Farouk Musatafa Obituary

Name: Prayer Service for Farouk Musatafa
Location: Muslim Community Center

Farouk Abdel Wahab Musatafa, 70, passed away in the early morning of April 3, 2013, following a brief illness. He was born in Tanta, Egypt, and was educated at the University of Cairo, completing his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota. From 1975 he taught Arabic language and literature at the University of Chicago, most recently as the Ibn Rushd Professorial Lecturer of Arabic; he was the mainstay of the Arabic program at the U of C and the beloved teacher of generations of students. He was also a proud citizen of the US and resident of Chicago, and a longtime member of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. He is survived by his son, Alaa Bendary, of St. Louis; by his wife, Kay Heikkinen, of Chicago; by his sister Suheir, his brother Safa, and many cherished nieces and nephews in Cairo; and by his beloved colleagues and students at the U of C. The funeral prayer will be given after the noon prayer, Sunday, April 7, at the Muslim Community Center (after 1 pm), with burial following at Rosehill Cemetery. May God have mercy on Farouk and bless him and give him peace.

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Published by Chicago Tribune on Apr. 6, 2013.

Memories and Condolences
for Farouk Musatafa

6 Entries

April 20, 2013

You will never be forgotten ya Ustadhi al-atheem! ma fish tariqah munasibah lil-tabeer shukri

Lisa Logan

April 9, 2013

Farouk was my Arabic II professor in 1980-81. At his request, our class would stand at attention when he first entered the classroom and shout out in our best Arabic, "Long live the Third World!" We would all then dissolve in gales of laughter. He was such a fun person, and full of kindness and compassion. He even recommended me for a scholarship at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.. We reconnected on Facebook thirty years later, and he would often send me petitions to sign about various Middle Eastern causes dear to his heart. As a Sufi mystic (really?), he was delighted when the Whirling Dervishes of Istanbul performed in the U of C Chapel in 1981. Once when I got way behind in my homework, I went to see him at his office hours the day before a big chapter test. I had written down about 10 questions to ask him on grammar points I did not understand. After about an hour, I left. Imagine my surprise the next morning when I saw the exam was ten questions long---the very ten grammar questions I had asked him the day before! What a great guy. I'll always remember him with utmost admiration and fondness. RIP, dear Farouk.

Rasmea Yousef

April 8, 2013

Dr. Farouk Mustafa is not just a dear friend to everyone recognized him, but also more than that. He was a powerful example, humble and inspiring those who met him even for first time. Dr. Mustafa has been enthusiast of Arabic language. I still remember when I was invited by one of his Arabic students to give an Arabic speech to his entire Arabic students department at the University of Chicago. When I finished he thanked me warmly and said: "I have been worried about the speech to be difficult to deliver the information to the students and to be difficult for them to understand. The Arabic language is like a beautiful piece of music to enjoy it depends on the musician. I am very proud of you and your Arabic style. You combined the vernacular and classical Arabic in a creatively, easy and powerful style at the same time. I enjoyed to listening to you. Your Arabic style and speech was as oriental musicians, who played the Oud (Arabic musical instrument) gently and provide a grandeur enjoyable piece of music. Continue make sure to keep the integrity of your Arabic language, it is an inexhaustible treasure. I felt proud and respectful of him! He went to the mercy of God, but his production, ideas and the education he provided remain immortal light the path to the generations that knew or did not know him yet.
Hope God helps his wife, sun, sister, brother, nieces and nephews, all his relative and friends to face this grieve.
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Adel & Nour Sweiss Michael

April 6, 2013

Dr. Mustafa was our dear friend for the last thirty years and was our best advisor in the Arabic language translation. We are going to miss him a lot.
Adel and Nour Sweiss Michael-Chicago

Andrew Alger

April 6, 2013

As a professor, Farouk never failed to show his students what was truly beautiful about Egypt. Even as the second oldest member of the department, you could hear his voice booming down the hallway. I dare say he had more energy than most of his students. He will be sorely missed. Rest in Peace, yaa Ustaaz!

Li Guo

April 6, 2013

I will always remember him as the one who called to offer me the very first job after graduate school. The Chinese believe that in one's life there are a few "gui ren (noble person)" to bring you luck and blessings--Farouk for me was one of these gui ren. Rest well, Farouk

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