Refaa Rafie' Al-Tahtawi was one of the most distinguished and outstanding literary figures of his time. He was a prominent historian, translator and journalist. His ideas were too advanced for his time. Tahtawi is one of the banners of enlightenment in Egypt.

He left behind about twenty works of translations and publications which shaped the thoughts of many intellectuals and poiltical figures such as Ali Mubarak, Muhammad Abdou, Ahmed Orabi, Abd Allah Al-Nadeem and Saad Zaghloul.

BIRTH AND EDUCATION:

Tahtawi was born in Tahta, Upper Egypt, on 15 October 1801. Tahtawi is a man of noble birth.

At the age of 12, Tahtawi accompanied his family and moved from Tahta to Gerga, Qena and Farshoot.

Meanwhile, Tahtawi successfully learned how to read and write and fully memorized the Koran. When Tahtawi's father died, he returned to Tahta and lived with his maternal uncles.

Tahtawi's skills and talents were soon manifested when he joined al-Azhar University in 1817. He was deeply influenced by Sheikh Hassan Mohammed al-Attar.

Tahtawi graduated in 1823. Immediately after graduation, he worked as a teacher in Al-Azhar for two years.

Tahtawi was appointed Imam (religious head of a Muslim community) of an Egyptian battalion till 1826 and later Imam of the educational mission Mohammed Ali sent to Paris.

As of the moment Tahtawi set foot in Marseille, he decided to be more than an imam. He learnt French so that he could translate Western sciences into Arabic. It took him a month to master the rules of spelling.

As a result, Mohammed Ali decreed that Tahtawi be a member of the mission. Besides his post as an Imam, Tahtawi studied translation.

Upon his return, Tahtawi worked as a translator in the the Medicine School for two years. He was the first Egyptian holding such a position for it was completely dominated by Moroccans, Syrians and Americans. Meanwhile, Tahtawi translated many books such as "Explaining Anatomy Terminology." Besides his work at the School of Medicine, Tahtawi took the responsibility of supervising the Preparatory School of Medicine .

In 1833, Tahtawi moved to (Artillery School) in Tora where he worked as a translator of engineering and military sciences. There, he took the first step towards his dream of establishing an Egyptian university patterned on the Eastern Languages' School. As a start, Tahtawi set up the Schools of History and Geography in 1833.

Tahtawi is also considered the founder of the first Egyptian newspaper entitled "Al-Waqa'i Al-Misreya." He is indeed the father of Egyptian journalism. Tahtawi also supervised editing a military magazine in both French and Arabic.

In 1841, Tahtawi established the Translation Department as a specialized institution dealing with four branches of knowledge: mathematics, medicine and physics, social sciences and Turkish writings.

After Mohammed Ali's death, Khedive Abbas I came to power with his backward thoughts. He insinuated to the Private Council in a bid to abort Tahtawi's enlightened achievements that Tahtawi should be exiled. Tahtawi was well aware that he is in their power and knew that it was pointless to resist.

Khedive Saeed came to power after Abbas I in 1854. He declared an amnesty for those exiled to Sudan. Determined to revive the intellectual, cultural achievements of Mohammed Ali reign, Khedive Saeed appointed Tahtawi member and translator in the Municipal Council. In 1855, Tahtawi was also appointed vice president of the Military School in Al-Haud Al-Marsoud district.

Tahtawi's ambition was behind the establishment of the Accounting School in Al-Qala'a district in 1856. He was also appointed principal of the Royal Engineering and Architecture School and manager of the Educational Buildings' Authority.

During that period, he not only finalized the first project of reviving the Islamic heritage but also succeeded in publishing a large number of Arabic books.

As of 1863 to 1873, Tahtawi regained his enthusiasm. His production in the fields of education, translation and writing significantly increased. Under Khedive Ismail's reign, "Diwan Al-Madares"(the Schools' Department) was re-established and Tahtawi was chosen member.

Tahtawi is considered a ground breaker for women's emancipation, the movement to which Qassem Ameen devoted his life.