Taha Hussein (1889- 1973) (nicknamed "the dean of Arabic literature") was one of the most influential Egyptian writers and intellectuals. He was a figurehead for the modernist movement in Egypt.
Taha Hussein was born in the village of Izbet el Kilo (ُعزبه الكيلو) in Minya Governorate in central Upper Egypt. He contracted an eye infection as a child, and faulty treatment rendered him blind at the age of three. He went to an Islamic kuttab (a traditional school where children learn to read, write, and recite the Quran), and then was sent to Al-Azhar University, where he was educated in religion and Arabic literature.
When the secular Cairo University was founded in 1908, he was keen to enter, and despite being blind and poor he earned a place. In 1914, he became the first graduate to receive a Ph.D., with a thesis on the skeptic poet and philosopher Abu-Alala' Al-Ma'ari. He went on to become a professor of Arabic literature there.
He met Suzane, his wife, while studying in France, where he obtained a B.A. from University of Montpellier and a second PhD from the Sorbonne in 1917, with a thesis on the 14th century historian Ibn Khaldun. She read to him as not all of his references were available in Braille. After Taha died in October, 1973, she published Ma'ak (With You), which chronicled their life together. Before his death, he was awarded the United Nations Human Rights Award.
In 1919, he was appointed a professor of history at the Cairo University. Additionally, he was founding Rector of the University of Alexandria. He was appointed as a professor of Roman and Greek history in Cairo University, and became the Dean of the Faculty of Literature on 1930. He was expelled from his position on 1932 as a result of refusing to endorse the certificate of Honoree Ph. D. for Political leaders. On 1950 he was appointed as a minister of education during which he advocated the necessity of free education for every citizen.
An important episode in his life was the writing in the 1920s of "on Pre-Islamic Poetry" في الشعر الجاهلي in which he expressed doubt about the authenticity of much of traditional Arabic poetry, claiming that it may have been faked during ancient times due to tribal pride and competition between those tribes. In this book, he also hinted indirectly that the Quran should not be taken as an objective source of history. Naturally this book aroused the intense anger and hostility of al-Azhar and many other traditionalists. He was prosecuted with the accusation of insulting Islam, but the public prosecutor stated that what Taha Hussein said was the opinion of an academic researcher and no legal action was taken against him. His book was banned but was later published with slight modifications under the title "On Pre-islamic Literature" في الأدب الجاهلي.
Taha Hussein was an Egyptian renaissance intellectual and a proponent of the ideology of Pharaonism, believing that Egyptian and Arab/Eastern civilizations were diametrically opposed, and stressing that Egypt would only progress by reclaiming its ancient roots.
He was a strong proponent of enlightenment, respect for reason, and women’s emancipation, and he insisted that education remained free, claiming that it was a basic right for every human being, announcing "knowledge is like water and air." He became Minister of Education in 1950, and the new government subsequently made primary education ex gratia, which is still in effect today.
He wrote many novels and essays, though in the West he is best known for his autobiography, El-Ayyam which was published in English as An Egyptian Childhood (1932) and The Stream of Days (1943).
His literary works can be divided into 3 categories:
Studies of Arabic and Islamic literature and culture.
Fictional literary works centered on social commentary attacking poverty and ignorance.
Political articles published in the two journals of which he was editor-in-chief.
The Memory of Abu El Alaa 1915
Selected Poetical Texts of the Greek Drama 1924
Ibn Khaldun's Philosophy 1925
Dramas by a Group of the Most Famous French Writers 1924
Pioneers of Thoughts 1925
Wednesday Talk 1925
On Pre-Islamic Poetry 1926
In the Summer 1933
The Days "3 Volumes" 1933
Hafez and Shawki 1933
The Prophet's Life "Ala Hamesh El Sira" 1933
Curlew's Prayers 1934
From a Distance 1935
Adeeb 1935
The Literary Life in the Arabian Peninsula 1935
Together with Abi El Alaa in his Prison 1935
Poetry and Prose 1936
Bewitched Palace 1937
Together with El Motanabi 1937
The Future of Culture in Egypt 1938
Moments 1942
The Voice of Paris 1943
Sheherzad's Dreams 1943
Tree of Misery 1944
Paradise of Thorn 1945
Chapters on Literature and Criticism 1945
The Voice of Abu El Alaa 1945
Osman "The first Part of the Greater Sedition
"El Fitna Al Kubra" 1947
Spring Journy 1948
The Tortured of Modern Conscience 1949
The Divine Promise "El Wa'd El Haq" 1950
The Paradise of Animals 1950
The Lost Love 1951
From There 1952
Varieties 1952
In The Midst 1952
Ali and His Sons (The 2nd Part of the Greater Sedition" 1953
(Sharh Lozoum Mala Yalzm, Abu El Alaa) 1955
Anatagonism and Reform 1955
Criticism and Reform 1956
Our Contemporary Literature 1958
Mirror of Islam 1959
Summer Nonsense 1959
On the Western Drama 1959
Talks 1959
Al-Shaikhan (Abi Bakr and Omar Ibn El Khatab) 1960
From Summer Nonsense to Winter Seriousness 1961
Reflections 1965
Beyond the River 1975
Words 1976
Tradition and Renovation 1978
From the Other Shore 1990
Books and Author 1980
Jules Simon's The Duty 1920-1921
Athenians System (Nezam Al-Ethnien) 1921
The Spirit of Pedagogy 1921
Dramatic Tales 1924
Andromaque (Racine) 1935
From the Greek Dramatic Literature (Sophocle) 1939
Voltaire's Zadig or (The Fate) 1947
André Gide: From Greek
Legends' Heroes
Sophocle-Oedipe 1947