Abdelwahab Elmessiri

The Egyptian thinker, author and scholar Abdelwahab Elmessiri died on Wednesday evening in Cairo. Elmessiri, 70, was undergoing treatment for cancer at the Palestine Hospital, Cairo.
He was an outstanding authority on Zionism and he published many articles and studies on Israel and Zionism, most famous of which was an eight-volume encyclopedia of “Jews, Judaism and Zionism”. It is considered to be one of the most important Arabic encyclopedias of the 20th century.
Through “Jews, Judaism and Zionism” he was able to give a new scientific outlook and an encyclopedic vision on Zionism in particular and the Western modernist experience in general. Elmessiri won a number of prizes, the last of which was in May – the Al-Quds Prize from the General Federation of Arab Writers for his contribution to the Palestinian issue.
He was buried Thursday at his place of birth in Damanhur, Egypt. From Saudi Gazette.

Comments:

• Egyptian activists will miss your leadership, but I know they will make sure that you have an afterlife in the work that they do.
• Punishing him for his outspoken opposition and for leading Kefaya, the Egyptian government refused to pay or contribute to the costly treatment of ElMessiri, who has spent his and his wife's life savings in producing his invaluable Jews, Judaism and Zionism encyclopedia.
  
• Our respectful government is so intolerant to any criticism that it even boycotted his funeral!!
  
• If the Egyptian government has any sense of guilt (which I truly doubt), then the only acceptable atonement would be to take advantage of the treasure left by ElMessiri, his encyclopedia, and make it a required read by all its diplomats and contributers to our foreign policies. Moreover, add the encyclopedia to the history & Political Science college curriculum, and teach a simplified version in high schools.
  
• God bless you Dr. ElMessiri.