Hajjah Fatimah al-Rifai: A respected literary salon hostess

Among the many salons that sprouted in Lebanon, a lesser-known one was hosted by a Muslim woman called Hajjah Fatimah al-Rifai beginning in 1927. Though she was religious, al-Rifai hosted her circle for both men and women three times a month, defying some of the social norms of the “conservative circles” of her time. The crowd frequenting the salon reportedly conversed about literary issues until the early hours of the morning.(1)Jūzīf Zaydān, Arab Women Novelists: The Formative Years and Beyond, Albany, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1995, p.53..