اخبار السعودية – وطن نيوز
عاجل اخبار السعودية – اخبار اليوم السعودية
W6nnews.com ==== وطن === تاريخ النشر – 2026-04-27 00:00:00
With the spread of education in the Arab Gulf states, the opening of universities, the establishment of cultural clubs, and the emergence of ministries or governmental bodies concerned with cultural affairs, the region entered a state of unprecedented cultural movement, and this movement was strengthened by the emergence of many solid cultural periodical magazines, some of which were keen to provide a solid source of knowledge from the pens of the greatest creators in the Arab world. Examples of these early magazines include: the monthly “Caravan of Oil” (now “Caravan”) issued by the company Aramco Oil Company in Dhahran (its first issue was published in October 1953), “Al-Arabi” the monthly issued by the Ministry of Information in the State of Kuwait (its first issue was issued in December 1958), and “Al-Manhal” the monthly founded by the Saudi writer Abdul Quddus Al-Ansari in Medina (its first issue was issued in February 1937). And the monthly “Al-Arab” (later turned into a quarterly), which appeared at the hands of Al-Jazeera scholar Sheikh Hamad Al-Jasser in Riyadh (the first issue of which was published in October 1966). Later, the Gulf region and the Arabian Peninsula witnessed a boom in the number of periodicals and quarterlies issued by universities, scientific institutions, or ministries of information and culture, and examples include: “Al-Faisal” magazine and “Risala Al-Khaleej Al-Arabi” magazine in Saudi Arabia, “Nizwa” magazine in Oman, “Doha” magazine in Qatar, and “Al-Doha” magazine in Qatar. The Bahraini “Cultural Bahrain” and the “Arab Gulf Scientific Research” magazine, the Emirati “Derasat” magazine, the Kuwaiti “Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies” magazine, and others. It can be said that the State of Kuwait, through its National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature, was the most active in this field, and played a pioneering and significant role in spreading science and knowledge in the Gulf and the Arab world, with its solid publications full of thought, culture and high-quality human sciences. We find the most prominent manifestations of this in the “World of Knowledge” series, which are cultural books published at the beginning of every month since January 1978, with the aim of connecting the reader with the latest contemporary intellectual and cultural trends. We find it manifested secondly in the “International Theater” series, which are also monthly books (the first issue of which was published in March 1971), and aim to develop awareness of theatrical art and enrich it intellectually and literaryly by publishing international plays by major playwrights around the world after translating them from their original language into Arabic with perfection and subjecting them to scientific arbitration. We find it manifested thirdly in “The World of Thought” magazine, which is a peer-reviewed cultural periodical (its first issue appeared in April 1970), and its value and high status are known only to Arab academics and university scholars. Let us read what the Jordanian poet and writer Youssef Abu Al-Louz wrote in “Al-Khaleej” newspaper (12/19/2019) about the impact of these periodicals, specifically the “World of Knowledge” series as an enlightening intellectual project. Abu Al-Luz says: “It is truly an Arab cultural phenomenon in the history of literature, sciences, arts, aesthetics, thought, criticism, languages, religions, myths, popular cultures and world heritages… and all of that with clean, elegant printing and less than nominal prices… fixed prices despite changes in currency rates in the world over a period of more than forty years until today.” He adds: “Behind the establishment of this series is a cultural nobility and a unitary Arab spirit, which is an inherent part of the nature of Kuwait and the Kuwaiti intellectual. The monthly series reaches all countries of the Arab world, and as soon as it reaches the libraries and kiosks of the Arab capitals, it sells out after a short time, and how unfair the Arab intellectual feels if he does not rush to obtain his copy of the new title in this historical series. The World of Knowledge series, as millions of Arab readers know, was founded by the Kuwaiti poet Ahmed Mishari Al-Adwani (1923-2010), along with the Egyptian thinker Dr. Fouad Zakaria (1927-2010). When these two Arab scholars founded the World of Knowledge series, they were in their early fifties, which indicates their early intellectual and cultural awareness in view of the establishment of a project of the size of the World of Knowledge series at that time, and in view of ensuring its success and continuity. As for the “World Theater” series, Dr. Mohamed Fathi Farag wrote in “Al-Arabi” magazine (Issue 687) and said that it “filled a shortage in the Arab library caused by the absence of the (World Theater Series) that was issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. This series presented us with the masterpieces of the world stage by giants of poets and playwrights from the time of Greece until now, and presented works by Phoccles, Shakespeare, Racine, Goethe, Beckett, and others. There is no doubt that these Kuwaiti periodicals would not have created a resounding impact and eternal intellectual radiance had it not been for a group of Kuwaiti and Arab nobles and intellectuals standing behind their helm. If one of these Kuwaitis is the writer and poet Ahmed Mishari Al-Adwani, then one of the prominent Arab figures who accompanied him for years and put her knowledge and experience at his disposal to complete the publications of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters in the most complete, best and richest way is “Sidqi Abdullah Khattab”, whose biography we will try in this article since he set foot on the land of Kuwait to serve it culturally. Hattab mentioned the Egyptian critic and writer Jaber Al-Asfour in an article he published in the magazine The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Arabi (Issue 703) devoted it to recounting his memories of the years he worked in Kuwait. He said: “I can hardly remember Ahmed Al-Adwani without the mention of his assistant, Professor Sedqi Hattab, a Palestinian, who lived most of his years in Kuwait, after he graduated in the English Language Department from Cairo University. My relationship with Professor Hattab still exists, and I always ask about him whenever I go to Amman, as he is one of the friends of the beautiful era with its unforgettable years, which I still see as a dream that brought me together with personalities who are luminous symbols in every field of knowledge. I believe that Sidqi Hattab’s contribution to establishing the Kuwaiti “World of Knowledge” series was great. He was the one who was like a dynamo, the one behind it, and the one who continued to work on its continuation and renewal until his health conditions forced him to abandon it and return to his permanent residence in Amman. May God protect him and grant him more life and wellness.” His friend and co-worker in the Supreme Committee for the Development of the Arts wrote about him in the Jordanian newspaper “Al-Rai” (3/30/2011). In Kuwait, and then in the General Secretariat of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature, the Kuwaiti playwright Abdulaziz Al-Sari’i described him as an educated teacher, and recounted many of his memories with him, referring to his great efforts, sincerity and dedication to work, in the educational field and in public life, and referring to his many works. Among what he said: “My relationship with him became closer and deepened over time because of my admiration for his person and his broad and diverse culture, both traditional and contemporary, Arab and international. Professor Sidqi Hattab served loyally in Kuwait and played a prominent role in educational and cultural work. He established the UNESCO section in the Encyclopedia Department in 1957, and worked alongside them. In the cultural activity of the Ministry of Education, in its schools, and in public life.” He added what this means is that Hattab spent 35 years working in Kuwait with love and sincerity, and after he left it to live in Jordan, he was overwhelmed by his longing for it, so he visited it and his many friends there. The Palestinian newspaper “Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda” (10/31/2017) published a detailed account of his upbringing, studies, and professional career, on the occasion of his departure to his final resting place in 2017 in the Jordanian city of Amman, which it began with. Expressing regret for ignoring the news of his death and the scarcity of news about him, “despite his well-known intellectual, literary, and scientific achievements in Kuwait, where he lived for many years and worked in its cultural space, to be one of the giant names that enriched Arab libraries with translated literature and intellectual magazines.” After the news of his death spread, the Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) on 10/30/2017 mourned him through a statement titled “Sidqi Khattab… A profound literary stature departs.” Sidqi Abdullah Hattab was born in the village of “Kafr Sur” in the Tulkarm District in 1932, and he passed away in the Jordanian city of Amman in late October 2017 at the age of 85 years. Like many Palestinians who were forced to flee to neighboring countries after the 1948 war, Hattab lived, grew up, and completed his formal education in Jordan, before moving to Egypt to continue his university education. In Egypt, Hattab enrolled at Cairo University, as a student at the Faculty of English Language Arts, which granted him a Bachelor’s degree in 1955, after which he waited several years until conditions were created for him to continue his higher education, which he completed in 1967 at the University of London. Which granted him a master’s degree for a thesis entitled “Richard’s Doctrine of Literary Criticism.” After that, he continued his studies at the University of London until he obtained a doctorate from there, with a thesis entitled “Eliot’s Effect on Contemporary Arabic Literature.” From education to theater: His professional career began immediately after his graduation from Cairo University, where he was among the Palestinian graduates who were contracted by the Kuwait Encyclopedia to work in Kuwait before its independence. Thus, Hattab arrived in Kuwait and began his work as an English language teacher in the academic year 1955/1956. In 1957, he was transferred to work in the UNESCO Department of the Kuwait Encyclopedia. At the same time, his passion for giving and educating those around him led him to contribute to Kuwait Radio’s cultural programs, such as preparing and presenting the program “From the World Stage” (which continued to broadcast for seven years from 1977 to 1984, and included 350 episodes that included an introduction to the author, a summary of one of his plays, and presenting a witness from the play and a critique of it), then preparing and presenting some televised programs through Kuwait TV, such as the “Literature in a Week” program, which he continued to present with Suleiman Al-Shatti and Abdulaziz Al-Sari’i. In addition, he was busy at this stage of his life with translation. He translated many studies, researches, and books related to education and theater from English to Arabic, including: “The Primary School Curriculum” in 1965, “New Methods and Techniques in Education,” “The Successful School Principal” in 1966, and “The Art of the Autobiography” in 1972. In addition, in 1970, he translated four plays by UNESCO, Adamov, Arbal, and Albi. It was published as part of the “From the World Theater” series. The truth is that the true creative imprint on Hattab’s experience came from his emergence, amidst the difficult political and social circumstances and crises that followed the June defeat, by knocking on the door of the most difficult translations, and by that we mean the translation of theatrical arts, starting with the translation of “The Art of the Play” by Fred Millett and Gerald Eads Bentley, from whom the great creators of theatrical work drew inspiration. Then the man continued his literary and artistic experience through contact with theater pioneers in Palestine, Jordan and Kuwait, which helped him move the Arab theatrical space by asking questions that dealt with dilemmas such as: Why did Martin Esslin choose the plays of Ionesco, Beckett, Genet and Adamov, to be a free model for combining the two covers of the critical book “Theatre of the Absurd”? 1977.. The detailed transformation The year 1977 constituted a turning point in his life, and its cultural influence extended until August The year 1990 witnessed the destruction of the invading Iraqi forces of every beautiful cultural plant planted by Kuwait. The period from 1977 to 1990 witnessed his move to work as Director of the Department of Cultural and Artistic Affairs at the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature in Kuwait. He continued to hold this position until 1989, when he was appointed Director of Cultural Projects in the same council until August 1990, and at the same time he was a founding member and Vice-Chairman of the Permanent Committee for Arab Culture of the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALESCO). Those years also witnessed his brilliance and his intellectual, literary and scientific achievements in the Kuwaiti, Gulf and Arab space as one of the influential Arab names in translated literature and Arab thought, especially since during this period he was a member of the editorial board of both: the “World of Knowledge” series from January 1978 until August 1990, and the “International Culture” magazine from 1981 until 1990, before he was forced out of Kuwait due to the Iraqi invasion and the cessation of cultural activities. He resides in Jordan, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Jordanian magazine “Al-Mishkat” (a scientific journal issued by the Deanship of Scientific Research at the International University of Islamic Sciences in Amman) since 1992, then he became editor-in-chief of the Jordanian “Journal of Applied Sciences” until 1998. We conclude by pointing out that Hattab had a daughter who followed in his footsteps, namely the researcher, writer, and academic Dr. Manen Sidqi Hattab, who passed away on March 27. 2026.
