Abd al-Wahhab al-Misiri

Abd al-Wahhab al-Misiri (d. 1429 AH / 2008 CE) was an Egyptian scholar, literary critic, and thinker known for his studies on Zionism, Western modernity, and secularism, most notably his multi-volume reference work Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahudiyya was-Sahyuniyya (The Encyclopedia of Jews, Judaism, and Zionism) Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…+1.

Education and Academic Career

Al-Misiri earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Alexandria University in 1959 Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…. He traveled to the United States for graduate studies, completing a master's degree in English and comparative literature at Columbia University in 1964 and a doctorate in English, American, and comparative literature at Rutgers University in 1969 Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu….

Following his doctoral studies, he served as an expert on Zionism and head of the Zionist thought unit at the Center for Political and Strategic Studies at al-Ahram until 1975 Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…+1. He was appointed cultural advisor to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Arab League to the United Nations, a post he occupied until 1979 Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…+1. Al-Misiri held academic appointments as a professor at Ain Shams University, King Saud University, and Kuwait University until 1989, and continued as a part-time professor at Ain Shams University thereafter Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…. He was also an academic advisor to the International Institute of Islamic Thought from 1992, a board member of the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Washington from 1997, and a visiting professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia as well as Nasser Military Academy Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu….

Intellectual Thought and Standing

Al-Misiri's early writings on Zionism began with his study Nihayat al-Tarikh: Muqaddima li-Dirasat Binyat al-Fikr al-Sahyuni (The End of History: An Introduction to the Study of the Structure of Zionist Thought), published in 1972 Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…+1. Over a span of more than twenty-five years, he researched, financed, and directed the preparation of Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahudiyya was-Sahyuniyya, an eight-volume analytical work published in 1999 that received the Best Book Award at the Cairo International Book Fair Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…+1.

His methodology focused on deconstructing Zionism and analyzing Jewish communities through explanatory sociological models rather than reductionist or conspiratorial assumptions Majallat al-Bayan+1. He characterized historical Jewish communities as functional groups integrated into their surrounding societies and linked the emergence of Zionism to Western imperialism and materialist philosophy Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…+1.

In his later philosophical writings, such as Al-Almaniyya al-Juziyya wal-Almaniyya al-Shamila (Partial Secularism and Comprehensive Secularism), al-Misiri critiqued Western modernity and secularism, presenting the latter as a pervasive, materialist epistemological paradigm rather than a simple institutional division between church and state Majallat al-Bayan+1. His theoretical framework drew significant engagement; while contemporaries commended his epistemological deconstruction of Western civilization, elements within Islamic intellectual circles debated and critiqued his categorization of secularism and his analyses regarding Jewish history Majallat al-Bayan+2.

Threats and Opposition

In January 1984, Meir Kahane, head of the militant Kach group and former member of the Israeli Knesset, sent thirteen death threats to al-Misiri demanding the cessation of his research on Zionism and the encyclopedia project Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…. Six letters were addressed to his residence in Riyadh, six to Cairo, and a final letter reached him in Cairo upon his return from Saudi Arabia, leading Egyptian security authorities to place him under armed protection Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu…. In 1993, Bar-Ilan University also petitioned Israeli diplomatic officials to solicit American intervention to undermine Egyptian intellectuals opposing Zionism, naming al-Misiri among them Mawsuat al-Yahud wal-Yahu….