Khalīl al-Khūrī (Arabic: خليل الخوري; 28 October 1836, Choueifat[1] — 26 October 1907[2]) was a Lebanese[3] writer and central figure of the Nahda.[4] He was the owner of Hadiqat al-Akhbar ('The News Garden', 1858–1911), the first Arabic newspaper in Beirut, the origins of which may be pinpointed to a group of Syrians assembled at the forgotten Médawar Literary Circle.[5] Quoting Jens Hanssen and Hicham Safieddine, he "was the first to popularize a sense of Syrian identity."[6]
Khalil al-Khuri | |
|---|---|
| خليل الخوري | |
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| Born | October 28, 1836 |
| Died | October 26, 1907 (aged 70) |
| Citizenship | Ottoman |
| Occupation | newspaper owner |
In the words of Basiliyus Bawardi, he "believed that an adoption of a new Western literary genre into the traditional Arabic literary tradition would provide the Arab culture with tools for reviving the Arabic language and create new styles of expression."[4] Hadiqat al-Akhbar "was the first Arabic newspaper to publish translations from Western narrative fiction, especially from the French Romance stories."[4] Khuri also published a fictional narrative of his own, Wayy, Idhan Lastu bi-Ifranji ('Alas, I Am Not a Foreigner'), in Hadiqat al-Akhbar (1859–61). The literary activity of the newspaper "played a substantial role in changing the aesthetic literary taste, and paved the way for the birth of an authentic Arabic narrative fiction."[4]
References
edit- ^ Ṭarrāzī 1913, p. 102
- ^ Ṭarrāzī 1913, p. 105
- ^ Bawardi, Basilius (2018). "DISCOVERING THE LOCAL: KHALĪL AL-KHŪRĪ'S WAYY. 'IḎAN LASTU BI-'IFRANǦIYY (ALAS, I'M NOT A FOREIGNER) 1859-1861, AND LITERARY GEOGRAPHICAL WRITING". Romano-Arabica. XVIII (18): 15–24.
- ^ a b c d Bawardi 2008, p. 170, abstract
- ^ Edwards 2020, abstract
- ^ Hanssen & Safieddine 2019, p. 24
Bibliography
edit- Bawardi, Basiliyus (2008). "First Steps in Writing Arabic Narrative Fiction". Die Welt des Islams. 48 (2). doi:10.1163/157006008X335921.
- Edwards, Anthony (2020). "Serializing protestantism: the missionary Miscellany and the Arabic press in 1850s Beirut". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 49: 86–103. doi:10.1080/13530194.2020.1765141. S2CID 219498842.
- Hanssen, Jens; Safieddine, Hicham (2019). "Butrus al-Bustani: From Protestant Convert to Ottoman Patriot and Arab Reformer". The Clarion of Syria: A Patriot's Call against the Civil War of 1860.
- Ṭarrāzī, Fīlīb dī (1913). Tārīkh al-Ṣiḥāfah al-ʻArabīyah تاريخ الصحافة العربية (in Arabic). Vol. 1. Al-Maṭbaʻah al-Adabīyah. OCLC 31793402.
Further reading
edit- Zachs, Fruma (2011). "Pioneers of Syrian patriotism and identity: A re-evaluation of Khalil al-Khuri's contribution". In Beshara, Adel (ed.). The Origins of Syrian Nationhood.
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