Liberal course of public thought on the re-form of religious education in Egypt in the inter-war period (1919-1939)

The article is based on the writings of representatives of the liberal current of social thought in Egypt during the interwar period (1919-1939) - Tahi Hussein (1889-1973), Muhammad Hussein Heykal (1888-1956), Abbas Ma-Hmud al-Aqqad (1889-1964) and others - the issue of religious education in the country is being considered. The specific reasons for the dissatisfaction of the liberal intelligentsia with the traditional method of transferring knowledge that was practiced at the Al-Azhar mosque university are shown. The article describes the practices and steps to change the spiritual branch of education, as well as undertaken in the late 1930s. an attempt to reform in this area. The position of the leaders of the liberal movement is assessed, the contradictions in their approach to the development of higher education in Egypt are shown.