Yasmin Rifa'i noted: “Issam Mahfouz was one of five Arab playwrights lauded in the International German Encyclopedia under the auspices of the Institute of Theatrical Sciences in Vienna.” Journalism Mahfouz wrote for several publications beginning in 1959, but he is best known for his work at al-Nahar where he wrote for the cultural section from 1966 to 1996. In 1975, he moved with al-Nahar's regional and international sections to Paris, due to the civil war in Lebanon. He was introduced to Western intellectual and cultural circles in Paris whose personalities he interviewed for his paper. While in Paris, he enrolled in l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociale and earned his diplôme under Jacques Berque. His thesis was entitled “Trotskyism and Surrealism in the Arab World between the World Wars”. Criticism Mahfouz wrote several books critical of the West, including “An Arab Critic in Paris” (“Naqid Arabī Fī Barīs”,1980) for which he was labeled an ‘Occidentalist. He also wrote theater criticism of which the most prominent include “al-Masraḥ Mustaqbal al-Arabīyah” (Theater is the Future of Arabic) 1991, and Masraḥi W a-al-Masraḥ (A Playwright and The Theater) 1995. Dialogues Mahfouz wrote a number of imaginary dialogues with prominent historical figures including Ibn Arabi, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Khaldun, Jabr ibn Hayyan, Abul ‘Ala Al-Ma’arri, Abd al-Rahman Al Kawakibi, Mohammed ibn Zakariya al-Razi, and Ahmad Faris Shidyaq which were published in book form. They read like plays in potential form. Death In June 2005 Issam was admitted to the hospital after a cerebral stroke. He was partially paralyzed, but insisted on using his left hand to complete four books: al-A’māl al-Masraḥīyah, Tab’a Munaqah wa Mazid (The Dramatic Works with Additions and Revisions); Asātithātuna Fī al-Qarn al-‘Ishrīn (Our Teachers in the 20th Century); al-A’mal al-Shi’rīyah (Poetic Works), Dar al-Farabi, 2016; Riḥla Thaqafīyah fī Sab’īnat al-Qarn al-‘ishrīn Bayn al-Sharq wa-al-Maghrib (A Cultural Voyage in Nineteen-Seventies: East and West), Dar al-Bayrouni, 2006. He died on 3 February 2006 and was buried in his hometown, Marjayoun. Anniversary remembrance: On the 10th anniversary of Mahfouz’s death, American University of Beirut, Lebanese American University, and the City Theater honored Mahfouz in a joint event. During 2016 al-Zinzalakht, Limāthā, and Al-Diktātūr were produced in Beirut and other cities in Lebanon. Quotes on Mahfouz “One who produced the glory of Arabic theatre,” Pierre Abi-Saab, The Seventh Day (Paris), 11/7/1988. “Issam Mahfouz, the first modern writer through his play al-Zinzalakht gave birth