Said Al Muzayin

Said Al Muzayin
سعيد المزين
Born1935
Ashdod
Died29 March 1991
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Occupation(s)History teacher, politician, poet
OrganizationPalestine Liberation Organization
Known forWriting the lyrics for "Fida'i"

Said Al Muzayin (1935 – 29 March 1991) (Arabic: سعيد المزين) was a Palestinian poet who wrote the lyrics of the Palestinian national anthem.[1]

Early life and education

Al Muyazin was born in 1935 in Ashdod, Mandatory Palestine, where he was also educated.[2] In 1948, after the Nakba, he migrated to the Gaza Strip, which was occupied by Egypt.[2]

Career

In Gaza, he operated a printing press, and was arrested by Israelis, before taking part in the early resistance movement in 1956.[2] He later worked as a history teacher, moving in 1957 to Saudi Arabia to teach there.[2] In 1959, he flew to Damascus to work in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.[2]

From 1973 to 1978, he was representative of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement in Saudi Arabia.[2]

At an unknown date he wrote the lyrics of "Fida'i", a song set to music by the composer Ali Ismael that in 1996 was made the Palestinian National Anthem by the PLO.[3][4]

Selected literary works

  • "I'm Steadfast", poem, c. 1970[1]
  • "Tubas", poem[2]
  • "Safar al-Saif", poem[2]
  • "فدائية" (Fedayeen), poem[2]
  • في خندق الأخلاق (In the Trench of Ethics), book[2]
  • Essays on the Revolution, book, Cairo, 1986[2]
  • Safar al-Fath, collection of poems[2]
  • A People Will Not Die, play[2]
  • The House of Our Father, play[2]
  • Al-Mawda, play[2]
  • "وثيقة الدماء" ("The Document of Blood"), story[2]
  • "الدورية 96" ("The Patrol 96")[2]

Death

Al Muzayin died in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 29 March 1991.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Bishara, A. (2022). Crossing a Line: Laws, Violence, and Roadblocks to Palestinian Political Expression. United States: Stanford University Press.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Al-Sahli, Nabil (2022-03-08). "سعيد المزين.. فتى الثورة الفلسطينية وأيقونتها الشعرية" [Saeed Al-Muzayen.. the boy of the Palestinian revolution and its poetic icon]. عربي21 (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  3. ^ Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Palestinian National Anthem". Archived from the original on February 5, 2009.
  4. ^ Kindekens, A. (2020). Akoestische Dominantie En Haar Artistieke Transformatie Door Palestijnse Muzikanten [Acoustic Domination And Its Artistic Transformation By Palestinian Musicians] (PDF). Ghent University (Thesis) (in Dutch). p. 37.