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Amin al-Rihani (أمين الريحاني) (born Freike, Lebanon 1876, died 1940) was a Lebanese writer, a major figure in the mahjar literary movement developed by Arab emigrants in North America, and an early theorist of Arab nationalism. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب) are a heterogenous ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Arab nationalism refers to a common nationalist ideology in wider Arab world. ...

The eldest of six children born to a Maronite silk manufacturer, Al-Rihani emigrated from his native Lebanon to New York at the age of twelve. There he continued his education, largely as an autodidact, while also working in his father's trading business. He returned to Lebanon for the first time in 1898, and made various visits at later stages, but after World War I returned to spend more time in the Middle East. His interest in knowledge and literature was kindled at an early age, and he began writing in English, becoming, according to Lebanese historian Samir Kassir, "the first Arab to publish in English without at the same time renouncing his own language."^[1] His literary work was part of a flourishing movement of Arab writers in North America at the time, notably including Gibran Khalil Gibran who also wrote in both Arabic and English. Maronites (Marunoye ܡܪܘܢܝܐܶ; in Syriac, Mâruniyya مارونية in Arabic) are members of an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Samir Kassir Samir Kassir (سمير قصير in Arabic) (May 5, 1960 – June 2, 2005), was a university professor, journalist and historian born to a Lebanese Palestinian father and a Syrian mother. ... Khalil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) was a Lebanese poet, artist and Maronite Christian. ...

In the early 1920s, al-Rihani embarked on a voyage through the Arabian peninsula, meeting its rulers to whom he expounded on the necessity of unity in a modern state. He developed a friendship with Ibn Saud,^[2] ruler of the desert kingdom that would soon become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and wrote an account of his travels entitled Muluk al-`arab (The Kings of the Arabs) which was a considerable critical and public success. `Abd al-`Azīz as-Sa`ūd ( 1880 - November 9, 1953) (Arabic:عبدالعزيز آل سعود) was the first monarch of Saudi Arabia. ...

Al-Rihani supported not only the unity of the desert emirates of Arabia, but unity of the Arab world as a whole, and has been seen by some as a major figure in the intellectual development of Arab nationalism. In his writings on the national issue, he emphasised the importance of a secular state and secular education; there must be no minorities or majorities, but only equal citizens. Al-Rihani placed the greatest priority on the spread of nationalist and pro-unity feeling among the masses; rulers would have to follow.^[3] Despite his determined political secularism and his unapologetic identification as a Christian, al-Rihani like other contemporary Christian theorists of Arab nationalism recognised "the special place of Islam and Muhammad in the life of the Arab nation".^[4] Al-Rihani's impact as a theorist of Arab nationalism is somewhat disputed; C. Ernest Dawn, who emphasise the origins of Arab nationalism in Islamic reformism, remarks that al-Rihani's influence "is yet to be demonstrated".^[4] Samir Kassir points to al-Rihani's role in bringing Beirut into intellectual contact with its "cultural environment as well as the wider world".^[5] For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... Muhammad (Arabic ; also Mohammed, Mohamet, and other variants[1] [2] [3]), 570-632 C.E.,[4] [5] was an Arab religious and political leader who established Islam and the Muslim community (Ummah, Arabic: أمة) to whom he preached. ... For other uses, see Beirut (disambiguation). ...

Al-Rihani died in his home village of Freike on 13 September 1940 at the age of 64, following a bicycle accident.^[6] The news of his death caused great emotion not only in Lebanon but in the wider Arab world. ^[7] September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ...

Notes

1. ^ Kassir, Samir, Histoire de Beyrouth, Paris, Fayard, p.394
2. ^ Kassir, op. cit., p. 395
3. ^ Charif, Maher, Rihanat al-Nahda fi'l-fikr al-`arabi, Damascus, Dar al-Mada, 2000.
4. ^ ^a b Dawn, C. Ernest, "The Origins of Arab Nationalism", in Khalidi, R, L. Anderson, and M. Muslih, eds, The Origins of Arab Nationalism, New York, Columbia University Press, 1991, p. 11
5. ^ Kassir, op. cit., p. 395
6. ^ Biography of Amin al-Rihani on www.ameenrihani.org, visualised 9 May 2006.
7. ^ Kassir, op. cit., p. 397

External links

• Ameen Rihani Organisation