Muhammad Loutfi Goumah
Encyclopedia
Muhammad Loutfi Goumah ( muħammæd lūtfi ǧomʿa; also spelled Mohammed Lotfy Gomaa or Muhammed Lotfy Jouma' ) (January 18, 1886 Alexandria
- June 15, 1953 Cairo
), is an Egyptian patriot
, essayist, author, and barrister
, he studied law and became one of Egypt's most famous lawyers and public speakers. He was a member of the prestigious Arab Academy
of Damascus
, he spoke Arabic, English, French and Italian
, he also had a profound knowledge of Hieroglyphic and Latin
.
, the second biggest city in Egypt
, then under the British occupation. His father was the honorable sayed Goumah Aboul-Kheir, a descendant of prophet Muhammad
, his mother Khadeeja Mahmoud Al-Sonbaty, an Egyptian lady of Egyptian, Turkish and French ancestors. His mother couldn't breast-feed, and he was breastfed by Molouk Eid, the Mother of the famous Arab music composer Sayed Darwish
. His family moved to the city of Tanta
, where he joined the Coptic school, his family then moved him to the Prince's School, where he finished his primary education in 1900, he joined the khedive's school, where he finished his secondary education in 1903, his mother died in 1903 and Goumah traveled to Beirut and joined the American College in Beirut to study philosophy. He returned to Egypt
and worked as a school teacher at the Helwan primary school, until late 1907, when he acquired his baccalaureate. He joined the Khedive's Law School in 1908 to earn a degree in law but was expelled after a speech he made in the 40th day death anniversary of Mostafa Kamel. He left to France and joined the law school of Lyon University
and studied law under the famous French scholar Eduoard Lambert and after acquiring his PhD in late 1912, Goumah returned to Egypt and started his career as a lawyer.
and Abdulrahman Al-Sawy, The Faculty of Engineering first dean, the second period was in 1917 when he taught Criminal Law
at the Cairo University
.
, in which he explained the Détente policy
between England and France and blamed the Khedive for supporting the British occupation's interests annoyed the khedive and he was soon expelled from “al-Zaher”. He went off to join Mustafa Kamil as an editor for the Egyptian Standard along with Charles Rudy and William Maloney.
Since then, Goumah wrote in tens of periodicals and newspapers accumulating thousands of articles. He wrote extensively in al-Ahram, al-Balagh, al-Zaher, al-Balagh weekly, al-Bayan, al-Moqtabas. His articles covered many aspects of the Egyptian life during that era, ranging from economics, international politics, political philosophy
to literature
, literary criticism
and sufism
.
Goumah raised in his articles subjects that were addressed in Egypt
and other Arab Countries
decades after his death. He called for Free education
at Al-Balagh in May, 1930, nearly two decades before Taha Hussein, then the Egyptian minister of education started implementing it. In 1933, he criticized in his novel Aida (published in Al-balagh),the Egyptian personal status law
s for giving only men the right for divorce, the same law Goumah refused to adopt when getting married by offering his wife equal rights regarding divorce. It was only in 2001 when the Egyptian personal status law
accommodated (khol'e Arabic خلع) a method by which women may divorce in compliance with Islamic sharia
. He wrote in "al-Rabetah al-Arabeyya" in 1938 criticizing polygamy
and called for strict regulations to control it.
Goumah's interpratation of Islamic scripture didn't contradict - in his opinion - with his views regarding his firm support to the feminist ideologies, nor did it contradict with his dedicated interest in metaphysics
, sufism
and spiritualism
, subjects that are still looked upon with scepticism among "orthodox" Muslim scholars. According to Anwar al-Gendy the islamic thinker and author, Goumah represents the soul of the moderate school with a clear affiliation and belief in the orient
, Islam
and Egypt
.
In 1906 and during a vacation in lausanne
, Switzerland
, Goumah was introduced to Mustafa Kamil and Mohammad Farid
the founders of the Egyptian National Party and famous Egyptian patriots. Kamil and Farid were touring Europe head hunting for editors for the "Egyptian Standard", their new newspaper. Goumah was intrigued by the charisma of Mustafa Kamil and joined the Egyptian National party having believed in Mustafa kamil's cause.
, Brussels
and Paris in 1909, 1910, 1911 respectively.
, who was known for his support to the Egyptian cause and for his support to Ahmed Orabi the Egyptian Nationalist who revolted against the Khedive Tewfik
. Blunt was also a friend of famous Egyptian Grand Mufti
Muhammad Abduh
of which Goumah was a disciple. Abduh
used to say that Blunt is "just a noble Englishman who is loyal to Egypt, the Arabs, Islam and Humanity".
Goumah travelled to Britain to consult with Blunt on political issues in August 1909 and spent the night at his estate "Newbuildings". He also received a copy of a speech to be read on Blunt's behalf for the Congress in Geneva. Goumah kept the relationship with Blunt until Blunt's death in 1922. The West Sussex Record Office has records for 203 letters between Goumah and Blunt.
Thomas Kettle
the Irish journalist, barrister and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,Recorded in his book The Day's Burden, Studies, Literary and Political -1910, P.112 this incident:
In 1910, Aristide Briand
, then the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of France, summoned Goumah, Mohammad Farid
and Hamed El-Alayli (an Egyptian Nationalist studying at Oxford) to his office and informed them that the French Authorities were reluctant to host the Egyptian National Conference on French soil; he suggested Switzerland
or Luxembourg
as valid alternatives. Both Goumah and Farid expressed their disappointment; they also complained about being followed by British secret service agents in France, a complaint that was denied by Briand, claiming that "they imagine seeing the Brits everywhere".
The Egyptian National Conference was held in Brussels
on 22 September 1910 and a book was issued recording its event:
"Œuvres du congrès national égyptien tenu a Bruxelles le 22, 23 et 24 septembre , Bruges, 1911".
, others were from the Paris Indian Society
. Among them were Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
, Har Dayal
, Shyamji Krishnavarma and Bhikaiji Cama
, who were known for sympathizing with the Egyptian cause. Goumah tried to resolve the conflict between Madam Cama
and Krishnavarma
in Port Said
to meet with Mahatma Gandhi
, the meeting lasted for eight hours.
that was focused entirely on his knowledge of Islamic Shari'a and Islamic Inheritance jurisprudence and in 1915 he was appointed as a lawyer in front of the Egyptian appeals court
.
Goumah has been appointed as the defence lawyer for some of the most famous cases known to the Egyptian society at the time, including: the Lee Stack
murder case, the bombs case and the Amin Ossman murder case, in which he represented Ahmed Wassim Khaled and Muhammed Anwar al-Sadat.
Goumah mentioned in his memoirs the trial of Anwar al-Sadat - then an army officer - and others, in the murder case of Egypt's minister of finance Amin Ossman, the defendants which Goumah referred to as the "boys" refused to get into a cage that was designed not to allow any physical contact with them:
of Egypt and eventually became one of his disciples. Two of Goumah's letters to the grand mufti at the age of 18, were published in Rashid Rida
's book on Muhammad Adbuh, with Rashid commenting on one of them:
Both Gohary and Abduh were icons of enlightenment, and they both became pillars of Goumah's intellectual structure. He wrote many articles and books discussing, debating, defining and recording the lives of famous Islamic philosophers and Sufis'. His book "History of Islamic Philosophers in the East and West" is considered one of the finest references written on the subject to date.
that may literally mean "The monitoring Comet Arabic الشهاب الراصد Pronounced Alshehab Arr'aassed" became Goumah's most famous work.
In "Pre-Islamic Poetry" Hussien claimed using Descartes Methodic doubt process to analyse pre-Islamic scripture: Poetry and prose, he concluded that most if not All what was claimed to be pre-Islamic is in fact written after Islam for political and tribal reasons.
Goumah based his argument on a technical philosophical approach, he debated the flows in the derivations concluded by Hussein on pure academic grounds by re-explaining the methods of Descartes, he then supported his argument with historical, linguistic and social facts. The tides against Hussein's book grew higher and higher and eventually Hussein removed the four sections of his book that were taken against him and renamed the book "Pre-Islamic Literature".
the famous French orientalist
at Goumah house in Heliopolis
to discuss Al-Hallaj, their meetings and correspondences continued until Goumah's death in 1953. Massignon was particularly interested in a book Goumah was writing about al-Hallaj, yet died without finishing it.
on the 15th of June, 1953.
by Machiavelli to her, he wrote a play called "The woman's heart" about her, and used a pseudonym (Auguste Filippov), clearly derived from her name to write some articles in the weekly magazine "The Arab Association" in 1930, and in 1939 he published some of her letters addressed to him claiming they were addressed to a poet named (Popov Ludowski), a name Augusta addressed him with in her letters.
Also, the memoires were criticised for extracting parts of it to be published in separate books like Goumah's relationship with Augusta (Memoirs of Youth - the anniversary of March 19) or Goumah's relationship with the French orientalist Louis Massignon
, which is published in a book titled: (Tunisia in the writings of Loutfi Goumah - by Rabeh Loutfi Goumah).
, revised many of Goumah's manuscripts, adding footnotes, identifying the different historical characters mentioned in Goumah's works. They also made literary critique for some of his plays.
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
- June 15, 1953 Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
), is an Egyptian patriot
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
, essayist, author, and barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, he studied law and became one of Egypt's most famous lawyers and public speakers. He was a member of the prestigious Arab Academy
Arab Academy of Damascus
Arab Academy of Damascus is the oldest academy regulating the Arabic language, established in 1918 during the reign of Faisal I of Syria. It is based in al-Adiliyah Madrasa and is modeled on the language academies of Europe and founded with the explicit reference to the example of the Académie...
of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, he spoke Arabic, English, French and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, he also had a profound knowledge of Hieroglyphic and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
.
Early life and education
Goumah was born in AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, the second biggest city in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, then under the British occupation. His father was the honorable sayed Goumah Aboul-Kheir, a descendant of prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, his mother Khadeeja Mahmoud Al-Sonbaty, an Egyptian lady of Egyptian, Turkish and French ancestors. His mother couldn't breast-feed, and he was breastfed by Molouk Eid, the Mother of the famous Arab music composer Sayed Darwish
Sayed Darwish
Sayed Darwish was an Egyptian singer and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian popular music and one of their greatest musicians and their single greatest composer. He was born in Alexandria on March 17, 1892. Darwish died of a heart attack in Alexandria on September 15, 1923 . The...
. His family moved to the city of Tanta
Tanta
Tanta is a city in Egypt. It is the country's fifth largest populated area, with an estimated 429,000 inhabitants . Tanta is located north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria...
, where he joined the Coptic school, his family then moved him to the Prince's School, where he finished his primary education in 1900, he joined the khedive's school, where he finished his secondary education in 1903, his mother died in 1903 and Goumah traveled to Beirut and joined the American College in Beirut to study philosophy. He returned to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and worked as a school teacher at the Helwan primary school, until late 1907, when he acquired his baccalaureate. He joined the Khedive's Law School in 1908 to earn a degree in law but was expelled after a speech he made in the 40th day death anniversary of Mostafa Kamel. He left to France and joined the law school of Lyon University
Lumière University Lyon 2
Lumière University Lyon 2 is one of the three universities that comprise the current University of Lyon, having splintered from an older university of the same name, and is primarily based on two campuses in Lyon itself...
and studied law under the famous French scholar Eduoard Lambert and after acquiring his PhD in late 1912, Goumah returned to Egypt and started his career as a lawyer.
Teaching
Loutfi Goumah taught through two periods of his life, the first period was at the Helwan primary school( late 1904 to late 1907), among his students were Abdulrahman AzzamAbdul Rahman Hassan Azzam
Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam was an Egyptian diplomat, with family origins in Egypt. He served as the first secretary-general of the Arab League between 1945 and 1952.Azzam also had a long career as an ambassador and parliamentarian...
and Abdulrahman Al-Sawy, The Faculty of Engineering first dean, the second period was in 1917 when he taught Criminal Law
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
at the Cairo University
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
.
Influence
Goumah Started writing articles against the British occupation in Egypt through “al-Zaher” newspaper since early 1905, yet a speech he made during the celebration of the coronation of the khedive Abbas II of EgyptAbbas II of Egypt
HH Abbas II Hilmi Bey was the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan .-Early life:...
, in which he explained the Détente policy
Détente
Détente is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1970s, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War...
between England and France and blamed the Khedive for supporting the British occupation's interests annoyed the khedive and he was soon expelled from “al-Zaher”. He went off to join Mustafa Kamil as an editor for the Egyptian Standard along with Charles Rudy and William Maloney.
Since then, Goumah wrote in tens of periodicals and newspapers accumulating thousands of articles. He wrote extensively in al-Ahram, al-Balagh, al-Zaher, al-Balagh weekly, al-Bayan, al-Moqtabas. His articles covered many aspects of the Egyptian life during that era, ranging from economics, international politics, political philosophy
Political philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
to literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
and sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
.
Goumah raised in his articles subjects that were addressed in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and other Arab Countries
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
decades after his death. He called for Free education
Free education
Free education refers to education that is funded through taxation, or charitable organizations rather than tuition fees. Although primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is free in many countries, for example, all education is mostly free including...
at Al-Balagh in May, 1930, nearly two decades before Taha Hussein, then the Egyptian minister of education started implementing it. In 1933, he criticized in his novel Aida (published in Al-balagh),the Egyptian personal status law
Status (law)
A person's status is a set of social conditions or relationships created and vested in an individual by an act of law rather than by the consensual acts of the parties, and it is in rem, i.e. these conditions must be recognised by the world. It is the qualities of universality and permanence that...
s for giving only men the right for divorce, the same law Goumah refused to adopt when getting married by offering his wife equal rights regarding divorce. It was only in 2001 when the Egyptian personal status law
Status (law)
A person's status is a set of social conditions or relationships created and vested in an individual by an act of law rather than by the consensual acts of the parties, and it is in rem, i.e. these conditions must be recognised by the world. It is the qualities of universality and permanence that...
accommodated (khol'e Arabic خلع) a method by which women may divorce in compliance with Islamic sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. He wrote in "al-Rabetah al-Arabeyya" in 1938 criticizing polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
and called for strict regulations to control it.
Goumah's interpratation of Islamic scripture didn't contradict - in his opinion - with his views regarding his firm support to the feminist ideologies, nor did it contradict with his dedicated interest in metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
and spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
, subjects that are still looked upon with scepticism among "orthodox" Muslim scholars. According to Anwar al-Gendy the islamic thinker and author, Goumah represents the soul of the moderate school with a clear affiliation and belief in the orient
Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
Nationalism
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Goumah was introduced to Mustafa Kamil and Mohammad Farid
Mohammad Farid
This article is about the Egyptian political figure. For the former Afghan football coach, see Mohammad Farid Mohammad Farid or Muhammad Farîd was an influential Egyptian political figure of Turkish ancestry...
the founders of the Egyptian National Party and famous Egyptian patriots. Kamil and Farid were touring Europe head hunting for editors for the "Egyptian Standard", their new newspaper. Goumah was intrigued by the charisma of Mustafa Kamil and joined the Egyptian National party having believed in Mustafa kamil's cause.
Congress of the Jeunesse Egyptienne, Geneva, 1909
During his university years in France, Goumah continued his political activities by forming student groups, writing speeches and corresponding with different political figures in Europe, who were known for their support and sympathy for the Egyptian cause against the British occupation. He participated in three conferences held in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Paris in 1909, 1910, 1911 respectively.
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
One of the figures Goumah corresponded with during his residence in Europe was the English Poet Wilfrid Scawen BluntWilfrid Scawen Blunt
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt was an English poet and writer. He was born at Petworth House in Sussex, and served in the Diplomatic Service from 1858 to 1869. His mother was a Catholic convert and he was educated at Twyford School, Stonyhurst and at St Mary's College, Oscott...
, who was known for his support to the Egyptian cause and for his support to Ahmed Orabi the Egyptian Nationalist who revolted against the Khedive Tewfik
Tewfik Pasha
HH Muhammed Tewfik Pasha ' was Khedive of Egypt and Sudan between 1879 and 1892, and the sixth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty.-Early life:...
. Blunt was also a friend of famous Egyptian Grand Mufti
Grand Mufti
The title of Grand Mufti refers to the highest official of religious law in a Sunni or Ibadi Muslim country. The Grand Mufti issues legal opinions and edicts, fatwā, on interpretations of Islamic law for private clients or to assist judges in deciding cases...
Muhammad Abduh
Muhammad Abduh
Muhammad Abduh was an Egyptian jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer, regarded as the founder of Islamic Modernism...
of which Goumah was a disciple. Abduh
Muhammad Abduh
Muhammad Abduh was an Egyptian jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer, regarded as the founder of Islamic Modernism...
used to say that Blunt is "just a noble Englishman who is loyal to Egypt, the Arabs, Islam and Humanity".
Goumah travelled to Britain to consult with Blunt on political issues in August 1909 and spent the night at his estate "Newbuildings". He also received a copy of a speech to be read on Blunt's behalf for the Congress in Geneva. Goumah kept the relationship with Blunt until Blunt's death in 1922. The West Sussex Record Office has records for 203 letters between Goumah and Blunt.
Addressing Keir Hardie
Thomas Kettle
Thomas Kettle
Thomas Michael "Tom" Kettle was an Irish journalist, barrister, writer, poet, soldier, economist and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament for East Tyrone from 1906 to 1910 at Westminster...
the Irish journalist, barrister and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,Recorded in his book The Day's Burden, Studies, Literary and Political -1910, P.112 this incident:
The Egyptian National Conference, Brussels, 1910
Aristide Briand
Aristide Briand was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic and received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize.- Early life :...
, then the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of France, summoned Goumah, Mohammad Farid
Mohammad Farid
This article is about the Egyptian political figure. For the former Afghan football coach, see Mohammad Farid Mohammad Farid or Muhammad Farîd was an influential Egyptian political figure of Turkish ancestry...
and Hamed El-Alayli (an Egyptian Nationalist studying at Oxford) to his office and informed them that the French Authorities were reluctant to host the Egyptian National Conference on French soil; he suggested Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
or Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
as valid alternatives. Both Goumah and Farid expressed their disappointment; they also complained about being followed by British secret service agents in France, a complaint that was denied by Briand, claiming that "they imagine seeing the Brits everywhere".
The Egyptian National Conference was held in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
on 22 September 1910 and a book was issued recording its event:
"Œuvres du congrès national égyptien tenu a Bruxelles le 22, 23 et 24 septembre , Bruges, 1911".
Indians in Exile
During his years in France, Goumah got in contact with many Indian patriots in exile, some were members of the India HouseIndia House
India House was an informal Indian nationalist organisation based in London between 1905 and 1910. With the patronage of Shyamji Krishna Varma, its home in a student residence in Highgate, North London was launched to promote nationalist views among Indian students in Britain...
, others were from the Paris Indian Society
Paris Indian Society
The Paris Indian Society was an Indian nationalist organisation founded in 1905 at Paris under the patronage of Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama, B.H. Godrej and S. R. Rana...
. Among them were Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Vināyak Dāmodar Sāvarkar was an Indian freedom fighter, revolutionary and politician. He was the proponent of liberty as the ultimate ideal. Savarkar was a poet, writer and playwright...
, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya alias Chatto was a prominent Hindu Indian revolutionary who aimed to overthrow the British Raj in India by using violence as a tool...
, Har Dayal
Har Dayal
Lala Har Dayal was a Indian nationalist revolutionary who founded the Ghadar Party in America. He was a polymath who turned down a career in the Indian Civil Service...
, Shyamji Krishnavarma and Bhikaiji Cama
Bhikaiji Cama
Bhikaiji Rustom CamaBhikhai- is the name as it appears in the biographies. Another common form is Bhikai- , as it appears on the postage stamp. The name is also frequently misspelled 'Bhikha-' , which is a male name...
, who were known for sympathizing with the Egyptian cause. Goumah tried to resolve the conflict between Madam Cama
Bhikaiji Cama
Bhikaiji Rustom CamaBhikhai- is the name as it appears in the biographies. Another common form is Bhikai- , as it appears on the postage stamp. The name is also frequently misspelled 'Bhikha-' , which is a male name...
and Krishnavarma
Meeting Gandhi
On the 7th September 1931 Goumah boarded the SS RajputanaSS Rajputana
The SS Rajputana was a British passenger and cargo carrying ocean liner. She was built for the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company at the Harland and Wolff docks on the River Clyde near Glasgow, Scotland in 1925. She was one of the P&O 'R' class liners from 1925 that had much of their...
in Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
to meet with Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, the meeting lasted for eight hours.
The Amin Ossman Case
In 1912, having returned from France, Goumah passed the Bar ExaminationBar examination
A bar examination is an examination conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction.-Brazil:...
that was focused entirely on his knowledge of Islamic Shari'a and Islamic Inheritance jurisprudence and in 1915 he was appointed as a lawyer in front of the Egyptian appeals court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
.
Goumah has been appointed as the defence lawyer for some of the most famous cases known to the Egyptian society at the time, including: the Lee Stack
Lee Stack
Sir Lee Oliver Fitzmaurice Stack was a British army officer and Governor-General of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. On 19 November 1924, he was shot and assassinated while driving through Cairo....
murder case, the bombs case and the Amin Ossman murder case, in which he represented Ahmed Wassim Khaled and Muhammed Anwar al-Sadat.
Goumah mentioned in his memoirs the trial of Anwar al-Sadat - then an army officer - and others, in the murder case of Egypt's minister of finance Amin Ossman, the defendants which Goumah referred to as the "boys" refused to get into a cage that was designed not to allow any physical contact with them:
Islamic Philosophy and Sufism
During his high school years at the khedive's school, Goumah studied Arabic literature, metaphysics and Philosophy under sheikh Tantawy Gohary the famous Islamic scholar and Egypt's Nobel prize nominee, and the author of "The Jewels in Interpreting the Holy Quraan", Gohary introduced him to Islamic Philosophy and Spiritualism . he then corresponded with sheikh Muhammed Abduh the Grand MuftiGrand Mufti
The title of Grand Mufti refers to the highest official of religious law in a Sunni or Ibadi Muslim country. The Grand Mufti issues legal opinions and edicts, fatwā, on interpretations of Islamic law for private clients or to assist judges in deciding cases...
of Egypt and eventually became one of his disciples. Two of Goumah's letters to the grand mufti at the age of 18, were published in Rashid Rida
Rashid Rida
Muhammad Rashid Rida is said to have been "one of the most influential scholars and jurists of his generation" and the "most prominent disciple of Muhammad Abduh"...
's book on Muhammad Adbuh, with Rashid commenting on one of them:
Both Gohary and Abduh were icons of enlightenment, and they both became pillars of Goumah's intellectual structure. He wrote many articles and books discussing, debating, defining and recording the lives of famous Islamic philosophers and Sufis'. His book "History of Islamic Philosophers in the East and West" is considered one of the finest references written on the subject to date.
al-Shehab Arr'aassed
In June 1926, A group of Al-Azhar scholars visited Goumah in his office asking him to sue Taha Hussein for writing his controersial book Pre-Islamic Poetry, Goumah - who has not read the book - ordered a copy, and after reading what Taha Hussein has written and the philosophical argument he adopted in his book, Goumah refused to sue Hussein, but rather decided to write a book that defies Hussien's philosophical approach. The book whose name was derived for a quranic verse in surat Al-JinnAl-Jinn
Sūrat al-Jinn is the 72nd sura of the Qur'an with 28 ayat. The name as well as the topic of this chapter is jinn. Similar to angels, the Jinn are considered to be spiritual beings invisible to the naked human eye. The habitat of angels is considered to be the sky, whereas it is the earth for...
that may literally mean "The monitoring Comet Arabic الشهاب الراصد Pronounced Alshehab Arr'aassed" became Goumah's most famous work.
In "Pre-Islamic Poetry" Hussien claimed using Descartes Methodic doubt process to analyse pre-Islamic scripture: Poetry and prose, he concluded that most if not All what was claimed to be pre-Islamic is in fact written after Islam for political and tribal reasons.
Goumah based his argument on a technical philosophical approach, he debated the flows in the derivations concluded by Hussein on pure academic grounds by re-explaining the methods of Descartes, he then supported his argument with historical, linguistic and social facts. The tides against Hussein's book grew higher and higher and eventually Hussein removed the four sections of his book that were taken against him and renamed the book "Pre-Islamic Literature".
Louis Massignon and al-Hallaj
Having written a few articles in al-Rabetah al-Arabeyyah magazine in 1937 about al-Hallaj, Goumah was called on by Louis MassignonLouis Massignon
Louis Massignon was a French scholar of Islam and its history. Although a Catholic himself, he tried to understand Islam from within and thus had a great influence on the way Islam was seen in the West; among other things, he paved the way for a greater openness inside the Catholic Church towards...
the famous French orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
at Goumah house in Heliopolis
Heliopolis (Cairo Suburb)
Modern Heliopolis is a district in Cairo, Egypt. The city was established in 1905 by the Heliopolis Oasis Company, headed by the Belgian industrialist Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain, as well as Boghos Nubar, son of the Egyptian Prime Minister Nubar Pasha.-History:The Baron Empain, a well known...
to discuss Al-Hallaj, their meetings and correspondences continued until Goumah's death in 1953. Massignon was particularly interested in a book Goumah was writing about al-Hallaj, yet died without finishing it.
Death
Goumah Died suffering from the complications of a Brain InfarctionInfarction
In medicine, infarction refers to tissue death that is caused by a local lack of oxygen due to obstruction of the tissue's blood supply. The resulting lesion is referred to as an infarct.-Causes:...
on the 15th of June, 1953.
His Memoires
Goumah started recording his diaries in 1909, it suffered periods of discontinuety that may sometimes reach several months after which, he would resume writing. He has written a long introduction that covers the period from his birth to the date he started writing the memoires):Augusta Filippovna Damansky
Goumah's memoirs were printed in 2000 in two books, the first was published under the title: "Muhammad Loutfi Goumah - Witness to an Era" (Part I - II), the second -released in 1999- reveals Goumah's love story with Russian author and essayist Augusta Damansky, under the title "Memoirs of Youth - the anniversary of March 19," in which complete sections of his diaries; in addition to a set of letters sent by Augusta to Loutfi Goumah were included. In his memoires, Goumah reveals the story of an emotional Platonic relationship that lasted for nearly four years with Augusta, they toured throughout Europe together and he recorded the evolution of their relationship in a chapter in his diaries called the "March 19 anniversary" (the date of their first meeting). He Dedicated his translation of The PrinceThe Prince
The Prince is a political treatise by the Italian diplomat, historian and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus . But the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after...
by Machiavelli to her, he wrote a play called "The woman's heart" about her, and used a pseudonym (Auguste Filippov), clearly derived from her name to write some articles in the weekly magazine "The Arab Association" in 1930, and in 1939 he published some of her letters addressed to him claiming they were addressed to a poet named (Popov Ludowski), a name Augusta addressed him with in her letters.
Controversy about the Memoires
When published, the memoires raised controversy among critics, some of whom praised it for the amount of details it included about the political, literary and cultural aspects of life in Egypt (1909–1948), others directed a scathing criticism to the views Goumah displayed therein, they criticised its subjective style and it's obvious pessimism and bitterness with which Goumah referred to some literary and political figures of his time. It was also criticized for being subjected to heavy editing, prohibiting certain periods from publication (1918–1921), and it's poor arrangement (adding articles and studies outside the context of the memoirs).Also, the memoires were criticised for extracting parts of it to be published in separate books like Goumah's relationship with Augusta (Memoirs of Youth - the anniversary of March 19) or Goumah's relationship with the French orientalist Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon
Louis Massignon was a French scholar of Islam and its history. Although a Catholic himself, he tried to understand Islam from within and thus had a great influence on the way Islam was seen in the West; among other things, he paved the way for a greater openness inside the Catholic Church towards...
, which is published in a book titled: (Tunisia in the writings of Loutfi Goumah - by Rabeh Loutfi Goumah).
His unpublished work
A number of scholars went through the manuscripts of Goumah's unpublished work, led by his son Rabeh, who filed, arranged, collected and printed many of them. Goumah's unpublished manuscripts were mostly in the form of notebooks or papers. Dr. Ahmad Hussein al-Tamawy, Egyptian author and writer along with Dr. Sayed Ali Ismael of al-Minya University and Dr. Ibrahim Awad of Ain Shams UniversityAin Shams University
Ain Shams University is an institute of higher education located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels.-History:...
, revised many of Goumah's manuscripts, adding footnotes, identifying the different historical characters mentioned in Goumah's works. They also made literary critique for some of his plays.
Studies
- Renaissance in Italy - 1911
- History of Social Science - 1919
- Plato's Banquet - 1920
- The Monitoring Comet - 1926
- History of Islamic Philosophers in the East and West - 1927
- Life of the Orient: it's countries, people, past and present - 1932
- Revolution of Islam and the Hero of Prophets - 1939
- Blessed days in Holy Lands - 1940
- Memoirs of Youth - the anniversary of March 19
- Modern Revision of the Holy Quraan
Novels and Short Stories
- In the Homes of People - 1904
- In the Valley of Concerns - 1904
- The Nights of the Confused Soul - 1912
- The Fair Young Man - 1930
- The Embryo - 1930
- For the sake of life and Death - 1931
- Aieda - 1932
- After Repention - 1932
- Qorrat Al-Ain - 1934
- Corlinko and Evagina - 1937
- Mukhtarah - 1941
Translations
- The Liberation of Egypt - 1906
- The Immortal Magician - 1906
- The Oriental Wisdom - 1912
- The Prince - 1912
- Ulysses - 1947
See also
- Œuvres du congrès national égyptien tenu a Bruxelles le 22, 23 et 24 septembre, Bruges, 1911
- Thomas Kettle: The Day's Burden, Studies, Literary and Political -1910 http://www.archive.org/stream/daysburdenstudies00kett/daysburdenstudies00kett_djvu.txt
- Wilfred Scawen Blunt: My Diaries; Being A Personal Narrative Of Events, 1888-1914 Volume II http://www.archive.org/stream/mydiariesbeingpe192102blun#page/272/mode/1up
- The Loutfi Goumah Family Tree - http://www.myheritage.com/site-68443911/lotfy-web-site
- The Memoirs of Muhammad Loutfi Goumh, Part 1. ISBN 977-01-6651-0