Taha Hussein

Taha Hussein was one of the most influential Egyptian writers and intellectuals of the 20th century. He was a pioneer of the modernist movement in Arabic literature, and a champion of cultural reform and enlightenment. He was born in a poor village in Upper Egypt, and became blind at the age of two. He received his early education at a traditional Islamic school, but later enrolled in the secular Cairo University, where he obtained his PhD in 1914. He then pursued further studies in France, where he was exposed to Western culture and philosophy. He returned to Egypt in 1919 and became a professor of Arabic literature at Cairo University. He also served as the president of the Academy of the Arabic Language and the minister of education. He wrote extensively on various topics, such as history, philosophy, religion, politics, and culture. He was especially known for his critical analysis of pre-Islamic poetry, his autobiography Al-Ayyam (The Days), and his novels that depicted the social and political realities of Egypt. He was a strong advocate of the assimilation of modern European culture into the Egyptian and Arab identity, and he faced fierce opposition from religious conservatives for his views. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 21 times, and he received many honors and awards for his contributions to Arabic literature and culture. He died in 1973 at the age of 83.