Freedom in the Arab World: Concepts and Ideologies in Arabic Thought in the Nineteenth Century

248 Pages·2016·2.74 MB·English

by  Wael Abu-’Uksa

Freedom in the Arab World
A preoccupation with the subject of “freedom” became a core issue in
theconstructionofallmodernpoliticalideologies.Here,WaelAbu-ʿUksa
examinesthedevelopmentoftheconceptoffreedominnineteenth-century
Arabpoliticalthought,itsideologicaloffshoots,theirmodes,andtheirsub-
stanceastheydevelopedthedynamicsoftheArabiclanguage.Abu-ʿUksa
tracesthetransitionoftheideaoffreedomfromatermusedinapredomi-
nantlynon-politicalway,throughtoitspopularityandnearubiquityatthe
dawnofthetwentiethcentury.Throughthis,healsoanalyzestheimpor-
tanceofassociatedconceptssuchas“liberalism,”“socialism,”“progress,”
“rationalism,”“secularism,”and“citizenship.”Heemploysacloseanaly-
sisofthedevelopmentofthelanguage,whilstatthesametimeexamining
the wider historical context within which these semantic shifts occurred:
the rise of nationalism,the power of the Ottoman court and the state of
relationswithEurope.
dr. wael abu-ʿuksa is a Polonsky Fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem
InstituteandanassistantprofessorinthePoliticalSciencedepartmentat
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.He is also the author of Liberalism
andLeftinArabThoughtafter1990.

Freedom in the Arab
World
Concepts and Ideologies in Arabic Thought
in the Nineteenth Century
wael abu-ʿuksa
TheHebrewUniversityofJerusalem
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107161245
(cid:2)C WaelAbu-ʿUksa2016
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2016
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ISBN978-1-107-16124-5Hardback
ISBN978-1-316-61382-5Paperback
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ofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
To my mother,Nayfi,
and in memory of my father,Nasrat

Contents
Acknowledgments pageix
NoteonTranslationandTransliteration xi
Introduction 1
Rationale 2
SurveyofLiteratureandtheStudy’sContribution 4
1 ThePoliticizationofFreedom,1798–1820 18
FranceinEgyptandtheLevant,1798–1801 18
EgyptiansandLevantinesinFrance,1801–1820 39
2 AConceptualViewofArabicModernitythrough
TwoKeyConcepts,“Civilization”and“Progress”
(TamaddunandTaqaddum) 50
Politicizing“Progress”and“Civilization” 50
TimeandtheStructureof“Civilization”and“Progress” 54
TheorizationandInstrumentalizationof“Civilization”
and“Progress” 72
3 BurdeningthePoliticalAspectsofFreedom:TheFormative
Period,1820–1860 84
Texts,Politics,andTechnologicalDevelopments 84
TheEmergenceoftheLanguageofIndividualFreedom:
IndividualPrinciples,Constitutionalism,Sovereignty
ofthePeople,andNaturalRights 88
CollectiveAspectsoftheLanguageofFreedom:Freedomof
Dynasties,PoliticalEntities,andInstitutions 118
LanguageofNationalism,TransitionsinGroup
Appellations,andConceptsofBelonging 122
LanguageofNationalLiberation,1798–1882 138
vii
viii Contents
4 TheConstructionofModernIdeologiesinArabic,
1860–1882 156
FromtheIdeasofFreedomtotheIdeologiesofFreedom 156
From“ProponentsofFreedom”toSocialism,Communism,
andAnarchism 161
TheorizingFreedom:IdeologiesofTolerance,Autocratic
Constitutionalism,andLiberalism 173
Conclusion 205
Bibliography 209
Index 227
Acknowledgments
ThisbookbuildsonresearchIhavecarriedoutbetweenOctober2012
andApril2015aftercompletingmyPhD.Thisprojectwasmadepossi-
blebythesupportoftheCenterforMiddleEasternStudiesatHarvard
University,theFulbrightScholarshipprogram,andthePolonskypost-
doctoralprogramattheVanLeerJerusalemInstitute.
During the work on the manuscript, I received many suggestions,
comments,andwordsofadvicefromfriends,colleagues,andteachers.
I owe a great debt of gratitude to Professor Baber Johansen, whose
discussions and meetings in the CMES at Harvard were very helpful
fortheformationoftheconceptualframeworkofthebook.Iwishto
expressmyspecialthankstoProfessorFrumaZachsforherinvaluable
commentsonthemanuscript’svariousstages.Hersuggestionshelped
inshapingthebookintoitspresentform.Iwouldliketoconveymysin-
cere appreciation to Professor Avraham Sela,who painstakingly read
andcommentedonthecompletemanuscript.Hisunwaveringsupport
before, during, and after my PhD studies also continued through the
writingofthisbook.Iamforevergrateful.IamalsoindebtedtoPro-
fessor Efraim Podoksik,Professor Shukri Abed,and the readers who
were consulted by Cambridge University Press for their valuable sug-
gestions.
Many people have helped indirectly to get this work done, even
though they might not be aware of the importance of their contribu-
tions.IwishtoconveymyspecialgratitudetoDrAnatLapidot-Firilla
for her assistance and support in the crucial stage of my academic
careeraftermyPhD,aswellastoDr.YoavDi-Capua,ProfessorButrus
Abu-Manneh,andProfessorReuvenAmitai,whosesupporthasmade
thisbookpossible.Iamalsogratefultomylanguage editor,Deborah
Schwartz,forherexcellentandhardworkonthetext.Needlesstosay,
allerrorsareentirelymyresponsibility.
A very heavy burden fell on my family during the writing of this
book.IwishtoacknowledgewiththanksthehelpIreceivedfromSally
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