Publication of the Complete Works of Jamal Muhammad Ahmad
Mughirah Harbiya
At a time when Sudan is experiencing horrific social fragmentation and political instability, and is grappling with a massive cultural erasure, the first volume of the complete works of Jamal Muhammad Ahmad has been published. This project, launched in August 2023, is being edited by Bashir Abu Sin. The project includes the publication of all the complete intellectual works of Professor Jamal Muhammad Ahmad, the books he translated, and the studies, research, papers, and letters he published during his lifetime, in both Arabic and English. It also includes contemporary studies on Jamals thought, literary stature, and contributions to Arab and African culture. The number of publications is expected to be approximately 13, divided between volumes and independent books. This project is part of a larger project aimed at presenting pioneering experiences in the Sudanese library and republishing the most prominent intellectual and literary titles from Sudan.
The first volume traces a significant amount of A summary of Gamal Mohamed Ahmeds observations of intellectual movements in Africa and his reflections on the contemporary literary and social situation there. He is renowned for his studies of literary texts that are today considered gems of African literature. As a literary critic and researcher, he takes his readers through Africas ancient and contemporary history and its place in human civilization, focusing on its encounter with Europe and its subsequent impact on African society. Gamal is also known for his profound interest in Arab-African ties, their past, present, and future.
The volume contains four books that address several topics, but upon closer examination, they appear as if they were a single book: Studies in African Affairs (1969), On African Drama (1973), The Conscience of Africa (1974), and Arabs and Africans (1978). These four works reflect Gamals extensive intellectual endeavors. It presents original contributions to a number of disciplines, presented in a unique and carefully crafted language, using open-minded approaches to the study of topics that intersect with comparative literature, sociology, contemporary history, political thought, identity studies, personal reflections, and more.
The book was published by Dar Africa Publishing (Sharjah). The texts were prepared, edited, and annotated by Bashir Abusin, a poet and researcher in Sudanese culture and literary history, and reviewed by my friend Omar Al-Siddiq (Director of the Allama Abdullah Al-Tayeb Institute of the Arabic Language at the University of Khartoum). The publisher states that by republishing these works in a single volume, we seek to provide an opportunity for students of African culture and history to learn about this effort by one of the pioneers of the school of decolonial criticism, and his exposure of how Western approaches deal with Africa and the South in general. Jamal was deeply interested in African literature, including novels and poetry. and theater, as well as the intellectual trends that prevailed in the post-colonial period.
The first book, "Studies on African Affairs," was first published in 1969 by Dar Al-Hilal Publishing House, Cairo. It contains a collection of studies and research that Jamal had previously published in several Arab magazines, most notably Hiwar magazine, for which he served as cultural advisor. The articles focus on several issues related to African cultural history, with an extensive study of the Negritude movement and a discussion of democracy in Africa, its present and future.
The second book, "On African Drama," was first published in 1973 by Khartoum University Publishing House. In it, Jamal examines several African plays by three writers: Saqqai Gebra Madian from Ethiopia, John Pepper Clark from Nigeria, and Gayum Oyono Ambia from Cameroon. The book is a rich study, reflecting many aspects of Jamals thought, theories, and his engagement with literature and history.
The third book, "Conscience," is considered a valuable contribution to the study of African plays. Africa), first published in 1974 by Khartoum University Press, is one of Jamals most prominent and important books. The core of this book is a research paper presented by Jamal at the American University of Beirut in 1967, in English. He later developed and expanded it and published it in book form under the title: The Conscience of Africa. It primarily studies the status of religions in Africa and the most prominent ideologies in African intellectual life, by studying and dissecting a number of narrative and poetic texts by the continents most important contemporary writers. Therefore, it combines history, literary criticism, and sociology, and is considered a reference for the most prominent ideas of Jamal Muhammad Ahmad.
The fourth book, "Arabs and Africans," was first published in 1978 by Khartoum University Publishing House. In it, Jamal documents the days that witnessed the first meeting of the founding fathers of the Organization of African Unity, held in Addis Ababa in May 1963. Jamal was Sudans ambassador to Ethiopia at the time and one of the organizers of the preliminary meetings. Therefore, the book is an extremely important document on the history of the emergence of one of the most important organizations of the twentieth century and the circumstances of its establishment. Jamal addresses a number of topics, including the history of the idea of African unity, the conflict between the elders and the young African leaders, the global significance of the event, and its significance in the Arab context. He also translated excerpts from the speeches of speakers such as Nkrumah and Sanghor. Bashir Abusin says that the volume contains a number of additions that contribute to reintroducing Jamal Muhammad Ahmad to new readers and within a different historical and social context. The four small books have been collected in one volume, helping to connect Jamals ideas disseminated throughout his books. This is especially true given that these four books are closely related to each other, as they study and research African affairs, and because they complement each other directly and indirectly. The volume is complemented by rare photographs and documents, and the books are accompanied by editorial footnotes that introduce all the men and women Jamal mentions, as well as publications and events from various parts of the world. They also provide explanations of some terms from Jamals dictionary, and provide commentary. This required extensive use of Arabic and non-Arabic archives and sources. The purpose of these footnotes is to assist the reader and enable him to achieve a more accurate understanding of Jamals intentions and the topics he discusses, especially since Jamal wrote in a style unique to himself, used an uncommon lexicon, and addressed topics unfamiliar to the non-specialist reader.
Jamal Muhammad Ahmad was born in the village of Surra Sharq, Halfa, northern Sudan, in 1915. He was a thinker and literary critic, renowned for his studies on African literature, Arab-African relations, and intellectual movements during the Arab Renaissance.
He graduated from Gordon Memorial College in Khartoum (1936), then went on to the University of Exeter in Britain (1943-1946), and later to Oxford University (1952-1954), where he earned a Master of Arts degree. His thesis was on political and social thought in Egypt between 1900 and 1914. He worked in both academic and diplomatic fields. He was a scholar of outstanding stature who used African literature, both poetry and novels, as an entry point for critiquing colonial discourse and for examining intellectual trends in post-colonial Black Africa.
Jamal Muhammad Ahmad died on Monday, October 4, 1986.
