Hamza Shehata: Manliness

2016 | Biography

In 1940, Saudi Arabian intellectual and activist Hamza Shehata (1910 71) gave a lecture at the Makkah Charitable Aid Association. Over the course of four hours, Shehata shared a staggering number of social and cultural observations and critiques on many facets of contemporary life. Manliness presents that speech for a new generation of readers. Using a framework that was both scientific and philosophical, Shehata convinced his audience that conventional views of virtue and vice were a deceptive simplification and that social and religious reform was necessary. A humble man at heart, he was reluctant to publish his talk in his lifetime, but thanks to Malik R. Dahlan s expert translation and insightful discussion of the larger historical and geographical context for the speech, readers are now able to appreciate a fascinating snapshot of Arabian history that would otherwise be lost."

Malik Dahlan (Author)