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Gabriel Al-Dallal...the revolutionary journalist loses his life because of a poem

Doha - July 1, 2024:

Gabriel Abdullah Al-Dallal is a revolutionary Syrian poet and journalist, a seasoned politician, a university professor and a translator, and one of the pioneers of thought and literature who contributed to the establishment of the Renaissance era through their literary works and intellectual activities calling for reforming society, building its renaissance, and achieving its scientific progress, freedom, and civility. Al-Dallal was born in Aleppo on April 2, 1836, from a family of great pride and prestige. He lost his father when he was young, so his sister Madeleina took care of his upbringing. He then received his studies at the Ain Tura School in Lebanon, and after that at the Al-Mursalin Schools in Aleppo. He devoted himself to Arab arts and studied their effects, and he was among the most extensive. The people of his country were familiar with Arab etiquette, and he mastered French, Italian, and Turkish. Al-Dallal resided in Paris and worked in journalism after the French Minister of Education chose him in 1877 to edit the “Echo” newspaper. He edited it for a short period of time, and it was the mouthpiece of French politics and promoted its interests. Al-Dallal was at the time a translator at the Ministry of Education in Paris, and there the friendship between him and the Nahda reformist Khair al-Din al-Tunisi was strengthened. However, he was not able to write in “Al-Sada” what he wanted, and it was suspended in its second year due to his travel to Istanbul. In response to the invitation of his friend Khair al-Din al-Tunisi, who held the position of Grand Vizier, to establish the newspaper “Al-Salam.” Al Salam newspaper “Al-Salam” was a weekly political and literary newspaper published by Al-Dalal in the capital of the Othman family on July 23, 1879, to be the mouthpiece of the Grand Vizier, known for his inclination toward reform. Al-Dallal published his political opinions in it and wrote his free thoughts on its pages. The newspaper gained great fame, but after the publication of its issue The eighth was abandoned, so it declined and did not last for a long time, and was canceled due to Khair al-Din’s resignation from his position. Homecoming Al-Dallal corresponded with newspapers in Egypt, Lebanon, Istanbul, and London, and worked as secretary to Khair al-Din Pasha al-Tunisi in Tunisia. He also followed him to Istanbul after he became the Grand Vizier. Al-Dallal translated for the Arab ambassadors in Paris. He also taught Arabic at the University of Vienna for two years. The Scientific Office in Vienna, the capital of Austria, requested him to teach Arabic in its college. He acquired a valuable library that was sold after his death. Death in prison After years spent in Europe and his political activity stopped with the resignation of Khair al-Din al-Tunisi, Al-Dallal returned to Aleppo and was arrested and put in prison, because of the poem “The Throne and the Temple” that he published 30 years ago. In that poem, the auctioneer attacks tyrannical kings. He printed it in Marseille in 1864, and it contains a scathing criticism of politics and its men. It is described as “more forbidding than punishment and more warning than red sulphur.” He had printed it in a lithograph, as vertical poetry rhymed on Bahr al-Kamil, including: Slaughtering people on the valley... with his injustice And the mulch watered her blood from... her direction The army is our children to fight it The extravagance of our money is flawed Although the court found no reason to convict Al-Dallal, he remained detained, and was subjected to torture and persecution for two years at the end of his life. He was suffering from heart disease. He was found dead one day before the end of his sentence, and he died on December 24, 1899. The writer Sami Kayali says: “He was poisoned, one day before the end of his sentence, and when his death was announced in the city, his family and friends flocked and transported him on a cart to his house located in Al-Aziziyah. The star of eloquence had fallen, and the bright moon of knowledge was jealous.” Al-Dallal was known as a creative poet and brilliant proselytizer, very fond of singing, and knowledgeable in the art of music and drawing. He had wonderful stanzas, and described his poetry as smooth, flowing, and consistent in rhyme. After his death, his nephew collected his poetry and called it: “The Permissible Magic in the Poetry of Al-Dallal” and published it in 1903.