Tarikh al-Ghazw al-Fikri wa al-Tarib Khilal Marhalat Ma Bayn al-Harbayn al-Alamiyyatayn
- Author died
- 1422 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-I'tisam
Tarikh al-Ghazw al-Fikri wa al-Taghrib Khilal Marhalat Ma Bayn al-Harbayn al-Alamiyyatayn ("History of Intellectual Invasion and Westernization during the Interwar Period") is a historical and ideological study by the Egyptian thinker Anwar al-Jundi (d. 1422 AH / 2002 CE), examining the intellectual conflicts, cultural Westernization, and ideological movements in the Arab and Islamic world between the two World Wars.
Composition and Publication
The work was originally composed in 1961 following al-Jundi's earlier studies on contemporary Arabic literature and biographical dictionaries, marking his transition toward broader ideological and cultural history. It was first published under the title al-Fikr al-ʿArabi al-Muʿasir fi Maʿrakat al-Taghrib wa al-Tabaiyyah al-Thaqafiyyah ("Contemporary Arab Thought in the Battle of Westernization and Cultural Dependency").
Al-Jundi later revised the text around 1988 to incorporate new historical assessments and published it with Dar al-Itisam as part of the Mawsuat al-Ulum al-Islamiyyah ("Encyclopedia of Islamic Sciences"), with the title specifying the interwar timeframe (1920–1940 / 1919–1939). In his revision, al-Jundi explicitly corrected earlier historical interpretations, particularly regarding the late Ottoman Empire and Sultan Abdulhamid II—arguing that historical distortions stemmed from the Committee of Union and Progress and Zionist agitation following Theodor Herzl's initiatives—as well as reassessing figures such as Rifaah al-Tahtawi, Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi, Qasim Amin, and Princess Nazli Fadil.
Scope and Core Themes
The book analyzes the confrontation between Western colonial influence and Islamic culture from the aftermath of World War I to the eve of World War II. Al-Jundi frames this era around the dynamic of "challenge and response" (al-tahaddi wa radd al-fil), arguing that while direct colonial attempts at total cultural assimilation (idmaj) failed, they were succeeded by indirect, institutional campaigns of Westernization (taghrib) that targeted key spheres of public life.
The book surveys this ideological struggle across seven major domains:
- Politics: The dissolution of the Caliphate, the rise of secular nationalism, and the ideological framework defined by figures such as Hasan al-Banna reconciling local, Arab, and Islamic allegiances.
- Religion and Law: Defending the comprehensive nature of Islam as encompassing both faith and governance (din wa dawlah), alongside the vitality of the Sharia against positivist law.
- Society and Women: Critiquing Westernized reformist discourses on women's liberation and secular social models.
- Education and Research: The penetration of foreign curricula and methods into local academic systems.
- Language and Literature: The defense of Classical Arabic against calls for vernacularization and cultural dissociation.
- The Press and Media: The role of journalism, books, cinema, and broadcasting in spreading cultural dependence.
- Islamic Resistance: Highlighting the role of traditional institutions, especially Al-Azhar, in countering controversial modernist publications by figures such as Ali Abd al-Raziq and Taha Hussein.
Methodology and Arguments
Al-Jundi distinguishes between modern material civilization (hadarah) and intellectual culture (thaqafah). He argues that Arab-Islamic thought selectively adopted material instruments and rigorous research tools while resisting philosophical materialism, ethical liberalism, Western capitalism, and Marxist communism. Furthermore, he traces the origins of modern Islamic revival to internal reformist roots—starting with the movement of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab—rather than attributing it to external triggers such as the French campaign in Egypt. He concludes that the interwar period ended with the failure of total Westernization, setting the stage for renewed ideological confrontations after 1946.
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