Obituary: Hossam Tammam: In praise of prescience Hossam Tammam (1972-2011) On Wednesday, 26 October, afternoon, I received a message on my phone. Sent from the number of my friend Hossam Tammam, the message read, "Hossam Tammam, God's mercy be upon him, has passed away. The funeral is tomorrow after the noon prayers..." At first I thought it was a cruel joke. Someone had got hold of Hossam's phone and was trying to upset his friends. When I called back the news was confirmed. Speaking in a voice hoarse from crying, his wife told me that it was true. Even though he had been sick for months, Hossam never lost hope. While receiving treatment at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, he was surrounded by books and research material. When visitors came he discussed work. In the who's who of political Islam Hossam was a towering figure. He travelled around the world, researching, writing about, and lecturing on Islamists, explaining their thoughts, detailing the issues and commenting on their arguments. His was a sober account, factual, well-reasoned and reliable. During the 25 January Revolution most of my information came from Hossam. While I was standing guard in my neighbourhood in Shorouk city he was in Al-Raml Square in Alexandria, protesting, observing and spreading the word. Hossam's work was better known in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and France than in Egypt. He lectured in Zurich and more recently at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, where he chaired the Future Research Studies Unit. Al-Ahram Weekly published many of his articles, interviews and analytical pieces. A perceptive judge of character, Hossam used to say that "insignificant people want you to feel insignificant, whereas worthy people want to make you feel worthy." His loss is felt by readers and colleagues as well as by his many friends. Hussein Abdel-Ghani, former bureau chief of Al-Jazeera Television in Cairo, speaking to one of Hossam's students, said that "you're not the only one who misses Hossam, all of Egypt does." Hossam left us a treasure trove of research as well as a well- trained team of capable researchers who no doubt will continue his work. His funeral in Alexandria was attended by hundreds of family members and friends, including Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, Nageh Ibrahim, Amr El-Shobaki and Amr Hamzawy. After the funeral we gathered at his house and -- as if he were still around -- discussed politics and Egypt's prospects. Writing in the Weekly weeks before the revolution Hossam warned that Egypt was facing an explosion of Salafi anger that would be followed by a splintering in Salafi ranks. Now his words seem prophetic. If the country embraces democracy, he added, the Salafis would remain on the margins of society, having influence only "through alliances and in a limited way". Hossam set up islamyun.net, a site that examines Islamist movements across the political spectrum, from the peaceful Sufis to the arms-bearing jihadists. The site was suspended in spring 2010 due to problems with islamonline.net, but Hossam re-launched it recently. It aims to explain Islamist currents from an Arab and Islamic point of view, though it does not exclude Western views. Having begun his career writing for Afaq Arabiya, Al-Qahera, and then Al-Ahrar, Hossam became editor of the Islamic Movements Sector of islamonline.net. He is the author of several books, including Sisters in the Muslim Brotherhood and The Brotherhood Goes Salafi. He contributed to numerous periodicals and research projects, including at the French Cultural Centre and other European institutions. Widely viewed as a leading Arab specialist on political Islam, Hossam wrote extensively about the conditions of Muslim immigrants in the West. His main argument was that these immigrants are often dragged into discussions of issues in which they are not particularly interested. "[Members of the Muslim community in the West] are always being asked for their reaction to matters in which they are not involved. Flash points involving the West, and various interpretations of Islam, are brought to them for comment. They are asked to react to sharia and other matters of Islamic jurisprudence in which they are not really interested... The Muslim community is thus caught between the (Western) extremists and racists on one hand -- people who never cared for immigrants or foreigners and are now channelling their hostility to Islam, and the globalisation of religious views on the other," he wrote. Hossam, who died of cancer at 39, is survived by his wife and a six year-old daughter.
