Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Veteran journalist and former staffer of Saudi Gazette Mohammed Ibrahim, aged 70, passed away on Monday. His burial will be held at Al-Taufeeq Cemetery near Al-Thamir district in Jeddah after Asr prayer on Tuesday. Ibrahim, who was suffering from a prolonged illness, was admitted on Saturday to a private hospital where he died on Monday morning. He is survived by wife Umm Kulthoom, sons — Husamuddin, Salahuddin, and Shihabuddin and daughter Dr. Nadin, who is practicing in Wad Madani hospital in Sudan. The news of the sudden death of a fun-loving person, who spent over four decades in media in various disciplines and positions, left his family and friends in a shock. Jameel Altheyabi, editor in chief of Okaz and Saudi Gazette, joined the old colleagues of Ibrahim in offering heartfelt condolences over his death. "I am very sad to learn about the passing away of veteran translator Mohammed Ibrahim due to ailment. He will be deeply missed by his friends and colleagues in Saudi Arabia," he said while offering sincere condolences to bereaved members of his family. "Ibrahim was full of life, always smiling and cracking jokes. He had a tremendous nose for news as soon as he saw a copy he would know immediately what the story was about and how best to present it." "In life, it is very rare to meet and work with colleagues as nice and with an eternally happy frame of mind as Mohammed Ibrahim. He was always in a jovial mood and had a knack for making people like him a lot," Altheyabi remarked. Shihabuddin, his younger son, told Saudi Gazette that his father was more than an elder brother and a true friend to all of his siblings. "In the midst of suffering from severe pain due to serious liver illness, he always tried to make us happy with jokes and humor. We lost a caring father and a friend in need who was always in a jovial mood," he said. He added that in the last days, his father expressed his anguish for not having an opportunity to meet his beloved daughter Dr. Nadin who could not fly back to the Kingdom from Sudan due to coronavirus travel ban. Hailing from Sudan, Ibrahim was a well-read person, who had a penchant for reading books. He could be seen engrossed in books, in between translations of news, whenever time permitted. A veteran translator, Ibrahim showed he had a nose for news when he would pick the main points in a story and complete it by adding backgrounds and comments. He was working in the International Islamic News Agency (IINA), a specialized media organ of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) here in the eighties before he joined Arab News to work a translator/reporter and quickly brought about a new synergy in the local reporting with some quality translation. His incisive writing and impeccable translation soon provided him an opportunity in getting a job in the media department of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). After retiring from the IsDB he rejoined Arab News briefly before moving in 2012 to Saudi Gazette. Ibrahim once again took up translation and writing with Saudi Gazette till be retired in January 2020. "During our three decades association in Arab News and then in Saudi Gazette, with a brief hiatus when he was working with IsDB, I always found Ibrahim smiling and full of jokes," said L. Ramnarayan Iyer, executive editor of Saudi Gazette. Though knowledgeable about many things, he was a novice when it came to anything computers. He always shouted out "Ramu come and help" even when the MS document he was working on went into hiding, adding "I do not know what I did." Both of us enjoyed some frank discussions on world matters, but it was the personal asides that I remember even now. He had planned to retire in Cairo, where he always went in the summer, and always relived the relaxed life he would have in the cafes of Cairo and the bookshops and libraries of the Egyptian capital. In a recent talk, he had said, "but for this stupid COVID, stopping all activities, I would have gone to Cairo and relaxed," said Ramnarayan. He may not visit the Cairo alleys and cafes now, but he has gone to a better and peaceful place. May Allah in His infinite mercy provide the departed soul a place in paradise.
