A few book-reviews of the complete works of the literary figure Salama Moussa are presented on the following pages. The survey does not lay any claim to the oeuvre of this Egyptian writer and journalist. However, one gains an insight into the wide thoughts and the interests of this great man, who propagated very progressive attitudes and ways of life while still alive. On the one hand, he became the most banded person and on the other hand, the most respected man in the Arabian world.

As he belonged to the Egyptian minority of Copts, he had to suffer tremendously. While still alive, he was prohibited from publishing some of his works. If this man had not belonged to the Coptic minority, he would have achieved a lot of honours and prizes before and after his death.

Love in History (1925)

Salama Moussa says: "Love is happiness, or the nearest thing to happiness. In it our manners are crystallised and presented in their real form. Love educates us, and brings out of us the best of our manners. For these reasons, if we describe a love story, we also describe the best of what is in the human nature, and are full of admiration and feeling of happiness."

Free Thinking And its Heroes in History (1927)

Salama Moussa deals in this book with free thinking in East and West, and introduces some of its heroes. And ends his book with a call: "In Accepting the Freedom of Thought." He says: "Thinking cannot be free unless we can communicate it to other people. Because it is an energy, i.e. an energy of the mind. And if it is deprived of release will, as all other depressed energies, torment the mind, until it is released by action; i.e. declaring the idea. However, history shows that most people who said what they thought, have received much persecution or imprisonment or death."

The Theory of Evolution and The Origin of Man (1928)

The Theory of Evolution is not merely knowledge; because we must not know from it the history of the living, but acquire from it an inclination and a direction. For it makes evolution an organic vocation, and advancement a social necessity. There is no doubt that whoever knows it, if it was transformed in him into an inclination and vocation, finds that he is freed from the bondages of customs, and looks to the world affairs with a new outlook.

What is the Renaissance (1935)

Salama Moussa first published this book in 1935. He was working on it again when he died in 1958. But what he accomplished at this time was nevertheless published in 1962.

He says we are in a renaissance; but what is a renaissance? What values must we propagate? What is the vision we must see our country adopt after 10 years, after a hundred years? Is it the veil for our women? Is it the literature of Abu Nawas and Romeo & Juliet? Is it the vision of restrictions and limitations to the human thinking... this is allowed to think about, and that not? The mind of the Arabs must change, i.e. must evolute.

The Healthy Personality (1943)

Salama Moussa says: "I tried in this book to explain to the common reader what is the healthy personality and how we develop it and inseminate it. Although the present Egyptian society does not help grow a successful personality."

"Moreover, our youths suffer from certain prevailing customs, which impede its development."

"The reader who reads this book in the order I put it, and does not read a later chapter before a preceding one, will understand all the needs to develop his personality and improve himself, despite the existing social obstacles."

Our Life After the Fiftieth (1944)

"This book is a first trial in a virgin subject that no Arabian writer seems to have attempted. I hope, I served with it the elderlies, so as to increase their enjoyment and benefit their lives.

My hope is that we must not increase our lives in years only, but also increase our years with life, so that the old man or woman between his fiftieth and seventieth does not feel he has become old, sterile and useless in his world. On the contrary, he is enjoying life, and is able to collect the fruits of his previous years, as reflected in his personal and spiritual advancement, and the advancement of his society.

The problems of old age are a collection of health, psychological and mind problems. I have touched them all, and I believe that if these are healthy, the mind and body are also healthy."

Modern Perfection and the Arab Language (1945)

"This book reflects on the modern trends of the construction and aims of the language. That each word - as Anatol France says - is the picture of a picture, a synonym to an imagination.

That we - as James Bari says - do not discuss what our politicians say, but what they meant to say, when they utter something.

That - as Ivor Brown said - the man of letter does not prepare his machines and tools, as a worker or a surgeon or a sportsman does before he uses them, but neglects this much; and does not know in many cases, that the least words he uses, the better value they have.

That - as The Times Literary Supplement says - people think carelessly because they write carelessly. And this leads them to ignore the facts, and to express themselves with inexactness that deceives in behaviour and beliefs. Yes, whoever writes badly, has lied."

Self-Education - or How to Educate Ourselves (1946)

"The aim of this book is to help produce an educated man; for it deals with the nature, the aim and the value of culture, as well as the means to achieve it. No young people lack a desire for improvement to rise on himself, and reach higher levels than the level he is in. And this eagerness to rise, which Bernhard Shaw calls the "evolution libido" takes many forms , and is affected by the social conditions and the desired examples.

This book tries to show the youth the way to cultural improvements, within the limits of the Egyptian and Arabian social conditions in general. In other words, it tries to direct them to the evolution libido, and distinguish between the right scholastic exercises and the false.

The influence of science on society has increased, and its culture has become a necessity to every man. We must therefore react, change and evolute, because to remain as we are in these circumstances is a crime; and our change of our minds, by the improvement in our culture, is some, even the most, part of this change."

 The Education of Salama Moussa (1947)

Salama Moussa says in this autobiography: "I am not recording my history only. For when I translate my life, and describe to the reader, how my personality was formed, and how I educated myself; even when I attribute to myself the destruction of some of the bridges that extended between our present and the past, i.e. the dark centuries, and tried to attach itself to our future, that is full of forcing courage and vision with the history of yesterday, which is blackened with injustice, poverty, ignorance and cowardice - in all this, I describe the history of the epoch I lived in, and the history of the generation which I was part of."

My Mind & Yours (1947)

Salama Moussa in this book tries to engage his readers' attention, and arouse their intelligence to study the basic principles of psychology.

He discusses in it the way he used to develop his thoughts and theories, coining new Arabic words for them.

The Art of Love and Living (1947)

Salama Moussa wrote this book to show that success in life must be complete; and not only in profession, in marriage, in wealth or in society. For the language of success in our consumer society is often believed to be in wealth. But the true successful person is that who makes his success complete and extends it to all his life's aspects. He also draws the attention to the fact that the society we live in, often deceives us, and confuses our sight to the humanistic heights. Also that the importance of culture is that it extends our brain to reach an organic extension.

Trials (1953)

In this book, which was in its first edition called "Psycological Trials", Salama Moussa writes about different subjects; their usual study were either literary or ceremonial. He deals with them psychologically. In his studies he exposes some of the psychological wounds and advices some experimental remedies. He explains how unfairness and darkness have resulted in diseases, which the writers in Egypt, indeed in the Arab East, could not avoid the censorship of their governments and their customs, to expose their stupidity, which they know well enough they are stupid.

My Teachers (1953)

Salama Moussa says: "I read in my life hundreds of books, which increased my existence in the world, affected me and I was educated with. And I have chosen from their authors ten or more, who had the greatest effect on granding my brains and organising my culture. But their mention should not mean that I advise the reader to read and know them. Because I have only wanted to present the reasons and results in forming my personality. And to point to the most significant fact in my cultural journey that has now extended to 66 years. And I only mention them now because they left their influence on me all these years.

My reader may criticise me, and know from my injuries how I was right, and from my faults how I was wrong.

And after this he has to reach his decision, and explore and ask and chose. Then find his own way by himself."

Psychological Studies (1956)

Salama Moussa wrote this book for the young people, and its subjects varied from "language" to "spirits" and "alcohols", and from "happiness" to "dancing". He, however, paid his attention to Freud's psychology, and he asks in one of its chapters about what we learned from him; and replies: Freud did not teach us a new science, but opened our objectives to understand nature, and its different aspects. He opened our objectives, and we now try to open our minds with science, i.e. with experiments.

We learned from Freud, and his disciples and friends, that the first 4 years of our infancy are the treasure of emotions which continue with us for the rest of our lives, and every bad emotion concealed in our living psycho will remain, and will throw its dust on our lives, if we are faced with events that create similar emotions to those with us from our infancy.

The Woman is No Man's Doll (1956)

"The woman has to live her life for herself first of all, then for her society, her husband and her children next. As the man must live his life for himself first, then for his society and his wife and children.

The man does not specialise by marriage, and the woman also must not specialise by marriage. For our lives - men and women - are more precious than this, and more spread than to be so specialised.

Nobody in the world should tell the women: stay in your house all your life, 80 or 90 years, and do not mix with your society, and do not work as a lawyer, a doctor, a manufacturer, a chemist, or a philosopher, and keep all your strength, and occupy all your time, with cooking, cleaning and bearing children.

Literature for the People (1956)

In 1946, a number of Egyptian literary figures in Egypt, including Tawfik Al-Hakim, Taha Hussein, Abbas Mahmud AL-Akad, Kamel Al-Shinawi and Habib Al-Zahawi - expressed their opinions of Salama Moussa, his attitude and his writings. Salama Moussa replied to them - as he said - with this book, in which he presented his opinion on their writings, as to the way he understood this profession should be, and the aims which a writer should propagate.

Salama Moussa ended this book by an acknowledgement by the poet and doctor Ibrahim Nagy who praised him.

Bernhard Shaw (1957)

Salama Moussa says: "This book is for the open-minded, who welcomes the thoughts, and braves to plan his future, and not for the narrow-minded, who values his customs over the evolution, and accepts the dogmas which the Ancient Egyptians believed 5 thousand years ago, and who think poverty is a characteristic of society and cannot be changed."

Speeches to the Youth (1957)

Salama Moussa says in these speeches that he wrote them to the young people in the form of pure and sincere advices. That every youngster must be productive in his life in either agriculture, industry, commerce etc. And that he must not depend on another for his living, and that he must follow good manners, and contribute to the independence of his country and its liberty, and the benefit of the world of which we are part.

Road Lights for the Youths (1959)

Salama Moussa says: "I wish to say a word to our young people of both sexes: That every young man or woman reconsiders his past life, and is re-born at the beginning of every new year. The best enjoyment we find in our lives, is to extend it in space and depth organically, so that we feel we live more than our years.

And do not tell me, oh youth, that your circumstances are bad, and that you suffer from. For I do know that, and with their presence. But what have you done with it? Did you accept them and submit to them? Or did you try to change them, and improve on?

Banned Articles (1959)

At the time of dictatorship and journalistic cartels Salama Moussa wrote many articles which were not published, and was personally attacked and not allowed to reply to his attackers.

But most of these articles found their way for publication in this book, and others, after he died.

It is the story of an epoch, the struggle and the persecution of a pioneer.

Man at the Top of Evolution (1961)

Salama Moussa writes: "We do not when writing about evolution present the common reader with the facts about it only, because we mean by presenting them, to create an intellectual inclination, a psychological direction and a social plan, for a change, not only in evolution, but in the common man.

Evolution comprises demolition and construction. Demolition of old customs, and construction of future customs. The chick does not come out of its egg, unless it breaks it, and the seed does not grow into a big tree, until it is petrified and lost.

And those who call for the preservation of our customs, call in fact for sterility; so that the egg remains unbroken and the seed remains intact. While those who call for evolution, want to liberate themselves from the customs, and adopt a modern way of life and thought."

Open the Door for Her (1962)

This is the third and last collection of Salama Moussa's stories. It was preceded by "The Sinful City" and "My Husband Married", which were published before. The first collection was first published in the twenties of the 20^th century. The second and third collections were first published in the forties and fifties of that century.

Salama Moussa had his own understanding of how to write a story. For him it must be first of all humanistic, then socialistic, philosophical or scientific. This collection ends with 2 science fiction, probably some of the first written in Arabic.

Journalism, like literature, is directed to all common people, with their different cultural, artistic and economic trends.

Because of this it must include all mind, political, social, artistic and scientific aspects. When it does this, it educates its readers, and at the same time it nears their sections. What Salama Moussa emphasised in this context, is that the newspaper cannot be neutral, but must take sides in the affairs of the nation and its politics. That is because in our world there are many good and evil things. The journalist cannot say that he is indifferent to the good things, as the independence of his country, or the bad things as to imperialism, or to justice and injustice, or the fairness of the government or its corruption. The journalist is like the man of letters; he cannot be neutral, but must be engaged.

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The author (raoufmoussa111@yahoo.de) of these texts will be glad to receive any suggestions, improvements, corrections, and discussions, in order to bring these pages up to date with all the news.