Cairo: Prominent Egyptian writer Ali Salem, who has triggered controversy in his homeland for espousing links with Israel, died of cancer in Cairo on Tuesday evening, local media said. He was 79.
Salem, who wrote 27 plays and 15 mostly satirical books, is best known across the Arab world for his 1971 stage comedy ‘The School of Troublemakers’, which sis about a group of rowdy students reformed by their resolute philosophy teacher. The immense popularity of this show has eclipsed other plays penned by Salem.
He staunchly backed the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
In 1994, Salem raised the ire of Egyptian intellectuals by visiting Israel, defying a ban by professional unions on such trips or having links with Israel. He wrote a book on the journey titled “A Drive to Israel”. “My visit to Israel was not a trip for love. It was a trip to get rid of hatred,” he said. “With Israel, there is no love, but a pursuit of interests. Israel does not pose a threat to Egypt.”
His advocacy of cooperation with Israel increasingly made him a pariah in Egypt’s intellectual community. The Egyptian Writers’ Union struck down Salem membership for his pro-Israel stance. But in 2002, an Egyptian court revoked the union’s move, saying it had been taken without conducting an inquiry with Salem.
In 2005, Israel’s Ben Gurion University awarded Salem an honorary doctorate. Three years later, he won the Civil Courage Prize from the US Train Foundation for his criticism of Islamist radicalism and support of links with Israel.
Egypt’s independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, where he used to write a weekly column, said in an obituary on Wednesday that Salem hoped that his tomb will carry an inscription reading: “Here lies a man who loves life”.
