Hussein Bikar

Hussein Bikar represents rare combination of artist and distinguished critic. Bikar is known not only for his portraits but also as a talented caricaturist. Bikar remained faithful to traditional models of portraiture and throughout a long career had no shortage of sitters happy for the artist to produce his realistic portraits which often, too, included details culled from ancient Egyptian. Bikar was born in Alexandria, Egypt on 2 January 1913.

After graduating from Cairo's legendary Faculty of Fine Arts in 1933, he became a teaching assistant the same year, then a Director of the Photography department. Bikar subsequently became a Professor in the Painting Department, and ultimately IT’S Chair.

In 1945 He began his career in journalism when he became one of the founding fathers of the prestigious Akhbar Al-Yom newspaper, doing drawings often accompanied by his own vernacular poems. Bikar became a towering figure on the Egyptian arts scene in late 1950.

In January, 1952 he was instrumental in starting a weekly children's magazine Al-Sindbad, for which he was--along with "Sarookhan" and "Rakha"--its main cartoonist and illustrator.



In 1959, Bikar abandoned a teaching career to work in journalism as an illustrator and cartoonist: known for his sensuous, elongated lines, Bikar's work broke new ground in media art and was both accessible and sophisticated. He was also an outstanding musician, and during his career as an artist and critic at Al-Akhbar, he often sought out and encouraged young talents.


Bikar was also one of the founders of Cairo's Helwan Wax Museum. Over the years, Mr. Bikar had taught thousands of students at the Faculty of Fine Arts and became Egypt's most celebrated painter. His talent and artistic excellence became recognized worldwide.

The Helwan Wax Museum is a small public museum located in the Cairo, Egypt suburb of Helwan, close to the Ain Helwan Metro station. It contains exhibits of wax sculptures demonstrating important figures from Egyptian history and idealized traditional Egyptian culture.

Bikar, has been very much in the lime light as most publications in Egypt have been dedicating special sections to pay tribute to a long and distinguished career.

Bikar was honored with several awards including, the State Merit award in 1978, the Merit Medal award in 1980, Finally in June 2000 the Presidential Award from the Egyptian President Mr. Mubarak. He donated the full LE 100,000 of his prize to the Children's Cancer Hospital in Cairo.

Bikar became attracted to the Baha'i Faith in the 1930s and accepted it shortly after as his religion. He became a staunch supporter of its Institutions, and upholder of its principles. He also served on its key administrative functions. In the 1980s He was repeatedly interrogated and arrested simply because he was a Baha'i. Despite his numerous contributions to Egyptian Society, he died without having access to an Egyptian identity card because of his beliefs in the Baha’i Faith.

Bikar is widely regarded as a classic of modern Egyptian painting. Selections from his work can be seen at the Egyptian Modern Art Museum in Gezira, Cairo and the local museum of El-Gouna
El-Gouna
El Gouna is a tourist resort, developed and owned by Orascom Hotels and Development, dating from about 1990, It is located on the Red Sea in Egypt, 22 km north of Hurghada International Airport.


"I opened a window for hope to seep onto a dark soil a dough mixed with blood and a martyr The setting sun glimpsed through a crack in the prison wall through the wire and the iron it crept and there my vision started All at once I looked up a flight of pigeons filled the distance As though someone was celebrating a feast unveiling a happiness I praised the ways of God transforming the ancient a new this land, this Egypt awakens too, from old decrepit age, sheds all wrinkles and is again a youthful bride."

Hussein Bikar

موال ربيعي فتحت شباك الأمل على ارض سمرة معجونة بدم الشهيد ولمحت شمس الأصيل مسجونة جوه قفص من سلك وحديد وفجأة بصيت لفوق لقيت أسراب الحمام مليا القريب والبعيد وفرحانة بالوشوش اللي بتبنيها وكأنه مهرجان أو عيد قلت سبحانك يارب قادر تبدل العتيق بالجديد وتصبح مصر عروسه زمانها شباب من غيرتجاعيد

حسين بيكار

The Bahá’í Faith

The Bahá’í Faith is a world religion whose purpose is to unite all the races and peoples in one universal Cause and one common Faith.

Bahá’ís are the followers of Bahá’u’lláh, Who they believe is the Promised One of all Ages. The traditions of almost every peo­ple include the promise of a future when peace and har­mony will be established on earth and humankind will live in prosperity.

Bahá’ís believe that the promised hour has come and that Bahá’u’lláh -Whose title means the Glory of God- is the great Personage Whose Teachings will enable humanity to build a new world. In one of His Writings, Bahá’u’lláh says:

“That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith.” (Gleanings, p. 255)

God is un­knowable in His Essence

Bahá’u’lláh explains that God is un­knowable in His Essence. This means that people should not make images of God in their minds, thinking of Him, for example, as a man. In general, that which has been cre­ated cannot understand its creator.

For instance, a table cannot understand the nature of the carpenter who made it. The carpenter’s existence is totally incomprehensible to the objects he makes.

God is the Creator of all things. He has made the heavens and earth, with its mountains and valleys, its de­serts and seas, its rivers, its meadows and trees. God has created the animals and God has created the human be­ing. The reason behind our creation, is love. Bahá’u’lláh says:

“O Son of Man! I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.” (The Hidden Words, Arabic No. 4)

The Eternal Covenant

So although God’s existence is far be­yond our understanding, His love touches our lives and our beings ceaselessly. The way this love flows to us is through His Eternal Covenant. According to this Eternal Covenant, God never leaves us alone and without guid­ance. Whenever humanity moves away from Him and for­gets His Teachings, a Manifestation of God appears and makes His Will and Purpose known to us.

The Manifestation of God

The word “manifest” means to reveal, to bring forth something that was not known before. The Manifestations of God are those special Beings Who reveal to humanity the Word and the Will of God; thus when we listen to Them, we are responding to the Call of God.

There is an example from the physical world that helps us to understand the concept of “Manifestation” as taught by Bahá’u’lláh. In this world, the sun is the source of all warmth and light, without which life would not exist on the planet. Yet the sun itself does not descend to earth, and if we tried to approach it, we would be totally consumed.

But suppose we take a well-polished mirror and point it towards the sun. In it we will see the image of the sun, and the more perfectly polished the mirror, the more perfect the image will be. The Mani­festations of God are like perfect Mirrors that reflect the Light of God in all its Splendor. And all these Mirrors re­flect the same Light. While God is beyond our reach, these perfect Beings come to us from time to time, live among us, give us guidance, and fill us with the energy we need to progress, materially and spiritually.

Bahá’u’lláh is The Manifestation of God for this Age

Bahá’ís believe that all the religions teach the same truth. The only difference between them is that each have appeared in a different time in the history of humanity in order to help people to be educated according to the needs of that time. Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings are in perfect harmony with the Teachings of all previous religions, such as Christianity, and Islam, but they address the condition of humanity today. If we think for a moment about the plight of humanity, we will agree that the time is right for another Manifestation of God to have appeared. This is a passage from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh that speaks about the Day in which we live:

“This is the Day in which God’s most excellent favors have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness.” (Gleanings, p. 6)

Purpose of the Bahá’í Faith: Unity

The aim of the Bahá’í Faith is to unify humanity. Bahá’ís believe that, we are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch. Although we differ from one another physically and emotionally, although we have different talents and capacities, we all spring from the same root; we all belong to the same human family.

Humanity can be likened to a vast garden in which grow side by side flowers of every form, color and perfume. The charm and beauty of the garden lie in this diversity. We should not allow the differences that exist among us—in our physical characteristics, our temperaments, our backgrounds, our thoughts and opinions—to give rise to conflict and strife. We should see the members of the human race as beautiful flowers growing in the garden of humanity and rejoice in belonging to this garden.

“Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.”

What dose it mean to be a Bahá’í ?

“ To be a Bahá’í simply means to love all the world, to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.”

What dose a Bahá’í do ?

A Bahá’í is committed to work for unity and peace. In order to build unity a Bahá’í tries to think, talk and act in a way that eliminates all forms of prejudice, promotes justice, equality of women and men, universal education, and human dignity.

Although the oneness of humankind is an undeniable truth, the peoples of earth are so far from it that unifying them is no easy task. Bahá’ís are all striving to bring their thoughts and actions in line with their belief in the oneness of humankind. Bahá’ís are told that, when a thought of war enters their minds, they should immediately replace it with a thought of peace. When a feeling of hate begins to take shape in their hearts, they should immediately replace it with a feeling of love. Bahá’ís should do everything possible to overcome their prejudices. Prejudices of race, color, nationality, culture, religion, and sex, these are among the greatest obstacles to building a better world. This is a passage from the Bahá’í Writings teaches how to walk in the ways of unity and how to help others take the same path.

“Bahá’u’lláh has drawn the circle of unity, He has made a design for the uniting of all the peoples, and for the gathering of them all under the shel­ter of the tent of universal unity. This is the work of the Divine Bounty, and we must all strive with heart and soul until we have the reality of unity in our midst, and as we work, so will strength be given unto us.” (Paris Talks, p. 46)