São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce should promote on Monday (26) a dinner in celebration of the 25th of March, the National Day of the Arab Community, at the Syrian Sports Club, in São Paulo. As was the case in other years, the organisation should celebrate personalities of Arab origin who have stood out in their areas of operation.
This time, those honoured will be São Paulo mayor Gilberto Kassab, who is of Lebanese origin, and professor Helmi Nasr, an Egyptian who is naturalized Brazilian. "We met to celebrate people of the community who stood out in their areas of operation, be it politics, economics or education, among others,” said the CEO at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby.
Kassab has been the mayor of the city of São Paulo since 2006. He was the deputy mayor, but took over the main post in the place of José Serra, who left the position to run for state governor. He was reelected in 2008 and is in his second term. While in office, the mayor left his party, DEM, to establish a new party, PSD. Before becoming mayor, Kassab had been an alderman, state representative and congressman.
Helmi Nasr came to Brazil in the 1960s, at the request of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, to establish the Arabic course at the University of São Paulo (USP). He has been in the country since then. At age 90, Nasr is an honorary professor of the College of Philosophy, Letters, and Human Sciences (FFLCH) of the USP and International Relations vice president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber.
Throughout his career, he has released works like Elementary lessons of Arabic for those who do not speak the language , with audio material and a manual, and the Arabic-Portuguese Dictionary and translated into his native language book New World in the Tropics, by Gylberto Freire.
One of his main works, however, was the translation into Portuguese of the Koran, the holy book of the Muslims, from the original Arabic into Portuguese. The version was printed and published by King Fahd Complex, in Medina, Saudi Arabia. The work granted him an invitation to become a member of the executive council of the International Conference of Muslim Scholars and Thinkers, organized by the Muslim World League, an organisation headquartered in Mecca.
But, according to Alaby, the professor’s operation is not focussed in the academic area. “He was among those greatly responsible for recognition of our chamber by the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries and by the League of Arab States,” he pointed out. In the early 1990s, already as a director at the organisation, Nasr worked actively for the Arab Brazilian Chamber to be accepted by both organisations. It is currently the only institution in Brazil with such recognition.
Among those invited to the dinner are leaders of the community, diplomats, religious personalities, businessmen and politicians.
*Translated by Mark Ament
