On Pre-Islamic Poetry by Taha Huseen (Arabic)

Taha Hussein (November 14, 1889—October 28, 1973) (nicknamed "the dean of Arabic literature")was one of the most influential Egyptian writers and intellectuals. He was a figurehead for the modernist movement in Egypt.


An important episode in his life was the writing in the 1920s of "on Pre-Islamic Poetry"  Fil-Shiʿir al-Jāhilī in which he expressed doubt about the authenticity of much of 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. 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. His book was banned but was later published with slight modifications under the title "On Pre-islamic Literature"  Fil-ʾAdab al-Jāhilī .


More about Taha Hussein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taha_Hussein

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