-Writer-
Awn Al-Sharif Qasim
Qasim (June 16, 1933 – January 19, 2006) was a prolific Sudanese writer, encyclopedist and a prominent scholar. Being one of the Sudan’s leading experts on Arabic language and literature, he strongly advocated Arabic/Islamic culture and Sudanese culture. Qasim authored more than 70 books in the area of Islamic history and civilization, Arabic literature, studies in the Sudanese dialect languages. Along with Professor Abdalla Eltayeb and Professor Abu Saleem, Qasim was considered one of the scholars who shaped the Sudanese academic scene during the last three decades of the 20th century.
In the mid nineties, he authored the Sudanese Encyclopedia of Tribes and Genealogies, a pioneer, state of the art series of books for the different Sudanese tribes, their roots and origins. With this project, the Sudanese government awarded him the most prestigious prize known as Az-Zubair Prize for Innovation and Scientific Excellence. Egyptian President Muhammad Husni Mubarak also awarded Qasim the Egyptian prestigious First Class Golden Award for scientific achievements in 1992. Qasim also authored Dictionary of Sudanese Dialects another valuable source of information on Sudanese culture. Scholars worldwide use his dictionary as a valuable reference on Sudanese dialects.