Osama Anwar Okasha ( ar, أسامة أنور عكاشة, 27 July 1941 – 28 May 2010) was an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

screenwriter and journalist, who wrote weekly for El-Ahram newspaper. He is famous for writing some of the most popular series on

Egyptian television Television in Egypt is mainly received through free satellite, while analog terrestrial represents 41% of total viewers. The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) said the average time an Egyptian spends watching televisio ...

, such as ''Layali el Helmeyya'' and ''El Shahd wel Demou'', which are popular in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and all across the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. His latest work, the series ''El-Masraweyya'' ("the Egyptians" or "the Egyptianness") aired in September 2007 and was awarded the Prize for Best Series that year. The series traces the history of the Egyptian people from 1914 until the present day. Okasha was a former

Nasserist Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second President. Spanning the domestic a ...

who later in life no longer believed in the ideas that Nasser espoused. He has called for the dissolution of the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

and for the establishment of a commonwealth of Arabic-speaking countries built on economic cooperation. He was also a strongly secular intellectual who has attacked religious fundamentalism in his society. He was asked to write a television series about the life of

Amr Ibn Al-As ( ar, عمرو بن العاص السهمي; 664) was the Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was assigned impor ...

, as he went back to the history books to draft the script about his life, he declared that Ibn Al-as is "one of the most despicable characters in history" and that "he does not deserve to be glorified in a drama work" He died on 28 May 2010 after a hard journey with illness.

References

External links

Ahram Weekly: Culture Profile of Osama Anwar Okasha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okasha, Osama Anwar Egyptian journalists Egyptian screenwriters Arab screenwriters 1941 births 2010 deaths