Introduction to the book of Faruq Mawasi
 

          It is with great pleasure that I write this Introduction for a dear friend and a talented and prolific scholar, Dr. Faruq Mawasi. He has shown impressive scholarly ability and has engaged in a wide spectrum of literary and cultural activities in Israel since days when he was my MA student. A talented poet and scholar who has memorized the Qur'an by heart, lectured in various institutions and edited literary supplements on Israeli radio and in various journals, he has promoted awareness of Arab culture and literature in Israel and abroad. His secular outlook and amiable character have brought him friends and admirers in the many countries which he visited.

          The six essays collected in this book deal mainly with Arab poets and their poetry in Israel. They are but a small part of Mawasi’s vast literary output in the form of poetry, short stories and scholarly studies.

          His love for the Arabic language and its literature, and his devoted interest in literature in Israel stand at the core of Mawasi’s studies. He discusses Jerusalem as a holy city from different perspectives and orientations, Jerusalem as a symbol to the monotheistic religions, and as a Muslim, he deals mainly with the significance of Jerusalem to that faith, as the main theme and inner core of Palestinian dreams, prayers and aspirations. This subject lends itself well to comparison with Jewish and Christian aspirations in the city, and the bloody conflicts which these have aroused through the ages, over a city which every one of the three religions claims for itself.
In contrast to the image of the Jew as reflected in some of the Arabic literature abroad, the majority of Arab poets in Israel, whose leanings tend to be leftist and secular, examine the image of the “Jew” in their poems using a humanistic approach to life, expressed in a political agenda which is has also been adopted by Israeli left-wing parties whose members consist of Arabs and Jewish intellectuals.

          In his article on the Communist poet Tawfiq Zayyad (1929 – 1995) who was also a politician and the late mayor of Nazareth, Dr. Mawasi deals with narrative style in Zayyad’s poetry and its artistic function. He highlights some satiric and ironic points that characterize Zayyad’s poetry.

          On the other hand, in his article dealing with the Prose Poetry of the veteran poet from Nazareth, Taha Muhamad Ali ( 1931 - ), Dr. Mawasi focuses more on psychology than on style, inquiring into the various aspects of fear as expressed by the poet, exemplified by the anguish and sadness caused by the hectic pace of a globalized world.
In dealing with the poet Hanna Abu Hanna ( 1928 - ), who was another member of the Israeli Communist Party, and a coreligionist of Zayyad, Mawasi discusses his anthology Zill l-Ghayma (The Shadow of the Cloud), -Da`rat a thaqafa , Nazareth – 1997 - as well as his autobiography, putting emphasis upon the importance of Hanna's contribution to understanding Palestinian culture and heritage.
In an another important article our author discusses Mrs. Ilham Dweri’s “Juvenile Literature” and gives us a comprehensive glimpse of some of her books.
Mawasi’s main aim in these translated articles is to introduce his works to English readers and provide them with an opportunity to become acqainted with his studies and with the main themes of Arabic literature in Israel.
          Dr. Mawasi’s research method, the topics he treats and point of view he expresses are engrossing and can provide the reader with insight into significant topics and an original approach.
 

Professor Shmuel Moreh, Jerusalem, February, 2007
Israel Prize Laureate,
Institute of Asian & African Studies
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
 

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By: Prof. Shmuel Moreh