Mohammed Hussein Heikal
Egyptian writer (1888–1956)
Mohammed Hussein Heikal (Arabic: محمد حسين هيكل Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mæˈħæmmæd ħeˈseːn ˈheːkæl]; August 20, 1888 – December 8, 1956) was an Egyptian writer, journalist, politician. He held several cabinet posts, including minister of education. He was the first Egyptian, Arab, Middle Easterner and African to earn a Habilitation from the Sorbonne University. He was the author of the first arabic language novel and the first to write about prophet Muhammad and Caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman from a scientific perspective.
Life
Haekal was born in Kafr Ghannam, Mansoura, Ad-Daqahliyah Governorate in 1888. He obtained a B.A. in Law in 1909 and a Ph.D. from the Sorbonne University in Paris in 1912. While a student in Paris, he composed what is considered the first authentic Egyptian novel, Zaynab. After returning to Egypt, he worked as a lawyer for 10 years, then as a journalist. He published articles in Al Jarida. He was the cofounder of Al Siyasa newspaper, the organ of the Liberal Constitutionalist party for which he was also an adviser and was also elected as its editor-in-chief.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Mohammed Hussein Heikal” as egyptian writer (1888–1956). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as egyptian writer (1888–1956). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2362588. VIAF identifies the subject as 66579958. The Library of Congress control number is n82036376. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1888, 1956, 1909 and 1912.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mohammed Hussein Heikal” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.