Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936). Famous Dutch Orientalist and Advisor on Native Affairs to the Colonial government of the Netherlands East Indies. Born in Oosterhout and theology student at Leiden University since in 1874. Received his doctorate at Leiden in 1880 on his dissertation ‘Het Mekkaansche Feest’ ("The Festivities of Mecca"). Became professor at the Leiden School for Colonial Civil Servants in 1881 and visited Mecca in 1884-1885 as one of the first Western Orientalists. In 1889 he became professor of Malay at Leiden University and official advisor to the Dutch government on colonial affairs. He wrote more than 1.400 papers on the situation in Aceh and the position of Islam in the Dutch East Indies, but also on the colonial civil service and nationalism.