Ibrahim Abu-Lughod: the legacy of an activist scholar and teacher.

IN INTRODUCING ARAB STUDIES QUARTERLY in 1979, Dr. Ibrahim Abu-Lughod argued for a need to combat "ignorance and prejudice where knowledge of the Arabs is concerned." (1) Ignorance and prejudice, one can argue, are still there. There, are, however, voices of justice and fairness. That is what Ibrahim Abu-Lughod dedicated his career to. His mission as a scholar and activist for justice continues on years after his passing. In some way, therefore, Ibrahim did not die. His struggle continues.

Professor Abu-Lughod's struggle began in Palestine prior to the rise of the State of Israel. After completing high school in March 1948, he, along with his friends Shafiq al-Hout and Mohamed Lasawi, volunteered to work for the National Committee in their hometown, Jaffa. Their job was to discourage residents of Jaffa from leaving the city in the face of Zionist assaults. Even when his own family left on 23 April of the same year, Ibrahim remained behind to "defend" the city. The defenders of Jaffa, however, were no match to the more organized and equipped forces of the Haganah and Irgun. On 3 May 1948, Ibrahim boarded "the last" ship out of Jaffa heading to Beirut. The Belgian ship, Prince Alexander, took Ibrahim away from his city that he did not see again until 8 December 1991. (2)

After a brief stint in Nablus, Ibrahim came to the United States for his college education. He completed a bachelor's degree in 1951 at the University of Illinois. He then went on to Princeton University for graduate work in Middle East studies. He received his Ph.D. in 1957. Ibrahim's student activism began as an undergraduate student with the Organization of Arab Students and continued throughout his career in the United States.

Soon after receiving his Ph.D., Ibrahim Abu-Lughod joined UNESCO as a field expert in Egypt. Ironically, Ibrahim's first post-Ph.D, job was with UNESCO, as was his last one. In between, he established himself as a foremost educator and scholar. In 1961, Ibrahim returned to the U.S. to join the faculty at Smith College. In 1967, he joined the political science faculty at Northwestern University where he also served as Associate Director of the Program of African Studies. At Northwestern, Dr. Abu-Lughod taught Middle East politics and comparative politics. His colleague at Northwestern, Dr. Kenneth Janda, reports that "Ibrahim was not only a rounded scholar interested in both empirical research, philosophical issues, and contemporary politics, but he also provided calm, deliberate voice to common departmental issues." (3) His teaching was equally superb. Janda explains:

   .... his course on the politics of the Middle East regularly
   attracted many Jewish students, some of whom enrolled to
   monitor his lectures. Invariably, they left the class professing
   admiration for Ibrahim's knowledge and even-handedness in
   dealing with the difficult political issues in the region.
   Moreover, he was a superb teacher who won undergraduate
   teaching awards and who earned only devotion from the
   graduate students who were fortunate enough to work with
   him. (4)

One such graduate student was Deborah J. Gerner. After receiving her Ph.D. under the tutelage of Dr. Abu-Lughod, she went on to join the faculty at the University of Kansas and to become a leading expert on the Middle East and, more specifically, Palestine. Her books, articles and lectures continue the legacy of fighting "ignorance and prejudice where knowledge of the Arabs is concerned."

Professor Abu-Lughod went on to direct the African Studies Program at Northwestern and to become the chair of the University's Political Science Department. In 1992, Abu-Lughod returned to Palestine where he joined the Birzeit University faculty. There, he served as the University's Vice President and as professor of international relations. Today, the Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies stands as a testimonial to Ibrahim's legacy at Birzeit University. For a while, Ibrahim also directed the Qattan Center in Ramallah. His last job put him back with UNESCO as he worked on education in Palestine.

Activists, however, do not just manage and teach. They also write and lead. Professor Abu-Lughod was a prolific author whose writings documented, analyzed and articulated the dispossession of the Palestinians. The Transformation of Palestine became a classic documentary on Palestinian dispossession and will remain so for a long time. His many books, chapters and articles indicate a first-rate thinker who knew the relevance of theory to practice. His assessment of the situation in Palestine was always on the mark. In sum, he was a scholar whose absence is clearly missed.

ENDNOTES

(1.) The Editors, "Why ASQ?" Arab Studies Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Winter 1979), p. vi.

(2.) Ibrahim Abu Lughod, "After Matriculation," Al-Ahram Weekly, 17 November 2000, pp. 1-5.

(3.) Kenneth Janda in an e-mail to the author, 23 June 2004.

(4.) Ibid.

Jamal R. Nassar is Chair of the Department of Political Science, Southern Illinois University, Normal, Illinois.