Journalist Abdul Raouf Al-Ghazal has stations that tempt investigation and documentation. He is the editor, the maker of rich materials, he is the creator whose letters compete to win the affection of his fingertips, and he is the administrator who turned the Culture and Arts Society building into a workshop and destination for the elite. He suffered from suspensions, complaints, and envious people, but he remained graceful and tolerant. Confident that tomorrow would be the best, he supervised the culture annexes, headed the opinion department, and lived for three decades in the scene of trend conflict… Here is an attempt to capture some of what this name contains, which is agreed upon for his high professionalism, the clarity of his stances, and the strength of his mark, and this is some of what we succeeded in convincing him. To reveal it..
• What generosity do you give us in advance of working in journalism?
•• I started reading serious books at the end of the second intermediate grade, and within two years I read some books by Taha Hussein, Al-Aqqad, Al-Manfaluti, and a number of translated novels. Such as the novel (War and Peace) by Tolstoy and the novel (The Sheikh and the Sea) by Ernest Hemingway, but the great impact began when I read Ahmed Amin’s trilogy on Islam, the magazine (Al-Adab), a book on (Surrealism), fine art, and books of literary criticism. After that, I corresponded with the (Al-Murbad) supplement and they published some creative and critical thoughts for me, but it was not much. The opportunity came when I wrote about the exhibition of the visual artist Abdul Hamid Al-Baqshi, and it was published on half a page. Ali Al-Damini called me encouragingly, and opened the pages of the (Al-Murbad) supplement for me.
• Was devoting yourself to the profession of trouble a choice or a necessity?
•• In the third year of secondary school, Saleh Al-Azzaz, the managing editor of (Al-Youm) newspaper, called me and made me an offer to join the (Al-Youm) editorial team full-time with a salary of four thousand riyals. I agreed and moved to Dammam in 1981.
• Why were your anticipated publications delayed, given that everyone hopes to print your production?
•• My conviction has not changed.. There is no point in issuing and printing books that do not constitute a milestone in the cultural scene, and I ask myself what is the importance of books of poetry, stories, thought, literature, memoirs, and articles if the next generation does not read them and build experiences on them. Darkness descends on 95% of the books that are published. In Saudi Arabia and the Arab world as well as the West, the spotlight dims for those who aspire to fame five years after their books are published. Even critics and researchers are reluctant to delve into the river of repetitive books.
• Where did the critic hide in you that Shaker Al-Nabulsi preached?
•• Journalistic work takes up all of your time, and it is not wise to continue writing criticism if you have not studied criticism within academic curricula that enhance your reading and give you a foundation of knowledge. Whoever wants to write literary and cultural criticism must qualify himself and follow international critical schools and their symbols, and what I have written are merely personal impressions. Only because of the necessity of cultural movement.
• How do you see modernity’s adventure in adopting voices that are not at the level of modernity?
•• Modernity in Saudi Arabia is an intellectual and cultural conflict. As a result of development transformations in the Kingdom, this can be seen in every development turn, whether in education, economics, or wealth management in the country. It is natural for a division to occur between the elites and their way of thinking about what is most appropriate at the level of politics, science, culture, and technology. However, unfortunately, the matter has turned into an ideological conflict. Due to the activity of what was called (the Islamic Awakening) and their claim that modernity aims to eliminate Islam and demolish the heritage and traditional values of Saudi society, and perhaps a number of those who claim modernity may have donated ammunition to them!
• How satisfied are you with the writers’ guidance and contributions to public opinion?
•• I do not know if I understood your question correctly, but I would like to emphasize that in light of the intensification of the conflict between modernity and the Islamic Awakening movement at the beginning of the nineties, local newspapers sought the help of opinion writers specialized in economics, politics, thought, and researchers in political Islam, to strengthen and involve these mostly academic elites. In directing Saudi public opinion and bearing the burden on the path of modern, civil Saudi Arabia, and to bring down the curtain on the tragedy of modernity and literary traditionalism… Now, with the transformation of the Kingdom into a tolerant state that is open to various paths, and with the social media revolution, the role of opinion writers in newspapers has receded.
• When was your first day at the (Al-Mirbad) annex?
•• When I worked full-time on (Today), (Al-Marbad) was blocked, so we produced two cultural pages instead of (Al-Marbad) and it performs the function of (Al-Marbad) in the line of modernity, and perhaps the secret of the immortality of (Al-Marbad) in memory is that it is the only supplement that celebrates creators and publishes them after Evaluating the quality of their production, and perhaps the presence of Ali al-Dumaini, Abdulaziz al-Mishri, Jubayr al-Millihan, and Muhammad al-Ali’s presidency of the newspaper gave shine to what was published, and “Al-Murbad” reached intellectuals in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and London, which contributed to raising its value.
• You have a cultural and creative imprint in the Culture and Arts Association in Dammam branch. What do you remember from those efforts?
•• In 1980, I worked as a rapporteur in the cultural department at the Cultural and Arts Society in Al-Ahsa. The department head was Abdul Rahman Al-Muraikhi, the branch director was the composer Abdul Rahman Al-Hamad, and the activity director Saleh Abu Haniyah. We were friends, noting that I was in the second grade, but Professor Abdul Rahman Al-Muraikhi was open to culture. modern; Due to his specialization in writing children’s theatre, I suggested that he organize events to attract poets, writers, thinkers, and critics of modernity, and this is what happened in poetry evenings by Muhammad Al-Damini, Abdullah Al-Sikhan, Jarallah Al-Hamid, Thuraya Al-Arayedh, and Muhammad Al-Ali. Evenings at the association’s theater had a wide resonance in the Kingdom, and we also held a cultural symposium. About modernity, Abdullah Nour, Muhammad Al-Marzouqi, and Mishal Al-Sudairi participated in it. It was an evening to which we invite attendees, in addition to distinguished poets from Riyadh, Jeddah, and Qassim. Perhaps it was the first cultural evening for some of the modernist poets and storytellers in the Kingdom. When it moved to Dammam, Saleh Abu Haniya was chosen as president of the Culture Association. In Dammam, I worked as head of the cultural department, and we transferred the experience by attracting those interested in modernity to the Dammam branch. We attracted most of the poets, storytellers, and critics in the Kingdom, as well as a number of thinkers and specialists in the cultural, media, and academic fields. I consider my evening work at the Culture Society in Dammam a rich experience. When we hosted Qasim Haddad for a poetry evening, it was an opportunity for the lurkers and ideologues to attack me personally and write a report signed by several names, headed by the head of a government department in the eastern region. The report reached Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz and the head of youth welfare, Prince Faisal bin Fahd, demanding that I be punished, and Prince Faisal bin He watched the evening’s tape and did not find anything contradictory in it, and that everything that was said and written in the report was part of personal targeting and to stop the activities of the association in attracting those who belong to the youth and modernity movement, and the solution was the proposal of the Director General of the Society for Culture and Arts in the Kingdom, Muhammad Al-Shadi, to submit my resignation, and this is what happened.
• Why was your name withheld from (Al-Youm) when your articles appeared in Al-Sharq magazine at the time of Shaker Al-Sheikh?
•• Working with Shaker Al-Sheikh is the biggest catalyst for creativity in the field of the profession. In (Al-Sharq) magazine, we presented distinguished journalistic works in the field of culture, issues and investigations. (Al-Sharq) magazine became famous only during the era of Shaker Al-Sheikh for its excellence in presenting important journalistic works, and our plan was to search for talents. A journalist discovered and this is what happened. I did not write my name on any work in (Al-Sharq). My mission is to participate in development, propose work plans, and reformulate cultural materials, issues, investigations, and news.
• What is the most important thing you remember as an editor-in-chief who influenced your long journalistic career?
•• Certainly Sultan Al-Bazei, who was unique in moving (today) to another level of professionalism and moving from manual work; Grade, direct and edit to modern technology.
When you work with an editor-in-chief who has a strong personality and is professional and defends others and protects them from collateral damage and accountability before the Ministry of Information, you can be creative and provide a distinguished experience.. During the era of Sultan Al-Bazai, despite the short period of time, it is a milestone, and I owe him a lot of gratitude and appreciation for his personal protection of me. Despite the storms I went through.
• During a period when you ventured to write to the opinion page of Saudis and Arabs from different sects and orientations, what was the result of your adventure?
•• In the presidency of Sultan Al-Bazai, I entered a new experience, and he asked me for a plan for the opinion page with suggestions for names, and thus we attracted Turki Al-Hamad, Khaled Al-Dakhil, Abdul Mohsen Al-Akkas, Daoud Al-Sharyan, Jasser Al-Jasser, Ali Al-Amim, Najeeb Al-Khunaizi, Tawfiq Al-Saif, Muhammad Mahfouz, and some of the most illustrious names in the Arab world. Sultan Al-Bazai agreed to Names I think (today) provided premium opinion pages with good cash rewards.
I also suggested to Al-Bazai to issue a monthly file entitled (The Dialogue) in which we attracted writers, thinkers and specialists from all over the Arab world, and the idea of the file was to discuss one idea from different angles by writing articles and raising issues and investigations about the same idea… The file was distinctive and had a positive response in Saudi Arabia and abroad, and it was stopped. Work on it after two years because it is an exhausting personal effort that requires planning, follow-up, review and continuous communication.
• How do you measure the distance between working in the cultural department and supervising the opinion department?
•• Working in the cultural department requires constant knowledge and follow-up of talents, and throughout my work in the cultural department, my first goal was to provide the opportunity for new talents, highlight them, push them to the limelight, and test serious colleagues involved in managing the department. I was not accustomed to individual work, and I am not exaggerating if I say that my primary work is In journalism, forming a task force and chairing it, while setting long-term plans for continuity and maintaining quality. In the opinion pages, the work is to select good, well-known names and attract them, while adding talented names that are unknown to the reader to share the well-known names that are important in sharing the opinion page.
• What do you remember about your assignment from the newspaper’s main headquarters during the period of the Second Gulf War?
•• Due to circumstances beyond the management of the newspaper, I was asked to resign, or be dismissed, but I reached a solution with the editor-in-chief – at the time – Khalil Al-Fuzaie, which was to work in the newspaper’s office in Al-Ahsa, and I was required to receive my salary without any work, but I suggested to the editor-in-chief the page (Beaches) ) weekly, and its idea was to discuss Saudi writers about what they published in their newspapers, and thus the page succeeded because the name of its editor was not published, and I remember that I wrote about Muhammad Abdul Wahed’s book (Women and the Pack of Dogs)… I wrote about what was not mentioned in his stories included in his book, so I was surprised by a call from Muhammad Abdul Wahed blamed me because my writing caused his book to be banned from circulation.
• Who is the friend about whom you said, “Good evening, saint”?
•• He is Abdul Rahman Al-Muraikhi at his memorial evening, and Al-Muraikhi is still an irreplaceable saint.
