Salama Moussa

Salama Moussa (Arabic سلامة موسى, DMG Salama Musa ), ( * 1889 in Zagazig, † August 4, 1958 ), a famous writer and thinker of the Arab world, was known for his wide-ranging interest to science and culture, and its fixed faith in the inexhaustible power of the human intellect as the guarantor of progress and prosperity.

Life

Moussa was born near Zagazig. He toured Europe in 1908; studied in Paris and London, literature, philosophy, humanities, and natural sciences. During his lifetime, he proved himself as an uncompromising advocate of scientific and social reform, and saw in the industrial and cultural revolution, the basis of any further development in the individual and society. Despite this background, it was always his desire to maintain the Egyptian identity and distinguish them from the West.

Not always, he managed to compete in the balancing act of feudal ruled and dominated by Islam in Egypt, especially since he himself is the Christian minority, the Copts belonged. His vehement demand for simplification of the Arabic language and grammar heated in the Arab world or in addition to the criticism of his conservative opposition. He blamed the relentlessly characterized by diverse dialects of Arabic -speaking countries and a total for generations unchanged high Arabic language, not understood by the average citizen, a large part illiterate. Even today, continues the discussion on the simplification of the Arabic language. The writings of Salama Moussa are today in the Arab demand than ever. They are constantly reprinted, find his universal ideas strong sales.

Salama Moussa was, among other mentor of the writer Naguib Mahfouz, who quoted his teacher once with the following words: "You have a lot of talent, but your stories are not good. " After Naguib Mahfouz would have begun his themes to choose prudently.

He was married to Emilie; the joint oldest son is the bacteriologist and publisher Raouf Salama Moussa.