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  • 7/27/2019 Georges Chehata Anawati OP-libre

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    Georges

    Chehata

    Anawati, OP

    1905-1994

    Georges

    Anawati, a

    Dominican

    priest,

    was a

    recog-

    nized scholar in Islamic studies.

    This

    smallpamphlet

    is

    an

    introduction

    to

    this

    exceptional son

    of

    St.

    Dominic. Father Stephen D.

    Ryan,

    OP,

    prepared

    this

    work

    for the

    Vocations

    Office of the Dominican

    Province of

    St.

    Joseph

    to help us appreciate

    the

    human

    and scholarly

    dimensions of

    the Dominican

    mission.

    A

    Reflection: The Man and

    The Scholar

    Pre

    Georges C.

    Anawati, OP

    (1905-1994)

    was

    a

    remarkable Do-

    minican. One of his Dominican confreres described

    his life

    as

    one

    of

    untiring

    activity

    and

    generosity

    of

    response

    to an exceptional voca-

    tion.

    Although

    he was

    well known

    by members

    of the international

    scholarly community-when

    he

    died

    special

    meetings were oga-

    nizedby Christian and Islamic scholars

    in

    Cairo,

    Istanbul,

    Paris and

    Rome

    to

    celebraTe

    his

    life and

    scholarship-Pre Anawati's

    work

    is

    perhaps

    less well

    known than

    it

    might

    be

    by

    members of

    his own

    religious

    family. His life as

    a

    religious

    of

    the

    Order

    of

    Preachers,

    the

    force and charm

    of

    his

    personality,

    and his

    dedication

    to serious

    intellectual

    endeavor

    in

    service

    of the Church

    are

    not only of

    intrin-

    sic interest

    in their

    own

    right,

    but

    they

    also illustrate

    in a

    concrete

    way

    the

    Dominican

    conviction

    that the

    enthusiastic

    pursuit

    of

    truth

    is

    essentialto the apostolic mission of the Friars Preachers.

    Timothy

    Radcliffe, OP, Master of

    the

    Order, stated,

    in

    his

    remarks

    at a

    gath-

    ering held at Santa Sabina

    to

    honor

    Pre

    Anawati,

    l

    wish to

    stress

    how completely our brother

    fulfilled

    one

    of

    the fundamental

    aspects

    of

    our vocation

    as

    Friars Preachers: to relentlessly seek

    the

    truth,

    with rigor, but

    also

    with an infectious enthusiasm.

    Georges

    Anawati, the

    sixth of eight children, was

    born

    June 6,

    1905 in Alexandria, Egypt, to a Greek Orthodox

    family

    of

    Syrian

    origin.

    At the age of

    76 he

    enTered

    the

    Roman Gatholic Church

    (Latin

    Rite),

    a

    decision

    which caused

    considerable

    tension in his fam-

    ily.In

    1928, havihg taken a degree

    in

    chemistry in

    France,

    he

    re-

    turned

    to

    Egypt

    to

    work

    with two of

    his brothers in the family

    phar-

    macy and laboratory. During these

    years

    in Cairo he became

    ac-

    quainted

    with a French

    Dominican,

    Pre Jaussen

    (1871,-1962\,

    an

    Arabic

    scholar

    who

    had opened

    the Dominican house in Cairo in

    7928.|n

    his reading he was deeply

    influenced

    by

    the writings of the

    Dominican theologian

    Pre

    Sertillanges

    (1863-1948).

    In

    1,934, at

    the

    age o

    29, he

    enTered

    the

    Dominican Order in

    France

    and completed

    his

    philosophical

    and theological studies at

    the Dominican

    studium

    known as the

    Saulchoir.

    The Dominicans in

    over Emblem' Seal of the Institut Dominicain d'tudes

    Orientales

  • 7/27/2019 Georges Chehata Anawati OP-libre

    3/8

    France

    at

    that

    Time

    were

    experiencing

    a

    great

    intellectual renais-

    sance

    and Pre

    M.-D. Chenu

    (1395-1990)

    had recently been

    made

    regent of

    studies

    at

    the

    Saulchoir.

    It was

    Chenu

    who was

    instrumen-

    talin

    the

    creation

    of

    the /nsfif

    ut

    Dominicain

    d'Etudes

    Orientales

    (IDEO)

    in Cairo which

    Anawati would direct

    from 7953-1984.1n 1939,

    the

    year

    he

    was ordained

    to the

    priesthood,

    Pre

    Anawati

    published

    his first

    scholarly

    article, which

    was

    entitled: Philosophie

    arabe,

    (published

    in

    a volume

    on mediaeval

    philosophy

    edited

    by

    Chenu).

    The title reflects one of

    the

    areas

    of

    specialization

    to which Anawati

    would devote

    himself.

    Anawati spent most of the war

    years

    in

    North

    Africa, first in

    Algeria completing

    an

    advanced

    degree

    in

    Arabic

    and

    then, from

    1944

    on,

    in

    Egypt. In

    Algeria

    he made

    many

    close

    ties

    with

    Muslim

    scholars and also

    with

    members of the religious communities

    which

    took their

    inspiration from

    Charles de

    Foucauld,

    'the

    Hermit

    of

    the

    Sahara.'

    He

    was

    deeply

    influenced by

    their

    spirituality

    and

    enjoyed

    visiting

    the

    Little

    Sisters

    of

    Jesus

    in

    Rome,

    Washington,

    and else-

    where.

    ln 1944

    he arrived

    in Cairo and set

    to

    work

    transforming

    the

    Dominican

    house

    there

    from an

    annex

    of

    the cole Biblique in Jerusa-

    lem, which

    it

    had

    been

    since

    1928,

    to

    an

    independent institution

    devoted

    to advanced

    research in Islam and

    Arabic

    studies

    (IDEO).

    During these early

    years in Cairo Anawati

    also

    completed

    his

    gradu-

    ate studies,

    taking

    a

    Ph,D.

    from

    the Institute of

    Medival Studies of

    the University

    of

    Montreal

    (1948-1950).

    While

    most

    of

    his

    academic

    life

    was centered on

    teaching

    and

    research at

    IDEO, Pre

    Anawati travelled

    frequent not

    only

    to teach

    in

    Europe and

    the

    United

    States,

    but

    also

    to

    attend

    scholarly

    meet-

    ings

    of

    the

    various

    Medivalist and

    Orientalist

    societies

    to which he

    belonged. In

    Cairo,

    when celebrating the community

    mass,

    it

    is said

    that

    Pre

    Anawati would

    place

    a

    list

    of

    some 320

    names on the altar,

    many undoubtedly

    the

    names of

    the

    scholars

    of

    allfaiths

    with whom

    he had formed

    lasting

    friendships.

    Pre

    Anawati

    was

    passionate

    about the

    Dominican vocation. His

    brothers

    in Cairo describe

    him

    as a

    man

    of

    prayer

    who

    was

    present

    faithfully

    at

    choraloffice,

    meals, and

    recreation.

    Regis

    Morelon, OP

    4

    noted:

    Throughout

    his

    whole life, his

    passion

    for

    the

    Order of

    Preach-

    ers never

    waned. This

    passion

    for the Dominican

    life and

    his frater-

    nal charity is evident

    in

    a

    letter

    to

    his former teacher, Pre Chenu,

    when the

    latter was condemned by

    Rome in February

    on

    7942.

    Anawati wrote

    to

    Chenu:

    I,

    with

    perhaps

    too

    great

    a

    delay, desire in

    turn

    to

    tellyou

    (but

    is it indeed necessary

    to

    tell

    you?) how

    much

    I

    remain united

    with

    you

    in

    the ordealwhich

    has afflicted

    you-and

    which has

    afflicted

    us along

    with

    you.

    The

    debt

    I

    personally

    owe

    you

    I

    sense

    more

    and

    more every day, when, having contact with

    other

    Orders,

    I

    verify

    by

    experience

    what

    you

    have

    taught

    us-how

    beautiful and

    how urgent our Dominican vocation

    is.

    Your

    message perdures,

    whatever be

    the human contingen-

    cies

    of the moment....(Letter of April

    23,7942).

    It

    is

    characteristic

    of the Dominican vision of

    the

    intellectual life

    that before

    all

    else,

    our

    study should

    aim principally

    and

    ardently

    at

    this that we might be able to be usefulto

    the

    souls of

    our neighbors.

    (Primitive

    Constitutions, Prologue; LCO

    77\.

    Pre

    Anawati's

    dedica-

    tion to

    the

    Christianlslamic

    dialogue

    grew

    out

    of his

    deep

    desire

    to

    be

    of use

    to

    his

    neighbor

    and

    to

    his native

    land.

    From

    his

    own

    expe-

    rience as an

    Arab

    Christian

    in

    Egypt

    he

    well

    knew that the

    political

    future

    of

    Egypt depended

    on the

    mutual

    respect

    of

    its Muslim

    and

    Christian citizens.

    Pre

    Anawati

    served

    this end

    with

    the

    totality of

    his

    life,

    but

    particularly

    with

    his scholarship. Although his research

    was often

    technical

    and

    highly

    specialized

    (one

    of

    his

    books

    was

    entitled History

    of

    Drugs

    and

    Medicines

    in

    Antquity and

    the

    Middle

    Age.s

    [1959,

    in Arabicl),

    it

    was

    his

    deep

    learning that

    enabled

    him

    to

    be

    so

    effective

    in

    building

    bridges

    between

    cultures

    and

    peoples

    of different faiths.

    Five

    years

    ago a

    memorial volume was

    published

    by

    Anawati's

    confreres

    in Cairo

    (Le

    Pre G. C. Anawoti,

    O.P.,

    [1905-1994]

    Parcours

    d'une

    uie.

    Cairo:

    Institut Dominicain

    d'tudes

    Orientales,

    7996).

    One of

    the

    articles

    collected

    in

    that

    volume was

    written

    by

    Richard Frank of The Catholic University of

    America, a

    close

    friend

    of Anawati and

    himself

    an eminent

    Arabist

    and

    past president

    of

    the

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    American Oriental

    Society. That article, which

    was

    originally

    pub-

    lished in

    the

    lVeurslef

    ter

    ot'

    the

    American Oriental

    Society, is re-

    printed

    here with

    Professor Frank's

    permission.

    It

    beautifully

    cap-

    tures

    the importance and lasting significance

    of

    Pre

    Anawati's

    re-

    markable Dominican vocation.

    Stephen

    D.

    Ryan,

    OP

    Dominican House

    of

    Studies

    Washington,

    DC

    Georges Chehata

    Anawati,

    OP

    Born

    Family:

    Age

    16:

    Studies:

    7934

    7939

    1948-50

    1953-1984

    1963

    1978

    1982

    1984

    1990

    Died

    June 6, 1905,

    Alexandria,

    Egypt

    Greek

    Orthodox

    family

    of

    Syrran origrn

    receivedinto

    the Roman Catholic Church

    (Latin

    Rite)

    University

    of

    St. Joseph, Beirut

    (Pharmacology)

    University

    of Lyon,

    France

    (Chemistry)

    Entered the

    Dominican

    Order, studied

    at the Saulchoir

    Ordained

    to the Priesthood

    Ph.D. from

    the

    Medival

    Institute,

    Univers

    of

    Montreal

    Director

    of

    the

    Insit

    ut

    Dominicain

    d'tudes

    Orientales

    (IDEO)

    Second

    Vatican Council,

    Secretariat for the Unity of Christians

    Doctorate Honoris

    Couso

    from

    the University

    of

    Louvarn

    Named

    to the Pontifical Council

    for

    Culture by Pope

    John

    Paul II

    Doctorate Honoris

    Causs

    from The Catholic Universi of America

    Named

    honorary member of the Socit

    Asiatque

    (Pans)

    January 28,1994, Cairo,

    Egypt

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    A Memoriam

    Pre

    Anawati

    died

    in

    his

    room

    at

    the

    Institut

    Dominicain

    d'tudes

    Orientales du Caire

    on

    January

    28th,

    7994, the

    feast of

    St.

    Thomas

    Aquinas.

    One

    token

    of

    the universal es-

    teem

    in

    which he

    was

    held

    is

    that

    the

    notice of his death,

    together

    with

    a

    photograph,

    appeared on

    the front

    page

    of

    al-Ahrsm

    the following day,

    while

    telegrams of condolence

    were

    sent,

    by President Mou-

    barak, Kamal

    Hilmi,

    president

    of

    the

    Egyptian

    parliament,

    and

    Ismet

    Abd

    al-Magid, Secretary

    General of

    the

    Arab

    League.

    Many members

    of

    the

    Society

    will

    have

    known

    Pre

    Anawati

    personally;

    numerous others

    will

    know him

    for

    some

    or for many of

    the rich

    diversity

    of

    his

    more than 250 contributions

    to oriental

    studies,

    most

    likely

    perhaps

    for

    his Mu'allafat

    lbn

    Sns: Essqi de

    bibliographie

    aucnienne

    (Cairo,

    1950),

    his

    edition of

    Avicenna's

    Ilahiyyat

    al-Shifa'

    (Cairo,1960)and

    its translation,

    L a mtaphysique

    du

    Shifa',

    introduction,

    traduction et commentaire

    (2

    uols., Paris

    797

    8, 7985) or

    his Etudes

    de

    philosophie

    musulmone

    (Paris,

    797

    4],,

    a

    collection of

    studies covering the

    general

    character of Muslim

    philosophy,

    the transmission

    of

    the

    Neoplatonic

    tradition in

    Islam,

    Avicenna,

    'Abd

    al-Jabbar,

    and

    Fakhruddin al-Razi,

    and

    for

    the

    two

    works

    which

    he

    published

    in collaboration

    with

    Louis GardeT,Intro'

    duction

    la thologie

    musulmone

    (Paris,

    1948,

    translated

    into

    Arabic by

    F. Jabre and

    S.

    Salih,

    3

    vols.,

    Beyrou|I',1967-69) and

    Lo

    mystque

    musulmane,

    ospects

    et tendances:

    Exprences

    et

    tech-

    nques

    (Paris,

    1961) and

    for

    the annual survey of classical

    and

    8

    Abna Anawati

    medieval

    Arabic texts

    published

    in

    Egypt,

    which

    he

    prepared

    for

    MIDEO

    from

    1954

    until

    quite

    recently, when the task was taken over

    by others.

    He

    also

    wrote a number of works in

    Arabic,

    among

    Them

    Tarkh

    al-saydala

    wal-qaqr

    f-t-ahd

    al-qadm wal-sr al-wast

    (The

    His-

    tory

    of Drugs and

    Medicines in Antiquity and the

    Middle

    ages,

    Cairo,

    1959)

    and

    al-Mashiyya

    wal-hadara

    al-rabiyya

    (Christianity

    and

    Arab

    Culture,

    Cairo,

    79921.

    There

    is

    at

    present

    no

    complete bibli-

    ography

    of Pre

    Anawati's

    publications.

    That

    given

    in

    the

    Festschrift

    presented

    to

    him

    and to Louis Gardet

    (Recherches

    d'lslamologie,

    Bibliothque

    philosophique

    de Louvain 26,

    Louvain

    I976)

    gives

    some 230

    items;

    a

    complete list is being

    prepared

    by his colleagues

    of

    the IDEO and should appear shortly.

    Born in Alexandria,

    Pre Anawati studied

    pharmacy

    at

    the

    Universit

    St. Joseph

    in Beirut

    and

    then

    chemistry

    at

    the

    University of Lyon,

    after which

    he returned to

    Alexandria

    in

    7929

    where

    he worked in the

    fami

    laboratory.

    He

    had a

    strong interest

    in

    philosophy

    and

    theo-

    logy,

    however,

    and,

    having

    studied the

    works of

    Aristotle

    and

    Aquinas,

    was

    particularly

    impressed

    with

    the

    writing

    of

    A.D.

    Sertillanges

    and J. Mariiain,

    which

    were to

    mark much

    of

    his

    subsequent

    thought

    and

    writing.

    Already in

    the

    early

    thirties he

    had entered

    into

    cor-

    respondance with

    Louis Massignon,

    who subsequently

    was to be-

    come a

    very

    close

    friend. A short

    time

    later, encouraged by

    Yusuf

    Karam,

    then Professor of Philosophy

    atthe

    Egyptian

    University, Pre

    Anawati

    entered

    the Dominican Order

    in 1934, taking

    the

    religious

    name

    Marie-Marcel.

    He studied

    philosophy

    and

    theology

    at

    the

    Saulchoir, the Studium

    of

    the Dominican Province of

    France,

    which

    at the time

    was

    located

    in

    Belgium.

    He

    was

    ordained

    in 1939

    and

    subsequently

    ,in7947,completed

    his

    thse

    de

    lectorat at

    Saint-Albain

    Leysse

    in

    Savoy

    which entitled him

    to teach

    philosophy

    and

    theology

    as

    a

    member

    of

    Dominican

    faculties.

    Later the

    same

    year,

    unable

    to return to occupied France, he

    went

    to Algiers

    where

    he

    took

    his licentiate

    in

    Arabic

    in 1943 and

    was

    appointed

    by

    Charles

    Kuentz as Egyptian

    Attach of

    the Institui

    Franais

    d'Archologie

    for

    Algiers.

    He

    remainedThere

    untilAugust

    1944.

    During his Algierian stay

    he formed

    close and enduring

    ties

    with

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    6/8

    a

    number

    of

    oriental

    scholars,

    among

    them

    Robert

    Brunschvig,

    Marius

    Canard,

    Georges Marcais,

    Henri

    Prs,

    Jean Cantineau, and

    variste

    Lvi-Provenal,

    and

    with others then working in

    Morocco,

    such as

    G. S. Colin,

    H. P. J. Renaud,

    and Louis

    Brunot. Most

    im-

    portant,

    however,

    was

    his

    close association with Louis Gardet, whose

    acquaintance he

    had

    first

    made some

    time

    earlier

    at the

    Saulchoir.

    Gardet,

    a

    member

    of

    the

    Petits

    Frres

    de

    Jsus

    (with

    the

    religious

    name, Petit

    Frre

    Andr-Marie),

    resided

    in the Dominican

    house

    in

    Algiers

    during

    1943 and

    7944

    and

    it

    was there

    that

    Pre Anawati's

    long

    career

    of

    research

    and

    publication

    on

    Muslim

    philosophy,

    theology,

    and mysticism began

    simultaneously

    with

    his long continu-

    ing collaboration with

    Gardet.

    So

    too,

    in

    the early

    stages

    of

    his

    career,

    he established, during

    a

    brief

    stay in Jerusalem in 1945-46, close

    contactswith

    scholars

    such as

    D.

    H.

    Baneth and S. Pines, whose

    work

    he especially

    admired.

    Following

    his

    initial

    period

    of

    travel,

    Pre Anawati settled in the

    Dominican

    house in Abbassiya,

    where,

    through

    his association

    with

    Charles Kuentz and Youssef Karam, he

    formed

    close ties

    with

    Fuad

    Sayyid, Ahmad

    Amin,

    Ibrahim Madkour,

    Mahmoud

    Khodeiri,

    and

    with Taha Husayn

    who, with his

    wife

    Suzanne, became and

    remained

    his

    very

    close friends.

    The Dominican residence

    in

    Abbassiyawas originallyestablished by

    Pre

    Antonin

    Jaussen in 1928

    as a

    kind

    of adjunct to the cole

    Biblique

    of Jerusalem.

    Already

    in the

    mid-thirties,

    however,

    the

    then

    Rector

    of

    the Saulchoir,

    Pre M.-D. Chenu

    (d.

    1990), one

    of

    the

    foremost theologians of the

    century, keenly

    aware of

    the

    religious,

    cultural, and historical importance

    of

    Islam,

    both in

    itself

    and

    for

    its

    profound

    influence

    on the

    intellectual development

    of

    Western

    Europe,

    urged

    the formation

    of

    a center

    for the

    study

    of

    Islam

    and

    especially

    of

    its

    philosophical,

    theological,

    and religious thought. So

    it was

    that

    immediately

    after the

    war a

    small research

    group

    was

    formed

    consisting

    of

    Pres

    Anawati,

    Jacques

    Jomier,

    and Serge de

    Laugier

    de Beaurecueil

    (it

    was he

    who conducted the funeralservices

    for Marie

    Bernand last

    year

    in

    Montrouge), who

    were

    joined

    not long

    afterwards by Pre Dominique Boilot

    and eventually

    by a

    number

    of

    others. The Institut Dominicain

    d'tudes Orientales

    (IDEO)was

    offi-

    10

    cially inaugurated

    in 1953

    with

    Pre

    Anawatias

    director,

    a

    position

    he

    retained

    until

    1984.

    The

    first issue

    of

    MIDEO

    (Mlanges

    de

    I'lnstitut

    Dominicain d'tudes

    Orientales) appeared the

    following

    year.

    Pre Anawatiserved as

    Professor of Pharmacy at

    the

    University

    of

    Alexandria from

    1955 and was

    a visiting

    professor

    on more

    than

    one

    occasion at

    the Universities

    of

    Ottawa, Montreal, and Louvain,

    and

    at regular intervals for a

    number of

    years

    at

    the

    University

    of

    California

    at

    Los

    Angeles. He

    was

    for

    many

    years

    an honorary member of the

    American OrientalSociety and was a

    member

    of

    the Institut

    d'gypte

    and a

    knight of the

    Lgion

    d'Honneur. He received honorary doc-

    torates

    at

    the

    Catholic

    University of

    Louvain and the

    Catholic

    University of America and was

    awarded

    the medal of the International

    Society

    for

    the

    Study

    of Medieval

    Philosophy at

    its

    meeting

    of

    IOOZ

    in Ottawa.

    To

    some

    it

    came at

    times to seem that he was continually

    on the move,

    lecturing,

    attending

    meetings and

    colloquia, or

    serving

    on

    one

    or another commission,

    so

    much

    so, indeed,

    thai

    one

    friend

    suggested

    that

    he

    returned to

    Egypt

    only

    occasionally

    in

    order to

    renew

    his

    passport.

    Through all of

    these many

    activities

    and

    preoccupations,

    however,

    his

    life never lost

    its integral focus on three things: his religious life as

    a friar of the

    Dominican

    Order,

    the study of the

    history

    of

    philosophy

    and

    theology,

    and

    the

    progress

    of

    the

    Muslim-Christian

    dialogue.

    The

    week before his

    death-and

    despite

    the

    great

    difficulty he had in

    getting

    about,

    even

    in

    his wheel chair-he left the

    house

    to attend

    a

    meeting

    of

    al-lkha' al-dini, a

    religious association made

    up of

    in-

    tellectuals

    of different

    faiths who meet

    once

    a

    month for

    discussion.

    The IDEO, located on

    Shari'Masna'al-Tarabish

    (Tarboush

    Factory

    Street)-and

    f

    or

    this

    one

    of

    the

    brethren has

    dubbed it la tarbouchire-

    is a very special

    place

    for

    all

    those

    who have

    worked there

    or have

    been associated

    with

    it. Though

    perpetually

    short

    of

    funds,

    it

    houses

    a

    truly

    outstanding library

    for the study of the intellectual and religious

    history

    of

    Islam, consisting

    presently

    of

    some eighty

    thousand

    vol-

    umes,

    not counting

    journals,

    assembled

    through the

    constant eforts

    of Pre

    Anawati, in

    large

    part

    by

    virtue of

    his contacts

    with

    a

    host of

    people,

    scholars,

    writers, diplomats, officials,

    publishers,

    and busi-

    11

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    7/8

    nessmen and his

    close

    personal

    relationship with

    a

    number of book

    dealers, both

    in

    Egypt

    and

    abroad.

    Because of

    Pre

    Anawati's

    long

    association

    with Louis Gardet and with

    the

    Petits Frres, Gardet's

    library

    has

    now

    been

    integrated

    into that of the Institute.

    It contains

    also,

    we

    might note,

    a

    rich

    fund

    of materials concerning

    popular

    sufism bequeathed

    by

    Dr.

    Ernst

    Bannerth, an Austrian

    priest

    and

    orientalist

    who, not

    long after he

    had come

    to

    Cairo

    to

    study

    sufi

    confraternities, requested and

    was

    granted

    residence at

    the Institute

    where

    he

    lived

    until his

    deathin7976;

    stories are

    stilltold

    of

    Bannerth

    and of his regular

    participation

    in the

    dhikr

    of

    various

    groups

    who

    were

    never

    quite

    sure

    whether

    he was a Muslim

    or

    not.

    The

    Institute

    with its

    resident Dominican

    community

    is

    a

    very

    special

    place,

    however, not

    because

    of its

    library-for

    even if

    not

    numerous,

    such are to

    be

    found elsewhere-but

    because it is

    endowed

    with a

    unique

    atmosphere

    of openness,

    congeniality and human

    warmth that

    are due

    in

    great

    part,

    if not

    entirely, to the spirit of Pre

    Anawati, who

    was indeed

    a

    very

    special

    kind of

    individual (for

    whom

    else of

    his wandering

    colleagues

    did

    Franz Rosenthal

    ever

    prepare

    dinner?). It

    was because of this unique atmosphere that

    as Norman

    Daniel

    (d.

    7992),

    for

    many

    years

    the Director

    of the British Council,

    was

    contemplating retirement

    from the

    cultural

    office of

    the Embassy

    in Cairo,

    his

    wife

    Ruth turned

    to

    Pre

    Anawati

    as the three of them

    were

    dining one evening-they were

    very

    close friends-and

    asked,

    hopefully, though

    only half

    seriously

    because the

    request

    seemed

    plainly

    preposterous,

    if they might

    build a house

    on

    the Dominican

    property ( dans

    le

    jardin

    du

    couvent ). Later, having

    considered

    the

    matter

    and consulted

    the

    community-the

    question

    had hardly been

    expected-Abna was happy to

    agree

    and

    the

    Daniels moved

    into

    their

    house in 1979.

    It

    was

    characteristic that

    Pre Anawati's

    many travels

    and

    varied

    activities

    resulted

    not in the

    establishment

    of

    ordinary

    academic

    contacts

    and

    professional

    connections

    with their

    sometimes

    ex-

    changes

    of information

    and

    favors, but

    in

    the

    formation

    of real

    and

    enduring

    bonds of affection which were

    cherished and maintained.

    For

    those

    who

    knew

    him, both for his close friends,

    a significant

    number

    of whom were neither

    scholars

    nor

    intellectuals,

    and

    for the

    1.2

    many

    colleagues

    who

    had

    opportunities, frequent

    or

    infrequent,

    to

    share

    his

    company,

    Abna Anawati was

    far more than an

    affable

    scholar

    of

    international

    renown. His

    personality

    was marked by

    extra-

    ordinary

    warmth

    and

    generosity

    and

    his

    characteristically

    Egyptian

    love of verbal exchange,

    enlivened by

    a

    teasing,

    sometimes

    almost

    taunting dialectic

    (described

    by one

    friend

    as

    de

    tendance auicnienne

    anawatisante)

    made his presence

    a

    delight for

    all

    save

    the incurably

    stuffy

    and self-righteous,

    whom

    he occasionally

    left

    a

    bit

    perplexed,

    as they did

    him. This

    love

    of

    laughter and conversation

    serious and

    semlserious

    and

    downright

    playful-of

    talk

    and

    stories and of

    disputational

    sport-he

    exercised

    as spontaneously and

    joyfully

    at

    bus-stops

    and

    on

    crowded buses with

    the

    ordinary

    citizens and

    laborers

    of

    Cairo

    or Paris as with

    learned

    professors,

    sheikhs,

    and

    dignitaries at

    formal

    gatherings

    or

    with

    his

    Dominican

    confreres

    at

    table.

    Pre

    Anawati's

    religious

    faith

    was

    that of traditional

    Catholicism

    and his theological and philosophical

    formation

    firmly

    rooted

    in

    a

    traditionalThomism. Inevitably, some of his deeply

    held

    convictions

    and opinions

    were

    not

    fully

    shared

    by

    all his varied

    friends

    and

    colleagues or

    aquaintances.

    Conflict and confrontation, however,

    were altogether

    alien

    to

    his

    character

    and disposition,

    for which

    mutual

    respect and

    the maintenance of

    friendship wee

    ever

    upper-

    most.

    Divergences

    of views, when

    they

    surfaced,

    were noted

    but

    invariably

    blunted

    or turned

    aside;

    often

    by

    some humorous

    remark.

    Pre Anawati's

    room,

    like

    the man himself,

    gave

    an

    extraordinary

    impression. Besides

    the seeming chaos of books and

    boxes

    of

    prints

    and middens of papers that

    seemed

    to fill most

    of

    the

    space,

    there was

    a

    long bench

    with shelves

    supporting

    hundreds of small

    jars

    and

    bottles filled

    with

    an

    assortment

    of

    chemicals and a bunsen

    burner,

    often lit as, for

    a brief

    respite

    from

    more

    arduous

    tasks, he would

    undertake

    some simple experiment,

    following

    perhaps

    something

    that

    he

    had

    seen

    in one or

    another

    text. In the evening, illumined only

    by

    the small lamp on his desk,

    the

    room had

    the

    look

    of

    an alchemist's

    shop, and

    so

    it

    was

    frequently described by

    the residents of the house.

    And

    there he would sit, all day

    long

    at his work, taking

    time

    off

    for

    the

    community

    recitation of

    the

    office, meals and

    the

    brief

    recreation

    13

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    8/8

    at

    noon-coffee

    and talk

    with

    residents and

    guests-

    followed

    by a

    short

    siesta.

    In the

    evening

    he

    could be

    seen

    occasionally fighting

    sleep about 10:30,

    but soon

    the

    busy

    sound of

    his typewriter

    could be

    heard untilabout

    2 AM

    when

    he

    would finally retire, to rise

    again at

    six

    in the

    morning,

    say

    mass

    at

    a

    local convent and

    return

    once again

    to

    his

    desk.

    But his

    door was

    never

    closed.

    However

    busy,

    Pre

    Anawati

    was

    always

    ready,

    at

    whatever hour,

    day

    or

    night,

    to

    offer

    his

    help to

    any

    onewho

    sought

    it-whethera

    memberof the

    community,

    a

    visiting

    scholar, a

    student

    or

    a

    casual

    visitor

    to

    the

    library-with

    whatever

    problem

    or

    question,

    however trivial

    it might

    be. More

    than

    once he

    arranged

    to interrupt the routine

    of

    his work

    several times

    a

    week over the course

    of

    an

    entire

    semester

    to

    read

    philosophicaltexts

    with

    younger

    scholars or with students who had

    come

    to Cairo to

    do

    research or to

    study. Finally, at the

    age

    of 88, anxious to complete

    what he

    described

    as his

    grande

    oeuure, entitled

    Le Dieu Un

    (sl-TaL))hid):

    Existence,

    Attributs

    ef

    lVoms,

    Cration,

    he was

    per-

    suaded

    to

    exchange his

    ancient typewriter for

    a

    word

    processor and

    in the last

    letter

    I received

    from

    him,

    shortly

    beore

    his death, he

    was

    still

    jovially

    complaining

    of

    the

    refractoriness

    of

    the

    machine and

    lauding

    the

    patience

    of his

    confreres

    who

    were helping

    him

    to tame

    it.

    II tait toujours gal

    lui-mme.

    Pre

    Anawati's

    death tokens not merely the

    passing

    of a

    generation

    of

    great

    scholars but, in

    a real sense,

    that

    of the

    pioneer period

    of the

    modern

    study

    of

    Muslim

    philosophy

    and

    theology.

    Richard

    M.

    Frank

    Catholic

    University of America

    Washington DC

    Reprinted,

    with

    permission,

    from:

    The

    Newsletter

    ot' the

    American Oriental

    Society,

    Number

    77

    (1994)

    pp.

    1-6.

    74

    Selected

    Bibliography

    of

    Fr.

    Anawati's Life

    items

    relating

    to

    and

    Work

    Anawati, G.C.

    Georges

    C.

    Anawati

    (par

    lui-mme),

    Philosophes

    critiques

    d'eux-mmes,

    ed.

    by

    A.

    Mercier and

    M.Svilar, vol.14,

    pp.7-57.

    Berlin:

    Peter

    Lang,

    1990.

    Arnaldez, R. and S.

    van RieT. Recherches

    d'Islamologie, Recueil

    d'articles oft'ert

    Georges C.

    Anawat

    et

    Lois

    Gardet

    par

    leurs

    collgues et

    amis. Louvain: Peeters, 1977.

    van Ess, Josef.

    Georges

    Chehata

    Anawati,

    O.P.

    (1905-1994),

    Zetschrif

    t

    der

    Deutschen

    Morgenl ndischen

    Gesellschat't

    746

    (7996)

    262-268.

    Frank, Richard.

    Georges

    Chehata

    Anawati

    (1905-1994),

    Newsletter

    ot' the

    American Oriental

    Socety 77

    (1994)

    7-6.

    Morelon,

    Rgis. Le Pre G.C.

    Anawati,

    O.P.,

    (1905'1994)

    Parcours

    d'une uie.

    Cairo: Institut

    Dominicain d'Etudes Orientales,

    1996.

    Note:

    Pre Anawati's bibliography

    includes 31 books

    (12

    of

    which he

    wrote

    in

    collaboration

    with another

    author)and

    over

    250

    articles.

    Among

    his

    better

    known

    works are: lntroduction la

    thologie musulmane

    (7948,

    in

    collaboration

    with Louis Gardet), the

    Frenh

    translation

    of

    Avicenna's

    Metaphyscs

    (1978-1985),

    Hstory

    of

    Drugs and Medi-

    cines

    (\959, in

    Arabic),

    Chrstanty

    and

    Arab

    Culture

    (7992, in

    Arabic).

    15