Issue No. 597
Opinion
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1 - 7 August 2002 Issue No. 597 Opinion |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
The philospher
My relationship with Abdel-Rahman Badawi was cautious. He was a peculiarly private person whose life was almost entirely devoted to philosophy; it wasn't easy to get to know him at the social level. He was a monk, a philosopher monk who never socialised much; he valued his time deeply. I remember a friend of mine, Sheikh Aglan, who, on catching sight of Badawi passing the Opera Café, where we gathered regularly at the time, decided to greet him. Badawi only nodded briefly by way of response, continuing on his way. Sheikh Aglan felt insulted and decided to confront the man who had just slighted him: I will never forget the sight of one running after the other towards Opera Square.
We used to meet in the house of the late Mustafa Abdel-Raziq. That would be the only place where I saw him regularly, as he was extremely close to Abdel- Raziq until the end of the latter's life. But I initially made his acquaintance in my fourth year at the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University. He was a third-year student but there was a class we both attended. I had no idea he would grow up to become one of the most prominent Arab philosophers, enriching our philosophical library and defending Islam against the claims of certain Orientalists. Even then, however, he had that anti- social streak. More often than not he was lost in thought. You were always more likely to capture his attention by asking an intellectual question than attempting a greeting, however cordial it might be.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy
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