Tawfik Canaan
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Tawfiq Canaan ( ar, توفيق كنعان) (24 September 1882 – 15 January 1964) was a pioneering Palestinian physician, medical researcher, ethnographer, and
Palestinian nationalist Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine.de Waart, 1994p. 223 Referencing Article 9 of ''The Palestinian National Charter of 1968' ...
. Born in
Beit Jala Beit Jala ( ar, ) is a Palestinian Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at altitude. In 2017, Beit Jala had ...
during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, he served as a medical officer in the Ottoman army during World War I.Mershen, 2006, p. 252. During British rule, he served as the first President of the Palestine Arab Medical Association founded in 1944, and as the director of several Jerusalem area hospitals before, during, and after the
1948 war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...
. Over the course of his medical career, he authored more than thirty-seven studies on topics including tropical medicine, bacteriology, malaria, tuberculosis, and health conditions in
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, and contributed to research that led to a cure for leprosy.Nashef, 2002, p. 13.El-Eini, 2006, p. 88. Deeply interested in
Palestinian folklore Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
, popular beliefs, and superstitions, Canaan collected over 1,400
amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...
s and talismanic objects held to have healing and protective properties. His published analyses of these objects, and other popular folk traditions and practices, brought him recognition as an ethnographer and
anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
.Jubeh, Fall-Winter 2005, p. 103.Davis, 2004.Benvenisti, 2000, p. 252. The several books and more than 50 articles he wrote in English and German serve as valuable resources to researchers of Palestinian and Middle-Eastern heritage. Canaan also published works in Arabic and was fluent in Hebrew.Mershen, 2006, p. 253. An outspoken public figure, he also wrote two books on the Palestine problem, reflecting his involvement in confronting British imperialism and Zionism.Bernstein, 2000, p. 123. He was arrested by the British authorities in 1939. The last two decades of his life were lived in the shadow of several personal tragedies: the loss of his brilliant son in an accident at Jerash, the loss and destruction of his family home, and of his clinic in Jerusalem during the
1948 war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...
.W.F. Albright
'In Memoriam,'
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 174 (Apr., 1964), pp. 1-3,p.3.
Canaan managed to re-establish his life and career in
East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...
under Jordanian rule. First taking sanctuary in a convent in the
Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...
for two years, he was appointed director of the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives, where he lived with his family through his retirement until his death in 1964.Nashef, 2002, p. 25.


Early life

Born in the village of Beit Jala in
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Canaan studied as a child at the Schneller School, founded by German missionaries in nearby Jerusalem. His father Bechara, who was also schooled there, founded the first Lutheran church, YMCA, and co-ed school in Beit Jala and the first Arab pastor for the German Protestant Palestine Mission.Abdullah, June 2000.Lapp and Albright, 1964, pp. 1−3. His mother, Katharina, was raised in a German orphanage in Beirut and met Bechara while working at a hospital in Jerusalem.Mershen, 2006, p. 251. In 1898-9, Canaan went to Beirut to study medicine at the Syrian Protestant College (today the
American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...
). Obliged to work while studying as his father died of pneumonia shortly after his arrival, he graduated with distinction in 1905.Nashef, 2002, p. 14. His valedictory speech, "Modern Treatment", was likely his first published piece and broached the use of serums, animal organs and X-rays.Nashef, 2002, p. 15. Canaan attributed his love of, interest in, and dedication to the people, culture and land of Palestine to his upbringing and the influence of his father who regularly took the family with him on his trips around the country.Nashef, 2002, p. 14. "We used to go with my father on short and long trips all over the country in order to get acquainted with the country and the people. This continuous contact with the people nurtured in all of us, and particularly in me, love for the country and the people. This feeling of belonging and unshaken loyalty remained with me till this day." In the ''
Jerusalem Quarterly The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such ins ...
'', Khaled Nashef suggests Canaan's knowledge of nature in Palestine as exhibited in writings such as "Plant-lore in Palestinian Superstition" (1928) among others were informed by these trips.


Medical career

Returning to Jerusalem from Beirut, Canaan began work in the German Deaconesses Hospital 'German'' co-administering it with Dr. Adalbert Einsler (1848–1919) during a senior physician’s absence in 1906.Eisler and Frutiger, 2008, p. 334. He was also sought as a manager at the German-Jewish Hospital ( Shaare Zedek). His first published medical article as a practicing physician, “Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis in Jerusalem" (1911), was based on studies he conducted with the director there.Nashef, 2002, p. 15. Between 1912-1914, Canaan travelled to Germany several times to further his knowledge of microbiology and tropical diseases. He met his wife, Margot Eilender, in an Esperanto class on his first trip there.Irving,2017, p. 50, note 146. Margot's father was a German importer and she was born and raised in Palestine.Irving, 2017,p. 87. They were quickly married, having their first child Yasma that same year, and built their family home in the al-Musrarah district of Jerusalem in 1913, where their three other children (Theo, Nada, and Leila) were born. In that home, Canaan also opened the only Arab clinic operating in Jerusalem at the time.Nashef, 2002, p. 19. One of the physicians Canaan collaborated with in Germany was Hans Müch, head of a mission to Palestine whose 1913 report on tuberculosis included three research papers authored by Canaan.Nashef, 2002, p. 16. That same year, he was appointed director of the Malaria Branch of the International Health Bureau, a world center for medical research and microscopic examination founded by The German Society for Fighting Malaria, The Jewish Health Bureau, and The Jewish Physicians and Scientists for Improving Health in Palestine.Nashef, 2002, p. 20. He also served patients at the Arab General Hospital in the hilltop village of
Sheikh Badr Sheikh Badr ( ar, تلة الشيخ بدر, translit=Talla aš-Šayḫ Badr, lit=Hill of Sheikh Badr ; he, שייח' באדר) was a Palestinian Arab village on a hilltop in west Jerusalem. The Haganah expelled its population during the 1947–1 ...
next to Jerusalem.


World Wars I & II

Canaan was working in the German Hospital in Jerusalem in 1914 when World War I began in October. As a citizen of the Ottoman Empire, which administered
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
at the time, Canaan was drafted as an officer into the Ottoman army. First assigned as a physician to a contingent in
Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
, he was transferred that same year to 'Awja al-Hafeer. He was appointed Head of the Laboratories on the
Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
Front by the German chief physician in charge there, a position that allowed Canaan to travel between Bir as-Saba, Beit Hanoun,
Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon * Ghazzeh, a village in ...
, and Shaykh Nouran, as well as
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
,
Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
, and
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
. During this period, he collected more than 200
amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...
s to add to a collection he had begun in the early 20th century. He contracted both cholera and typhus during the war and survived, though his brother Wadia was killed in the fighting and buried at the Zion cemetery in Jerusalem.Mershen, 2006, p. 252. Soon after the end of the war, in 1919, Canaan was appointed Director of The Leprosy Hospital (Asylum of the Lepers ''Jesushilfe'', now Hansen House) in Talbiyyah, the only leprosy hospital in
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, Palestine, and the
Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom of ...
. Considered an incurable disease at the time, Canaan contributed to research in the fields of bacteriology and microscopic examination that resulted in the discovery of a cure using chaulmoogra oil. With the reopening of the German Hospital in 1923, Canaan was appointed head of the Internal Medicine Division, a position he held until the hospital had to cease operations in 1940.After 1948, Israel took over the hospital building and its part of the
Bikur Cholim Hospital Bikur Cholim Hospital ( he, בית החולים ביקור חולים) was a 200-bed general hospital in West Jerusalem, established in the 19th century and closed due to financial difficulties in the second decade of the 21st century. Until then, ...
.
The onset of World War II meant that most German citizens had either left Palestine or been arrested by the British Mandatory authorities as enemy aliens. Over the course of his medical career, Canaan treated people from all classes and segments of Palestinian and Arab society. He was one of a number of physicians from Jerusalem to examine
Sherif Hussein Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi ( ar, الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī; 1 May 18544 June 1931) was an Arab leader from the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after proc ...
of Mecca in
Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
before his death in 1931, and removed a bullet from the thigh of Abu Jildah, a notorious Palestinian rebel, in 1936. An entry on Canaan is included in the book ''Famous Doctors in Tropical Medicine'' (1932) by Dr. G. Olpp, director of the tropical medicine center in Tübingen, indicating he was well known & regarded within the medical community.


Research & writings on Palestine

Canaan's interest in Palestinian peasantry (
fellaheen A fellah ( ar, فَلَّاح ; feminine ; plural ''fellaheen'' or ''fellahin'', , ) is a peasant, usually a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller". ...
) found its first public expression in an Arabic lecture he gave on "Agriculture in Palestine" in 1909. Published in German translation in the geographical journal ''Globus'' in 1911, it continues to be recognized as a useful historical reference for basic information on the development of Palestinian agriculture in the early 20th century. In this first article outside the field of medicine, Canaan exhibits his deep familiarity with the field of "
Oriental Studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studi ...
", referencing the work of
Schumacher Schumacher or Schuhmacher is an occupational surname (German, "shoemaker", pronounced , both variants can be used as surnames, with Schumacher being the more popular one, however, only the variant with three "h"s can also be used as a job descript ...
,
Bauer Bauer is a German surname meaning "peasant" or "farmer". For notable people sharing the surname, see Bauer (surname). Bauer may also refer to: Education and literature * Bauer's Lexicon, a dictionary of Biblical Greek * Bauer College of Busin ...
, Guthe and
Burckhardt Burckhardt, or (de) Bourcard in French, is a family of the Basel patriciate, descended from Christoph (Stoffel) Burckhardt (1490–1578), a merchant in cloth and silk originally from Münstertal, Black Forest, who received Basel citizenship i ...
, alongside classical sources, like
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
and Josephus, and Arab sources like
Mujir ad-Din Mujīr al-Dīn al-ʿUlaymī (Arabic: ) ‎(1456–1522), often simply Mujir al-Din, was a Jerusalemite ''qadi'' and historian whose principal work chronicled the history of Jerusalem and Hebron in the Middle Ages.Little, 1995, p. 237.van Donze ...
. Influenced too by the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
studies of Gustaf Dalman, Albrecht Alt, and Martin Noth, all of whom were personal acquaintances, Canaan used the Bible as a basic source to compare past and present agricultural practices. Canaan and Dalman co-headed The Evangelical German Institute beginning in 1903, and they shared the idea that it is not possible to understand the Old Testament without studying Palestinian folklore. In "The Calendar of Palestinian Peasants," published by the ''Journal of the German Palestine Society'' ( ger,
Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins The ''Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins'' (English: ''Journal of the German Society for Exploration of Palestine'') is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on the cultural history of the Southern Levant. It is publ ...
) in 1913, Canaan focused on traditional beliefs organizing the agricultural practices of Palestinian fellaheen. A significant observation recorded in this paper was that people in southern Palestine divided the year into 7 periods of 50 days, a type of pentecontad calendar. Subsequent scholars referencing his work traced the origins of this calendar system to Western Mesopotamia circa the 3rd millennium BCE, suggesting it was also used by the Amorites.Taylor, 2003, p. 158. Canaan's first book on Palestinian folklore practices was published in 1914 and entitled ''Superstition and Popular Medicine''.


Palestine Oriental Society & its journal

A member of the American School for Oriental Research (established 1900), the Jerusalem branch of which was headed from 1920 to 1929 by the American archaeologist William Foxwell Albright, Canaan was also a member of the Palestine Oriental Society, (established in 1920 by
Albert Tobias Clay Albert Tobias Clay (December 4, 1866 – September 14, 1925) was an American professor, historian and Semitic linguist. He was professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature at Yale University and served as founding curator of the Yale Bab ...
). Albright was a lifelong friend of Canaan's, and edited his book Mohammedan Saints and Sancruaries'' (1927), as well as several of his articles, the last in 1962.Mershen, 2006, p. 257. Canaan played a very active role in the Palestine Oriental Society, serving as a member of the board, as well as secretary and sometime treasurer from early in the 1920s through until 1948, though the last article he published in its journal was in 1937.Irving, 2017, p. 81. Other articles Canaan published for the ''Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society'' (1920-1948) – such as, "Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine" (1920–1921), "''Tasit ar-Radjfeh''" ("Fear Cup"; 1923), and "Plant-lore in Palestinian Superstition" (1928) – exhibit his deep interest in superstition.Nashef, 2002, p. 17.
Salim Tamari Salim Tamari ( ar, سليم تماري; born 1945), is a Palestinian sociologist who is the director of the Institute of Palestine Studies and an adjunct professor at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. Rashid Khalid ...
, director of the
Institute of Jerusalem Studies The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such inst ...
, describes Canaan as the most prominent member of a school of "nativist" ethnographers who published their works in ''The Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society (JPOS)''. Their research and contributions were motivated by their belief that the "native culture of Palestine" was best represented in the traditions of the fellaheen, and that this ancient "living heritage" had to be urgently documented as the modern world encroached upon the Palestinian countryside.Tamari, 2009, pp. 97–99. "Implicit in their scholarship (and made explicit by Canaan himself) was another theme, namely that the peasants of Palestine represent – through their folk norms ... the living heritage of all the accumulated ancient cultures that had appeared in Palestine (principally the Canaanite,
Philistine The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...
,
Hebraic Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, Nabatean, Syrio-Aramaic and Arab)."
These Palestinian ethnographers included Omar Saleh al-Barghouti,
Stephan Hanna Stephan Stephan Hanna Stephan (1894–1949), also St H Stephan, was a Palestinian writer, translator and radio Radio broadcasting, broadcaster of history and folklore in Palestine (region), Palestine.Irving, 2017, p. 9. Besides publishing original artic ...
, Elias Haddad, and Khalil Totah, and all of them (excepting Totah) were Jerusalemites, like Canaan.Tamari, 2009, pp. 97-99


''Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine''

''Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine'' (1927) is identified by Meron Benvenisti as Canaan's "most outstanding contribution to the ethnography of Arab Palestine and to the annals of his country." In the introduction to the book, Canaan makes explicit his urgent motivation to document ancient, still practiced Palestinian traditions & beliefs threatened by Western influence and the spread of European educational models: "The primitive features of Palestine are disappearing so quickly that before long most of them will be forgotten." The shrines (''
awlia A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by t ...
''), sanctuaries ('' maqamat'') and cults that made up popular Islam and popular religion in Palestine, and local Christian, Jewish and Muslim rituals held in common are outlined in Canaan's work. While local saints worshipped in Palestine can be said to be rooted in Muslim traditions, "they are actually ennobled sheikhs, who after their death, have been elevated to sainthood."Tamari, 2009, p. 105. Local Muslims, many of whom had never stepped into a mosque, honoured these village saints at ''awlia'', often situated by trees or other natural landmarks, some at or nearby ancient sites of worship for the "local Baals of Canaan" given, as John Wilkinson puts it, a 'Muslim disguise'.Taylor, 1993, p. 81. Canaan saw these practices as evidence that the fellaheen were heirs to the practices of the earlier pre-monotheistic inhabitants of Palestine, "who built the first high places."Tamari, 2009, p. 105. Also covered in this work are therapeutic bathing rituals people undertook to cure diseases and ailments, with descriptions of the specific water sources perceived to be especially holy or effective. Canaan noted how people with fevers, many from malaria, would drink from ''al-Suhada'' cistern in Hebron and bathe in springs in Silwan, Kolonia (''Ein al-Samiya'') and Nebi Ayyub (''Ein al-Nebi Ayyub'') and a well in
Beit Jibrin Bayt Jibrin or Beit Jibrin ( ar, بيت جبرين; he, בית גוברין, translit=Beit Gubrin) was a Palestinian village located northwest of the city of Hebron. The village had a total land area of 56,185 dunams or , of which were ...
for al-Sheikh Ibrahim. Specific swamps were also considered to be sacred healing places. ''Al-Matbaa'' at Tel al-Sammam in the
Plain of Esdraelon The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...
, associated with the '' wali'' ("saint") al-Sheik Ibrek, was widely renowned for curing sterility, rheumatism and nervous pains. Canaan noted that after washing in its water, women seeking to conceive would offer a present to al-Sheikh Ibrek.Sufian, 2007, p. 51.


Archaeology & ethnography

Among Canaan's acquaintances were a number of specialists in the field of
Palestinian archaeology Levantine archaeology is the archaeological study of the Levant. It is also known as Syro-Palestinian archaeology or Palestinian archaeologyDavis, 2004, p. 146.Dever, 2001, p. 61. (particularly when the area of inquiry centers on ancient Palest ...
, including William Foxwell Albright, Nelson Glueck, and Kathleen Kenyon, and his interest in the history of the region naturally extended to the field of archaeology. In 1929, he participated in an archaeological expedition in
Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
organized by George Horsfield, and discovered at its northern boundary a Kebaran shelter that he named Wadi Madamagh.Mershen, p. 254. That same year he published a five chapter article, "Studies in the Topography and Folklore of Petra", in the ''JPOS'' that included topographical maps with Arabic names for the features and sites that he collected from the local
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
population, along with oral histories associated with them. He also devoted a chapter to an ethnographic study of the Lijatne tribe, and politely dispelled their erroneous identification as " Simeonites or other Beni-Israel" by non-Arabic speaking authors, due to their sidelocks, noting it just happened to be a recent fashion among them at the time.


Nationalist writings

Canaan's politics and strong sense of nationalism find clear expression in two of his published works: ''The Palestine Arab Cause'' (1936) and ''Conflict in the Land of Peace'' (1936). Published in English, Arabic, and French, ''The Palestine Arab Cause'' was a 48-page booklet that collated a series of articles Canaan authored for the local and foreign press following the outbreak of the
1936 Arab revolt Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King ...
. Canaan described British policy in Palestine as, "a destructive campaign against the Arabs with the ultimate aim of exterminating them from their country."Nashef, 2002, p. 21. He questioned the nationality laws enacted by the Mandatory authorities which prevented Palestinian immigrants in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
, who had been citizens of the Ottoman Empire, from obtaining Palestinian citizenship in Mandate Palestine.Nashef, 2002, p. 22. Directed at influencing British public opinion, the writings were seen by the Mandatory authorities as subversive. ''Conflict in the Land of Peace'' was penned to respond to an anonymous rebuttal of "The Palestine Arab Cause" that claimed European Jewish immigration to Palestine brought benefits, such as improvements in agriculture and the general health of the peasantry. Canaan delves more deeply into the Palestine problem and deconstructs the alleged benefits. For example, he concedes that Zionist settlers did contribute to controlling the malaria epidemic in Palestine through the draining of swamps, but notes that the workers who performed the actual task were Arabs, who thus transformed lands purchased by Zionist owners at very low prices into more valuable agricultural lands for their exclusive benefit. Recalling that dozens of the Egyptian labourers employed to dig the drainage channels died in the process, Canaan writes: " Baron De Rothschild supplied the money and the Egyptians gave their lives." Canaan further notes that the anonymous pamphleteer ignores that Palestinians and Arabs drained swamps in dozens of sites throughout Palestine, under the supervision of the Department of Health, with Arab financial support and volunteer labour, caring for and improving their own lands and lives. Canaan was also co-signatory to a document sent to the
Higher Arab Committee The Arab Higher Committee ( ar, اللجنة العربية العليا) or the Higher National Committee was the central political organ of the Arab Palestinians in Mandatory Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative o ...
on 6 August 1936, and there is reason to believe that he supported Arab armed resistance. From 1936 onward, Canaan, clearly expressed his rejection of British policies, in particular the policy of Zionist immigration to Palestine.


Published works

(''Partial list'')


Folklore and ethnography

* Nashef, 2002, p. 15. * * Nashef, 2002, p. 16. * * **Alternative: Nashef, 2002, p. 17. See also
Jumana Emil Abboud Jumana Emil Abboud ( ar, جمانة إميل عبّود) is a Palestinian artist living and working in Jerusalem. She was born in Shefa-'Amr, Galilee and came to Ontario, Canada with her parents in 1979. She began her studies at the Ontario Colleg ...
* * * * Tamari, 2009, p. 202. **Alt: * * * Taylor, 2001, p. 217 * * * * * * * * * * * (translated from German by William Templer) **orig:


Politics

* (48-page booklet)Nashef, 2002, p. 21. * (Published in English, Arabic, and French)


Medical

* Nashef, 2002, p. 14. * * Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, 1912, p. 410. * Hygienische Rundschau, 1917, p. 225. * * * * Patai, 1957, p. 152. * Aall-Zyukov, 1932, p. 1011.


War & Nakba


Imprisonment of Canaan, his wife, and his sister

Canaan was arrested by the British Mandate authorities the same day that Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. Ordered released at his second court session, the Criminal Investigation Department intervened and had him imprisoned for nine weeks in
Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...
. His wife Margot and his sister Badra were also arrested, and imprisoned at a women's facility for criminal prisoners in Bethlehem; Margot for nine months, and Badra for four years. They were then held in
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, a German colony turned British detention camp for German Palestinians until their release in 1943.Irving, 2017, p. 91. Though Margot's arrest was primarily because of her German ancestry, both women were politically active, having helped found the Arab Women's Committee in Jerusalem in 1934. This charitable society took strong political stances, calling for
civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
and the continuation of the
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
that kicked off the 1936 revolt. Badra also served as the assistant secretary in the Palestinian delegation to The Eastern Women's Conference that was held in support of Palestine in Cairo in October 1938. These arrests of the Canaan family were part of the general British policy of suppressing
Palestinian resistance Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence perpetrated for political ends in relation to the State of Palestine or in connection with Palestinian nationalism. Common political objectives include self-determination in and sovereig ...
to Zionism & British rule.


Arab Medical Society of Palestine

The Arab Medical Society of Palestine was established in August 1944, based on a decision taken at the Arab Medical Conference in Haifa ten years earlier. A coordinating body for medical associations in cities throughout Palestine, Canaan was its first president. He was also a member of the editorial board for the Society's journal, ' ("The Palestinian Arab Medical Journal"), the first issue of which was published in Arabic and English in December 1945. The Society also organized medical conferences, the first of which was in July 1945.Nashef, 2002, p. 23. As the situation in Palestinian cities and villages became increasingly insecure, the Society trained and organized relief units and centers to provide medical aid to civilians and the Palestinian and Arab militants fighting to defend them. Contacting and coordinating with the Red Cross to protect hospitals and other humanitarian institutions, the Society also made appeals to medical associations to send help, and limited medical aid was sent by some in the Arab world. Canaan was also a founding member of the Higher Arab Relief Committee, established on 24 January 1948, to receive aid coming to the country and supervise its distribution.


The Nakba

Bombs and mortar shells hit Arab houses in al-Musrarah quarter of Jerusalem where the Canaan family home was located on 22 February 1948. Shortly thereafter, the children were moved to a safer location, but Tawfiq, Margot, Badra, and Nora (his sister-in-law) stayed, until the house sustained a direct hit on 9 May 1948. The extended family all then went to stay at a convent in the Old City in a room given to them by the
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, where they lived for two and a half years. Canaan's daughter Leila Mantoura wrote of this time:
"Mother and father would go daily to the top of the Wall of Jerusalem to look at their home. They witnessed it being ransacked, together with the wonderful priceless library and manuscripts, which mother guarded jealously and with great pride. They saw mother's Biedermeyer furniture being loaded into trucks and then their home being set on fire."Nashef, 2002, p. 24.
Canaan's family home, library, and three manuscripts ready for publication were destroyed in the process. His collection of amulets and icons was spared, as it had already been entrusted to an international organization in the western part of Jerusalem earlier that same year for safekeeping.


Awards

* Order of the Red Crescent (in World War I)Nashef, 2002, p. 15. * Iron Cross of 1914 * Holy Sepulchre Cross with a red ribbon, awarded by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch (1951) * Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1951)


See also

* Saint George Interfaith shrine *
Palestinian Christians Palestinian Christians ( ar, مَسِيحِيُّون فِلَسْطِينِيُّون, Masīḥiyyūn Filasṭīniyyūn) are Christian citizens of the State of Palestine. In the wider definition of Palestinian Christians, including the Palestin ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * Originally presented in 1988 as author's thesis (doctoral) at Fachbereich Evangelische Theologie of Philipps-Universität in Marburg * * * * * * * *


External links


The Tawfiq Canaan Collection of Palestinian Amulets – A virtual galleryThe Great War in Palestine: Dr Tawfiq Canaan’s Photographic Album
Norbert Schwake, 2014, ''Jerusalem Quarterly'',
Institute for Palestine Studies The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such inst ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canaan, Tawfiq 1882 births 1964 deaths People from Beit Jala Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Ottoman Army personnel Ottoman military personnel of World War I Palestinian Lutherans 20th-century Palestinian physicians Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914) Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Arabs in Ottoman Palestine Palestinian Christians 20th-century physicians from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Lutherans Palestine ethnographers