The Judge's home: a one‐act play

Abstract

Husein Ahmad Amin is a senior member of the Egyptian Diplomatic Service. He currently heads the mission at the Egyptian Interests Section in Algiers. Born in Cairo in June 1932, he is a graduate of Cairo University's Law College. He also studied English literature in London, practised law and worked as a broadcaster before joining the Diplomatic Service of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While he was Deputy Director of the Diplomatic Institute in Cairo, his major works on Islam, Dalil alMuslim al-hazin ila muqtada al-suluk fi'l-qarn al-'ishrin, and Hawla alda'wa ila tatbiq al-shari'a, were published in 1983 and 1984 respectively. These elicited a sharp reaction from several quarters of the official religious establishment. They also provoked a campaign of vilification by the militant religious organizations in Egypt. Husein Amin was then posted to Brazil, from where he has recently been reassigned to Algiers. His brilliant short biography of his famous father, Ahmad Amin, was published under the title Fi beit Ahmad Amin in the Dar al-Hilal book series. His most recent publication in English, 'The Present Precarious State of the Muslim Ummah' appeared in The Jerusalem Quarterly, No. 42, Spring 1987. Husein Amin's writing on Islamic topics not only shows his mastery of the Arabic language but is also marked by an impressive use of Islamic sources, and an extraordinarily erudite discussion of Islamic law. His critique of the more recent militant Islamic organizations is very much in Islamic terms, but characterized by an open critical approach and a strict respect for the truth. His work, in general, is refreshing for its intellectual integrity, and its invitation of open, tolerant debate. Husein Amin published this play on the occasion of the 1987 attempt by gunmen of a militant Islamic organization to assassinate in Cairo the government minister Hasan Abu Basha. It appeared in al-Musawwar, No. 3272, 26 June 1987, pp.52-5, in Cairo.