Description
Book SynopsisAbd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi (1855–1902) was one of the most articulate and original proponents of reformist ideas in the Arab world, as well as a precursor of Arab nationalism. A journalist, political thinker and social activist from Aleppo, Syria, he was a sharp critic of both the scholarly and Sufi religious traditions, and of the autocratic Ottoman government of the day. Undeterred by persecution and arrest, he advocated returning to the model of the forefathers of Islam and was an overt supporter of liberty, an Arab Caliphate, and the separation of religion and state.
The first full-scale biography of Kawakibi in any European language, this work combines an account of his life with a fresh look at his writings, from the newspapers he founded in Aleppo to the books he published in Cairo. Drawing on memoirs of relatives and colleagues and on archival material, Itzchak Weismann demonstrates Kawakibi’s originality and assesses his impact on the evolution of Islamic political thought and the course of Arab nationalism during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION
1 THE MAKING OF A SYRIAN ISLAMIC INTELLECTUAL
Politics and Society in Late Ottoman Aleppo
The Urban Religious Landscape
Family Background
Between Traditional and Modern Education
2 EXPERIMENTS IN JOURNALISM
Official and Private Editor
The Vocation of the Press
The Afflictions of the Ottoman System
New Hopes for Aleppo
Communal Troubles
3 A PROVINCIAL OTTOMAN NOTABLE’S CAREER
Facing the Hamidian Regime
A Man of His Class
For the Sake of the People
Overtures toward a Middle Class
An Exile in Egypt
4 THE CRISIS OF THE MUSLIM WORLD
Kawakibi’s Oeuvre
An Islamic Conference in Mecca
The Degeneration of the Umma
Critic of the Religious Tradition
The Failings of the Tanzimat
5 A BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM
Modernist Salafi Reformation
The Model of the West
An Association for Muslim Edification
An Arab Caliphate
6 AGAINST TYRANNY
A Scientific Inquiry
Defining Tyranny
The Politico-Religious Nexus
Knowledge and Public Service
Socialism and Democracy
Toward Progress
7 IN THE EYES OF POSTERITY
A Middle-Class Family
A Mixed Legacy
A Final Assessment
Bibliography
Index
