Secularism in the Arab World: Contexts, Ideas and Consequences

Aziz al-Azmeh; David Bond

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2020

Secularism in the Arab World

Contexts, Ideas and Consequences

Aziz al-Azmeh and David Bond

In the series In Translation: Modern Muslim Thinkers

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474447492

Overview
Contents

About this book

Published in Association with the Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations

Explores secularism and secularisation in Arab societies since the mid-19th century

Traces the concrete secular transformations in Muslim societies which occurred at particular times and by specific social agencies
Explores how secular changes influenced the functioning of different strata and groups, and the central attitudes of their members
Devotes considerable attention to religious reform in the broader context of the developments studied, and of the ideological, political and institutional religious reactions to both
Includes a new Preface by the author to introduce the English translation

This book is a translation of Aziz al-Azmeh’s seminal work Al-'Ilmaniya min mandhur mukhtalif that was first published in Beirut in 1992. Both celebrated and criticised for its reflections on Arab secularisation and secularism in the modern history of the Arab World, it is the only study to date to approach its subject as a set of historical changes which affected the regulation of the social, political and cultural order, and which permeated the concrete workings of society, rather than as an ideological discussion framed from the outset by the assumed opposition between Islam and secularism.

The author takes a comprehensive analytical perspective to show that an almost imperceptible yet real, multi-faceted and objective secularising process has been underway in the Arab world since the 1850s. The early onset was the result of adapting to systemic novelties introduced at the time and a reaction to the perceived European advance and local retardation. The need for meaningful reform, and the actions taken in order to put in place a new organisation of state and society based on modern organisational and educational criteria, rather than older, religious traditions, stemmed from the perceived weakness of Arab polities and from an internal drive to overcome this situation.

The book follows these themes into the close of the 20th century, marked with the rise of Islamism. A preface to the English translation takes a retrospective look at the theme from the vantage point of social, political and intellectual issues of relevance today.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Foreword by Gilbert Achcar Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface to the English Translation Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Preface to the Second Arabic Edition Publicly Available Download PDF	li
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1 Religion and the World in Historical Perspective Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
2 The Reformist State and the Universalist Orientation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
3 Intellectual Transformations and Elusive Reconciliation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
4 Sites of Secularism in the Twentieth Century Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245
5 The Nationalist Era and the Future Besieged Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	351
6 Secularism at the Turn of the Millennium in the Context of its Adversaries Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	407
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	451
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	511

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 592
Keywords: Islamic Studies

eBook

Published: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 9781474447492