Taha Hussein

Taha Hussein (طه حسين)

Taha Hussein
Full name Taha Hussein (طه حسين)
Born 1889 [1]
Died 1973[1]
Era Modern literary theory
Region Egyptian philosophy
School modernism

Taha Hussein (November 14, 1889—October 28, 1973) (Arabic: طه حسين ‎) (nicknamed "Dean of Arabic Literature")[2] was one of the most influential 20th century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a figurehead for the modernist movement in Egypt.

Contents

Biography

Taha Husein was born in the village of Izbet el Kilo in Minya Governorate in central Upper Egypt. He went to a kottab, and then was sent to Al-Azhar University, where he was educated in religion and Arabic literature. From his childhood days he was reluctant to engrave the traditional education in his heart. Hussein was the seventh of thirteen children, living in a lower-middle class family. He became blind at the age of three due to a faulty treatment by an unskilled practitioner and was dealt with a great deal of anguish throughout his entire life.[3]

He met and married Suzanne Bresseau while attending the University of Montpellier in France. She was referred to as “sweet voice”. This name came from her ability to read to him as he was trying to improve his grasp of the French language. Suzanne became his wife, best friend, mother of his two children and mentor throughout his life. Taha Hussein’s children, his daughter Amina and her younger brother Moenis, both were important figures in Egypt. Amina, who died at the age of 70, was among the first Egyptian women to graduate from Cairo University. She and her brother, Moenis, translated his Adib (The Intellectual) into French. This was especially important to their father, who was an Egyptian who moved to France and learned the language. Even more importantly, the character of Adib is one of a young man who, like Taha Hussein, had to go experience the cultural shock of an Egyptian studying and living in France.[4]

Academic career

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. In 1919, he was appointed a professor of history at the Cairo University. Additionally, he was founding Rector of the University of Alexandria. He wrote many novels and essays, though in the West he is best known for his autobiography, al-Ayyam (الايام, The Days) which was published in English as An Egyptian Childhood (1932) and The Stream of Days (1943).

An important episode in his life was the writing in 1926 of On Pre-Islamic Poetry في الشعر الجاهلي Fil-Shiʿir al-Gāhilī in which he expressed doubt about the authenticity of much 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, and 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, although he lost his post at Cairu University in 1931. His book was banned but was later published with slight modifications under the title "On Pre-Islamic Literature".

Taha Hussein was an Egyptian renaissance intellectual and a proponent of the ideology of Egyptian nationalism along with what he called Pharaonism, believing that Egyptian civilization was diametrically opposed to Arab civilization, and that Egypt would only progress by reclaiming its ancient pre-Islamic roots.[5]

After Hussein obtained his MA from the University of Montpellier, one of Europe's oldest universities, he continued on with his academics and received another Ph.D at Sorbonne University, which is considered to be one of Europe's most prestigious universities. With this accomplishment, Hussein became the first Egyptian and member of the mission to receive an MA and Ph.D from France. For his doctoral dissertation, written in 1917, Hussein wrote on Ibn Khaldun, a Tunisian historian, believed to be the founder of sociology. Two years later, in 1919, Hussein made his way back to Egypt from France with his wife, Suzanne. In Egypt, he was appointed to be professor of history at Cairo University.

In 1950, Hussein was appointed as the Minister of Education, and from there was able to put his motto into motion: "Education is like the air we breathe and the water we drink." Without Taha Hussein and his willingness to promote education, millions of Egyptians would never have become literate.[6]

Taha Hussein's complete works have been published by World Book Publishing [www.wbpbooks.com] in 16 volumes (Hardcover).

Controversy

Taha Hussein led a controversial life starting in 1926, waging many battles for enlightenment, women's emancipation, and rationalism. With the 1926 the publication of Pre-Islamic Poetry, Hussein found himself on the front pages of newspapers, and his views became highly controversial in political and literary circles. He defended himself by citing French philosopher René Descartes, and pointing out how his thought renovated philosophy and science and changed the outlook of men of letters and artists in the West, claiming it could work in the East also.[4]

Quotes

Works

Taha Hussein's literary works can be divided into 3 categories:

Translations

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.frcu.eun.eg/www/scieland/taha/taha.html
  2. ↑ Ghanayim, M. (1994). "Mahmud Amin al-Alim: Between Politics and Literary Criticism". Poetics Today 15 (2): 321–338. doi:10.2307/1773168. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0333-5372(199422)15%3A2%3C321%3AMAABPA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23. Retrieved 2007-05-20. 
  3. ↑ biography, Ibid, State Information Service
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Egypt State Information Service - Prominent Novelists
  5. ↑ Gershoni, I., J. Jankowski. (1987). Egypt, Islam, and the Arabs. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 
  6. ↑ Egypt: The Ramatan, Taha Hussein Museum, Cairo, Egypt