In this video, Todd Fine, of projectkhalid.org, discusses the early 20th century Arab-American writer and activist, Ameen Rihani (Amin al-Rihani), who immigrated to America from Lebanon in 1888. Fine digitized his classic work, ‘Book of Khalid.’ He argues it should be taught in schools and join American canon; he also considers Khalid, the center of the book, to be Khalil Gibran’s inspiration for ‘The Prophet’.
Gibran, by the way, illustrated ‘The Book of Khalid,’ and his reproductions are digitized as well [see one example above]. They were part of a burgeoning artistic and literary Arab-American group based in Boston and New York, and both supported the Arabic newspapers of the regions. Fine committed a real service by preserving online this historic work and making it available on-linen
The first Arab to like ornate French furniture.
Rihani was our first public intellectual and debated proponents of Zionism publicly. The wikipedia page does more justice to his life, times and influence than I could. It covers his notion of pan-Arabism, the influence of which has been debated:
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”. Samir Kassir points to al-Rihani’s role in bringing Beirut into intellectual contact with its “cultural environment as well as the wider world”.
This is a historical figure I think we, as Arab-Americans can celebrate, not glorify, but recognize and emulate. He was someone who combined being an Arab and an American by drawing on the best traditions of each. He was an activist and took part in the public sphere.
The Ameen Rihani organization is dedicated to his memory and has much more in-depth information for those interested. It celebrates his accomplishments on the first page of its site: He was the first “Lebanese Arab” to introduce free verse to modern Arabic poetry and to write and publish a novel in English (I am not certain how significant the ‘Lebanese’ is in this description as it pertains to calling him the “first,” especially as it rubs against “to introduce.” Was he the first Arab in general?). Apparently, he was inspired by Walt Whitman to try free verse in Arabic.
He authored 29 volumes in English and 26 volumes in Arabic in his 64 years of life. But, his legacy lives on.
Fine discussed Rihani and his legacy on this video below. It is interesting and Fine’s passion for his subject his apparent. This video is from ‘What’s Happening,’ an Arab-American TV show that airs weekly on ART America.
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