Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798}}}1939 [Paperback]

This book is a most comprehensive study of the modernizing trend of political and social thought in the Arab Middle East.This reissue again makes available Hourani's comprehensive study of the roots of Arab nationalism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It focuses on the movement of ideas in two countries, Egypt and Lebanon. The author has written a new preface that puts new emphasis on research and interpretation.This reissue again makes available Hourani's comprehensive study of the roots of Arab nationalism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It focuses on the movement of ideas in two countries, Egypt and Lebanon. The author has written a new preface that puts new emphasis on research and interpretation.Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 17981939 is the most comprehensive study of the modernizing trend of political and social thought in the Arab Middle East. Albert Hourani studies the way in which ideas about politics and society changed during the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries, in response to the expanding influence of Europe. His main attention is given to the movement of ideas in Egypt and Lebanon. He shows how two streams of thought, the one aiming to restate the social principles of Islam, and the other to justify the separation of religion from politics, flowed into each other to create the Egyptian and Arab nationalisms of the present century. The last chapter of the book surveys the main tendencies of thought in the post-war years. Since its publication in 1962, this book has been regarded as a modern classic of interpretation. It was reissued by the Cambridge University Press in 1983 and has subsequently sold over 8000 copies.Preface to the 1983 reissue; Notes on transliteration and references; 1. The Islamic state; 2. The Ottoman empire; 3. First views of Europe; 4. The first generation: Tahtawi, Khayr Al-Din and Bustani; 5. Jamal Al-Din Al-afghani; 6. Muhammad 'Abduh; 7. 'Abduh's Egyptian disciples: Islam and modern cilÓN