12 Facts About Youssef Ziedan

Youssef Ziedan was born on June 30,1958 and is an Egyptian writer and scholar who specializes in Arabic and Islamic studies.

Youssef Ziedan is a public lecturer, columnist, and prolific author of more than 50 books.

Youssef Ziedan is director of the Manuscript Center and Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Youssef Ziedan has worked as a consultant in the field of Arabic heritage preservation and conservation in a number of international institutions, including UNESCO, ESCWA, and the Arab League, and has directed a number of projects aimed at the identification and preservation of Arabic manuscript heritage.

Youssef Ziedan moved with his grandfather to Alexandria when he was still a child and was raised and educated there.

Youssef Ziedan obtained his PhD degree in 1989 for his dissertation on The Qadiri Sufi Order, with a study and edition of the poetical works of Abdul Qadir al-Jilani.

Youssef Ziedan has placed consistent emphasis on the study of Ibn Arabi and Abdul Karim al-Jili, regarded as two of the most important figures of philosophical Sufism in the history of Islam.

Youssef Ziedan thinks that the parable of Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, for instance, with its many versions and interpretations by such important figures as Avicenna, Ibn Tufayl, al-Suhrawardi and Ibn al-Nafis, is a source for understanding Islamic philosophy on its own terms.

Youssef Ziedan has studied the Arabic translations, commentaries and annotations on Hippocrates and Galen especially.

Furthermore, his studies on Ibn al-Nafis and his critical edition of his grand medical encyclopedia al-Shamil fil Sina'a al-Tibbiyya catapulted Youssef Ziedan into being considered an Ibn al-Nafis expert.

Youssef Ziedan sees cataloguing as an ars maior that has not received the attention it deserves.

Youssef Ziedan's novels have been translated into English, French, Italian and Russian, among other languages.