The Arab Renaissance: Making of the Intellectual and Humanist Movement

This research project is about one of the most important periods in the history of Arabic thought and culture. The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the Arab world are generally associated with the nahdah - the 'Renaissance or Awakening' of Arabic literature and thought under Western influence. The origins and development of the nahdah movement remains a matter of controversy, but what is clear is that the broad use of the term implies an awareness of the dynamic process of social, cultural, and political change which the Arab region underwent during the nineteenth century. Other types of reform were also occurring in the Arab and Muslim world in this period: there were parallel movements of resurgence operating within the Islamic historical tradition of non-modern renewal and revival, as well as vibrant reform movements linked to the Ottoman Empire. In contrast to such Islamic resurgence movements, however, the nahdah might be understood as a vast intellectual and cultural movement of renewal, involving both Christians and Muslims, secular and religious reformers, and focused geographically - at least in its early phases - on Egypt and Greater Syria. Although there is no rigid date marking the end of the nahdah, sources generally concur that it had ended by 1920. Since then, any attempt at rejuvenating Arab-Islamic thought has become so inextricably tied to the nahdah that it continues to dominate contemporary Arab-Islamic discourse on tradition and modernity. The nahdah is therefore a subject of great significance in any attempt to understand modern Arab thought.

The story of the nahdah, however, remains to be written. Not only do we lack a comprehensive account in the English language of the nahdah, but the research to date has focused too exclusively on the contribution of external forces at the expense of important internal factors; this has resulted in a confused and incomplete picture of the rise and development of the nahdah. Established studies have approached the nahdah from modernization-influenced perspectives and focused almost exclusively on those thinkers and movements that accepted ideas coming from the West, while ignoring their contemporaries who either did not accept Western ideas, or tried to incorporate them within a framework of their own cultural values. Moreover, the exclusive focus on certain thinkers has meant that many of their contemporaries, who were equally concerned with the reform of their societies but pursued practical careers over philosophical ones, remain unknown. Such men - linguists, litterateurs, and educationalists - whom I refer to as the humanists, contributed significantly to the nahdah. They were the guardians of Arabic and Islamic tradition, the transmitters of culture and promoters of learning. The uneven emphasis of research to date has therefore failed to capture the complexity and distinctiveness of the nahdah and its intellectuals.

Based on an extensive study of original sources in Arabic, this project aims to contribute to a more complete understanding of this important period in the development of Arabic thought and culture. Starting in the pre-modern period (c.1700), I will explore the key factors, both internal and external, that contributed to the rise and development of the nahdah. I will also focus, for the first time, on the humanist movement of the period which was the driving force behind much of the linguistic, literary, and educational activity associated with the nahdah. Drawing on intellectual history, literary history, and postcolonial studies, I will explore to what extent the nahdah was the product of a combination of 'native' development and foreign assistance. I will argue that the nahdah was instigated by indigenous forces, but its later and more visible gestation was both a reaction to and product of external influences. Overall, this project will produce the first comprehensive account of the nahdah as a whole.

The Middle East is a region of great contemporary importance - to international stability, to Western societies, and to Britain's national interest. In the last decade public interest in the study of the Middle East has surged worldwide and recent events in particular have highlighted the need for a better understanding of the cultures and histories of the region. There is a greater need than ever, therefore, for people outside academia to understand the Middle East. This research deals with the formative period of modern Arabic thought and culture; as such, it will be of interest not only to academic specialists, diplomats, policy-makers, Security Service personnel, NGOs, journalists and others who deal professionally with the Middle East, but to anyone who seeks to penetrate beneath the surface of current events and learn about the roots of some of the developments transforming the Middle East today. The research will allow for a better and more complete understanding of these current events and developments. It will be disseminated to non-academic beneficiaries through publications and conferences, as well as the public availability of open-source tools.