Muhammad Hallaj (1932–2017) was a Palestinian scholar and writer on Palestinian affairs. He could not pursue his academic career in Palestine in the 1980s and settled in the US. He served as a member of the

Palestinian National Council The Palestinian National Council (PNC) ( ar, المجلس الوطني الفلسطيني, "'Almajlis Alwataniu Alfilastiniu"') is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and elects the PLO Executive Committee, which ...

Early life and education

Hallaj was born in

Qalqilya Qalqilya or Qalqiliya ( ar, قلقيلية, Qalqīlyaḧ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank which serves as the administrative center of the Qalqilya Governorate of the State of Palestine. In the 2007 census, the city had a population of 41 ...

, Mandatory Palestine, in 1932. He attended a high school in Jaffa. Following the

Nakba :Depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel, Clickable map of Mandatory Palestine with the List of towns and villages depopulated during the 1947–1949 Palestine war, depopulated locations during the 1947–1949 Palestine war. The Nakba ( a ...

the family left their hometown. He obtained his Ph.D. in political sciences from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in 1966.

Career and activities

Following his graduation Hallaj joined the

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the city's Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until September 5, 1956, w ...

, Florida, as a lecturer and taught there until 1970. Then he taught at the

University of Jordan The University of Jordan ( ar, الجامعة الأردنية), often abbreviated UJ, is a public university located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1962 by royal decree, it is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Jordan ...

in Amman from 1970 to 1975. During his tenure Hallaj served as dean of social sciences. Next he joined

Birzeit University Birzeit University (BZU; ar, جامعة بيرزيت) is a public university in the West Bank, in the State of Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as charitable organization. It is accredited by the Ministry of Hi ...

on the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

in 1975 and became a full professor. He was appointed vice president of Birzeit University and then was named as the first director of the Council for Higher Education in the West Bank and Gaza. He taught at Birzeit University until 1981 when he went to the US for a study visit at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. After the end of his study visit in 1983 he returned to Birzeit University, but the Israeli authorities did not grant him a work permit. Therefore, he had to leave Palestine and settled in the US. Hallaj was the editor of a magazine entitled ''Palestine Perspectives'' between 1983 and 1991. He was the director of the

Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine The Palestine Center (previously called the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine until 2002) is an independent educational program based in Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C. Their focus is on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and other Middle East ...

from 1991 to 1994. He was made a member of the Palestinian National Council in 1991. He headed Palestinian delegation during the multilateral talks on refugees which had been initiated after the

Madrid Conference The Madrid Conference of 1991 was a peace conference, held from 30 October to 1 November 1991 in Madrid, hosted by Spain and co-sponsored by the United States and the Soviet Union. It was an attempt by the international community to revive the ...

in 1991. Hallaj was a board member of various Palestinian organizations such as the commissioners of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights.

Work

Hallaj published many articles on Palestinian affairs. He was among the contributors of the 1988 book entitled ''Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question'' edited by

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''Whi ...

and

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...

Death

Hallaj died in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallaj, Muhammad 20th-century non-fiction writers 1932 births 2017 deaths Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Palestinian non-fiction writers University of Florida alumni Palestinian emigrants to Jordan People from Qalqilya Academic staff of Birzeit University Academic staff of the University of Jordan Jacksonville University faculty Members of the Palestinian National Council Palestinian political scientists