Marun Abboud

Marun Abboud was born in the village of Ain Kfaa in Mount Lebanon and studied law and Arabic literature, spending forty years teaching literature at the National College of Aley. Known for his fearless independence and sparkling wit, he named his son 'Muhammad' despite being Christian, as a principled protest against sectarian divisions in Lebanon.

Abboud was the premier literary critic of the modern Arab world, publishing over fifty books including Ala al-Mihakk (On the Touchstone) and Mujaddidun wa-Mujtarrun (Innovators and Regurgitators). His fictional short stories, drawn from the authentic, colorful life of Lebanese mountain peasants, introduced modern realism to Lebanese prose.