Ali Salem
Ali Salem |
---|
Born |
1936 |
---|
Nationality |
Egyptian |
---|
Occupation |
playwright, author |
---|
Awards |
Civil Courage Prize (2008) |
---|
Ali Salem, also transliterated Ali Salim, (Arabic: على سالم, IPA: [ˈʕæli ˈsæːlem]) (born 1936) is an Egyptian playwright, author, and political commentator[1] known for his support of peace with Israel.[2] The Los Angeles Times once described him as "a big, loud man known for his satiric wit".[2]
Since the premiere of his first play in 1965, he has written 25 plays and 15 books.[3] One of the best known, The School of Troublemakers, debuted in 1971 and featured a rowdy class of children transformed by a kind teacher.[2] His plays The Phantom of Heliopolis, The Comedy of Oedipus, The Man Who Fooled the Angels, and The Buffet have also become "classics of the Egyptian theater".[3] Salem's plays often include allegorical critiques of Egyptian politics with a strong vein of humor and satire.[3]
In 1994, he wrote a book entitled My Drive to Israel about a trip he took the country to satisfy his curiosity about it following the signing of the Oslo Accords.[4] He later described the trip as not "a love trip, but a serious attempt to get rid of hate. Hatred prevents us from knowing reality as it is".[2] He spent 23 nights in Israel and concluded that "real co-operation" between the two nations should be possible.[4] Though the book sold more than 60,000 copies, a bestseller by Egyptian standards, its pro-peace sentiments were controversial, and Salem was subsequently ostracized from the Egyptian intellectual community and expelled from its Writer's Syndicate.[2] He has not had a play or movie script produced in Egypt since the book's publication,[4][5] though he continues to contribute columns to foreign media such as the London-based Al Hayat.[2] Salem's memoir was later adapted by Ari Roth into the play Ali Salem Drives to Israel, which had its world premiere in the US in 2005.[6][7]
In 2008, he won the Train Foundation's $50,000 Civil Courage Prize in recognition of his opposition to radical Islam and his support of peace with Israel.[5] He also won an honorary doctorate from Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 2005.[3]
References
Articles
- Mikics, David. "The Muslim World's Intellectual Refuseniks Offer Enlightened Views on Islam and Israel", TabletMag.com on-line magazine; 3 Dec. 2013.
External links
|
---|
| Annual winners | |
---|
| Posthumous awards | |
---|
|