The Arab Academy of Damascus

Two renowned authors, Sāmī ad-Dahhān (Syria) and Henri Laoust (a French orientalist), provide a nice summary of the history and activities of the Arab Academy of Damascus in an article published in 1951 by the Institut Français de Damas in its periodical, Bulletin d'Études Orientales. This brief study covers the period from 1918 to 1950.

It all started right after WWI and the expulsion of the Ottomans from Syria under King Fayṣal and his military governor, Riḍā Pāšā ar-Rikābī, when a section for translation and publication was established in the fall of 1918. This section morphed into the Supreme Council of Public Education in February 1919, presided over by Muḥammad Kurd ʿAlī. On June 8 the Arab government assigned ʿAlī the task of founding an Arab academy to be modeled after its French namesake for the purpose of reviving the Arab language and literature, casting aside religious and political polemics. Thus defined, the Academy was the first of its kind in Arab-speaking lands. 

Membership comprised two categories: 

1. Active members, 20 in total. They had to be Syrian citizens, residents of Damascus, aged 35 years or more. 

2. Corresponding members: no limit as far as residence or numbers are concerned. 

As of 1950, the Academy was presided over by Kurd ʿAlī, with Šayẖ ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Maġribī as vice president and H̱alīl Mardam Bek as secretary (a poet best known as the author of the Syrian National Anthem). The Academy assumed the management of the National Library (aẓ-Ẓāhirīyyā) in 1927. This library was established in 1878 at the funerary Islamic school of the Mamlūk Sultan Baybars. Starting with the acquisition of the historical manuscripts of 10 different libraries, aẓ-Ẓāhirīyyā has since added to its priceless collection through purchases and donations. The Academy's choice fell on the ʾAyyūbīd al-madrasa al-ʿĀdilīyyā for its headquarters.  

In addition to its periodical, the academy had published quite a few independent reviews and research works mostly related to studying and commenting on historical manuscripts. It also had organized lectures and conferences. 

For a thorough list of its articles and books, one may consult the original article cited above. The academy had 93 members as of 1950, including:

Two physicians: Ḥusnī Sabaḥ and Muršid H̱āṭir

The veteran politician and lawyer Fāris al-H̱ūrī.

The poets Muḥammad al-Bizm, Badawī al-Ǧabal, ʿUmar ʾAbu Rīšā, and Bišārā al-H̱ūrī (al-ʾAẖṭal aṣ-Ṣaġīr).

Some of the writers are ʾAḥmad Ḥasan az-Zayyāt, Ṭahā Ḥusayn Pāšā, ʿAbbās Maḥmūd al-ʿAqqād, and H̱ayr ad-Dīn az-Zarkalī.

The historian Philip Ḥittī. 

The orientalists René Dussaud and Carl Brockelmann.