Chawki Deif, 95, Egyptian Literary Scholar
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The head of the Academy of the Arabic Language, Chawki Deif, who was also renowned for his books on Arabic literature, died Thursday at Cairo, Egypt. He was 95.
Deif drew on his profound knowledge of Arab history and literature, as well as his studies of Islam, to write some 40 books, notably “A History of Arabic Literature.” It ran to several volumes, the first appearing in the 1960s and the last in the 1980s.
Deif received many awards for his work, including the King Faisal Literary Award from Saudi Arabia and the Mubarak High Order for Literature from Egypt. His books were translated into English, French, Chinese, and Persian.
Born to a religious family in the Nile Delta, he received a doctorate for his work, “Artistic Genres in Arabic Poetry,” a book that became a classic and is still widely read in Arab universities.
He joined the Academy of the Arabic Language, a Cairo-based institute that is the Arab equivalent of the Academie Francaise. Founded in the 19th century, the academy has the job of ensuring that Arabic keeps up with modern concepts. Deif was elected head of the academy in 1996.
