User:Ridaeology/'Ajaj Nuwaihed

'Ajaj Nuwayhid (1897-1982) - lawyer, writer, journalist, translator, public activist and political propagandist. He was born in the Lebanese town of Ras el Matn to a Druze family whose Arabian ancestors had lived in Yemen's Asir region. He acquired his primary and high-school education in local Christian missionary schools, where he formed both his Anti-Zionist worldview and his feeling of affinity with the new Arab Nationalism that began to emerge in the Fertile Crescent at that time. It is likely that it was his feeling of affinity with the Arab Nationalism, rather than his Druze roots, that served as his main motivation for his diverse activities during his lifetime.

At the end of World War I, he joined the short-lived Arab government formed by Prince Faysal in Syria (1918-1920). After Prince Faysal and his government were removed by the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, he left for Jerusalem (then under the British mandate) and was appointed (1923) Secretary of the Supreme Muslim Council, headed by Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini. At the same time, he was qualified as an advocate and opened a law office that remained active until 1948.

In 1932, Nuwayhid resigned his position and founded the weekly Al-Arab as well as a printing house (Matba'at al-Arab). Even though the weekly was independent, it expressed the worldview of the Arab Nationalism since it served as the periodical of the Arab Al-Istiqlal Independence Party (Palestine). It was the first Arab party formed in Palestine during the British mandate and Nuwayhid was one of its 12 founders. The party preached to active resistance both against the British and the Zionist movement. The weekly had reporters in several major Arab cities ( Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad etc.); however, it ceased its activities in 1934. In the years 1932-1940, Nuwayhid also served as a reporter for Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram in "Palestine".

'Ajaj Nuwayhid took part in the large strike that broke out in 1936 and marked the beginning of the Arab Revolt. He was arrested and put in Al-Sarafand detention camp along with many of his colleagues. After his release, he continued his journalist work and in the years 1940-1944 served as the supervisor of the Arab division of the (British Mandate) Palestine Broadcasting Service. He set a number of conditions for his willingness to fill this position, mainly: the Arab division must remain independent from its counterpart Jewish division and from the mandate regime, and Jews must not be allowed to work in his division.

Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Nuwayhid had to leave Palestine. He settled in Jordan and, owing to his close relations with King Abdullah I of Jordan, filled three positions: Head of the King's Office, Manager of the Jordanian Broadcasting Station and Director General of the Jordanian Government's then Publication Center - in the years 1949-1952. It is probable that the murder of King Abdullah I of Jordan in 1952 was the cause for the termination of his government work. In 1959, Nuwayhid returned to Lebanon, his homeland, where he remained active until the day he died. In 1961, he published a series of articles in Al-Ahrar newspaper titled "Bearers of the Torch" [i.e., banner] in Literature, Science and Thought in Palestine." He also published several books and translated books from English to Arabic, including The Protocols in 1967.

The Arabic translation of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The crown jewel of Nuwayhid's translation work into Arabic was a translation from English of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, published posthumously in Beirut, Lebanon in 1967 (in 4 parts divided into two volumes). In this context, there is a particular reference to this translation by Ya'qub al-'Udat, the main source of information on Nuwayhid: "Mr. Nuwayhid dedicated several years of his life to the preparation and translation of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion from English. This is one of the most important Zionist documents, and it appears to have been composed in 1897. [This document] unveils the hidden aims of the Jews, particularly [those included] in the Talmud etc. or [included] in biographies of senior Zionists in Palestine. It [the translation] was praised by the newspapers of the Arab world. In this context, Said Akl, the Lebanese poet philosopher representing the genius of Lebanon, said [in an article] in the daily newspaper Al-Ahrar: "All those involved in politics in this era in the history of the Near East must read the book [i.e., translation] by researcher and scholar 'Ajaj Nuwayhid'"[Ya'qub al-'Udat, p. 645]. Ya'qub al-'Udat proceeds to mention that "the General Secretariat of the Arab League exhibited particular interest in the translation of The Protocols." It referred the foreign ministries of all Arab countries to the book in order to spread it among the Arab countries' embassies in the widest extent possible.

Ya'qub al-'Udat, revealing his own Anti-Zionist viewpoint, adds that "the appearance of the book was an important event that allowed the diplomat, the student, the researcher, and the Arab reader to explore the Zionist ploy in the world and its stages, hidden and overt. The importance of this book shall be preserved to the day the Arabs succeed in defeating the filthiest cancer ever to appear in their territorial area, both in the ancient and in the new world [i.e., the Zionists and Israel]." It should be noted that Ya'qub al-'Udat's "prophecy" has indeed come true and 'Ajaj Nuwayhid's translation of The Protocols has become a bestseller and it is continuing to be published in Arab (including Palestinian) media to this day.