Arabic: طه حسين Born: November 14, 1889 Died: October 28, 1973 Taha Hussein is called the “Dean of Arabic literature” and was one of the most important Egypt intellectuals and writers in the 20th century. He received many prizes across the world and most of his books are translated into several languages. Hussein was born in a small village in Upper Egypt. Because of faulty treatment he became blind at the age of three, which affected his entire life. Hussein studied religion and Arabic literature at Al-Azhar University, but was reluctant to continue a traditional Islamic education. Therefore, he attended the secular Cairo University when it was founded in 1908, and was the first to graduate with a PhD in 1914. He later moved to France, where he meet his wife Suzanne, and continued his academics with an MA from Montpellier University and a PhD from Sorbonne University. Hussein held many positions throughout his life. In 1919 he became a history professor at Cairo University and later rector at Alexandria University. He was also editor-in-chief of several newspapers. Hussein's life was dedicated to education. In 1950 he was appointed Minister of Education, and his motto was, "Education is like the air we breathe and the water we drink." Husseim made many reforms. Most importantly, he established the principle of free education and the universal right to education. Historians argue that without his willingness to promote education, millions of Egyptians would have remained illiterate. Hussein wrote more than 50 novels and essays about literature, philosophy and education. Among his most famous books is his writing on Ibn Khaldun, the Tunisian sociologist, and his autobiography “The days” (al-Ayam). An important episode in his literary career was in 1926 with his writing on pre-Islamic poetry. He expressed doubts about the authenticity of traditional Arabic poetry and that the Quran could be an objective source of history. It aroused much anger and hostility from traditionalists and he was accused of insulting Islam. He eventually lost his post at Cairo University in 1931. When Hussein died, Egypt was in national mourning. The Taha Hussein Museum is located at 11 Dt. Taha Hussein St. in Giza's al-Haram (Pyramids) district. The museum is housed in the two-story villa where Hussein lived from 1955 until his death.
