Nejla Mustafa Abu-Izzedin (; May 22, 1907Birthdate, parents' names, and identitification photo from Najla Abou Ezzeddine's 1947 consular pass, in the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965, via Ancestry. – 2008), also known as Najla Abu Izzeddin, was a Lebanese anthropologist, educator, historian, and diplomat. She was a lecturer on Arab topics in North America in the 1940s and 1950s, and author of several histories of the Arab world. She co-founded the Institute for Palestinian Studies in Beirut in 1963.

Early life and education

Izzedin was born in Abadiyeh, the daughter of and Halineh Izzedin. Her family were

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

; her father was a military physician and public health official. Her uncles were journalist and judge . She attended the American School for Girls in Beirut, the

Lycée Racine The lycée Racine is a public school in the quartier de l'Europe located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It consists of a lycée as well as BTS assistant manager and BTS bank staff courses. It takes the name of Jean Racine, playwright and hi ...

in Paris, and graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

in 1930. In 1934, she became the first Arab woman to earn a Ph.D. at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. Her master's thesis was titled "

Taha Husain 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 w ...

and the dawn of Islam", and her doctoral dissertation was titled "The racial origins of the Druzes" (1934).

Career

Izzedin taught anthropology at a teachers' college in Baghdad after graduate school, and was the first woman to teach male students there. She also taught at the American College in Beirut, and was principal of a girls' school in Damascus. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she lived in London, where she did research for her book on Arab history, and worked on establishing the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

. Beginning in 1945, Izzedin was on the staff of the Washington, D.C., office of the Arab League. She was a delegate to the

United Nations Conference on International Organization The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allies of World War II, Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 194 ...

, held in San Francisco in 1945. She lectured in the United States and Canada in the 1940s, and after the publication of her book, ''The Arab World, Past, Present, and Future'' (1953), with sponsorship from the

American Friends of the Middle East The American Friends of the Middle East (AFME) was an American international educational organization, formed in 1951. It was founded by columnist Dorothy Thompson, Kermit Roosevelt, Jr., Harry Emerson Fosdick, and 24 other American educators, th ...

. She often addressed women's organizations, including the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

, the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

, the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

, and the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

(AAUW). Some Jewish organizations opposed her public appearances. She corresponded with scholar

Alphonse Mingana Alphonse Mingana (), born Hurmiz Mingana (; 1878 – 5 December 1937), was an Assyrian theologian, historian, Syriacist, orientalist and a former priest who is best known for collecting and preserving the Mingana Collection, a collection of ...

. Izzedin became a member of the

American Oriental Society The American Oriental Society is a learned society that encourages basic research in the languages and literatures of the Near East and Asia. It was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned ...

in 1931. She was a founder of the Institute for Palestinian Studies in Beirut in 1963.

Publications

* ''The History of Ibn al-Furāt'' (1939, 2 volumes, co-edited with Costi K. Zurayk) * ''The Arab World, Past, Present, and Future'' (1953) * ''

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 ...

of the Arabs'' (1975 in French, 1981 in Arabic) * ''The Druzes: A New Study of their History, Faith, and Society'' (1984, 2nd ed. 1993)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu-Izzedin, Nejla 1907 births 2008 deaths Druze people Lebanese anthropologists Vassar College alumni University of Chicago alumni Arab League people Lebanese women writers Arab anthropologists