Contemporary Arab Thought
Studies in Post-1967 Arab Intellectual History
Contemporary Arab Thought is a multifaceted book, encompassing a constellation of social, political, religious and ideological ideas that have evolved over the past two hundred years - ideas that represent the leading positions of the social classes in modern and contemporary Arab societies.
Distinguished Islamic scholar Ibrahim Abu-Rabi' addresses such questions as the Shari'ah, human rights, civil society, secularism and globalisation. This is complimented by a focused discussion on the writings of key Arab thinkers who represent established trends of thought in the Arab world, including Muhammad Abid al-Jabiri, Adallah Laroui, Muhammad al-Ghazali, Rashid al-Ghannoushi, Qutatnine Zurayk, Mahdi Amil and many others.
Before 1967, some Arab countries launched hopeful programmes of modernisation. After the 1967 defeat with Israel, many of these hopes were dashed. This book retraces the Arab world's aborted modernity of recent decades. Abu-Rabi explores the development of contemporary Arab thought against the historical background of the rise of modern Islamism, and the impact of the West on the modern Arab world.
Distinguished Islamic scholar Ibrahim Abu-Rabi' addresses such questions as the Shari'ah, human rights, civil society, secularism and globalisation. This is complimented by a focused discussion on the writings of key Arab thinkers who represent established trends of thought in the Arab world, including Muhammad Abid al-Jabiri, Adallah Laroui, Muhammad al-Ghazali, Rashid al-Ghannoushi, Qutatnine Zurayk, Mahdi Amil and many others.
Before 1967, some Arab countries launched hopeful programmes of modernisation. After the 1967 defeat with Israel, many of these hopes were dashed. This book retraces the Arab world's aborted modernity of recent decades. Abu-Rabi explores the development of contemporary Arab thought against the historical background of the rise of modern Islamism, and the impact of the West on the modern Arab world.
Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi' is the holder of the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities Chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Alberta. His many books include The Contemporary Arab Reader on Political Islam (Pluto, 2010), Myth and Reality in the Contemporary Islamist Movement (Pluto, 2005), and The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought (Blackwells, 2006).
'This book deals with the major issues facing the Arab world' - The Middle East
'One hopes that this rich work will inspire further studies. Certainly the student of Arab political thought should find this comprehensive survey .. useful in identifying and gaining familiarity with some of the most important developments in post-1967 Arab political thought' - Michaelle Browers, Middle East Journal
Foreword by Ghada Talhami
PART ONE
THEMATIC SECTION
Introduction
1. The Scope and Limitation of Post-1967 Arab Intellectual History
2. Contemporary Arab Intellectual Trends
3. Secularism and its Hazards: The Recent Debate in the Arab World
4. Contemporary Arab Views of Secularism
5. Formation of Contemporary Identities: Nationalism and Islamism
in Contemporary Arab Thought
6. Traditional Values, Social Change and the Contemporary Arab Personality
7. Globalisation: A Contemporary Islamic Response?
8. Contemporary Arab View of Globalisation
PART TWO
THINKERS’ SECTION
1. Rashid Ghannoushi [of Tunisia] and the Questions of Shari’ah and Civil Society
2. Muslim Self-Criticism in Contemporary Arab Thought:
The Case of Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali (1916-1996)
3. Islam and Muslims in Crisis
4. Toward a Critical Arab Reason: The Contributions of Muhammad ‘Abid al-Jabiri
5. Critical Arab Reason
6. Costantine Zurayk and the Search for Arab Nationalism
7. Mahdi ‘Amil and the Unfinished Project of Arab Marxism
8. Abdallah Laroui: From Objective Marxism to Liberal Etatism
Conclusions
Bibliography
Index
PART ONE
THEMATIC SECTION
Introduction
1. The Scope and Limitation of Post-1967 Arab Intellectual History
2. Contemporary Arab Intellectual Trends
3. Secularism and its Hazards: The Recent Debate in the Arab World
4. Contemporary Arab Views of Secularism
5. Formation of Contemporary Identities: Nationalism and Islamism
in Contemporary Arab Thought
6. Traditional Values, Social Change and the Contemporary Arab Personality
7. Globalisation: A Contemporary Islamic Response?
8. Contemporary Arab View of Globalisation
PART TWO
THINKERS’ SECTION
1. Rashid Ghannoushi [of Tunisia] and the Questions of Shari’ah and Civil Society
2. Muslim Self-Criticism in Contemporary Arab Thought:
The Case of Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali (1916-1996)
3. Islam and Muslims in Crisis
4. Toward a Critical Arab Reason: The Contributions of Muhammad ‘Abid al-Jabiri
5. Critical Arab Reason
6. Costantine Zurayk and the Search for Arab Nationalism
7. Mahdi ‘Amil and the Unfinished Project of Arab Marxism
8. Abdallah Laroui: From Objective Marxism to Liberal Etatism
Conclusions
Bibliography
Index
Published by Pluto Press in Nov 2003
Paperback ISBN: 9780745321691
eBook ISBN: 9781783715879
eBook ISBN: 9781783715879
152mm x 229mm