EGX ends week mostly higher on Oct. 16    Egypt, Qatar sign MoU to boost cooperation in healthcare, food safety    Egypt, UK, Palestine explore financing options for Gaza reconstruction ahead of Cairo conference    Egyptian Amateur Open golf tournament relaunches after 15-year hiatus    Egypt's Kouchouk: IMF's combined reviews will give clearer picture of fiscal performance    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Oil prices rise on Thursday    Fragile Gaza ceasefire tested as humanitarian crisis deepens    Egypt explores cooperation with Chinese firms to advance robotic surgery    CBE, China's National Financial Regulatory sign MoU to strengthen joint cooperation    Avrio Gold to launch new jewellery, bullion factory in early 2026    AUC makes history as 1st global host of IMMAA 2025    Al Ismaelia launches award-winning 'TamaraHaus' in Downtown Cairo revival    Al-Sisi, Burhan discuss efforts to end Sudan war, address Nile Dam dispute in Cairo talks    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Al-Burhan renew opposition to Ethiopia's unilateral Blue Nile moves    Egypt's Cabinet hails Sharm El-Sheikh peace summit as turning point for Middle East peace    Gaza's fragile ceasefire tested as aid, reconstruction struggle to gain ground    Egypt's human rights committee reviews national strategy, UNHRC membership bid    Al-Sisi, world leaders meet in Sharm El-Sheikh to coordinate Gaza ceasefire implementation    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile actions, calls for global water cooperation    Egypt unearths one of largest New Kingdom Fortresses in North Sinai    Egypt unearths New Kingdom military fortress on Horus's Way in Sinai    Egypt Writes Calm Anew: How Cairo Engineered the Ceasefire in Gaza    Egypt's acting environment minister heads to Abu Dhabi for IUCN Global Nature Summit    Egyptian Open Amateur Golf Championship 2025 to see record participation    Cairo's Al-Fustat Hills Park nears completion as Middle East's largest green hub – PM    El-Sisi boosts teachers' pay, pushes for AI, digital learning overhaul in Egypt's schools    Egypt's Sisi congratulates Khaled El-Enany on landslide UNESCO director-general election win    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Karnak's hidden origins: Study reveals Egypt's great temple rose from ancient Nile island    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Egypt reviews Nile water inflows as minister warns of impact of encroachments on Rosetta Branch    Egypt aims to reclaim global golf standing with new major tournaments: Omar Hisham    Egypt to host men's, juniors' and ladies' open golf championships in October    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







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Anis Mansour
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 13 - 11 - 2008

I was a junior diplomat in London when that legendary writer was visiting. He stayed in a hotel close to the Egyptian consulate. Young Egyptians gathered to hear his catchy speech, amazing stories and sarcastic phrases.
I also remember that when I was an advisor to the Egyptian embassy in India I used to wait for the "diplomatic portfolio" every week to read his episodes in October Magazine, which he had established.
He late compiled them in his wonderful book "Our days in Aqad Salon". I enjoyed those episodes so much because they came under what we called the process of ideological, cultural and social historiography for Egypt in a period that witnessed the flourishing of encyclopedic great figures topped by Mansour, author of "The Genius".
Several people may disagree with Mansour in his political stances, especially his criticisms to the Nasserite age and his stance towards the peace issue and normalization with Israel.
However, Mansour is a unique thinker who affected three generations at least in our modern history. He is ranked first among writers in terms of number of books. He has a great number of readers from different age groups.
However, some people see him – in spite of his great ideological and cultural value – as a nihilistic writer and a pessimist. Also he seems to be despaired with regard to attempts of reform, having reservations for some persons, ideologies and stances.
His book "Around the world in 200 days" will stay a great travel combining between geographical information, cultural perspective and mental enjoyment.
His books have double benefits for his readers and students because they are a cultural supply, a psychological dose and a subject of entertainment.
Moreover, Mansour wrote about "conjuring" and carefully analyzed diseases and pains of society. He is the professor of philosophy, who followed the examples of great men in the academic and cultural fields in Egypt and the world for tens of years.
He is an omnivorous reader and encyclopedic. He is a talented, who has a great attraction till those who are close to him called him the "magician".
In addition, Mansour has tens or, to be more accurate, hundreds of stories, anecdotes and funny situations from his friends from different generations, including scores of thinkers and politicians from all over the world.
Our great writer was tantamount to the cultural advice for late President Sadat. I have known him for tens of years as a calm thinker, vigilant critic, omnivorous reader and renewed writer who has endless knowledge of the history of literature, the culture of peoples and the civilization of both the Arabs and the Westerners, especially when he writes about his great teachers Al-Aqad, Taha Hussein, Tawfiq Al-Haqim, Mansour Fahmi, Abdel Rahman Badawi, etc.
Mansour has another value embodied in his faith in an opened and flourished Egypt, which welcomed foreign communities and made a great experiment of coexistence between Muslims, Copts, Jews, Armenians, Greeks and Italians. Therefore, Egypt had a distinguished character, especially in the first half of the twentieth century.
I also think that this talented writer made a long journey in life from doubt to certainty, from existentialism to faith and from the culture of the West to the civilization of Islam.
Whenever I meet him, I find that he has new questions like renowned philosophers and senior thinkers.
My best regards to this genius writer and eminent journalist with whom people may differ but never disagree about his value as a thinker, a cultured man of letters, and author, a theatrical critic and a social historian.   


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