Antun al-Jamil
- Died
- 1367 AH
- Born in
- Beirut
Antun al-Jamil (1305–1367 AH / 1887–1948 CE) was a Lebanese-born writer, journalist, and cultural figure who served as the editor-in-chief of the Egyptian daily newspaper al-Ahram and co-founded the literary monthly Majallat al-Zuhur.
Early Life and Education
Antun ibn Jamil ibn Antun was born into a Maronite family in Beirut in 1887. He received his schooling at the Collège de la Sagesse (Madrasat al-Hikma) and the Jesuit Saint Joseph University in Beirut, developing an advanced mastery of both Arabic and French. Following his studies, he initially taught at Saint Joseph School before entering journalism in 1908, when the Jesuit fathers appointed him editor of their Beirut newspaper, al-Bashir.
Career in Egypt
Al-Jamil left Lebanon and relocated to Cairo in 1909. In March 1910, he co-founded the literary journal Majallat al-Zuhur with Amin Taqi al-Din, running it for four years until the outbreak of World War I forced its suspension. In 1910, he also entered the Egyptian civil service as a translator at the Ministry of Finance, eventually rising to become the secretary of the ministry's financial committee and head of its budget commission.
He resigned from government service after publisher Gabriel Taqla persuaded him to succeed Dawood Barakat as the editor-in-chief of al-Ahram. In this role, al-Jamil made the newspaper's offices a center for literary salons, frequently hosting intellectual figures such as Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad and Kamil al-Shinnawi. His literary output included the translation from French of al-Fatat wa-l-bayt ("The Girl and the Home") and a critical study entitled Shawqi al-Sha'ir ("Shawqi the Poet").
Public Roles and Standing
Al-Jamil served as a member of the Egyptian Senate and was elected to both the Arab Academy of Damascus and the Fuad I Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo. Later in his career, he was awarded the title of Pasha. Contemporaries noted his elegant prose, his commitment to mentoring emerging writers, and his defense of editorial independence during political disputes with government officials.
Death
Al-Jamil died suddenly in Cairo at dawn on 13 January 1948 (1367 AH), shortly after finishing his editorial duties for the day at al-Ahram. He was sixty-three years old.
Answer updated
List of Works
Majallat al-Zuhur al-Misriyya (The Egyptian Flowers Magazine) is an Egyptian monthly literary periodical published in Cairo between 1910 and 1913 CE (1328–1331 AH). Established to foster a shared literary bond and intellectual exchange among writers and poets across the Arab world, it served as a non-partisan platform featuring contemporary poetry, classical selections, critical and cultural essays, translations, and biographical profiles.