In Memoriam: Ibrahim Abu-Lughod

In Memoriam: Ibrahim Abu-Lughod

IBRAHIM ABU-LUGHOD
A founder of AAUG & President in 1969

A dedicated scholar, a first-rate intellectual and an activist for justice
has just passed away.  Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Lughod finished his long journey in
life on May 23, 2001 at his home in Ramallah. He will be laid to rest in
Yaffa ( Jaffa ), his birth place, on Friday May 25. Ibrahim spent his life
of seventy-two years engaged in the struggle for liberation. When Ibrahim
arrived in the United States in 1950, the voice of the Palestinians was
not heard. By the time he left it in 1992, it was loud as thunder. Shortly
thereafter, the United States had even come to recognize the Palestine
Liberation Organization. This was no accident. Rather, it was the result
of a long-term effort by Ibrahim Abu-Lughod and few other committed
friends of his as much as it was the result of the heroic struggle of the
Palestinian people.

Born in 1929 in Yaffa, Ibrahim graduated from Ameriyyah School in 1948
when he and his family took refuge in Nablus and then Amman. In 1950, he
came to the United States where he received his bachelors and masters
degrees from the University of Illinois.  In 1957, Ibrahim received a
Ph.D. in Political Science from Princeton University.  He began his career
with UNESCO and directed its social research department in Egypt. In 1961,
Ibrahim joined the faculty at Smith College and then at Northwestern
University. He resigned from Northwestern in 1992 and returned to
Palestine where he joined Birzeit University as its vice president and
professor of international relations.

Activists, however, do not just manage and teach. They also publish and
lead.  Professor Abu-Lughod published dozens of books and articles where
he documented, assessed and articulated the dispossession of the
Palestinians.  His many books include The Transformation of Palestine;
Palestinian Rights: Affirmation and Denial; Profile of the Palestinian
People; Two Stories on the Palestinians Today and American Policy; and The
Arab-Israeli Confrontation of June 1967: An Arab Perspective. His
articles, speeches, and interviews always managed to inspire people and
force them to question. Along with his close friend and colleague, Dr.
Edward Said, Ibrahim was the founding editor of Arab Studies Quarterly.

Ibrahim Abu-Lughod was a true activist. As a student, he was very involved
in the Arab Student Association throughout his student career. He, along
with other like-minded activists, founded the Association of Arab-American
University Graduates in 1968. Ibrahim was also a noted member of the
Palestine National Council for many years. He served on the boards of many
academic, social and professional organizations. His plan for The
Development of the Palestinian Curriculum is the foundation of the current
Palestinian policy on curriculum.

Ibrahim's journey began in Yaffa seventy-two years ago. It ends in Yaffa
on Friday, May 25,2001.  His legacy, however, cannot end so soon. It will
live for many generations to come.

By Jamal Nassar