{"id":262982,"date":"2019-11-26T22:43:43","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T01:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=262982"},"modified":"2019-11-27T20:39:26","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T23:39:26","slug":"helmi-nasr-who-ushered-in-arabic-teaching-at-usp-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/helmi-nasr-who-ushered-in-arabic-teaching-at-usp-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Helmi Nasr, who ushered in Arabic teaching at USP, dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Retired University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP<\/a>) professor and former Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/a> <\/strong>International Relations vice president Helmi Mohammed Ibrahim Nasr passed away last Sunday (24) in Cairo, Egypt. He was 97 and died of natural causes. The news was confirmed by the professor\u2019s son, the cardiologist Mohamed Nasr, who lives in the Egyptian capital.<\/p>\n

Helmi Nasr was born in Mansoura, in the Nile Delta area, some 130 km north of Cairo, on March 22, 1922. He attended Cairo\u2019s Al Azhar school, where he initiated his studies in Arabic language and the Koran. He went on to study Arabic Literature at Cairo University.<\/p>\n

In 1952, Nasr moved into Paris, France, where he studied French Literature and Translation at Sorbonne University. His postgraduate studies also included Psychology and Sociology. Back in Cairo, he taught at the Ain Shams University\u2019s Faculty of Languages.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A 1986 USP seminar. From left to right, Aida Hanania, Jos\u00e9 Goldemberg, Ant\u00f4nio Houaiss and Helmi Nasr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A pioneer in the teaching of Arabic by Brazilian universities<\/a>, Nasr arrived in the country in 1962 to teach at the USP\u2019s Faculty of Philosophy, Languages and Sciences (FFLCH). He\u2019d come to spend a year. He spent 53 instead.<\/p>\n

The scholar left behind an enduring legacy of works, from educational and academic publications to translations, the best known of which is a bilingual Arabic-Portuguese version of the Koran<\/a>, the holy book of Islam, released in 2005 by the King Fahd Complex in Medina, Saudi Arabia, and distributed in Brazil by the Arab Brazilian Chamber.<\/p>\n

Around the time the translation of the Koran came out<\/a>, the professor said he hoped his work would help build bridges between peoples. \u201cThe Koran is an interesting, pleasant reading. I invite everyone to engage in this pleasant, enriching read,\u201d he said during the launch event in Bras\u00edlia<\/a>. \u201cNot so that everyone will become a Muslim, but so that people will become aware of the existence of a religion that can be helpful in their lives,\u201d Nasr argued. \u201cWho knows, maybe in the future (the Koran) will be more widely studied here (in Brazil),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The professor holds up a copy of the bilingual edition of the Koran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Earlier that year had seen Nasr release an Arabic-Portuguese Dictionary<\/em><\/a>, on occasion of the first Summit of South America-Arab Countries (ASPA), in Bras\u00edlia. \u201cOur [Arab] colony is massive, and many people will need it. This is very important to the whole Arab-Brazilian community,\u201d he said then.<\/p>\n

His work to spread Islam in Brazil led to an invitation to sit on the board of the International Meeting of Muslim Scholars<\/a> and Thinkers, held in 2007 by the Mecca, Saudi Arabia-based Muslim World League.<\/p>\n

In the late 1970s, the professor issued the guide Li\u00e7\u00f5es elementares da l\u00edngua \u00e1rabe para os que n\u00e3o a falam<\/em> (Basic lessons in Arabic for non-speakers), which came with cassette tapes containing lessons in Arabic, in his own voice, and in Portuguese, in the voice of Cid Moreira, then the presenter of TV Globo newscast Jornal Nacional. The book was reissued in 2008<\/a>, this time in a CD version. \u201cThe book is intended for everyday situations. Travelers, for instance, will learn to engage in conversation, to greet someone, to buy or sell something,\u201d he said on the occasion.<\/p>\n

Nasr translated Pernambuco sociologist Gilberto Freyre\u2019s Novo mundo nos tr\u00f3picos<\/em> (New World in the Tropics) from Portuguese into Arabic, thereby relaying some of the formative history of Brazilian society to the Arab public.<\/p>\n

The professor was also a great champion of Arab and Muslim culture outside of academia. In the 1970s, he joined the Arab Chamber as a member of a committee tasked with raising funds to build the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The cover of Nasr’s Basic lessons in Arabic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He never moved away, having sat on the board through several administrations. In 1992, Nasr was a driving force in the Arab Chamber\u2019s recognition by the Union of Arab Chambers and the League of Arab States \u2013 which it still retains.<\/p>\n

Nasr became a naturalized Brazilian citizen and married Nida Gattaz, a professor of Spanish at USP. She passed in 2008. In 2015, the professor chose to withdraw from the public eye and moved back to Cairo to be closer to his family. \u201cI feel lonely”,<\/a> he confided to ANBA at the time. \u201cI\u2019ve completed my mission. I\u2019ll live my last days at peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Helmi Nasr was beloved and revered by the Arab and Muslim communities in Brazil, and especially S\u00e3o Paulo, as well as in academia. Infectiously congenial, the professor had an unwavering broad smile and was always ready to tell or hear a long story.<\/p>\n

Reactions<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Nasr is irreplaceable. It was a privilege to have made his acquaintance, just as it was a privilege for the Chamber to have him on its board for much of its history,\u201d said Arab Chamber president Rubens Hannun, a fellow board member of Nasr\u2019s for several years.<\/p>\n

\u201cA friend, a companion, a professional, a humane person. I personally learned a lot from him many times, and I seek inspiration in his wisdom whenever I need to be daring and considerate at once. He\u2019s sorely missed,\u201d said Hannun.<\/p>\n

\"Helmi<\/a>
The professor during his farewell dinner in Brazil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Cardiac Surgery professor at Cairo\u2019s National Heart Institute, Mohamed Nasr pointed out that his father was a proponent of Cartesianism who used to say there\u2019s no contradiction between Cartesian philosophy and being religious and tolerant of others\u2019 ideas. \u201cIf one\u2019s neither Cartesian nor tolerant of others\u2019 ideas, one cannot make progress or develop modern society, is what he used to say,\u201d Mohamed told ANBA via messaging. \u201cMay God have mercy on his soul and may he rest in peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben also lamented the professor\u2019s death. \u201cOn behalf of the Council of Arab Ambassadors I would like to extend our deepest condolences and grief over the loss of an Arab flag-bearer whose presence was felt in Brazil in academic, social and religious circles and as vice president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce,\u201d said Alzeben, who\u2019s also ambassador of Palestine.<\/p>\n

The diplomat reminisced on the professor\u2019s warm personality. \u201cI knew professor Nasr, may he rest in peace. I remember he was always smiling, optimistic and ready to serve the community. We pray for his soul and extend our condolences to his family and friends, because he had many true friends who embraced him as part of their families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Alzeben went on: \u201cOn behalf of the Council, we extend our condolences to the Chamber of Commerce board, because in losing professor Nasr, we lose those founding fathers of the work for Brazilian-Arab [relations], someone who rendered great services and did great work that will be remembered through the generations, when he managed to translate the Koran into Portuguese, a feat worthy of much respect and admiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides his son, the professor is survived by two granddaughters, five great-grandchildren, a brother and nephews.<\/p>\n

Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/strong><\/p>\n

S\u00e9rgio Tomisaki\/ANBA<\/div>\n
Reproduction<\/div>\n
Press Release<\/div>\n
Reproduction<\/div>\n
Arab Chamber Archives<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Egyptian professor passed away last Sunday in Cairo at age 97. He moved to Brazil in 1962 and didn\u2019t move away until 2015. He served a decades-long stint in the Arab Chamber board. His crowning achievement was the Koran\u2019s translation into Portuguese.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1454,"featured_media":262965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3066],"tags":[4143,12800,12801,10788,6313,12802,9862],"class_list":{"0":"post-262982","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-society","8":"tag-arabic","9":"tag-helmi-nasr","10":"tag-koran","11":"tag-professor-en","12":"tag-translation","13":"tag-translator","14":"tag-usp-en"},"wps_subtitle":"The Egyptian professor passed away last Sunday in Cairo at age 97. He moved to Brazil in 1962 and didn\u2019t move away until 2015. He served a decades-long stint in the Arab Chamber board. His crowning achievement was the Koran\u2019s translation into Portuguese. ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}