Fikrat al-Ifriqiya al-Asyawiya
- Author died
- 1393 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Fikr
Fikrat al-Ifriqiya al-Asyawiya (The Afro-Asian Idea: In Light of the Bandung Conference) is a political and civilizational study by the Algerian thinker Malik Bennabi (d. 1393 AH / 1973 CE), written as part of his series Problems of Civilization (Mushkilat al-Hadara) .
Context and Composition
Bennabi completed his authorial notice for the book in Cairo in November 1956, while the work was being prepared for print during the heightened international tensions of the British and French assault on Egypt . In that notice, Bennabi stated that he drew upon statements made by political figures and officials only to support the book's core arguments rather than attaching the project to individual personalities, observing that political actors may halt or retreat due to state interests, whereas history does not turn back . The work was translated into Arabic by Abd al-Sabur Shahin and subsequently published by Dar al-Fikr in Damascus and Dar al-Fikr al-Mu'asir in Beirut under the auspices of the Malik Bennabi Seminar (Nadwat Malik Bennabi) .
Structure
The book is structured into three main parts comprising several thematic chapters, preceded by an introduction and concluding with a research synthesis :
- Part One: The Afro-Asian Man in the World of the Great Powers (al-Rajul al-Ifrasiyawi fi 'Alam al-Kibar): Examines the colonized peoples of Africa and Asia within global power politics, the concepts of coexistence and joint colonialism, and the foundational problems confronting the Afro-Asian individual .
- Part Two: Constructing the Afro-Asian Idea (Bina' al-Fikra al-Ifrasiyawiyya): Analyzes the historical antecedents to Afro-Asian solidarity, the role of the Arab-Asian bloc, the civilizational question, cultural perspectives, and the necessary principles for building an effective Afro-Asian economy .
- Part Three: The Mission of the Afro-Asian Idea (Risalat Fikrat al-Ifrasiyawiyya): Explores the relationship of the Afro-Asian movement to international coexistence and universalism, its ties with the Islamic world and Europe, and the final results of the study .
Themes and Arguments
The primary subject of the work is the historical and civilizational emergence of the Afro-Asian peoples, catalyzed by the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia, which brought together twenty-nine countries spanning diverse cultural traditions ranging from Islamic spirituality to Chinese Marxism . Bennabi situates this collective movement along a geographical and human axis extending from Tangier to Jakarta .
Bennabi rejects the interpretation that the Bandung initiative was merely a negative anti-Western alliance, presenting it instead as a constructive entry of colonized societies into world history and an effort to organize forces for peace and human survival amid the Cold War confrontation between Washington and Moscow . Drawing on his civilizational philosophy, he argues that any inquiry into the fate of human beings is fundamentally an inquiry into civilization and culture . He maintains that Bandung assembled the primary raw materials of a civilization—man, soil, and time—which require a guiding moral catalyst to achieve cohesion and purposeful direction . Furthermore, he warns that newly liberated nations must transition from the revolutionary phase to structured constructive action and balance rights with duties, cautioning against political stagnation and internal decay .
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