contemporaries

A comprehensive record of the achievements of scholars contemporary to the thinker Muhammad Kurd Ali, accompanied by their illustrious academic biographies. His position as head of the Arab Language Academy allowed him to meet and interact with them during crucial periods. Among this elite group are: the scholar Mahmoud Shakir al-Alusi, the poet Ma'ruf al-Rusafi, Father Anastas al-Karmali, Sheikh Muhammad Rida al-Shabibi, the scholar Taha al-Rawi, the princes Shakib and Adil Arslan, Amin and Iskandar al-Ma'alouf, Amir al-Rihani, Louis Cheikho, Philippe Tarazi, Badr al-Din al-Na'sani, and Prince Faisal bin al-Hussein. He also had close ties with orientalists, most notably the Italian prince Caetani and Massignon, Goldziher, Hutsma, Hartmann, and Blachere. Kurd Ali devoted fair chapters to most of these prominent Arab and non-Arab figures in the book, although the lion's share went to his Egyptian contemporaries. What adds value and uniqueness to this edition is the editing of its footnotes in a new form, updating them in light of new works that address all the issues addressed in Kurd Ali, and matching the text with the first edition issued by the Academy of the Arabic Language in Damascus. It is a unique jewel in the necklace of the two rivers project, restoring the timeless legacy of one of the thinkers of the Arabic language and the creators of its intellectual renaissance, just as it is a deeply personal historical and intellectual document about men who shaped pivotal roles in the history of the Arabs and the world, in articles that are valuable to every reader.