Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Hassan Saeed Ali Mansour al-Karmi
(whose nickname was Abu Ziyad) (1905 - May 5, 2007 AD), a Palestinian linguist,
writer and media figure, was born in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. He is the
author of a group of linguistic and literary works, and one of the most famous
BBC Radio broadcasters, and the owner of the program « Saying on saying.
his personal life
Hassan Saeed Ali Mansour al-Karmi
was born in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm at the end of June / beginning of
July 1905 AD.
His father is the scholar and
minister Saeed al-Karmi, and his brothers are: the poet Abd al-Karim al-Karmi
(Abu Salma), the politician Abd al-Ghani al-Karmi, the writer Ahmed Shaker
al-Karmi, and the writer Mahmoud al-Karmi. As for his grandfather, Sheikh Ali
bin Mansour Al-Karmi.
Hassan Al-Karmi married a Syrian
woman named Amina, and he had a son, Ziad Al-Karmi, and two daughters, Siham
Al-Karmi and Ghada Karmi.
study it
He received his primary and
preparatory education in the schools of his city, Tulkarem, and he received his
secondary education in Maktab Amber in Damascus, then he joined the English
College in Jerusalem in 1925 AD.
his career
Teaching work
Hassan Al-Karmi worked as a teacher
of English and mathematics in a number of schools, then in 1934 he worked as a
teacher at the Arab College in Jerusalem, after that he joined the University
of London, where he specialized in the fundamentals of education and
educational statistics, during the period 1937-1938, and after his return to
Palestine he moved to the administration Palestinian acquaintances with the
rank of assistant inspector.
His work on BBC radio
After the end of the British Mandate
over Palestine in 1948, Al-Karmi joined the Arabic department of BBC Radio in
London. He worked on the radio as a language monitor, and prepared a series of
English lessons on the radio.
He also prepared and presented his
program “Say upon Say”, which he continued to present for 33 consecutive years.
The materials of this program were published in more than thirteen volumes, and
the idea of the program was based on poetic culture, in which Al-Karmi reviews
the verses of poetry, its authors, the occasions in which it was said, and so
on. The program enjoyed great follow-up all over the world, and questions came
to Al-Karmi from Arab and non-Arab countries.
His relations with the Arab leaders
Al-Karmi maintained strong
friendships with Arab leaders, including the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel
Nasser, the King of Saudi Arabia Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the President of
the Arab Emirates Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Tunisian President Habib
Bourguiba, the King of Libya Idris Al-Senussi, and the Iraqi President Ahmed
Hassan al-Bakr, and King Mohammed V of Morocco.
On a visit to Al-Karmi to Libya, he
met King Al-Senussi, and asked him to answer about a verse of poetry, as Sheikh
Zayed disagreed with his minister about a verse of poetry, so he wrote to
Hassan Al-Karmi to separate them.
Al-Karmi visited Sudan and met with
President Ismail Al-Azhari, and also visited Ghana and met with President Kwame
Nkrumah.
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel
Nasser was listening to the program and was constantly amazed by the issuance
of the program from a foreign radio station instead of an Arab one. Abdel
Nasser commissioned the Egyptian Minister of Culture to try to issue the
program from Egypt, but that was not done.
His writings
His linguistic and literary writings
Al-Manar Dictionary (English /
Arabic) in 1970.
The series of “Al-Mughni
Dictionaries” is bilingual (English/Arabic) and (Arabic/English): “Al-Mughni
Al-Kabir”, “Al-Waseet” and “Al-Wajeez”.
An Arabic dictionary called “Al-Hadi
to the Language of the Arabs.”
The class of jurists.
Volumes «say on say».
Hassan Al-Karmi's memoirs.
In addition to translating many
books into English, including Al-Bakhla’ by Al-Jahiz, he has articles and books
on education, on reforming the Arabic lexicon in both English and Arabic, and
others.
Translation
“Straight Thinking and Crooked
Thinking,” authored by: Robert Thawles, World of Knowledge Series, State of
Kuwait, 1979.
“The Arabs and Muslims in
Andalusia,” author: Henry Charles Lee, 1988.
The Exodus of the Arabs from Spain.
Achievements and Awards
decorations
In 1969, Queen Elizabeth II of
Britain decorated him with the highest British honor, the Order of the British
Empire (MBE), in appreciation of his contributions to the BBC, and the ceremony
of awarding and imitating him took place at Buckingham Palace in the capital,
London.
In 1990, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat
awarded him the Jerusalem Medal for Culture, Literature and Arts.
Honoring
In 1983, he was awarded the title of
honorary member of the Jordanian Academy of the Arabic Language.
In 2006, he was awarded an honorary
doctorate by the Arab Translators Association.
his death
Hassan Al-Karmi passed away on
Saturday evening, May 5, 2007 in the capital, Amman.
source
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