All in the - American University of Beirut

Kamal Suleiman Salibi wasa cherished member of AUB’sfamily. Of the outpouring ofremembrances we received,here are just a few.Professor Kamal SuleimanSalibi was a great historian ofmodern Lebanon, the Arabworld, and the Bible; and aman of outstanding humanqualities. No words can fullyexpress what Dr. Salibi hasmeant to all of us who cameto know him or know hiswork. He was a courageouscritical historian, always willingto question received wisdomand even to changehis own views in light of hisfindings. To us at AUB, hewas an inspiring teacher whoinfluenced generations ofstudents and colleagues. Wewill always remember himfor his intellectual integrity,passion, humility, and aboveall for the love and care heprovided to his students andfriends.—Ahmad Dallal, AUB ProvostKamal Salibi is best knownfor his interpretive, provocativehistories of Lebanon andthe wider Middle East, butto those of us who knewhim, he was also a delightfulraconteur and always goodfor a glass of whiskey anda cigar. But, when I first methim in 1970, he was… theintellectual guru of the rightistLebanese student leagueon campus. And so whenI appeared in his course,The Arab East, 1516-1920,I expected that I would begetting the Phalangist versionof history, and thatMount Lebanon would bethe center-piece of the storyof the Arab East. Salibi didhave a distinctive slant to hisversion of Arab history, but Ifound the course full of eyeopeningcomparisons that Ihad not anticipated.My most valuable experiencewith Salibi occurredoutside the classroom. Onone Spring break, I ran intohim in central Syria. When Isaw him walkingaround firstin squares andthen in circles,all the whilescribbling notesto himself, Ithought he mustbe loony. I didn’texpect someonewith hisreputed politicalviews to be travelingthere.Eventually,my curiosity gotthe better of meand I went up toask him what he was doing.He didn’t seem surprised tosee me. His response wassimple and to the point andit is one that has remainedwith me all these years. Hesaid that he could not writehistory without first imagininghow the land he waswriting about looked. Hesaid that he was preparinga book on Syria in classicalIslamic times and that heneeded to get a feel for thecountryside and the townsand the distances betweenplaces, and to establishsome reasonable metrics.This is how he spent hisvacations, walking the land.The desire to see and touchthe land, to walk all over it,to imagine how it might havebeen, and thus to render thepast somehow tactile is themost important lesson I tookaway from Kamal Salibi. Ihave tried to apply it to myown scholarship, but neverwith his imagination or success.—Philip S. KhouryChairman of theAUB Board of TrusteesMost people don’t know thatSalibi was a talented musicianas well. Kamal led theAUB Men’s Glee Club whenI was at AUB in the early1960s. He wrote a numberof excellent arrangementsof well-known songs for theGlee Club, including oneof the Lebanese NationalAnthem. Kamal’s late brother,Sami Salibi, who ownedand operated a music schoolnear AUB, conducted usduring concerts.—John Makhoul (BEN ’64)www.aub.edu.lb/maingate | MainGate Fall 2011 65