Taha Hussein

Taha Hussein (wiki.com)

Taha Hussein was an Egyptian writer who educated people, and wrote novels. He was born on November 4, 1889 in a mill town in Egypt. He became blind at the age of three from a combination of eye disease and folk medicine. Hussein overcame poverty and blindness to become a leading cultural and public figure in Egypt. He served as minister of education in 1951 and 1952. He went to Cairo to attend Al-Azhar, the Muslim university that served as a theological seminary to much of the Muslim world, after completing his studies at the village where he lived.

Although he became blind at a young age, he still went to school and studied hard. “He went to the Egyptian University where he learned about the Egyptian and European cultures. He received his first doctorate by the university for his thesis on Abu-l-Ala all Maarri, the blind Syrian philosopher.” Because of his perseverance and his hard work, Hussein won a scholarship in a University in France. Hussein wrote individual volumes that had life lessons for people. "The Future of Culture in Egypt reflects Hussein's appreciation of Western culture and urges Egyptians to adapt to modern life.” Taha Hussein liked literature. He wrote short stories, novels, and he educated people. In 1951-52 He served as the minister of education. He explained in his writings how the educational and cultural policies were bad during his time. He believes that "Egypt was part of the Mediterranean culture and hence any attempt to orientalize it was a dangerous error."

Hussein is my hero because of his hard work to achieve his goals, even though he had many difficulties to achieve them. The life of Taha Hussein is a good example to everyone; he was born in disadvantaged situations but still was successful in his life. If I was him, I would’ve been discouraged because of the surrounding conditions. He was poor, blind, and was offered bad education, but became the minister of education and earned his doctorate from France.