Yusuf Abu Rayya (; 1955 – 12 January 2009) was an Egyptian author.

Early life

He was born in 1955 in Hihya in the Sharqiya Governorate, and studied journalism at

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 ...

. His first published book was a collection of short stories in 1985, followed by his first novel in 1989. He wrote over a dozen books including novels, children's books and short story collections. His best known work is ''Wedding Night'', published in 2002. This novel won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal, and an English translation by R Neil Hewison was published by the AUC Press in 2006.

Career

Abu Rayya served on the governing board of the Egyptian branch of

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

. He lent vocal support to the Syrian writer Haidar Haidar, who was the subject of a

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

by clerics at

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 ...

in 2000. Abu Rayya died of

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

in January 2009.Obituary in Daily News Egypt, 13 January 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Rayya, Yusuf Egyptian male short story writers 1955 births 2009 deaths People from Sharqia Governorate Cairo University alumni Deaths from liver cancer in Egypt 20th-century Egyptian novelists 20th-century Egyptian short story writers 20th-century Egyptian male writers