Abd Allah al-Ashi
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Abd Allah al-Ashi is an Algerian academic and professor of literature and humanities at the University of Batna, known for his critical study Thaqafat al-Awlama bi-Wasfiha Khitaban Mutatarrifan (The Culture of Globalization as an Extremist Discourse) .
Academic Career and Positions
Al-Ashi served as a professor in the Faculty of Letters and Humanities at the University of Batna in Algeria . His scholarship addresses cultural criticism, contemporary philosophical currents, and the ideological dimensions of globalization in relation to the Arab and Islamic world .
Critique of Globalization
In his study Thaqafat al-Awlama bi-Wasfiha Khitaban Mutatarrifan, al-Ashi situates globalization within the conceptual apparatus of postmodernity, arguing that both share an impetus toward radical deconstruction . He contends that postmodern discourse systematically dismantles established structures—including reason, values, social systems, and sovereign nation-states—thereby facilitating an open-ended reconstitution of global society . Consequently, he characterizes globalization as a manifestation of late or extreme capitalism that transcends traditional parameters of politics, culture, religion, and national identity .
Al-Ashi rejects the view of globalization as an objective or value-neutral scientific progression, maintaining instead that it operates as an ideological vehicle designed to enforce civilizational hegemony and erode particularist cultural identities . He critiques its underlying ideology as a form of contemporary utilitarianism that elevates material interest above moral and religious values, employing strategies of marginalization, exclusion, and coercive political pressure against non-Western frameworks . Evaluating contemporary Arab intellectual responses, he observes that while certain secular writers such as Ali Harb embraced globalization as a civilizational breakthrough, the broader spectrum of modern Arab thought—encompassing Islamic, nationalist, and leftist perspectives—regards it as a destructive and hegemonic project .
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List of Works
Thaqafat al-Awlama bi-Wasfiha Khitaban Mutatarrifan (The Culture of Globalization as an Extremist Discourse) is a critical philosophical treatise. The work critiques contemporary globalization as an ideological and coercive project linked to postmodern deconstruction and late capitalism, evaluating its impact on national sovereignty, cultural identity, and the Arab-Islamic world.