In memory of Yemeni Historian Hamza Luqman [Archives:2002/34/Culture]

BY SALEH ABDULBAQI
There is no doubt that Yemen had produced intellectuals and writers that made history with their hard work and achievements and in representing Yemen in the best way possible. Among those intellectuals was late historian and playwright Hamza Luqman. Hamza, who descends from the Luqman family that inhabited Aden a long time ago, grew up to become one of the pioneers in the cultural renaissance.
He was born in 1919 in Aden, and got his basic education in Crater. He was the elder son of the esteemed teacher Ali Ibrahim Luqman.
After his fathers demise, he shouldered the responsibility of taking care of his mother and six brothers. This development prevented him from continuing his studies due to the severe circumstances he was exposed to. As mentioned by Mr. Abdu Hussein Ahmads article published in Al-Ayyam newspapers edition on November 25, 1995, Hamza sent his brother Mahmoud to study law in the UK on Hamzas expense. Mahmoud worked after his graduation as a lawyer and then as a Judge. Hamza worked hard to meet his familys demands. He started working with the British Cultural Council in Aden for some time and then worked as a journalist in several newspapers including Fatat al-Jazira, Alqalam Al-Adani, and Al-Ahkbar. Assisted by his brother in 1949, Hamza was able to issue his own weekly Journal Al-Afkar.
The founding of Aden Broadcasting Station in 1954 gave an boosted Hamazas cultural activities as he started writing a number of sketches and short social plays for Aden radio. Other writers including Mahmoud Luqman, Gamil Ghanim, and Ahmed Al Refae also worked with him in this field. His writings in the radio gave him greater popularity especially as he was the writer of a famous radio series of eight stories called Shamsan is speaking directed by Mohammed Madi.
Being a pioneer in short story writing, Hamza Luqman impressed all readers by presenting his 1945 first short story entitled A dreams knight. Other short story pioneers in his time included Mohammed Ali Luqman, Hamed Khalifa, Mohammed Saed Muswat and Mohammed Barakat.
During the elections of local authorities of 1958 in Aden, Hamza was elected as a representative of the local council in Aden along with other representatives including Abdulqawi Khaleel, Hassan Khadash, and Mohammed Ali Basharaheel.
Although Hamza Luqman did not get a university degree, he conducted many researches and was known for his high proficiency in writing. His talent clearly emerged when he was nominated to present a lecture on history at Copenhagen University in Denmark.
Among the late historian and playwright productions of Hamza Luqman are Lilat Al-Aid a play quoted from Charles Dickens story, home life dairies in the forties, history of Aden and the South Arab peninsula published in 1960, Yemeni islands history published in 1972, battles in the Yemeni history published in 1978, and Yemeni legends. These books were excerpts of Hamzas works during more than half a century of dedication, research and writing in different fields.
In the early nineties, Hamza moved to Sanaa in which he settled till his death in November 11, 1995 after 76 years of devotion to his country and nation.


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