud Amin El Alem
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Mahmoud Amin El Alem (1922–2009) (alternative spelling: Mahmud Amin al-'Alim) was an award-winning Egyptian
cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions o ...
and leading
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
theorist. He was a leading public intellectual in Egypt in his day. El Alem was also the head of the administrative board of ''
Akhbar el-Yom ''Akhbar el-Yom'' (, ) is an Arabic language government weekly newspaper published in Egypt. History and profile ''Akhbar el-Yom'' was founded by the Amin brothers, Mustafa Amin and Ali Amin, on 6 November 1944. The paper is released weekly on ...
'' and editor of several newspapers and magazines, including ''
Rose al-Yūsuf Rose al Yusuf or Rose al-Yūsuf may refer to: * Rose al Yusuf (journalist) (1898–1958), a Lebanese born journalist and stage-actress * ''Rose al Yusuf'' (magazine), an Arabic weekly political magazine {{disambiguation ...
'', ''ar-Risala al-gadida'', ''Magallat al-musawwir'', and ''Qadaya fikriyya''.


Career

In the 1940s, El Alem rose to public prominence as a famous Egyptian
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
leader. However, due to his political activism, he was arrested and convicted multiple times. El Alem was expelled from the King Fuad University in 1954 for his political positions, which prevented from defending his
doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
. Thereafter, he became a
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
from 1959–1963 because of his refusal to dissolve the Egyptian Communist Party into the Socialist Union set up by then President
Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...
. Alongside Ismael Sabri Abdallah and Fouad Mursi, Al Elem later sought to support
Arab nationalism Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...
through building an alliance between communists and nationalists to face the economic and political challenges of the
Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
. His 1955 book ''Fi al-Thaqafa al-Misriyya'' (''On Egyptian Culture''), co-authored with 'Abd al-'Azim 'Anis, applied
Marxist literary criticism Marxist literary criticism is a theory of literary criticism based on the historical materialism developed by philosopher and economist Karl Marx. Marxist critics argue that even art and literature themselves form social institutions and have s ...
to contemporary Egyptian cultural works. El Alem was later appointed head of the National Theater Committee and became Director of ''
Akhbar el-Yom ''Akhbar el-Yom'' (, ) is an Arabic language government weekly newspaper published in Egypt. History and profile ''Akhbar el-Yom'' was founded by the Amin brothers, Mustafa Amin and Ali Amin, on 6 November 1944. The paper is released weekly on ...
'' Press Company. Once
Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...
assumed the presidency of Egypt, El Alem strongly opposed the Egyptian "
Infitah ''Infitah'' ( ', "openness"), or Law 43 of 1974, was Egyptian president Anwar Sadat's policy of "opening the door" to private investment in Egypt in the years after the 1973 October War (Yom Kippur War) with Israel. ''Infitah'' was accompanie ...
" (policy of
economic liberalization Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...
). He also opposed the peace policy with
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. Consequently, El Alem was once again imprisoned. Upon his release, he moved to
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, where he taught at St. Anthony’s College at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. He later accepted the invitation of his friend Jacques Berque to take charge of a chair on contemporary Arab thought in Paris; he became a lecturer at the
University of Paris VIII Paris 8 University (), or usually the University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis or Paris 8, is a public university in the Paris Metropolitan Area, Greater Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public ...
(1974–1985) and at the
École Normale École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
. In Paris, he also launched "The Arab Left" newspaper, which published debates among left-wing activists. El Alem returned to Egypt after President
Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...
died in 1984.


Legacy


Development of Marxist Thought in Egypt

El Alem's work and life continue to be of interest today to scholars of Egyptian Marxism and Egyptian history post-independence. His "seminal work," ''On Egyptian Culture,'' has been called "a mainstay of late twentieth-century Arabic literary criticism" (323). He participated in intellectual feuds with
Taha Husayn Taha Hussein (, ; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was among the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a leading figure of the Arab Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Arab world. His sobriquet wa ...
and also took on such Arabic literary giants as
Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha (, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described him as a writer "who, through wo ...
. Historian
Albert Hourani Albert Habib Hourani, ( ''Albart Ḥabīb Ḥūrānī''; 31 March 1915 – 17 January 1993) was a Lebanese British historian, specialising in the history of the Middle East and Middle Eastern studies. Background and education Hourani was bo ...
summarized El Alem's intellectual stance in ''On Egyptian Culture'' as follows:
"Culture...must reflect the whole nature and situation of a society, literature must try to show the relationship of the individual with the experience of his society. A literature which flees from that experience is empty; thus the writing which reflected bourgeois nationalism is now devoid of meaning. New writing must be judged by whether it adequately expresses the struggle with the ‘octopus of imperialism’ which is the basic fact about Egyptian life, and whether it mirrors the life of the working class. Seen in this light, the question of forms of expression becomes important. A gap between expression and content, l Alem and 'Anissuggest, is a sign of a flight from reality..."


Awards

*In 1998, El Alem was awarded Egypt's highest national prize, the Ga’izat ad-dawla at-taqdiriyya *In 2001, he was awarded the
Ibn Rushd Prize for Freedom of Thought The Ibn Rushd Prize for Freedom of Thought (; ) is a prestigious prize awarded in Germany which recognises independent, forward-thinking, individuals or organisations who have contributed to democracy and freedom of speech in the Arab world. ...


Written works

* ''Fi al-Thaqafa al-Misriyya'' (On Egyptian Culture), co-authored with 'Abd al-'Azim 'Anis (1st edition, 1955)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alem, Mahmoud Amin 1922 births 2009 deaths Egyptian communists Egyptian academics 20th-century Egyptian philosophers Egyptian socialists Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford