The France-based Tunisian thinker ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Mu’addib is the product of the two great currents of Arab Islamic enlightenment and secular European enlightenment. But as opposed to European scholars he does not speak of Islam from the outside but rather from within, since he was born, grew and matured in Islam. His father was one of the shaykhs of the famous Zaitouna University and his grandfather was one of its distinguished professors.
Attempts to diagnose the factors contributing to paralysis and obstacles to Arab reform date back more than two centuries. They began at the end of the 18th century on the heels of the cultural clash with a triumphant West that overran the region with its developed weaponry and modern technologies, with its sciences, expertise and advanced systems.
Most contemporary Arab and Islamic societies have been living in a state of instability since political institutions began to form in the twentieth century. This instability began to intensify after the first half of the twentieth century so that it now constitutes a threat to social and political entities. Two distinct periods govern the present in Arab and Islamic societies and these, taken generally, are: the period of cultural interruption extending close on ten centuries, and the period of initial opening up to contemporary human civilization – extending to almost a century and beginning after the First World War. In this sense the First World War constitutes the dividing line between the two eras in the contemporary history of these societies.
All nations and peoples in the world, without exception, pass through phases of cultural regression caused by specific historical factors and conditions. In some societies these phases may continue for a number of centuries, whilst other societies are able to shake off their stumbling and keep up with the train of progress within shorter periods of time.
Attempts to diagnose the factors contributing to paralysis and obstacles to Arab reform date back more than two centuries. They began at the end of the 18th century on the heels of the cultural clash with a triumphant West that overran the region with its developed weaponry and modern technologies, with its sciences, expertise and advanced systems.
Most contemporary Arab and Islamic societies have been living in a state of instability since political institutions began to form in the twentieth century. This instability began to intensify after the first half of the twentieth century so that it now constitutes a threat to social and political entities. Two distinct periods govern the present in Arab and Islamic societies and these, taken generally, are: the period of cultural interruption extending close on ten centuries, and the period of initial opening up to contemporary human civilization – extending to almost a century and beginning after the First World War. In this sense the First World War constitutes the dividing line between the two eras in the contemporary history of these societies.
All nations and peoples in the world, without exception, pass through phases of cultural regression caused by specific historical factors and conditions. In some societies these phases may continue for a number of centuries, whilst other societies are able to shake off their stumbling and keep up with the train of progress within shorter periods of time.
