Jan Brugman was born in Zaandam, the Netherlands, in 1923. He was stationed as a diplomat in Cairo between 1949 and 1959. A year later, he was appointed professor of Arabic culture and language at Leiden University, until his retirement in 1987. He wrote his dissertation on the influence of Islamic law in modern-day Egypt (Brugman 1960), but his scholarly knowledge extended well beyond the sphere of law. He was likewise well-versed on the subject of Arabic literature and he made an important contribution to the field with his extensive bibliography of modern Arabic literature in Egypt (Brugman 1984). During his career as a diplomat in Egypt he participated actively in circles of modern and avant-garde Egyptian writers, among whom Zaki Mugahid figured most prominently. In the Netherlands he was well known beyond the academic sphere through his many public appearances and publications, in which he distinguished himself as an independent-minded expert on the Arab world and the Islamic faith. He died in 2004 at the age of 81.