A Review of 'The Arab World' by Dr. Nejla Abu Izzeddin

A leading publishing house in Chicago brought out, at the opening of this year, the book 'The Arab World,' in English, by Dr. Nejla Abu Izzeddin, who said in its introduction: 'I have tried to make it comprehensive in describing the Arabs' past, their present, and their future, so that the foreign reader may form a clear and complete idea of us and of our country.'

No sooner had 'The Arab World' appeared in the American bookshops than the eyes of the critics rushed upon it, and its fortune, in their appreciation of its pure scholarly value, went beyond what had been foreseen for it. Although the author's name was not known in those circles, the press received it with the greatest astonishment and presented it to readers as no historical book has yet been presented; and in consequence it was chosen 'Book of the Month' for last January by 'The History Book of the Month Club.' From this choice there shines forth the highest esteem for the book, and an acknowledgment — implicitly — of the utmost importance the Arab world holds, in this age of ours, in the minds of the Western peoples.

Dr. Nejla Abu Izzeddin, the author of 'The Arab World,' is a Lebanese young woman who was appalled at what she saw of the world's ignorance of the true state of affairs in the Arab countries — first during her studies at the University of Chicago for the degree of doctor in history, and afterward during her experience of three years delivering lectures throughout the United States and Canada at the invitation of the Arab Office... It grieved her to find our achievements — the facts of a shining page of history — so touched by neglect, and she felt it her national duty to acquaint world opinion with the history of her country, which she had taken in as a child and a young girl, and which filled her heart and mind... The author comments on the subject: 'Is it fitting that American automobiles should pace our streets in numbers surpassing their number in any other country in the world, while the American people nonetheless supposes that camels and donkeys are still among the chief means of transport in our country?'

What greatly encouraged her to carry out the idea of the book was what she found in the American people, wherever she went, of readiness and eagerness to understand the Arab questions as they are, not as propaganda has painted them. And so Dr. Nejla Abu Izzeddin came forth with her formidable book, after the passing of six years of work and study, and rendered her country the most exalted of services...

★

The foreword to 'The Arab World' was written by William E. Hocking, professor of philosophy at Harvard University and one of the great leaders of thought in America. His foreword has been counted among the best that any foreigner has written about the Arabs...

The book runs to four hundred pages; it is printed on glossy paper and adorned with nineteen pictures showing some of the landmarks of Arab civilization — monuments and treasures — and some prominent Arab personalities, which helps the reader take in the material and relieves its dryness...

The author devoted seven chapters of the book to the purely historical side, setting the Arabs in their natural environment and showing the wealth of its agricultural and industrial resources; she followed this with ample chapters on the immortal Arab heritage of human, literary, and philosophical values, taking pains to make her point of view clear through precise scholarly analysis...

She then took up the Arab renaissance in its various aspects, beginning with the movement of political liberation from the nineteenth century down to the present day; then she gave particular attention to the educational and cultural renaissance in each Arab country separately, including Morocco, the Arabian Peninsula, and Kuwait.

Dr. Izzeddin set aside a whole chapter for the Arab woman and her influence on the Arab heritage, and then her gradual emergence into the various fields of practical life, above all teaching, which is almost her first mission in this corner of the earth.

She concluded with a chapter of personal judgment in which she said: 'These Arab states are tending at the present time, after the cruel partitions that broke their back, toward the comprehensive Arab unity that is still now in its stage of trial, from which the Arabs will emerge with a greater understanding of their reality and their possibilities, so that their conduct will come nearer to wisdom and reason — its distant aim being the common good of the future of all the Arab lands.'

Out of care to draw her information from the sources, and to preserve truth and freshness, the author made a journey to the Arab countries lasting several months, so as to acquaint herself with the latest developments, directing special attention to those countries not long since joined to the caravan of world civilization, which have contrived in recent years to cover great distances in the fields of building, agriculture, culture, and so on... I mean Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which are mounting the paths of progress in broad leaps, not at the slow walk of the years! — and this thanks to several factors, chief among them the exploitation of the enormous oil wealth that lay shrouded in the folds of the earth and has lately flowed forth, a bountiful and abundant gush of black gold!

It would not be fair to deny the importance of the great effort Dr. Izzeddin took upon herself in venturing on the hardships of travel for the sake of drawing a true and comprehensive picture of the state of affairs in each of these countries... And in acknowledgment of its importance, the author was invited in the course of last March to deliver a number of lectures throughout the United States, to give her subject its fill of study and discussion, and to answer the questions put to her. She accepted the invitation, equipped with the latest and most exact news — proud to be, through this work, on the way to fulfilling her great mission toward her homeland...

It is worth mentioning also that a leading publishing house in West Germany contracted with the author, upon receiving 'The Arab World' and examining its contents, to translate it into German, and has entrusted this task to the finest of the German orientalists; and that one of the Lebanese publishing houses is now engaged in translating the book into Arabic, and it is hoped it will appear before this year is out.

Such is the review of 'The Arab World' by Dr. Nejla Abu Izzeddin — the modest Lebanese woman who has surprised the world with her precious historical work, and who, contrary to the nature of the daughters of her sex, shuns the means of fame and publicity... Her mission in life is silent, tireless work to bring the truth of the Arab countries before the eyes of those who do not know that truth and long to know it.