Mohammed Al-Arousi Al-Mutawi (Arabic: محمد العروسي; January 19, 1920 – July 25, 2005) was a Tunisian author and politician. He wrote research papers, stories, and novels, including Bitter Berries.
Mohammed Al-Arousi Al-Mutawi attended primary school in his hometown. Afterward, he attended a French-Arabic school before traveling to Tunisia, where he obtained his primary certificate in 1935.[1] He then studied at Zitouna University. Al-Mutawi achieved various olive certificates, the Certificate of Eligibility in 1940, an achievement in 1943 that corresponds to completing secondary education, and a Universality Certificate in 1946. He continued studying Tunisian law and got his degree in 1946, alongside a Bachelor's degree in Islamic research in 1947[2] from the Khaldooni Institute.
In 1948, Al-Mutawi taught debate at The Great Mosque. He later joined its faculty, where he taught literature and history using modern curricula. After Tunisia's independence in 1956, he served as ambassador to Iraq. He was the first Tunisian ambassador in Baghdad, serving in Egypt and Saudi Arabia until 1963.[3] In 1964, he was elected to the Tunisian Parliament for four years.
Al-Mutawi was a founding member and president of The Abu Al-Qasim Al-Shabib al-Shari'a Cultural Club from the 1960s to the beginning of the 21st century.
He was a founding member of the Union of Tunisian Writers, where he served as editor-in-chief from 1981 to 1991.
He was editor-in-chief and franchisee of Stories magazine since 1966.
Al-Mutawi contributed to Tunisian writing with newspaper articles, literary studies, short stories, novels, plays, children's stories, and heritage achievements. He has written the following pieces:[4]
Bitter Berries, a novel first published in the Tunisian Publishing House in 1967, was considered among the top 105 Arabic novels by the Arab Writers Union
Abu Ta'id – The Conceitfish – Anz Qaison – Fairy Ibn al-Azraq – Shaatat Atit (1967–1968)
Donkey Gettis (1972)
Prince of Zanzibar (1976)
Al-Wefaq – Broken Bow – The Great Dam – Khaf Hanin (1980–1981)
Do You Like Sugar, Rooster on the Tree, on the Beach, Mimi, TV, Chicken, Bear, Doll, Mother of Birds, Kono Greed, Feather Fan, the Palace of Wonders (Balchra)
A library was dedicated to him and an annual seminar is held under the title "Mohammed al-Arousi Folded Forum for Arab Literature and Civilization," the third session of which was held on March 24 and 25, 2010.[5]