This study examines the case of a prominent Egyptian thinker Qāsim Amīn (1863-1908). Amīn's controversial writings dealing with the issue of women's emancipation resulted in a major scandal and provoked a tumultuous response in Egyptian intellectual circles. This study analyzes Amīn's arguments relating to women's role in society and describes the positive evaluation of his thought by some Egyptian intellectuals as well as harsh criticism he was exposed to immediately after the publication of his works. The second part of the study presents the uncompromising criticism by the Egyptian-American scholar Leila Ahmed (b. 1940), who radically challenged the earlier, entirely positive view of Amīn adopted by the majority of Orientalists. Finally, I present my own assessment of Amīn's case in which I try to avoid both extremes in the evaluation, boundless adoration on the one hand and uncompromising damnation on the other.