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Saudi Arabia: Hisham Hafiz Passes Away

JEDDAH, 27 February 2006 -- Hisham Ali Hafiz, the co-founder and publisher of the Saudi Research and Publishing Company, died yesterday morning in Beirut. His body was flown back to the Kingdom and buried last night in his hometown, Madinah. Arab News is one of the 16 publications of SRPC.

Prince Faisal Bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG), and the group's board members offered their condolences to the Hafiz family on the death of Hisham.

Many journalists will remember Hisham (may Allah have mercy on him) for his humility, humanity and support for his colleagues at all levels. One close associate described him as a great man, an entrepreneur, an intellectual and a poet. "He was a man of many talents and interests. He was a visionary, a leader and a pioneer who took Saudi newspapers to unprecedented heights of professionalism and internationalism," he said.

Hisham Ali Hafiz was born in Madinah, grew up and received his schooling there with his brother and companion on the road to newspaper greatness, Muhammad Ali Hafiz. After secondary school, Hisham graduated with a degree in political science from Cairo University and then went to the military academy for another degree while Muhammad studied journalism at Cairo University.

Their ties with journalism, however, go back further than that. Their father Ali Abdul Qader Hafiz and their uncle Osman had founded Al-Madinah newspaper in 1937 and they worked in it during their school days. Later, they became for some years editors in Al-Madinah when it was published in Jeddah.

In the early 1970s, Hisham and Muhammad could see that Saudi Arabia was on the threshold of a great economic boom and that millions of expatriates would be pouring in to carry out its ambitious nation-building programs. Thus, the idea for an English language daily newspaper of a high standard to meet the expected demand was discussed, developed and became a reality in 1975 in the shape of Arab News, the first English language daily in Saudi Arabia.

It was a success from the beginning. Its success made them think of producing an international Arabic newspaper and so Asharq Al-Awsat was born in 1978 and based in London. Soon other SRPC publications followed.

"His death is a great loss for Saudi journalism and the Arab media," said the editor in chief of Al-Jazira newspaper, Khaled Al-Malek. "He was a distinguished personality in Arab journalism and a teacher under whose tutelage many journalists began their careers. His memory will be appreciated for all his achievements and contributions in developing Saudi newspapers," said Al-Malek.

Muhammad Salahuddin, publisher, columnist and director of Makkah Advertising and an old friend and colleague, said that Hisham's life was all about journalism and publishing.

"There is no doubt that he was one of the pioneers of the Saudi media. He was almost born in a publishing establishment and then went on to establish a successful publishing and research company," said Salahuddin.

"He, with his brother Muhammad, is considered the founder of journalism in the Kingdom. They were ahead of their time by at least 30 years," said Muhammad Al-Shibani, former managing director of SRPC and a former editor in chief of Arab News. "In 1977, Hisham was on vacation in Spain and the only source of information in Arabic was the Arabic radio stations plus the international English newspaper, The Herald Tribune, and that is how the idea of an international Arabic paper to be published in several countries simultaneously was born," he said.

Al-Shibani spoke of Hisham Hafiz as a leading journalist not only in Saudi Arabia but in the Arab world and internationally. He said Hisham had a high moral character, was decisive and prudent at the same time and very smart. He was straightforward in his dealings with everyone and respected everyone. "He lived his life fighting for the principles he believed in," said Al-Shibani.

At Hisham's funeral, Ahmad Mahmoud, the first editor in chief of Arab News, described him as the doyen of journalism and a brother and friend of every one. "We are laying to rest a genius," he said.

Paying tributes to Hisham at a staff condolence meeting, Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled Almaeena said: "He was a giant in his personality, a pioneer in the industry. To me he was a father figure. He took me under his wings when I joined the paper, inspired me by his enthusiasm and impulsiveness. He will be greatly missed."

Arab News offers its sincere condolences to the Hafiz family and the Saudi newspaper family in the loss of one of its great men.

By Maha Akeel

© Arab News 2006