Anis Mohamed Mansour (August 18, 1924 - October 21, 2011) was an Egyptian journalist, philosopher, and writer. He is famous for his philosophical writing through the publications he wrote, in which he combined the modern literary style besides the philosophical method.
Anis Mansour completed his secondary education in the city of Mansoura, where he was the first among all Egyptian students at the time, and this was a continuation of his excellence in his childhood, where he was famous for his wit and sound logical thinking. The teachers saw in him a brilliant future and a unique personality.
He joined the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University by personal desire, entered the Department of Philosophy, which he excelled in, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1947, and worked as a professor in the same department, but at Ain Shams University for a while, where he worked as a teacher of modern philosophy at the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University from 1954 until 1963, He returned to teach again in 1975, and chose to devote himself to writing as an author and journalist. He headed several editorial positions for a number of newspapers and magazines. This journalistic journey was accompanied by his interest in journalistic writing. He kept writing a daily article that was distinguished by the simplicity of his style through which he was able to reach the deepest and most complex ideas to the simple.
Anis Mansour remained for a while with his only interest in buying books and studying philosophy until an important turning point occurred for him, which is his attendance at Abbas Mahmoud Al-Akkad Salon, which for him was a gateway to another world he did not know before, and he recorded all of this in a book in Al-Akkad Salon. Days in which he presented the problems, torments, worries, fears and opinions of his generation in the face of the generation of giants such as Taha Hussein, Al-Akkad, Tawfiq Al-Hakim, Salama Musa and many other prominent figures of thought and culture in Egypt at that time.
Anis Mansour started in the world of journalism with Akhbar Al-Youm Foundation, one of the largest Egyptian press institutions, and was apprenticed by its founders, Professors Mostafa and Ali Amin. Then he left it and went to Al-Ahram Foundation in May 1950 until 1952. Then Anis Mansour traveled to Europe, and in At that time the revolution of July 23, 1952, Anis Mansour sent his first article to Akhbar Al-Youm. He continued to work in Akhbar Al-Youm until he left it in 1976 to become Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dar Al Maaref, and then published Al Kawakeb magazine.
He ranged between journalism, literature, art and philosophy, and was one of the youngest editor-in-chiefs in Egypt, where he took over as a printed editor-in-chief when he was not yet thirty years old. 1976 AD, a comprehensive Arab, political and social magazine, to be its editor-in-chief and chairman of the board of directors of Dar Al-Maaref until 1984.
Anis Mansour lived a lover of literature and the arts, studying philosophy and its teacher, working in the press, and one of its professors. He contributed in all these and other fields with books and writings of nearly 200 books, which together constitute a complete integrated library of knowledge, sciences, arts, literature, politics, journalism, philosophy, sociology, history, politics and women., and books in magazines. miscellaneous. His vision and vision of the universe, man and life reflected and contributed to shaping the conscience and culture of many generations of young people in the entire Arab world.
Anis Mansour learned several languages, including: English, German, Italian, Latin, French and Russian, which enabled him to learn about many cultures, World in 200 Days, Yemen is that unknown, you are in Japan and other countries.
Anis Mansour traveled a lot and wrote a lot in travel literature, and wrote a number of books on that, including “A Book Around the World in 200 Days,” “God’s Country for God’s Creation,” “A Stranger in a Strange Country,” “Yemen that Unknown” and “You are in Japan.” And in other countries, “the most amazing trips in history.” The writings of Anis Mansour in metaphysics at one time were the writings that spread among readers and intellectuals, and among his most famous books in this field were those who descended from heaven, who returned to heaven, the curse of the pharaohs. Anis Mansour also left a number of books that turned into cinematic, theatrical and television works, the most famous of which are the play "Your Dream, Sheikh Allam", "Who does not love Fatima", "She and others", "I have words".
Anis Mansour had a wide activity in the field of translation, as he translated into Arabic many books and foreign literary works, amounting to about 9 plays and about 5 novels from different languages, in addition to 12 books by European philosophers.
At the same time, international publishing houses took care of translating many of his works into European languages, especially English and Italian. His book Around the World in 200 Days is the most widely spread in Arabic. Then, at the end of his life, he devoted himself to writing the well-known political and social article, Positions, in Al-Ahram daily newspaper, in addition to his daily column in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
His writings on existentialism were among the best that he wrote about it in the Arabic language, and he was the largest reader in the Arab world as described by the writer Taha Hussein, and his proficiency in several foreign languages helped him to do so. In writing an article on the subject in the mind of a philosopher thinker, he adds new information and vision to it, and he was keen in his daily column to present the Egyptian and Arab reader with one or more new information in each article. He had a special method or combination of writing that is difficult to imitate and attracted millions of readers at home The whole Arab world, so they accepted his articles, books and publications, which achieved record sales figures.
In the early eighties of the last century, the Israeli Zionist writer Amos Elon went to Anis Mansour to conduct an interview and a special press interview with him. He heard a lot about his vast culture and his proficiency in several foreign languages. Amos Elon was fluent in several languages and seemed to have some doubts about what he heard about his abilities. The special personality of the writer Anis Mansour and that the matter may not be without exaggeration, and he wanted to rule himself.
The Israeli writer Amos Elon met Anis Mansour in his office and had a long talk with him about Arab-Israeli politics and conflict, Egyptian-Israeli relations, and the future of peace between Egypt and the Israeli occupation after the signing of the peace treaty and even discussed philosophical issues. It is in a fierce match or duel between two minds, and at the end of the dialogue, after Amos Elon felt himself the extent of Anis Mansour’s erudition, his abundance of information, and the strength of his rational arguments, he then realized that what he had heard before about Anis Mansour was less than the truth. The Israeli writer Amos Elon published his entire interview with Anis Mansour in his book, "A Journey to Egypt", which also included interviews with prominent Egyptian personalities.
The thinker Anis Mansour had a high degree of self-confidence and self-esteem, perhaps explained by those who do not know him with arrogance and transcendence. In the humble personality of Anis Mansour, there was pride, and his pride was humility, and perhaps he was affected by this characteristic of his early relationship, closeness and admiration for the writer Abbas Mahmoud Al-Akkad.
Anis Mansour was Sadat's first journalist after 1975, and he was a close friend and a confidant. Many people know that the secrets, dialogues, documents and recordings in Anis Mansour's closet are priceless and were not disclosed for reasons he did not disclose until he died.
Anis Mansour lived throughout his life, full of hearing and sight, well-known and well-known, proud of his culture and status, contemporaneous with the monarchy and witnessed the rule of Abdel Nasser and was harmed by him and contemporary with Sadat and was close to him, and he did not die until he saw the fall of the Mubarak regime and the collapse of his rule after 30 years he spent on the throne of Egypt.
He accompanied President Mubarak on some of his travels, including in Toronto, during his only visit to Canada in 1983. Mansour wrote in the Al-Ahram newspaper the most read daily article, "Steps", and also writes for Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper. He headed the editor-in-chief of several magazines, including: Al-Jeel, Heya, Akher Sa’a, October, Al-Urwa Al-Wuthqa, Mayo, Cartoons, Al-Kateeb. His articles, which he used to write in the past, were transferred to a last-minute newspaper.
In his lifetime, he received many literary awards from Egypt and abroad, most notably an honorary doctorate from Mansoura University, the Golden Knight Award from Egyptian TV, and the State Encouragement Award in Egypt in the field of literature. He also has a statue in the city of Mansoura, which reflects how proud his country is in him.
In a television interview, Anis Mansour said that marriage is a difficult social system due to the difficulty of continuing a long life between a couple who did not know each other sufficiently, but decided to alleviate the difficulty of married life when he decided not to have children and his wife agreed to that.
He passed away on Friday morning, October 21, 2011 at the age of 87, after his health deteriorated.
Anis Mansour was not only a great journalist writer, but a traveling human encyclopedia. He was a phenomenon and an intellectual and literary case, especially in writing and journalism in Egypt and the Arab world. He was not just a great and famous journalist, he was a philosopher, creative thinker, multi-talented, and a global citizen who opened at an early age to the world and its different cultures, without forgetting his Egyptian roots
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