Dr. Ali Moustafa Mosharafa
Egyptian Scientist with World Renown
(1898-1950)

Mosharafa was born on 21st July 1898 in Damietta. Members of his family were known for their piety and interest in science, some were judges and others were Muftis. His father was a religious scholar who belonged to the school of Gamal-ad-Din El-Afghani and Mohammed Abdou, and wrote several commentaries on the verses of the Holy Qur'an, and was known as the originator of the fifth doctrine for his valuable independent judgement and opinion.
- Dr. Moshrafa was the youngest student of his class, but the most knowledgeable. He obtained his primary school certificate in 1910 ranking first nation-wide.
- At the age of 16, he was granted the Baccalaureate in 1914, and he was the youngest student at that time to be granted such a certificate.
- He preferred to enroll in "the teachers" college rather than the faculties of Medicine or Engineering due to his deep interest in Mathematics. He graduated in 1917.
- Due to his excellence in Mathematics, the Egyptian Ministry of Education sent him to England where he obtained B.Sc.(Honours) from Tottenham University, in 1920.
At the recommendation of the English University, the Egyptian University consented to grant Mosharafa another scholarship to complete his thesis of the Ph.D., as a boarder student.
- During his stay in London, many of his scientific researches were published in prominent science magazines.
- He was granted the Ph.D., in 1923 from the Royal College of London in the shortest permissible time according to the university regulations.
- In 1924 he was awarded DSc. "the greatest academic degree in Sciences". The first Egyptian and the 11th scientist in the entire world to obtain such advanced academic degree.
- When he returned home, he became a teacher in the Higher Teacher s' college.
- When the Egyptian University was opened in 1925, he became an assisstant professor in Mathematics in the faculty of Science because he was under the age of 30, the minimum age required for fulfilling the post of a professor.
- The issue of his promotion as a professor was raised in the parliament, then, by Saad Pasha Zagloul. The parliament paid tribute to his qualifications and merits, which surpassed those of the English dean of the faculty. In 1926 he was promoted to the degree of professor.
He was the first Egyptian professor specialist in Applied Mathematics, in the Faculty of Science. He became dean of the faculty in 1936.
- King Farouq granted him the title "Pasha", but he declined the kings offer claiming that no title is worthier than a Ph.D. in Sciences. In spite of his merits, he was denied the presidency of the university. He remained in office as a dean of the faculty of science until he died in 1950.
In 1947 "Einstein" established an institute for advanced sciences in the USA
Mosharafa was invited as a visitor and nominated by his Professor Piageur Barton Nilspor to be a professor but both the king and the government disapproved.
- He was one of the few scientists at that time who knew about the secrets of atom structure.
- In recognition of his great achievements, a laboratory and an auditorium were named after him.
- His family earmarked a sum of money as an annual reward in his name to be given to the cleverest student in mathematics.
His Achievements:
A book on the "Theory of Relativilty" translated into English, French and German. It was republished in the USA.
- Around 15 scientific books on relativity, mathematics, atom and space invasion.
His most important books are:
- We and Science
- Science and life
- Atom and Atomic Bomb
- Scientific claims
- Engineering in Pharaohs times
Dr. Mosharafa and the Scientific Movement
- He was the first to call for social reform and development based on scientific research.
- He was the first Arab scientist to know about atomic fission. It is his research on the relation between matter and radiation which made him well known. In his theory, he said:
"All natural phenomena which speed equals that of the sun is called radiation, whereas all phenomena which have little or no velocity is called matter; this means that the difference between matter and radiation is a difference in relative velocity.
As the matter in light speed is a radiation and the radiation speed in light speed is a matter. He was keen on disseminating public scientific awareness, and wrote several articles and books for the public about science in simple language, he encouraged translation into Arabic.
- He contributed in writing books on Arab scientific heritage and Arab scientific encyclopedia.
- He was against the usage of atomic energy in wars, and warned against the exploitation of science as a means of destruction.
- His relentless endeavours to explore what is new made all his research a series of discoveries. "Egypt, Europe Magazine" published a cartoon of him standing between Russia and the USA holding in his hands rolled paper, and both super powers awaiting him to unfold the secrets of science.
- Among his students was the atomist Dr. Samira Moussa.
Posthumously, the great scientist Albert Einstein said that the death of Dr. Mosharafa was a big loss. He was really great. I was following all his research as he was, undoubtedly, one of the most eminent scientists in physics . In addition, the English scientist Nales Pour said, Dr Mosharafa was a real professor'.
Sir Oyen Richardson, a professor in London University, said it goes without saying that Dr. Mosharafa was one of the most distinguished scientists in physics. Thus, his death was a real loss, not only in Egypt, but also in the whole world. I waited for the completion of many of the research he was doing. Yet, his death was a real loss that seriously paniced me'.

Nipor: An Eyewitness to the Egyptian Civilization

* Christian Nipor, the German explorer, was not affected by the writings of his European counterparts about life in Egypt, which they described as life of backwardness and dictatorship. Rather, Nipor was an eyewitness to life in the Egyptian society in the 18th century. His book, A Voyage to the East', is remarkably important as it features aspects of life in the East; its values, customs, traditions, achievements and political and economic systems.

In this book, Nipor stressed that Egypt, at that time, had been enjoying freedom of thought, democracy and human rights not to mention the march of industrialization and the flourishing of theatrical arts that the West claims as its exclusive innovation.
* Nipor's testimonial acquires special importance in light of the fact that it comes at a time when European explorers were unfair towards the East, and when they mingled with spies and antiquity dealers and were driven by romanticism as well as curiosity and colonization motives.

His testimonial also preceded the French campaign that rediscovered Egypt and the East. It has a historic value as well as it accounts for an era when the East was under the reign of the Ottoman Empire and was suffering political crises as Europe was about to dominate the world. Nipor's voyage began on December 4, 1761, aboard the Danish steamship Green Land'. The voyage was sponsored by King Fredrick of Denmark.

Five scientists of three different nationalities, specialists in Geography, Languages, Natural Sciences and Medicine and an artist, participated in the voyage which was supervised by the Danish foreign minister. As such, the voyage acquired a political nature.

After 18 months, the steamship arrived at Alexandria with Nipor, the sole survivor aboard. All his colleagues drowned. The voyage ended on Novemebr 20, 1767. It included Yemen, India, Iran, Oman, Iraq, Jerusalem, Damascus and Hegaz in addition to Alexandria. At the end of the voyage, Nipor returned to Denmark alone with rare maps, samples, diaries and manuscripts.

The cost of the voyage amounted to about 50,000 sterlings. Nipor wrote his account of the voyage in three volumes. His writings were coloured by his nature as an artist and a scientist, and as such, the book was not that documentary. He showed a profile of Egypt that the Europeans failed to depict in their writings.

A Lover of Egypt
Nipor's love of Egypt is apparent through his writings. He described Egypt as a country overly populated, well-known and frequently cited in the history of the East. Nipor voiced surprise over the sophistication of industry, especially ammonia production. He even referred to Egyptian cities in the same way Egyptians do. He drew a map of Cairo and adjacent cities such as Giza, Boulaq and Misr Al-Qadima.
It was a grave and daunting task, as Europeans were not allowed to undertake such a task. He measured the streets by his footsteps and used a compass to show directions. His maps were uniquely accurate. He also described the districts of Cairo where craftsmen work.

Egyptian Democracy
Nipor described political life in Egypt during his visit when it was an Ottoman Wilayet (province) under the self-rule of Mamlukes. At that time, there was a serious conflict between Mohamed Abu-El-Dahab and Mohamed Ali El-Kabir; the two poles of the Mamlukes. Despite such a conflict, there was a kind of representative democracy where the diwan (governmental bureau) sent a representative to the wali (governor) to inform him that he was discharged of office by laying a red carpet under his feet.

Nipor described the diwan as submissive to governmental ideas as it comprises beys (high-ranking officials), chiefs of the army, dignitaries of Cairo, sheikhs of Al-Azhar and top craftsmen. It often happened that the Egyptians, represented in the diwan, removed the wali appointed by the Sultan. Nipor, who witnessed many such incidents during his frequent visits to Cairo, said that while the wali was entitled to appoint high-ranking officials, the diwan nominated the employees.

Security in Cairo
Nipor said that Cairo was teeming with feudal lords protected by private guards and with declared and secret parties as well. Despite competition among rivals over power, security was strongly enforced. Murder and robbery rates were not that high. Every craft had its own master. Even thieves had a master through whom the person robbed can restore stolen belongings in return for a reward. Control over the market was tight. Inspectors used to roam the streets and markets, day and night, to check that goods are satisfactory, weights and measures are observed and prices are fair. The several gates at districts entries were usually closed in case a dispute erupts between leading figures to keep the masses away from the conflict.  Nipor said that there were no newspapers that expressed public opinion. He added that the Egyptians, in that early stage thirty years before the French campaign, had apprehension of the West.

He accurately described the relationship between the East and the West by depicting it as a meeting in the middle of a slope, as the East was descending from the top and the West making its way towards it.

Peoples of the East were trying to close ranks to put an end to deterioration and face the challenges imposed by the West. However, conflicts and disunity constituted serious obstacles. Moreover, the Ottomans were seeking to keep the situation as it was. Nipor described the Arabs as a civilized nation. He said that Europeans were looked at with fear, doubt and hostility. They were not allowed to ride donkeys in Cairo.
They had to dismount whenever they were met by a bey from Cairo's elite. Consuls were only allowed to ride horses when they were heading to meet the Pasha. It was the habit that the boat with Europeans aboard lit a lamp to indicate that there were foreigners.

Nipor said there was not any European merchants in Damietta. French sailors were not allowed to land on the city. They were represented by an agent there. This was due to the painful memories the people of Damietta had towards the Europeans because of the Crusades. That's why Nipor had to wear Turkish apparel.

Antiquity Thieves
Nipor revealed the role of Jews in the smuggling of Egyptian antiquities. He said mummies were smuggled from Alexandria to Europe aboard Italian ships, especially after posts of customs officers were mostly held by Jews. At first, smuggling mummies was daunting as it was perceived as a violation of the sanctity of the dead.

Egyptian Generosity
Nipor lauded Egyptian generosity. He said that Egypt's governors and the rich were more interested in religious endowments than sultans of Costantinople.
He cited a story of an old poor man who was provided food and shelter over a whole year in several mosques. Nipor also praised the advanced health care provided in the Maristan' (Neurology Hospital) where music was used as a therapy. Nipor described inns, Khans (agencies), public spas and sabils (public fountains).
Egyptian Theatre Nipor refuted the allegation that theatre and drama arts are not of the Arab arts. Nipor said that there were several big troupes.