Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami - al-Masala al-Yahudiyya

Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami - al-Masala al-Yahudiyya (The Direction of the Islamic World – Part Two: The Jewish Question) is a philosophical and historical study by the Algerian intellectual Malik bin Nabi (d. 1393 AH / 1973 CE), formulated as an outward-looking sequel to the first part of his seminal work Vocation de l'Islam Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1.

Background and Composition

The text was composed in French around 1951 Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …. While the first part of Vocation de l'Islam was published in January 1951, the second part was kept unpublished among the author's manuscripts during his lifetime Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1. The composition emerged during a period of personal reflection and international developments in 1951, including the Moroccan question, following the 1948 catastrophe (nakba) in Palestine Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1.

Bennabi initially considered publishing the work under the separate title Les tables modernes de l'Islam (al-Turuhat al-Haditha li-l-Islam), but decided against it to maintain the organic thematic continuity of the overall study, directing its message toward subsequent generations Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …. The author withheld its publication during the final decades of his life, leaving it for future generations when intellectual conditions were deemed suitable Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami ….

Themes and Methodology

In contrast to the first volume of Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami, which examined the internal psychological and social dynamics of the Muslim world—specifically tracing the phenomenon of "colonizability" (al-qabiliyya li-l-isti'mar) from the post-Almohad decline to European colonialism—the second volume operates as an external, prospective analysis of modern international forces Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1.

Bennabi analyzes the historical role of the Jewish diaspora in the shaping of modern European civilization, tracing the migration of Jewish communities across Europe, their influence on Western thought, capitalism, and Marxism, and their positioning during the Cold War era Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1. He integrates this historical overview into his broader critique of colonizability, arguing that direct political independence remains incomplete unless accompanied by cultural and educational emancipation from internal vulnerabilities Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1. The study further advocates an international stance of Islamic positive neutrality and outlines the constructive role of the Muslim world in modern global civilization Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1.

Structure

The published Arabic edition comprises prefatory material and two core sections Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1:

• Preliminary Material: Contains a publisher’s note, an introduction to the Arabic translation by Omar Meskawi, an evaluative commentary by Radwan al-Sayyid, and the author’s own introduction Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1.
• Section One (Lughz al-Asr al-Hadith wa-ma Yastabtin – The Riddle of the Modern Era and What It Conceals):
  • Chapter 1: The Jews and European Civilization, treating the hidden secrets of the modern world, the diaspora toward Europe, geographical trajectories, and the wandering Jew in European psychology Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami ….
  • Chapter 2: The Image of the Jew as a Pivot in the Development of Western Civilization, classifying historical archetypes into the intellectual Jew, the citizen Jew, the modern Jew, the dogmatic Jew, and the global Jew, alongside sections on the end of an era, war, and future war strategies Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami ….
  • Chapter 3: Islamic Neutrality, analyzing the Islamic world and neutrality, Western diplomacy, and the international consequences of non-alignment Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami ….
• Section Two (al-Alam al-Hadith – The Modern World): Treats civilization as an existential issue, the return of war, civilizational planning, the mission of Muslims, and universal brotherhood Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami ….
• Apparatus: Concludes with a general conclusion and three detailed indexes covering proper names and places, peoples and doctrinal groups, and treaties, conferences, and international agreements Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami ….

Translation and Publication

The manuscript was translated into Arabic by Omar Meskawi, executor of Bennabi's estate under a will established at the Sharia Court in Tripoli, Lebanon in 1391 AH / 1971 CE Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami …+1. The Arabic translation was issued in Damascus by Dar al-Fikr in 1433 AH / 2012 CE (cataloged under 2011) as a 160-page volume within Bennabi's series Mushkilat al-Hadara (Problems of Civilization) Wajhat al-Alam al-Islami ….