Abraham Dimitri Rihbany known as Abraham Mitrie Rihbany ( ar, أبراهام متري الرحباني; sometimes spelled ''Rahbany'') was an American
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
,
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
and
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
of
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...
Lebanese descent.
"''In debt and nearly penniless on his arrival in New York, he went on to become a respected clergyman and nationally recognized community leader''." His best-known book, ''The Syrian Christ'' (1916), was highly influential in its time in explaining the cultural background to some situations and modes of expression to be found in the Gospels. It is still cited in both
Biblical Studies
Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...
and
Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural Norm (sociology), norms, expectations, and context (language use), context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on languag ...
.
Life and Works
Rihbany was born in
Shweir
Dhour El Choueir ( ar, ضهور الشوير), sometimes Dhour Shweir, is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top f a mountain) located in the Matn District. It lies slightly north of the main Beirut - Damascus highway, overlook ...
,
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at .
Geography
The Mount Le ...
, a part of
Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...
that is now in modern-day
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
. At 9 years old he was apprenticed to a stone-cutter, but at the age of 17 he managed to attend the American Presbyterian School in
Souk El Gharb
Souk El Gharb ( ar, سوق الغرب), also spelled Suk, Sug al, ul, Suq), is a town located in the Aley District, Mount Lebanon Governorate, in Lebanon and its name translates to "Western Market".
Before the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), thi ...
, catching up on his secondary education in two years of study and briefly becoming a teacher himself. It was here that he became a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
, in spite of his family's long adherence to the
Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...
.
In 1891 Rihbany emigrated to the United States, in the first instance to New York City, where he briefly edited ''
Kawkab Amirka'' (The Star of America), North America's first Arabic-language newspaper. He left New York in 1893 and travelled through the Mid-West, funding short stints of study at
Manchester University (Indiana)
Manchester University (formerly Manchester College) is a private liberal arts university associated with the Church of the Brethren and two locations, a residential campus in North Manchester, Indiana, and a second location in Fort Wayne, Indian ...
(1894) and
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...
(1895–96) by giving lecture tours to churches on the culture of the Holy Land as a key to the Scriptures. He indefinitely postponed his studies after being offered a position as a resident
Congregationalist minister in
Morenci, Michigan
Morenci is a city in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Sharing a southern boundary with the state of Ohio, it is the southernmost city in the state of Michigan. The population was 2,270 at the 2020 census.
History
The settlement of M ...
. Thereafter he served as minister for two years in
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Central Michigan, the city is the county seat of Isabella County. The population was 21,688 as of the 2020 United States census. It is surrounded by Union Township but is politic ...
, and for nine in
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
, ending up at the
Church of the Disciples, a
Unitarian church in Boston, Massachusetts.
His first book, ''A Far Journey'' (1913), was an account of his life in Syria and America. His publisher promoted it as a "bridging of the thousands of years that separate Turkey and the United States".
His ideas about the importance of
East-Mediterranean culture to an understanding of the Gospels were developed in a series of articles for ''
The Atlantic Monthly
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', and in 1916 published in book form as ''The Syrian Christ''. This went through numerous American and British editions up to 1937, was translated into German, and has more recently been translated into Arabic and reissued in English.
During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Rihbany began writing on political issues. His ''Militant America and Jesus Christ'' (1917) made a case for American involvement in liberating the homeland of Jesus from Ottoman rule and argued against
Christian pacifism
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Chr ...
. The following year he brought out ''America Save the Near East'', which sold out three editions in twelve months. In it he advocated American trusteeship over an independent Greater Syrian federal republic. Rihbany believed that America stood alone in lacking imperial ambitious in the region and that the United States was uniquely equipped to reshape the region in a progressive fashion. It was due to this publication that he came to attend the
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, where he became attached to the entourage of
Emir Faisal, the leader of the Arab delegation, as a translator. A Greater Syrian state (the Kingdom of Syria) did briefly come into existence under Faisal before the
French Mandate of Syria
The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...
was imposed in 1920. Rihbany's account of the peace conference, ''Wise Men from the East and Wise Men from the West'', was in part published in ''Harper's Magazine'' (Dec. 1921) before being issued as a book.
While promoting
Arab nationalist
Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...
and
Anti-Zionist
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestine ...
ideas, Rihbany did not stop writing religious pamphlets for the
American Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association (AUA) was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it consolidated with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Uni ...
, as well as more substantial works of spiritual reflection. One British reviewer of his ''Seven Days with God'' commented on his "keen spiritual insight and considerable vigour of thought".
['']Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'', July 7, 1927, p. 475.
Rihbany died in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1944.
List of his books
*
A Far Journey'. London: Constable; Boston and New York:
Houghton Mifflin
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
, 1914.
*
The Syrian Christ'. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1916. Reissued by Kessinger Publishing, 2006.
*''Militant America and Jesus Christ''. Boston and New York: Houghton Miflin, 1917.
*''America Save the Near East''. Boston:
Beacon Press
Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as James B ...
, 1918.
*''The Hidden Treasure of Rasmola''. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1920.
*''Wise Men from the East and from the West''. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1922.
*''The Christ Story for Boys and Girls'', illustrated by
Gustaf Tenggren
Gustaf Adolf Tenggren (November 3, 1896 – April 9, 1970) was a Swedish-American illustrator. He is known for his Arthur Rackham-influenced fairy-tale style and use of silhouetted figures with caricatured faces. Tenggren was a chief illustrat ...
. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1923.
*''Seven Days With God''. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1926.
*''The Five Interpretations of Jesus''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1940.
See also
*
List of Arab American writers
This is a list of Arab-American writers.
Arab-American poets
Arab-American fiction writers
Arab-American nonfiction writers and journalists
See also
*Arab American Book Award
*Before Columbus Foundation
*Kawkab America
*The Society ...
References
Other sources
Waïl S. Hassan, "The Emergence of Autobiography." Chapter 3 of ''Immigrant Narratives: Orientalism and Cultural Translation in Arab American and Arab British Literature.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. pp. 78–99.
*Excerpts from ''A Far Journey'' in ''Immigrant Voices: Twenty-Four Voices on Becoming an American'', edited by Gordon Hutner. New York: Signet Classics, 1999.
*Habib I. Katibah, ''The New Spirit in the Arab Lands''. New York, 1940, p. 58.
*''The American Spirit in the Writings of Americans of Foreign Birth'', edited by Robert E. Stauffer, 1922.
*
The New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
, Nov. 24, 1918, review of ''America Save the Near East''.
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rihbany, Abraham
1869 births
1944 deaths
American theologians
American philologists
19th-century American historians
19th-century American male writers
20th-century American historians
American non-fiction writers
American writers of Lebanese descent
Converts to Protestantism from Eastern Orthodoxy
American Presbyterians
Lebanese Presbyterians
Lebanese philologists
Mahjar
American male non-fiction writers
People from Dhour El Choueir
Lebanese emigrants to the United States