Suleiman Mousa

Suleiman Mousa () (11 June 1919 – 9 June 2008) was a Jordanian author and historian born in Al-Rafeed, a small village north of the city of Irbid. He wrote up to fifty books of which most prominent are "Biography of Sharif Hussein Bin Ali, Jordan in the 1948 War, Great Arab Revolt", "History of Jordan in the 20th century", and was the first and only Arab author to write about Lawrence of Arabia and show the Arab perspective.
His book "" was published in 1966 and translated into English, French and Japanese. It was written after a study that had convinced him that although there were many books written to praise Lawrence and others written to discredit him, all of them exaggerated his part in the Arab Revolt and failed to do justice to the Arabs themselves.
Life.
Youth.
Suleiman Mousa was born to a Christian family in the village of Al Rafeed, in 1919; the village overlooks the Yarmouk River and is located 20 km north of Irbid. The early death of his father, an unwealthy man with a passion for reading and writing, came as a shock to him, his mother and sister while Mousa was just six years old.
Leaving them little but a cane basket containing several books, his mother took up the task of securing the family's needs. They lived a simple and spontaneous life as part of the village that depended mainly on agriculture for its survival.
After receiving his elementary education from religious scholars, Mousa moved to a small school known as "Al Ta'ifa" for three years. As were his mother's ambitions, he was then sent to a governmental school in Al Husn (الحصن), where he resided at his relatives' until May 1934, when he was unable to continue into high school due to the family's limited income. A few months later, at the age of sixteen, he took up the profession of teaching at the School of Irbid.
Employment.
In 1936 he traveled to the city of Haifa in Palestine where he first began working. After returning to Irbid and resuming his profession as a teacher for a brief period, he decided to make the journey to Jaffa (يافا) by train, which interconnected it with Damascus and was part of the Hejaz Railway built by the Ottoman Empire. This journey had a significant impact on his cultural life as it was then that he started borrowing and purchasing books and novels from neighbouring libraries and fulfilling his passion of reading. He gradually learnt English using dictionaries, and published many articles in Palestinian newspapers as well as several short stories in 1938. As time progressed, he found himself leaning closer towards books of literature and poetry and his fascination in history developed.
He returned in 1939 to Al Rafeed where he continued working in the field of education before becoming an employee in the Iraq Petroleum Company in Mafraq. In 1943 he fulfilled a substantial commitment and married "Georgette Nuseir" whom he had met on a visit to Nazareth. Mousa spent fifteen years in Mafraq and his publications were put close to a halt due to the inappropriate and illiterate environment he went through although he managed to publish a few short stories, articles and translations.
A major transformation in his life occurred when Mousa moved to Amman, the Jordanian capital, and began working in the "Jordanian Broadcasting Company" in 1957, turning to the work of the publications service and the "Ministry of Information and Culture" until 1984. During that period, he was the editor of the Jordanian magazine "‘Resalat Al Ordon’" (1966 to 1967). Later on, Suleiman Mousa spent more than four years as a cultural adviser in the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), from 1984 to 1988.
Writer and historian.
Mousa's first book "Al Hussein Bin Ali and the Great Arab Revolt" was published in 1957 where it was written when the author had been resident of Jaffa, Palestine in early 1939, when he was a mere nineteen years of age. The printing of this book occurred after nearly seventeen years of its writing.
One of the most prominent works of Suleiman Mousa is "", which has been translated into English, French and Japanese. This was a turning point for the author Mousa that has taken him to world fame. He showed the Arab's point of view about battles and events of The Great Arab Revolt, and also came in response to the British book written by Lawrence himself, who did not give the Arabs their right to the full extent. The author shows that Arabs fought in large numbers in the combat revolt against the Turkish rule for independence and freedom, and that they are the ones who fought and struggled, while Lawrence was merely an officer like any other in the British Army.
While the author was resident of Jaffa in 1937, his activities were expanded to English as well as Arabic history books and he purchased several books in English of which most important were "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" by Lawrence and "The Arab Awakening", by George Antonius, which emerged in its first edition in 1938.
Mousa wrote in regard to his interest in English:
"T.E. Lawrence: An Arab View".
Of the articles written by Suleiman Mousa in Jaffa that sparked widespread attention was an article published by the name "Lawrence on the balance" () in "Al Adab" () magazine (November 1955) which discussed the book written by Richard Aldington called "Lawrence of Arabia: A Biographical Inquiry", which had appeared in Britain earlier that year.
The idea of writing a book discussing the matter in an integrated manner from an Arab's perspective was based on the success the eight-page article received.
Five years later, the first Arabic edition of the book was published by the name "T.E. Lawrence: An Arab View" () followed by the translations into English in 1966, French in 1973 and Japanese in 1988.
The book was translated into English by Dr. Albert Boutros, a professor of English at the University of Jordan. Many Arab and Western references were used for its writing. Mousa was visited by senior Western writers, including professors Colin Wilson and Jeremy Wilson. To this day, his book remains the only one that shows the Arab viewpoint. It has left a deep impact on all researchers interested in Lawrence. Hence, the book has won global reputation, and became a reference to researchers about the subject of Lawrence and the Great Arab Revolt.
Being taught in Arab and foreign universities including the University of Oxford in Britain is a sure sign of the success and attention this book has drawn. It was Professor Eugene Rogan from the University of Oxford who had remarked in a July 2000 speech:
Internationally and locally.
Suleiman Mousa, in addition to being a recognized researcher who achieved a breakthrough intellectually and in the Arab World, was also a local ‘people's’ author.
He wrote in four major themes: Biographies, history of Jordan, history of Arab revolution and writings in literature and short stories, in addition to the translations of Arabic and several simplified books written for young people.
Mousa relied on many diverse Arab, British and foreign sources.
He went to the Public Record Office in the United Kingdom in 1974 and spent four months researching documents relating to Jordan. Therefore, his works are considered indispensable references for many students and researchers.
Mousa won many awards in recognition of his contributions to Jordanian and Arab history including: "The Order of Independence in 1971, King Abdullah I Award for research in Islamic civilization in 1988, the State Incentive prize in 1990, the Order of Al Hussein distinguished first class in 2007" and "Medal of the Arab Author" after his death in 2008.
Death.
Suleiman Mousa died on 9 June 2008, in Amman, Jordan two days prior of his eighty-ninth birthday. He died of congestive heart failure.
Cultural officials participated in the funeral and wake as well as representatives of his majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, the Ministry of Culture, the media and many more of whom have praised his contributions in various creative fields.
Posthumous recognition.
Although Suleiman Mousa received numerous awards and honors during his lifetime, many projects have been launched posthumously in recognition of the contributions he has made to Jordanian, Middle Eastern and World history. The establishment of the Library of Suleiman Mousa at the (GAM), and the republishing of his complete works in several stages, with an "aim of introducing history to the new generation", are amongst the most prominent of these projects. Mousa was also awarded "The Arab Author Medal" in 2008 after his death.
Library of Suleiman Mousa.
On 11 November 2009, a library dedicated for the history of Jordan under the name of Suleiman Mousa, located at Al Hussein Cultural Center of the GAM, was inaugurated on behalf of the former Mayor of Amman, Omar Maani.
The library is divided into several sections, one for the titles related to the history of Jordan in Arabic, English and French. Another is allocated for books and personal possessions of Suleiman Mousa, as well as some documents he had been collecting during his work in writing, which his family donated to the library. At the inauguration, City Deputy Manager for Cultural, Social, and Sports Affairs, "Haitham Jweinat", referred to the uniqueness of the new library, and said that it will be open for all interested readers and researchers, noting that the GAM had taken the time to equip it with many facilities, including an internet local area network (LAN) and the availability of international magazines and newspapers.
The library regularly receives visitors from schools and universities to introduce them to Middle Eastern history through documentaries, photos and library resources. Several scientific seminars and conferences have already taken place at the library. Its goal is to become one of the important developmental and economical projects in Jordan, and the place to launch books related to Arab history and the history of Jordan.