A Metatheoretical Study of Malek Bennabi's Approach to Civilization

This study investigates Malek Bennabi's approach to civilization and aims at analyzing the various factors contributed to the formulation and development of Bennabi's approach by using metatheorizing methodology (Mu) through its four dimensions. It goes beyond available literature on Bennabi, to not only present his approach, but to understand its underlying structure. The researcher, by using (Mu), realized that civilization is a multi-aspects concept and it had been dominated by the paradigms of philosophy of history and social sciences, on the one hand. On the other hand, it is found that Bennabi's interdisciplinary approach to civilization in its two parts; the major concepts and the interpretation of the movement of civilization, is a result of the internal-external and the social–intellectual factors which formed the context of his approach. The internal-social factors as his background (family, religion and education) and his intellectual pursuits (activities and intellectual connections), on one hand, and the external-social factors as the colonization and decolonization processes on the other hand, formed the social structure of Bennabi's approach.Moreover, the internal-intellectual factors as the dominant paradigms and schools within civilization studies, on the one hand, and the external-intellectual factors as the impacts of the Qur'an and Sunna, the reformist thought in the Muslim world, psychology, philosophy and the modernity discourse, the natural sciences and mathematics, on the other hand formed the intellectual or the cognitive structure of his approach. The researcher found that by applying (Mu) in this study, he could go beyond mere presenting Bennabi's approach, and could gain an in-depth understanding of Bennabi's interdisciplinary approach to civilization and its underlying structure. In addition, (Mu) offered a methodological tools to understanding Bennabi's approach to civilization, and could provide a potential methodology to study the formulation and development of ideas, approaches and theories, because of (Mu)'s comprehensiveness in integrating the tools of philosophy of science, history of ideas and sociology of knowledge in one methodology which is metatheorizing

Orientalism as a Cultural Root of Western Islamophobia

his paper focuses on Islamophobia as a phenomenon in the western context in order to understand its cultural roots that produce such a stereotype about Islam and the Muslims. It aims to discover these roots relying on the analysis of a sample of intellectual texts expressing the western biases and the concept of western supremacy over Islam, the Muslims and the Islamic civilization, which are contradictory to historical evidence. Therefore, it focuses on the expansion of the western civilization all over the world and its use of orientalism as a justifying tool which consequently formed the underlying foundation of Islamophobia. The paper seeks to pave the way for the intellectual revision of the western standpoint towards Islam, to open the door for a new understanding of Islam and the Muslims that goes beyond the complexities of the Crusades, the oriental discourse, and the colonial period. The findings of this study imply that the western scholars and opinion makers should develop their view of Islam and the Muslims on the basis of an in depth understanding of Islam based on the knowledge extracted from the genuine sources of Islam in a scientific manner

The Presence of Ibn Khaldun and Toynbee’s Ideas in Malek Bennabi’s Interpretation of the Cyclical Movement of Civilization

The research analysed the presence of the ideas of Ibn Khaldun and Toynbee in the thought of Malek Bennabi in his interpretation of the cyclical movement of civilization and its related issues. To achieve this goal, this study discussed the contributions of the cyclical school to the study of civilization, and then the presence of Ibn Khaldun’s and Toynbee’s ideas in Bennabi’s thought, in order to understand the epistemological link between them and Bennabi in terms of their influence upon him and his criticism of their ideas. The study relied on the descriptive analytical approach of the writings of Ibn Khaldun, Toynbee, and Bennabi with regard to the interpretation of the movement of civilization. The study concluded that Bennabi was familiar with their interpretations of civilization and relied on them in building his explanatory model and that the close link between Bennabi’s interpretation of the movement of civilization and what Ibn Khaldun and Toynbee accomplished makes them form one school. The study proved the importance of knowing the sources from which Bennabi drew his ideas and built his perspective in the study of civilization, in order to gain an in-depth understanding of his efforts.Makalahini cuba menganalisis ‘kehadiran’idea Ibn Khaldun dan Toynbee dalam pemikiran Malek Bennabi melaluitafsirannya berkenaanperkembangankitaran dalam peradabandan isu-isu yang berkaitan dengannya. Untuk mencapai matlamat di atas, kajian ini membincangkan sumbangan ‘sekolah kitaran’kepada kajian peradaban, dan seterusnyaidea Ibn Khaldun dan Toynbee dalam pemikiran Bennabi, di mana ia untuk memahami hubungan epistemologi antara mereka dan Bennabi dari segi pengaruh mereka kepada beliaudan kritikannya terhadap idea mereka. Kajian ini bersandarkan kepada pendekatan analisis deskriptif terhadap tulisan Ibn Khaldun, Toynbee dan Bennabi berkenaan tafsiranmengenaiperkembanganperadaban. Kajian menyimpulkan bahawa Bennabi sudah terbiasa dengan tafsiran mereka tentang peradaban, dan bergantung kepada pandanganmereka dalam membina model penjelasanmengenai peradaban. Hubungan rapat antara tafsiran Bennabi tentang perkembangan peradabandan apa yang dirumuskanoleh Ibn Khaldun dan Toynbee menjadikan mereka termasuk dalamsatu sekolahpemikiran peradaban yang sama. Kajian ini turutmembuktikan kepentingan mengetahui sumber Bennabi dalam menggarapideanya dan membina perspektifnya yang tersendiri dalam kajian peradaba

Kur'an’da Ahlaki Değerler Sistemi: Draz’ın Katkısına Dair Bir Analiz

This article aims to analyze the contribution of Mohamed Abdullah Draz in the development of the theory of the value system in the Holy Quran. It seeks to answer how Draz developed his theory of the value system in the Quran. The paper relies on an analysis of Draz's book “The Moral World of the Quran” focusing on his critique of the treatment of Quranic ethics in Islamic heritage and modern Western thought. It also examines his perspective on theoretical and practical ethics in the Quran. Consequently, he presents his viewpoint on the necessity of a holistic approach to ethics through the moral theory found in the Quran, encompassing both theoretical and practical aspects. In addition, studying ethics through the Quran represents a fundamental approach to understanding ethical theories in Islam and addressing the challenges that impede Muslims from embodying these ethics. Moreover, Draz's study represents the first "objective exegesis" of the Holy Quran undertaken by Muslims in the modern era, signifying a significant advancement in the study of ethics in Islam, despite its integration with modern ethical philosophical approaches.Bu makale, Kur’an-ı Kerim’deki değerler sistemi teorisinin gelişiminde Muhammed Abdullah Draz’ın katkısını incelemeyi amaçlamakla birlikte Draz’ın Kur’an’daki değerler sistemi teorisini nasıl geliştirdiğini cevaplamaya çalışmaktadır. Makale, Draz’ın Modern Batı düşüncesi ve İslam geleneğindeki Kur’an ahlakı yorumunun eleştirisine odaklanan “The Moral World of the Qur’ān” adlı kitabının analizine dayanmaktadır. Ayrıca onun Kur’an’daki teorik ve pratik ahlaka bakış açısını da incelemektedir. Dolayısıyla Draz hem teorik hem de pratik yönleri bulunan Kur’an’daki ahlak teorisi üzerinden ahlaka bütüncül bir yaklaşımın gerekliliğinden bahseder. Bununla birlikte ahlakı Kur’an üzerinden irdelemek İslam›daki ahlak teorilerini anlamak ve Müslümanların bu ahlakı benimsemelerini engelleyen zorlukları ele almak için temel bir yaklaşımı temsil eder. Ayrıca Draz’ın çalışması, ahlak felsefesinde modern yaklaşımlarla entegre olmasına rağmen modern çağda Müslümanlar tarafından girişilen İslam geleneği içindeki ahlak çalışmalarında önemli bir ilerlemeye işaret etmekte olan ilk “nesnel Kur’an tefsiri” niteliğini taşımaktadır

Islamophobia and French Academia

يهدف هذا المقال إلى دراسة الجدل الأكاديمي الفرنسي المتعلق بالإسلاموفوبيا؛ فهو يثير سؤالًا عامًا حول استقلالية العلوم الاجتماعية عن مجال الإعلام السياسي، ومدى قدرة الباحثين على اعتمادهم على ذاتهم ومرجعيتهم الأكاديمية، وإبعاد أنفسهم عن الخطاب السائد المعادي للإسلام. اعتمادًا على المنشورات التي أصدرها الأكاديميون الفرنسيون حول الإسلاموفوبيا. يحلل المقال أولًا مساحة الجدل، وتظهر أنها لا تحدث في مجلات العلوم الاجتماعية المركزية ولكن في مجلات هامشية أقل أهمية، أو حتى خارج المجال الأكاديمي. ثم يركز الانتباه على منطق تجنب الروايات الفرنسية (النادرة) حول الإسلاموفوبيا، ذلكم المنطق الذي لا يؤدي إلى نزاع أكاديمي خجول فحسب، بل يؤدي أيضًا إلى استبعاد مفهوم الإسلاموفوبيا بحشد الحجج المشابهة للخطابات السياسية والإعلامية. يتم أيضًا تحليل الجدل السائر بين الأحكام المبنية على الواقع وبين الأحكام القيمية، مما يفسر سبب اتهام الباحثين العاملين في مجال الإسلاموفوبيا بالافتقار إلى الدقة العلمية والتحيز السياسي الذي لا يعترف به منكرو الإسلاموفوبيا. وأخيرًا، يسلط المقال الضوء على استغلال الإشارة إلى بيير بورديو من قبل منكري الإسلاموفوبيا.The aim of this article is to study the French academic controversy related to Islamophobia. It raises the general question of the autonomy of social sciences in relation to the political-media field and the capacity of researchers to be reflexive and to distance themselves from the mainstream Islamophobic discourse. Drawing on the publications produced by French academics about Islamophobia, the article first analyses the space of controversy, showing that it does not take place in the central social science journals but on their periphery, or even outside the academic field. It then focuses attention on the logic of avoiding the (rare) French accounts on Islamophobia, which not only results in a timid academic disputatio but also in a disqualification of the concept of Islamophobia that mobilizes arguments similar to political-media discourses. The tension between factual judgement and value judgement is also analysed, highlighting how researchers working on Islamophobia are charged with a lack of scientific rigour and the unacknowledged political bias of the deniers. Finally, the article highlights the instrumentalization of the reference to Pierre Bourdieu by the deniers of Islamophobia. Thus, the forms of the French academic controversy on Islamophobia are indicative of the denial of Islamophobia and the influence of the media on the academic field

تصورات القطريين للدين: دراسة استكشافية

تسعى هذه الدراسة الميدانية الاستكشافية إلى معالجة مسألة التصورات الدينية لدى المجتمع القطري؛ من حيث دلالة مفهومها وموقعها، ومدى أهميتها لدى أعضاء المجتمع، من خلال مقاربة المصادر التي يستمد منها هذا المجتمع مختلف تصوراته حول الدين، باعتماد عدد من التساؤلات، يمكن إجمالها في الآتي: ما تصورات القطريين للدين؟ أي أبعاد الدين أكثر حضورًا في أذهان القطريين وممارساتهم؟ ما مصادر المجتمع القطري في تصوراته للدين؟ وتكمن أصالة هذه الدراسة في ربط التصورات الدينية لدى المجتمع القطري بممارسات أعضائه اليومية من جهة، والمصادر التي يستندون إليها في تعريف الدين نفسه من جهة ثانية، ما جعل هذه الدراسة متفردة في تغطية جانب بحثي مهم طال التغافل عنه، باعتماد منهج مختلط جمع بين الكيفي (النوعي) والكمي، بهدف خلق تكامل بين البيانات النوعية والكمية، مما من شأنه أن يقدِّم تحليلًا أكثر شمولًا وسلاسة في فهم تصورات القطريين للدين. وخلصت الدراسة أولًا: إلى أن كلًا من العقيدة والعبادات يمثلان النواة المركزية في تشكيل تصور القطريين عن الدين، فيما تعتبر بقية العناصر المحيطة بهما أبعادًا مساعدة في تشكيل ذلك التصور، ولا تعبر عن جوهره بالضرورة. وثانيًا: إلى أن هناك انسجامًا بين التصورات الاعتقادية والعملية، تمثل في وعي القطريين بأن أهمية عاداتهم وتقاليدهم نابعة من ارتباطها بالدين، لا من مخالفتها له

The term “Civilization” in the Muslim intellectual Traditions: Changing Vocabulary and Varied Conceptions

The purpose of this paper is to present an investigation on the use of the term “civilization” in Muslim intellectual traditions; that is to look for the terms used in various languages used by Muslim peoples to mean civilization. It tries to find out some definition of what we mean by “civilization” as well as whatwe mean by “being civilized” in Islamic intellectual traditions. Therefore, the methodology adopted to achieve the paper\u27s objective is to analyze the various literal and terminological words and terms used to denote civilization in various Muslim languages.The paper finds that in the Muslim scientific and cultural traditions, hadarah, tamaddun or tamadun are the various terms used. However, Ibn Khalduun’s term hadarah is the most appropriate one to express the concept of civilization in its modern sense.It is also clear that the mentioned usages of term “civilization” agree on certain rudimentary elements of civilization, that is, the presence of the city, the order or organization and the sedentary life of its inhabitants

Turkey’s Transition into Modernity and the Response of the ‘Ulamā’: The Case of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

Turkey’s transition into modernity is one of the earliest models of modernization in the Muslim world. A complex and controversial process involved significant changes to the country’s political, social, and cultural institutions. Accordingly, Muslim intellectuals responded to the challenges posed by this transition process that endangered the country’s Islamic identity. This paper analyses the historical overview of Turkey’s modernization process, highlighting the key events, institutions, and actors that played a role in shaping the country’s development on one hand. On the other hand, it explores the response of the ‘ulamā’ to the modernization process, with a special emphasis on the contributions of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. It analysed his activist and intellectual struggle to meet the challenges of the modernization process, his criticisms of the secularist approach to modernization, and his efforts to develop an Islamic political theory that provided answers to the new situation

The Study of civilization; The Partial Approaches and the Need for an Interdisciplinary Approach

تهدف هذه الورقة إلى تناول إشكالية المقاربات الجزئية لحقول فلسفة التاريخ والعلوم الاجتماعية في دراسة الحضارة بين المقاربات، والحاجة إلى مقاربة بينية تكاملية؛ من أجل الخروج من التناول الجزئي الذي تميزت به الدراسات الحالية للحضارة، وتحقيق التكامل بينها، عن طريق تطبيق الدراسة البينية، والوصول إلى دراسة أكثر شمولًا للحضارة باعتبارها ظاهرة متعددة الأبعاد (مركّبة). تعتمد الدراسة منهج التحليل لمختلف المقاربات (مقاربات فلسفة التاريخ والعلوم الاجتماعية بفروعها). وقد توصلت إلى أن هناك حاجة ملحّة إلى مقاربة بينية؛ لتكامل الحقول العلمية المختلفة، واستدراك جوانب القصور فيها.This paper aims to address the problem of partial approaches of the fields of philosophy of history and social sciences to the study of civilization, and the need for an integrative interdisciplinary approach. The study relies on the analytical method in tackling the subject matter. The paper concluded that there is an urgent need for an interdisciplinary approach in which the various scientific fields are integrated, to study civilization as a multidimensional phenomenon, and to cover all aspects of this phenomenon

Qataris' Perceptions of Religion: An Exploratory Study

تسعى هذه الدراسة الميدانية الاستكشافية إلى معالجة مسألة التصورات الدينية لدى المجتمع القطري؛ من حيث دلالة مفهومها وموقعها، ومدى أهميتها لدى أعضاء المجتمع، من خلال مقاربة المصادر التي يستمد منها هذا المجتمع مختلف تصوراته حول الدين، باعتماد عدد من التساؤلات، يمكن إجمالها في الآتي: ما تصورات القطريين للدين؟ أي أبعاد الدين أكثر حضورًا في أذهان القطريين وممارساتهم؟ ما مصادر المجتمع القطري في تصوراته للدين؟ وتكمن أصالة هذه الدراسة في ربط التصورات الدينية لدى المجتمع القطري بممارسات أعضائه اليومية من جهة، والمصادر التي يستندون إليها في تعريف الدين نفسه من جهة ثانية، ما جعل هذه الدراسة متفردة في تغطية جانب بحثي مهم طال التغافل عنه، باعتماد منهج مختلط جمع بين الكيفي (النوعي) والكمي، بهدف خلق تكامل بين البيانات النوعية والكمية، مما من شأنه أن يقدِّم تحليلًا أكثر شمولًا وسلاسة في فهم تصورات القطريين للدين. وخلصت الدراسة أولًا: إلى أن كلًا من العقيدة والعبادات يمثلان النواة المركزية في تشكيل تصور القطريين عن الدين، فيما تعتبر بقية العناصر المحيطة بهما أبعادًا مساعدة في تشكيل ذلك التصور، ولا تعبر عن جوهره بالضرورة. وثانيًا: إلى أن هناك انسجامًا بين التصورات الاعتقادية والعملية، تمثل في وعي القطريين بأن أهمية عاداتهم وتقاليدهم نابعة من ارتباطها بالدين، لا من مخالفتها له.This exploratory field study aims to address a central issue in Qatari society, as it studies the issue of perceptions of Religion among Qataris, in terms of its concept, status, and importance in their lives. In addition, it tries to identify the sources from which Qatari society derives its perceptions of religion, through a number of questions; what are the Qataris' perceptions of religion? Which dimensions of religion are present, mostly, in the understandings and practices of Qataris? What are the sources of Qatari society in its perceptions of religion? The authenticity of this study lies in linking the religious perceptions of Qatari society with the daily practices of its members on the one hand, and the sources they rely on to define the religion itself on the other hand, which made this study unique in covering an important research aspect that has been neglected, by adopting a mixed method approach that combines qualitative and quantitative methods, with the aim of creating integration between qualitative and quantitative data, which can provide a more comprehensive and smooth analysis in understanding the perceptions of Qataris about religion. The findings of the study indicate that belief and worship are the central core in shaping the Qatari perception of religion, while the other surrounding elements are auxiliary dimensions that aid in shaping that perception and do not necessarily reflect its essence. Additionally, the study reveals that there is a harmony between religious perceptions and practices, which is reflected in the awareness of Qataris that the importance of their customs and traditions stems from their association with religion rather than their deviation from it