Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
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The Palestinian writer, journalist, and political critic Faisal Muhammad Rashad Salman Hourani was born in the village of Al-Masmiya (near Gaza) on March 23, 1939 AD. He took refuge with his family in the Gaza Strip as a result of the 1948 war, then moved with his family to Damascus. He received his primary and secondary education in Damascus, and obtained a BA in philosophy, sociology, and psychology at the University of Damascus in 1964 AD.
Hourani participated in founding the “Palestinian Students Association” and then became its president in 1964. After graduating, he traveled to Algeria in 1964 and worked as an editor for Palestinian and Arab issues in the weekly “Al-Shabab” newspaper, then returned to Damascus in 1965, and worked in the daily “Al-Baath Magazine.” He became director of the newspaper's "news department" and editor of the opinions page. He also wrote political programs for Syrian radio and television.
He served as Deputy Head of the PLO Office in Moscow during 1977-1978; Then he returned to Damascus, where he headed the “Department of Information and Public Relations” in the Political Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
In 1979, he worked at the Research Center in Beirut, where he later served as editor-in-chief of its periodical, Palestinian Affairs. After the 1982 war, he moved with the center’s staff to Nicosia in Cyprus.
He represented the Writers Union in the Palestinian National Council in 1984. He was appointed a member of the Palestinian National Council in 1988.
He moved to Vienna in 1989 and worked as a freelance writer; He returned to Palestine in 1995. In December 2004, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture awarded him the Palestinian Award for Autobiographical Works, for his autobiography, “Paths of Exile,” which was published in several parts in the years 1994 to 2004.
Al-Hourani has written several books about exile and the history of his political and struggle work, most notably: The Besieged - Damascus Novel 1973; Pir Al-Shoum - a novel - Beirut 1979; Palestinian Political Thought - Study - 1980; Fish of Lajja - a novel - Damascus 1984; Palestinian Political Thought from 64-74 - Beirut 1980; The roots of Palestinian rejection 1918-1948; Joint Arab action and Israel - rejection and acceptance 44 - 67 - Cyprus 1989.
He died on May 12, 2022 in Switzerland, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas mourned him, saying, “Palestine lost one of its figures and a great thinker who contributed, through his writings and research, to strengthening national awareness, preserving national identity, and recording the struggling memory of our people.”
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