- Born in Cairo, 1922
- His brother was a linguistics scholar and introduced him to the world of thought and literature
- His research to do an MA was the first step in his scholarly career
- Had intellectual rivalry with Taha Hussain and Mohmoud Al Aqad about the concept of literature he established a distinguished approach for himself
- Was dismissed from his job in 1954 for political reasons and was imprisoned from 1958 till 1964 for the same reasons
- Journalist and literature editor at Al Mosawar and Al Hilal magazines, Chairman of Theatre and Music Est., and Chairman of Akhbar Al Youm Est.
- Entered prison again after the demise of Jamal Abdul Nasser
- Migrated to France and Britain following his dismissal to lecture at universities there
- Launched Al Yassar Al Arabi (The Arab Left) magazine in Paris
- Currently Editor of the Philosophy Board at the Higher Council of Culture and supervise Qadaya Fikriya (Thought Issues) magazine
Decision of the General Secretariat
Al A’lem earned the award for his works that show a distinctive philosophical and social awareness in addressing the issues, in addition to his unfaltering defence of Arab culture.
He built a bridge between the thoughts of the Arab renaissance and the historical era, and called always to adopt an open dialogue with all ideologies and cultures in the world. His works are widely spread. And this led to the rise of a new modern school in Arab culture.
Awards
- Jibran Khalil Jibran Medal, Australia
- Ather Rushd Award, Germany
Famous Works
- The Man is an Attitude
- Intellectual Battles
- The Philosophy of Chance
- Herbert Marcuse or the Philosophy of Closed Road
- Awareness and False Awareness in Arabic Thought
- Problematic Concepts and Issues
- Arabic Thought between Locality and Globalisation
- Critical Stands towards Heritage
- From Criticising the Present to Creating the Future
- The Culture and Revolution
- Features of the World of Naguib Mahfooz
- The Face and Mask in Modern Arabic Theatre
- Searching for Europe
- Tawfeeq Al Hakeem, the Intellectual and the Artist
- Forty Years of Applied Criticism
- The Trilogy of Rejection and Defeat