MLO has always prided itself in supporting adab, the classical Arabic concept for literature, art, poetry, this genre being the general equivalent of humanities. This section presents a selection of adab contributions, including poetry by judge Tamer Mallat (1856-1914), poetry and criticism by and around the prolific production of the Poet of the Cedars, Chibli Mallat (1875-1961, the brother of Tamer and the father of Wajdi). It also includes novels by Therese Aoun and publications in history and political science by Chibli Mallat ranging from an essay on Democracy in America (in Arabic 2001, in English 2016) to the Philosophy of Nonviolence (Oxford 2015), which analyzes the moral and practical conditions for the success of revolutionary nonviolence in modern society.
Adab is a rich Arabic word which generally translates as belles lettres in French, literature or culture in English. The modern word of thaqafa is a neologism, as is the common rendering of ‘intellectual’ as muthaqqaf, from the root th/q/f. Mallat.com prefers adib over muthaqqaf. The Mallat family is known for its udaba’, plural of adib, starting with the great Ottoman judge Tamer al-Mallat, who died in 1914, and his younger brother Chibli, the Poet of the Cedars.
This section offers a wide spectrum of adab interests, ranging from the literary production in the family tradition to modern Syrian Painting and sculpture, in and around the leading figure of Fadi Yazigi.
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Syrian Artist Fadi Yazigi