al-Fikr al-Arabi fi Asr al-Nahda
- Author died
- 1413 AH
- Editions
- دار النهار للنشر بيروت
Al-Fikr al-Arabi fi Asr al-Nahda (Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 1798–1939) is an intellectual study by Albert Hourani (1334–1413 AH / 1915–1993 CE) examining the evolution of modern Arab political and social thought from the early nineteenth century to the outbreak of the Second World War .
Composition and Context
The work originated as a series of lectures that Hourani delivered across several academic institutions: the American University of Beirut (1956–1957), the College of Arts and Sciences in Baghdad (1957), the University of Oxford (1958–1959), and the Institut des Hautes Études in Tunis (1959) . Hourani composed the text while holding a research fellowship at Magdalen College, Oxford, completing the manuscript in December 1961 .
During its preparation, he received administrative and editorial encouragement from Margaret Cleeve and A. S. B. Olver of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), and consulted colleagues who reviewed parts of the text, including Richard Walzer, Bernard Lewis, Charles Issawi, Walid Khalidi, Malcolm Kerr, and Elie Kedourie .
Scope and Content
The author noted that the book was not intended as an exhaustive general history of modern Arabic thought, but rather as an analysis of the stream of political and social reflection that arose when Arabic-speaking intellectuals became aware of modern European institutions in the first half of the nineteenth century and experienced their growing impact during its second half . It investigates how Arab thinkers formulated responses to the challenge of adopting Western ideas to revitalize their societies while maintaining their Arabic and Islamic heritage .
The study is structured chronologically and thematically:
- Historical background: It begins with an overview of Islamic political theory and governance starting from the prophetic message of Muhammad ﷺ and tracing subsequent shifts across the history of the Muslim community .
- Geographical and biographical focus: The primary material centers predominantly on writings produced in Cairo and Beirut, tracing major figures such as Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, and Rashid Rida, and assessing the later development of these currents in figures like Taha Hussein .
- Post-1945 trends: It concludes with a brief survey of the intellectual landscape after the Second World War, noting the shifting dynamics between East and West .
Translation and Publication
Originally published in English, the work was translated into Arabic by Karim Azkoul in Beirut in August 1968, with the Arabic text revised by Majid Fakhry, then chairman of the Department of Philosophy at the American University of Beirut . The Arabic translation was published by Dar al-Nahar in Beirut in 1968, and later reissued in subsequent editions by Dar Nawfal in Beirut in 1997 and 2001 .
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