Zaki Mubarak

Zaki Mubarak: Egyptian novelist, poet, critic, and journalist, holder of three doctorates. The writer Zaki Abdel Salam Mubarak was born on August 5, 1892, in the village of Santareis in Monufia Governorate to a well-off family. In his childhood, he attended the Kuttab (traditional Quranic school), and Zaki Mubarak developed a passion for reading from the age of ten. He completed memorizing the Holy Quran at the age of seventeen. Zaki Mubarak obtained a certificate of qualification from Al-Azhar Mosque in 1916, then decided to enroll in the Faculty of Arts at the Egyptian University, where he graduated and obtained his bachelor's degree in 1921. He continued his postgraduate studies to earn a doctorate in literature from the same university in 1924. But Zaki Mubarak did not stop there; he traveled to Paris and joined the School of Oriental Languages, earning a diploma in postgraduate studies in arts in 1931. Mubarak continued his academic journey by obtaining a doctorate in arts from the Sorbonne University in 1937. Zaki Mubarak studied under Sheikh Al-Mursafi, who played a significant reformative role in the development of literary and linguistic studies during that era. He also studied under Taha Hussein, but he was a mischievous student who challenged his teacher, not accepting passive reception but actively using his critical mind and confidently asserting his abilities. Once, during a discussion in the university auditorium, he told Taha Hussein: "Don’t look down on us; we can argue with you with evidence and proof." Zaki Mubarak took a leading position in the fields of poetry and oratory, and he threw himself into the 1919 revolution, using his status to stir the masses with eloquent national speeches and igniting demonstrations with fiery poetry. Zaki Mubarak did not hold many official positions due to two main reasons: first, his literary conflicts with prominent figures of his time such as Taha Hussein, Abbas Al-Aqqad, Al-Mazini, and others. Second, his preference to stay away from partisan currents that pandered to the monarchy and British influence. Therefore, he traveled to Iraq, where he was awarded the "Medal of the Two Rivers" in 1947. Throughout his literary career, Mubarak wrote 45 books, including two in French. Mubarak died in 1952 and was buried in his hometown.