Mustafa Abd al-Raziq

Scion of a prominent Upper Egyptian family and disciple of Muhammad Abduh, Mustafa Abd al-Raziq studied at Al-Azhar before spending four years in France studying sociology and philosophy at the Sorbonne. In 1927, he was appointed the first professor of Islamic philosophy at Cairo University.

His landmark work Tamhid li-Tarikh al-Falsafa al-Islamiyya proved that rationalist speculative philosophy was indigenous to Islamic civilization, not a mere translation of Greek thought. Appointed Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in 1945, he spearheaded curriculum modernization until his passing in 1947.