Abdul Rahman Munif

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Abdul Rahman Munif (1933 - January 24, 2004) (Arabic: عبد الرحمن منيف) was one of the most important Arabic novelists of the 20th century. He is most noted for closely reflecting the political surroundings of his day.

Munif was born in Amman to a Saudi father and Iraqi mother. He studied in Baghdad before moving to Cairo. He received a law degree from the Sorbonne and a Ph.D. in oil economics from the University of Belgrade. He later returned to Iraq to work in the oil ministry and became a member of the Ba'ath Party. He began writing only in the 1970s after he left his job with the ministry, quit the Ba'ath party, and moved to Damascus removing himself from a regime he opposed. He quickly became known for his scathing parodies of Middle Eastern elites, especially those of Saudi Arabia, a country which banned many of his books. He used his knowledge of the oil industry to full effect criticizing the businessmen who ran it and the politicians they served.

The author of fifteen novels, his masterwork is the Cities of Salt quintet that followed the evolution of the Arabian peninsula from a land of Bedouin nomads to a rich and powerful kleptocracy.

While his works were never particularly successful in the west, throughout the Middle East they are both critically acclaimed and extremely popular.

While he was one of the fiercest critics of Saddam Hussein and his regime, he was utterly opposed to the American invasion of Iraq and spent the last two years of his life working on non-fiction projects to oppose what he saw as renewed imperialism.

[edit] Bibliography – Works in English

Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1987. Cities of Salt (Cities of Salt Trilogy, Vol 1), New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-75526-X
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1991. The Trench (Cities of Salt Trilogy, Vol 2), New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-57672-1
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1993. Variations on Night and Day (Cities of Salt Trilogy, Vol 3), New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75551-9
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1998. Endings, London: Quartet Books. ISBN 0-7043-2651-5
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1998. Story of a City: A Childhood in Amman, London: Quartet Books. ISBN 0-7043-8023-4

[edit] Bibliography – Works in Arabic

Fiction

Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1973. Al-ashjar wa-ghtyal Marzuq الأشجار واغتيال مرزوق, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1974. Qissat hubb majusiyya قصّة حبّ مجوسية, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1975. Sharq al-Mutawassit شرق المتوسّط, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1976. Hina tarakna al-jisr حين تركنا الجسر, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1977. An-nihayat النهايات, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1979. Sibaq al-masafat at-tawila سباق المسافات الطويلة, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman & Jabra Ibrahim Jabra. 1982. Alam bi-la kharait عالم بلا خرائط, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1984. Mudun al-milh 1: At-tih مدن الملح ١: التيه, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1985. Mudun al-milh 2: Al-ukhdud مدن الملح ٢: الأخدود, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1989. Mudun al-milh 3: Taqasim al-layl wan-nahar مدن الملح ٣: تقاسيم الليل والنهار, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1989. Mudun al-milh 4: Al-munbatt مدن الملح ٤: المنبتّ, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1989. Mudun al-milh 5: Badiyat az-zulmat مدن الملح ٥: بادية الظلمات, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1991. Al-an… huna, aw sharq al-Mutawassit marra ukhra الآن... هنا، أو شرق المتوسّط مرّة أخرى, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1994. Sirat madina – Amman fi l-arba'inat سيرة مدينة - عمّان في الأربعينات, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1999. Ard as-sawad 1-3 أرض السواد ١-٣, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 2005. Umm an-nudhur أمّ النذور, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.

Non-Fiction

Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1973. Mabda al-musharaka wa-tamin al-bitrul al-arabi مبدأ المشاركة وتأمين البترول العربي, Beirut: Dar al-awda.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1975. Al-bitrul al-arabi, musharaka aw at-tamin البترول العربي، مشاركة أو التأمين, Beirut.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1976. Tamin al-bitrul al-arabi تأمين البترول العربي, Baghdad.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1992. Al-katib wal-manfa – Humum wa-afaq ar-riwaya al-arabiyya الكاتب والمنفى - هموم وآفاق الرواية العربية, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1992. Ad-dimuqratiyya awwilan ad-dimuqratiyya daiman الديمقراطية أوّلاً الديمقراطية دائماً, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1998. Bayn ath-thaqafa was-siyasa بين الثقافة والسياسة, Casablanca: al-Markaz ath-Thaqafi al-Arabi.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 1998. Law'at al-ghiyab لوعة الغياب, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 2001. Rihlat daw رحلة ضوء, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.
Munif, Abdul Rahman. 2001. Dhakira lil-mustaqbal ذاكرة للمستقبل, Beirut: al-Muassasa al-Arabiyya lid-Dirasat wan-Nashr.