My great grand uncle, Hassan Al-Karmi, passed away last night at the age of 101. He was a great man that I am very proud to be related to. He was an incredible author, thinker, poet, speaker, educator, and father to us all.
His most impressive writing include 14 dictionaries of which 8 were published. His BBC program "Qawl al Qawl" ("Saying Upon Saying") was heard across the entire Arab world and was known to be a favorite among many Arab leaders.
I recall when visiting him as child that he would frequently have me write a little essay that he would critique while explaining the origins of some of the words I wrote. Even in his 90s he was sharp. I remember seeing him recite long verses of old Arabic poetry at the drop of a hat.
My thoughts and prayers go out to him and all the people he touched. May he rest in peace!
Some articles about the passing of Hassan Al-Karmi:
- [The International Writers Magazine] Remembering Hassan Al Karmi by Marwan Asmar
- [Petra News Agency] The passing of a Palestinian Scolar Hassan Al-Karmi (Arabic)
- [The Guardian] Hasan Karmi: Palestinian intellectual and broadcaster passionate about the suffering of his people
- [Jordan Times] Hasan Said Karmi — 'a soul burning for Palestine’
- Wikipedia Entry
- [The Independent] Hasan Karmi by Donald Macintyre
- [The Guardian] Letter by Sir James Craig
I am in the midst of reading In Search of Fatima and I am having trouble putting it down. My mother is a sephardim (1/2 Syrian /Jew and 1/2 European Jew ). My dad is all Italian. I was raised and am still practicing Catholicism ( I am a terrible speller!). Always attended Jewish holidays with my mom-not so much anymore. Anyway, I found my way to your blog while just cuising the net for more info on Ghada. Please excuse me if I typed her name wrong. How amazing is it for you to find out you were/are related?! Does she have a blog page or somewhere that I can write or correspsond? Well anyway, I am finding the book so amazing. I relate to much on so many levels . Of course for completely different reasons but non the less.... I am in LOVE with this book and her writing. Best wishes, Elisa
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words Elisa. Ghada does indeed have a website. It is www.karmi.org.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sami!
ReplyDelete