Taha Hussein (Nov. 14, 1889-Oct. 28, 1973) was considered to be one of the most influential writers and intellectuals, and a founder to the modernist movement in Egypt. Hussein was born in the village of Izbet El-Kilo in El-Minia. He became blind at the age of three after contracting an eye infection that was wrongly treated. His childhood in the Upper Egyptian village, being taught in a kuttab (traditional school), is chronicled in his three-part biography, “El Ayam (The Days). He later went to study at Al-Azhar, but was discouraged by what he described as the narrow mindedness of the teachers.
When Cairo University was founded in 1908, secular institution, he earned a place, despite being blind and poor. He was the first graduate to receive a Ph.D., and he went on to become a professor of Arabic literature. He wrote many novels and essays.
Hussein has been described as a renaissance intellectual. He believed that Egyptian and Arab/Eastern civilizations were diametrically opposed, stressing that Egypt would only progress by reclaiming its ancient roots.
He was a strong proponent of the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, and he insisted that education remained free, claiming that it was a basic right for every human being. He became Minister of Education in 1950.
The Arab Image Foundation is a non-profit organization established in Lebanon in 1997. The Foundation aims to locate, collect, preserve and promote the photographic heritage of the Middle East and North Africa. You can visit their extensive collection on www.fai.org.lb,
