Distinguished Members of the University of Maryland at College Park
Distinguished members of the University of Maryland at College Park,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with much pleasure that I send this special message to all of you tonight in order to introduce the series of lectures and especially this Inaugural Lecture, to which I have been invited to give my patronage.
I do regret very much that I am unable to be with you tonight. Matters of state and my duties call me to be in New York at the United Nations in order to serve at the pleasure of His Excellency Michel Sleiman, President of Lebanon.
May I begin by expressing my gratitude to President C.D. Mote, Jr. for the encouragement and support that he has bestowed on Professor Bushrui and his distinguished work on behalf of Lebanon and the Arab world. I should also like to thank Dr. Nariman Farvardin, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost; and Dr. Edward Montgomery, Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences both of whom have, in various ways, rendered outstanding services to the Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace Project, and now have made it possible for the establishment of the Ameen Rihani Annual Lecture Series.
The Ameen Rihani Annual Lecture Series and the Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace Project raise the whole issue of the place of literature and culture of a small country such as my own in more than one larger linguistic area. In Lebanon, our literary contribution has been trilingual: Arabic, French, and English. And although Arabic is the national language, our literary achievement in both French and English is truly remarkable. Language is not the only part of a country’s culture – though it is an important one – and a small country can influence the development and enrichment of the larger linguistic area in a way far beyond its own size in territory or population. Lebanon has shown this in the influence it has had on the development of modern Arabic writing thanks to Ameen Rihani, Kahlil Gibran, and Mikhail Naimy, and furthermore the influence of the Lebanese writers in both English and French have had in those two languages.
The series of lectures in honor of Ameen Rihani is a landmark development and a long overdue recognition that Rihani well deserves. Ameen Rihani was a Lebanese who valued his Arab cultural heritage and regarded himself a citizen of the world. He believed in the country of his birth and was fully aware of his responsibilities to serve her well. Thus, early in his life he announced:
Our country is just beginning to speak, and I am her chosen voice. I feel that if I do not respond, if I do not come to her, she will be dumb forever.
But Rihani was not his country’s chosen voice only; he became the chosen voice of the Arab world and eventually the chosen voice of a humanity desirous of justice, peace, and unity. Rihani represented one of the most powerful intellectual forces that resulted in the great Arab Renaissance in the 20th century.
His place in the modern history of the Arab world has been aptly defined by Kahlil Gibran when he described him as “al-Muallim” (the teacher, or the master) for indeed he was the leader and “the father” of the Arab literary and cultural renaissance in the 20th century.
Ameen Rihani, whom we have come to honor tonight, believed that Lebanon had a world mission, and he understood this mission to be the creation of a model for others to follow. It is a multi-faith, multi-cultural, and democratic community in which diversity of belief is respected and honored by all. Above all, it was that eternal model based on moderation supported by justice, unity, and peace.
In his writings in both English and Arabic, Rihani’s attempt had been to create a literature to be a bridge between the East and the West. He continuously proposed that the way to human salvation must be the new perspective; above all, a belief in a spiritual unity and the understanding of religious truth which is holistic and universal. In fact, he was at the center of Arab politics, and he provided the intellectual origins for the philosophy of moderation in Arab affairs, and established the principles of meaningful East/West dialogue.
It is therefore befitting to honor Ameen Rihani by organizing this inaugural lecture to be given by His Excellency Dr. Marwan Muasher who, in his own right, represents a new way of thinking in the political, social, and spiritual life of the Arab world. Dr. Muasher is a great friend of Lebanon, and I want to assure him that we in Lebanon are grateful for all the support he has given us over the years, and in accepting to inaugurate this very important series of lectures.
1