Success stories of Palestinian achievers from all over the world

Zuhair Alshan

Zuhair Alshan

Sector : Science, Scientists

Personal Info

  • Country of residence: Palestine
  • Gender: Male
  • Born in: 1921
  • Age: 102
  • Curriculum vitae :

Information

Zuhair Mahmoud Saeed Ali Mansour al-Karmi (Abu Mahmoud; December 7, 1921 - November 29, 2009) was a Palestinian scientist, researcher, writer and media person from the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. Which was broadcast in the Arab world from 1962 to 1984, and he is the founder of the Kuwaiti Scientific Museum, the founder of Al-Quds University, and its first president.

His upbringing and education
Zuhair Mahmoud Saeed Ali Mansour Al-Karmi, who is from the Palestinian city of Tulkarem, was born on December 7, 1921 in Damascus, when his father, the writer Mahmoud Al-Karmi, was working there as director of Al-Malik Al-Zaher School.

Zuhair Al-Karmi received his primary, preparatory, and secondary education in Palestinian schools, and in 1936 he joined the Arab College in Jerusalem, and obtained his high school diploma in 1937.

He joined the American University in Beirut, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1941. He was initially enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine at the university, but the assassination of his father, Mahmoud al-Karmi, in Beirut on December 24, 1939 prompted him to leave medicine and study sciences. So that he can finish his university studies early to support his brothers.

In 1945 he went to Cairo to study Arabic scientific terminology, then went to London, where he obtained a master's degree in biology from the Imperial College in London in 1948.

his working life
at the beginning of his life; Zuhair al-Karmi worked as a science teacher in the Fadhiliya School in his home city of Tulkarm from 1941 until 1945, then he became head of the General Examinations Department at the Ministry of Education in Jerusalem. After his return in 1948 from London to Tulkarm, he participated in the establishment of the Jihad Hospital in the city, accompanied by a group of women. He also worked as an English teacher at the Khadoori Institute in the city.

In 1951, Maarif Al-Kuwait assigned him to work for it as a teacher in its schools, and after that he became inspector of sciences there in Kuwait, then chief of science inspectors in the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education, where he supervised science curricula more than once.

He resigned from his job in education to assume the position of General Manager of Kuwait Oxygen Company and Kuwait Industrial Gases Corporation. He contributed to radio and television in Kuwait by presenting scientific programmes. He also founded the Kuwaiti Science Museum on February 6, 1972, and was considered one of the UNESCO experts for this museum.

his personal life
Zuhair Al-Karmi, who is from the “Karmi” family known in the city of Tulkarm; His father is the writer Mahmoud al-Karmi, and his uncles 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 linguist Hassan al-Karmi. And his grandfather is the scholar, Minister Saeed Al-Karmi. As for his grandfather's father, Sheikh Ali bin Mansour Al-Karmi, the jurist.

Zuhair Al-Karmi is married and has four sons and three daughters. His four children are: Dr. Mahmoud Al-Karmi, Dr. Moataz Al-Karmi, Dr. Fawaz Al-Karmi, and Dr. Ali Al-Karmi.

Founded by Al-Quds University
In 1957, Zuhair Al-Karmi founded the Arab Institute in Abu Dis, near Jerusalem, with Kuwaiti funding. Its foundation stones were laid by the Kuwaiti Emir Jaber Al-Sabah and the Jordanian King Hussein bin Talal. After his return from Kuwait to Palestine, in 1979, Al-Karmi established the “College of Science and Technology” next to the Arab Institute, and he assumed the management of the college.

In 1984, Zuhair Al-Karmi founded Al-Quds University; This is after he transformed the College of Science and Technology into a university with the merging of additional colleges within it. He assumed the presidency of the university and contributed to its development.

His most prominent works
He has important scientific publications, most notably:

"Science of Life", three parts.
«General Sciences», nine parts.
Kuwait and Water in the Twenty-First Century.
«Kuwait and Industry in the Twenty-First Century».
Scientific Atlas: The Plant World, 1977.
Features of the picture of the world in the twenty-first century, 1977.
“Science and the Problems of Modern Man,” The World of Knowledge series, 1978.
Scientific Atlas: The Animal World, 1983.
Scientific Atlas: Human Physiology.
«UNESCO reference in teaching geography», 1985.
Scientific Atlas: Human Physiology, Part Two, 1991.
Back to the beginning: a long story, 1993.
"Human Nature", The Arab Institute for Studies and Publishing, Beirut, 1995.
Encyclopedia of Scientific Atlas, 1999.
See the translation of the book “The Universe and Black Holes” by Raouf Wasfi, World of Knowledge series, 1979.
Refer to the translation of the book “Human Ascension” by Jacob Bronowski, The World of Knowledge series, 1981.
Translated the book “The Sons of Man” by Peter Farb, 1983.

Achievements and Awards

Honors and awards
On September 3, 1967, King Hussein bin Talal Zuhair al-Karmi awarded the Jordanian Order of Independence, in appreciation of his efforts.
On January 23, 2003, Zuhair Al-Karmi won the "Philadelphia Award for Best Book of 2002", during a ceremony organized specifically for that at the Royal Cultural Center in the Jordanian capital, Amman, in the presence of a number of ministers and personalities.
His death and eulogy
Zuhair Al-Karmi died in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on November 29, 2009, at the age of 87.

On December 7, 2009, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education adopted the late Zuhair Al-Karmi. On January 16, 2010, the Jordanian Writers and Writers Union celebrated the late Zuhair Al-Karmi by holding a memorial ceremony for him in the capital, Amman, on the 40th anniversary of his passing.

Honor him
Al-Quds University named one of the university's large halls after Zuhair Al-Karmi.
On July 24, 2011, the Palestinian Ministry of Youth and Sports launched the “Zuhair Al-Karmi Prize for Scientific Creativity” in honor of Zuhair Al-Karmi and his scientific contributions.
They said about him
The writer Suleiman Al-Azrai said: “The late Zuhair Al-Karmi is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Arab thought and culture.
Writer Nayef Al-Nawaisa said: “We cry for him whenever we feel the cultural emptiness around us, this intellectual whose culture has transcended all borders and all sites to be an Arab cultural wall that the foreigner loves before the Arab.”
Kuwaiti Minister of Education, Moudi Al-Hamoud, said: “Many of his students still remember with appreciation and pride his distinguished personality, gentleness, sincerity and dedication to his work, as he was a wonderful and successful example of an educator with a noble message.”
The writer, Maan al-Bayari, said: “It is the image of the man on the TV screen in his presentation of a wonderful program called “Science and Life”, which belongs to the time of joy on television in our homes. He provided his viewers with extensive knowledge of life in the secrets of the oceans and seas and their bottoms, of birds in the spaces and skies of the world, of animals in forests, plains and deserts. It was an interesting pleasure to listen to Zuhair Al-Karmi, as he explains all of this and others in the tone of a companion and friend, and in his voice there is calm and kindness, so we learn and rejoice, then we await his appearance next week.. Zuhair Al-Karmi's program is respected in the memory of millions of Arabs.
The head of the Jordanian Writers and Writers Union, Sadiq Joudeh, said: “The late Zuhair al-Karmi was a scholar, writer, philosopher, educator, and translator.”
The researcher, Muhammad Saeed Hamdan, said: “The late Zuhair al-Karmi was an encyclopedic thinker and a prominent scholar of Palestinian and Arab thought, and a pioneering intellectual school.
The journalist, Abdullah Al-Qaq, said: “The late great Zuhair Al-Karmi is one of the scholars and masters of science and culture who left imprints on the huge efforts that resonate on the tongues and tell models to be emulated, the capabilities of their peers, and scientific riches.
The educator, Adnan Lutfi Othman, said: “I got to know the late Abu Mahmoud in the mid-fifties, during his annual vacation, which he used to spend in Tulkarem among his family and loved ones. Al-Munir, who inspires thinking, has a distinguished personality, a keen mind, and touches on the authentic Arab values.
The poet “Abdullah Abdel Razek,”saying:
Zuhair Sadaq, the scholar of information, the dearest gentleman
A sign like it in the worlds has been scarce

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