Dr. Dahesh

Dr. Dahesh
Born	Salim Moussa Achi 1909 Jerusalem
Died	1984 New York
Nationality	Lebanese
Religion	Daheshism

Dr. Dahesh (in Arabic الدكتور داهش) (b. in Jerusalem in 1909 – died in New York in 1984) was the name-title and pen name of Salim Moussa Achi (in Arabic سليم موسى عشّي) founder of Daheshism.

Life

Salim Moussa Achi was born in Jerusalem on June 1, 1909, and shortly after moved with his parents to Beirut, Lebanon.

He was a Lebanese humanist, author, philosopher, and purported worker of miracles.^[1] By the age of 21, he had adopted the name Dahesh, Arabic for "inspiring wonder".

Dr. Dahesh established Daheshism as a religion in 1942. The spiritual message of Daheshism can be summarized in a belief in the existence and immortality of the spirit, reincarnation, the unity of religions and the spiritual causality and just reward (karma). His publishing career included essays, poetry, short stories, novels, and an autobiography, and exceeded 150 works.^[2]

Dahesh was imprisoned on September 9, 1944^[3] and later on stripped of his Lebanese nationality and exiled from Lebanon in 1944 during the reign of Lebanese President Bechara El Khoury. In 1953, Lebanon, the newly elected President Camille Chamoun restored his citizenship.

Dr. Dahesh died in 1984, in New York.

Art legacy

Dahesh began collecting works of art around 1930 and continued to do so for the rest of his life. Today, his art collection belongs to New York City's Dahesh Museum of Art.^[4]

He also formed the Dahesh Library, the largest private library in the Arab world, known for its literary, scientific, and artistic holdings, and for its periodical collections. The Dahesh Heritage Center, also includes the offices of the Daheshist Publishing Company, on Broadway, New York.

Literature

Dr. Dahesh authored many books :

• 1. Repose of Death Original prose version in Arabic. Poetic version by Mutlaq Abd el-Khaleq
• 2. Words of Dr. Dahesh
• 3. The Song of Songs Tr. into French by Marie Hadad, to English by Marion D. Perret & A. Watani and into German by Gisela Hajjar & revision by W. D. Fischer
• 4. The Six Goddesses Tr. into French by Dr. Georges Khabsa
• 5. Astarte & Adonis Tr. into French by Marie Hadad
• 6. The Inferno of Dr. Dahesh (volume 1)
• 7. Lightnings & Thunders
• 8. Memoirs of a Dinar Tr. into French by Marie Hadad, into German by Gisela Hajjar & revision by W. D. Fischer & Sylva Brunner and into Spanish by Carmen Ruiz Bravo Villasante
• 9. Love Song
• 10. Anthology of Dr. Dahesh's Works
• 11. Emotions & Commotions
• 12. Arrows & Spears
• 13. Winged Imagination or The Life of the Moon Dwellers Tr. into French
• 14. Strange Tales & Wondrous Legends (4 volumes) Tr. of volume 1 into German by Gisela Hajjar & revision by W. D. Fischer
• 15. My Shattered Hand
• 16. River of Tears
• 17. Memoirs of Jesus The Nazarene (volume 1) Tr. into English by A. Watani & Fares Zaatar & English editing by Dr. Marion D. Perret. Tr. into French by Marie Hadad
• 18. The Secrets of the Gods (2 volumes)
• 19. The Lyre of the Gods (2 volumes)
• 20. The Correspondence between Dr. Dahesh & Dr. Mohammad Hussein Haykal
• 21. The Knell of Sorrows or the Lamentations of Jeremiah
• 22. Humble Supplications
• 23. A Writer of Prose & a Writer of Poetry (3 volumes) Original prose by Dr. Dahesh & poetic version by Halim Dammous
• 24. The Broken Heart
• 25. The Inferno of Memories
• 26. The Lyre of Orpheus
• 27. The Enchantment of Poetic Prose
• 28. My Songs
• 29. Fleeting Mirages
• 30. The Lyre of Sorrows or Soul Weeping
• 31. The Sharp Sword Gardens of the Gods Adorned with Roses of Paradise (10 volumes)
• 32. Recollections
• 33. Joys & sorrows
• 34. Songs of a Lover
• 35. A Wanderer in Life's Wilderness
• 36. River of Pleasures
• 37. Dust & Mirage
• 38. Spirit Singing
• 39. Winged Poems
• 40. The Lyre of Love
• 41. Songs of a Worshipper Paradises of the Goddesses Set with Sacred Lotus (10 volumes)
• 42. Lover of Nymphs
• 43. Illusory Hopes
• 44. Spring of Happiness
• 45. A Poet's Melodies
• 46. Lake Songs
• 47. Mountain of Pleasures
• 48. The Wood of Violets
• 49. The Singing Nightingale
• 50. Spring Songs
• 51. The Chants of Cupid

Dr. Dahesh's Journeys Around the World

• 1. First Travel - From the East to the West with Dr. Georges Khabsa. 1969
• 2. Second Travel - The Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Italy (Rome), Malta, Libya, Cyprus & Africa. 1970
• 3. Third Travel - Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Italy (Rome). 1971
• 4. Fourth Travel - Greece (Athens), Libya and Egypt. 1971
• 5. Fifth Travel - Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Rumania, Austria, Spain and Italy. 1971
• 6. Sixth Travel - Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, West Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, England, Austria and Greece. 1972
• 7. Seventh Travel - Russia. 1972
• 8. Eighth Travel - Bulgaria, Rumania and Poland. 1972
• 9. Ninth Travel - France. 1973; France and Italy. 1974
• 10. Tenth Travel - U.S.A. (New York & Boston). 1976
• 11. Eleventh Travel - Morocco, Canada (Montreal), U.S.A. (Disney World and Cape Kennedy, Florida). 1976
• 12. Twelfth Travel - U.S.A. (California, Nevada and Arizona). 1977
• 13. Thirteenth Travel - Canada (Quebec), U.S.A. (Virginia). 1978
• 14. Fourteenth Travel - France. 1978
• 15. Fifteenth Travel - Twice to Greece. 1979 & 1980; Egypt (Cairo). 1980
• 16. Sixteenth Travel - Saudi Arabia, U.S.A. (Boston). 1980
• 17. Seventeenth Travel - France, Italy, Egypt, U.S.A.(Virginia) and Canada. 1981
• 18. Eighteenth Travel - France and Austria. 1981-1982
• 19. Nineteenth Travel - England (London), Italy, France (Paris), Canada, U.S.A. (Virginia). 1982
• 20. Twentieth Travel - England, India, France, Switzerland, Austria and Canada. 1983 (3 volumes)

References

1. ^ OneFineArt: Biography of Dr. Dahesh
2. ^ Dahesh Heritage & The Daheshist Publishing Co.
3. ^ Letter from Dahesh to Noon, his Attorner at Law
4. ^ Dahesh Museum of Art website

Further reading

• For a comprehensive review, please refer to Lutfi Radwan, the former Chief Editor of the Egyptian Magazine "Al Moussawar" and his book "The Miracles & Wonders of Dr. Dahesh", 1997, ISBN 0-935359-44-3, The Daheshist Publishing Co., NY.
• And other works by Dr. Iskandar Shaheen's book:, "Dr. Dahesh: A Man of Mystery", 2001, ISBN 1-931126-01-1, both published by The Daheshist Publishing Co., NY.

External links

• Dahesh Museum of Art
• Dahesh Heritage Bookstore
• Dahesh.org
• Daheshism.com
• Daheshville.com, Home of the Dahesh Society of America
• Daheshisme (Arabic)
• Dahesh related books Editions Levrier
• The Daheshist Calendar Converter

Persondata
Name	Dahesh
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 1, 1909
Place of birth	Jerusalem
Date of death	1984
Place of death