Taha Hussein Quotes

Egyptian writer and literary critic (1889–1973)

Taha Hussein (November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was among the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a leading figure of the Arab Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Arab world.

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

It seems to me that there are two distinctly different and bitterly antagonistic cultures on the earth. Both have existed since time immemorial, the one in Europe, the other in the Far East.

We do not wish, nor are we able, to break the link between ourselves and our forefathers. To the degree that we establish our future life upon our past and present we shall avoid most of the dangers caused by excesses and miscalculations deriving from illusions and dreams.

...new Egypt will not come into being except from the ancient, eternal Egypt. I believe further that the new Egypt will have to be built on the great old one, and that the future of culture in Egypt will be an extension, a superior version, of the humble, exhausted, and feeble present.

I do not like illusions. I am persuaded that it is only God who can create something from nothing.

Knowledge is like water and air: it is every citizen's right to enjoy it for free.