PHILOSOPHY IN EGYPT: THE PIONEERS

PHILOSOPHY IN EGYPT: THE PIONEERS Josep puig Montada universidad Complutense, Madrid RESUMEN La nahḍa o renacimiento cultural árabe tuvo su centro en egipto y se desarrolló entre finales del siglo XiX y comienzos del siglo XX. ante todo, la nahḍa es conocida por su producción en el terreno literario, pero este artículo destaca el renacimiento filosófico que significó. el artículo examina cómo surgió, de nuevo, en egipto un pensamiento filosófico y cómo se ha desarrollado, prestando atención a los principales pensadores de aquel periodo. Las conclusiones más importantes son dos: primero, la recepción del pensamiento de averroes (m. 1198) ha sido decisiva en el desarrollo de esta filosofía y segundo, la filosofía egipcia se ha caracterizado desde un primer momento por su preocupación social. en ella predomina la tendencia reformista, buscando una sociedad más justa y libre. PALABRAS CLAVE: Filosofía contemporánea, Faraḥ anṭûn, Muḥammad ‘abduh, Rashîd Riḍà, shiblî shumayyil, salâma Mûsà, niqûlà Ḥaddâd, Muṣṭafà ‘abd ar-Râziq, aḥmad Luṭfî as-sayyid, Qâsim amîn, ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq. Revista del Instituto Egipcio de Estudios Islámicos - VOL. XXXVIII - Año 2010 (pag 11-30) ISSN: 0541-8585 12 Josep puig Montada intellectual discussions can yield fruitful results. the polemic between Faraḥ anṭûn and Muḥammad ‘abduh on averroes resulted in the new birth of philosophy in the arab world, mainly in egypt.1 the role that egypt played in the revival of philosophical activity is due not to chance, but to the general prosperity that the country enjoyed in the last part of the 19th century when skilled immigrants were attracted to come from other countries. Faraḥ anṭûn was born in 1874, not in egypt but in tripoli (now Lebanon) and grew up there. He became a friend of Muḥammad Rashîd Riḍà, who was also born there in 1865. the two tripolitans emigrated to egypt in 1897; Muḥammad Rashîd Riḍà settled in Cairo and Faraḥ anṭûn in alexandria.2 1. anṭûn received his general education at the high school of Kiftîn, the orthodox monastery situated in the hills above tripoli, where he learned French. French became his passion. anṭûn read the French romantics, as Victor Hugo, and the rationalists, such as Jules simon, and ernest Renan. anṭûn was impressed by Renan’s intellectual achievements 1 For information about the period, the work of albert Hourani: Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age (1798-1939), oxford university press, 2nd ed. 1967, and reprints, remains a basic source. a source for biographies is: Yûsuf as‘ad dâghir, Mas‘âdir ad-dirâsât al-adabîya, sidon, 1950 ss. 2nd ed. Beirut: Maktabat Lubnân, 2000. 2 For the author, see Faraḥ Anṭûn, hâyâtuhu wa ta’bînuh wa-mukhṭarâtuh, Cairo 1923. Faraḥ Anṭûn, ḥâyâtuhu, adabuhu, muqtaṭafât min âthārihi. With a biographical note by Buṭrus alBustânî. Beirut: Maktabat Ṣâdir, [1950]. donald M. Reid, The Odyssey of Faraḥ Anṭûn, Minneapolis: Bib. islamica inc. 1975. pHiLosopHY in egYpt: THE PIONEERS 13 and his onslaught on the Catholic clergy in France. since anṭûn did not attend college, his philosophical instruction was autodidactic; his main source of Western ideas were French newspapers and magazines which he read for his journalistic activity. anṭûn was one of the pioneers of journalism in the arab world. in alexandria, he joined the newspaper Al-Ahrâm which was founded in 1876 by Bishâra taqlà. in 1899, alAhrâm moved to Cairo and anṭûn was left behind as editor of a branch paper. a few months later, the branch paper had to be closed because of lack of subscribers, and anṭûn started his own journal: al-Gâmi‘a al-‘Uthmânîya. the first issue appeared in alexandria on March 15, 1899 and went on irregularly until october 1904. after almost two years’ silence, anṭûn published it again in new York, where he had moved following other syrian Christian immigrants who were his potential readers. anṭûn published al-Gâmi‘a in weekly, monthly and daily versions between 1906 and 1909. the american experience failed and anṭûn returned to egypt where he published the last issues of the journal in 1910. in Cairo, he mainly worked for other newspapers, and turned to writing for theater around 1914. His play Miṣr alGadîda wa-Miṣr al-Qadîma3 drew wide public attention as it was one of the first plays containing social criti- cism. anṭûn died in 1922, the year in which egypt became formally independent. the memorial service at the newly-founded american university was presided by M. Rashîd Riḍà. 2. When al-Gâmi‘a appeared in 1899, Muḥammad ‘abduh (1849-1905) was appointed Mufti, the highest religious authority of egypt as a result of help from Lord Cromer, the British consul general. ‘abduh was born in the egyptian village of Maḥallat naṣr in 1849, and received a traditional education that began with learning the Koran by heart.4 3 performed for the first time on april 5, 1913 in the new opera House. the opera house was built on the orders of the Khedive ismâ‘îl to celebrate the opening of the suez Canal in 1869. 4 M. Rashîd Riḍà, Ta’rîkh al-ustâdh al-Imâm al-Shaykh Muḥammad ‘Abdûh: wa-fîhi tafṣîl sîratihi, wa-khulâṣat sîrat mûqiẓ al-Sharq al-ḥakīm wa-al-Islâm Jamâl al-Dîn al-Afghânî. el Cairo: Maṭbat al-Manâr, 1324-1350 H [1906-1931]. 2nd ed. dâr al-Faḍîlah, 2003. 14 Josep puig Montada He went to tanta in 1862 to learn the art of reciting the Koran, but later he abandoned these studies and went back to his village. His father did not accept his decision and sent him back to tanta, where he met darwîsh Khiḍr, a sufi of the sanusîya order. in 1866, he went to the great mosque-university of al-azhar, the institution he tried unsuccessfully to reform many years later. at al-azhar, he too was attracted by sufism, embodied in the sufi Ḥasan Raḍwân. the most significant influence in his life was the visit of Jamâl ad-dîn al-afghâni to Cairo in 1871. under his influence, ‘abduh moved toward political activism and toward philosophy. al-afghânî was expelled from egypt and ‘abduh was sent to his native village. However, the political situation changed and ‘abduh came back to Cairo in 1880 as editor of the government’s Official Journal. Because he supported the ‘urabî revolt against egypt’s domination by the British (who occupied egypt in 1882), he was exiled to Beirut. He then went to paris where he met al-afghânî again and in paris they founded a journal in 1883 called the Al-‘Urwa al-Wuthqà, “the indissoluble Bond” which exerted widespread influence throughout Muslim countries, calling for Muslim unity against British imperialism. ‘abduh distanced himself from al-afghânî’s activism and took a gradualist stance. in 1888, he was allowed to return to egypt and he favoured slow reform through education. He unwillingly accepted British occupation, but hoped for a parliamentary system with the Khedive reduced to a figurehead. His reformist attitude won him the sympathies of Lord Cromer, as mentioned above. He became a judge at the national Courts before being appointed the Mufti of egypt; his fatwâs or legal pronouncements shaped public and private egyptian life. in addition, ‘abduh taught at al-azhar until the beginning of 1905, when his opposition to the Khedive ‘abbâs ii forced him to resign. He died a few months 5 Grande Encyclopédie. Inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts. Vol. 4 (paris: Larousse, 1887), pp. 879-881. pHiLosopHY in egYpt: THE PIONEERS 15 later on July 11th. ‘abduh had a number of disciples, among them M. Rashîd Riḍà who started his own journal al-Manâr in 1898, one year earlier than anṭûn’s al-Gâmi‘a. 3. Faraḥ anṭûn was captivated by Renan’s interpretation of averroes as a free-thinker. in the spring of 1902, anṭûn wrote an article on averroes for al-Gâmi‘a prompted by alfred gary’s succinct entry for the Grande encyclopédie.5 the article was based mainly on Renan’s book Averroès et l’averroïsme, first published in paris by a. durand in 1852. anṭûn had acquired a copy which we gather was from the third, revised and enlarged edition, paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1866 (Gâmi‘a , 3: 8, June 1902, p. 568). anṭûn described averroes’ biography, a summary of his main doctrines and his reception in Jewish and Christian schools, suggesting that Christianity had persecuted philosophy less than islam had. M. Rashîd Riḍà, who followed the progress of his friend’s journal, brought the article to the attention of Muḥammad ‘abduh. ‘abduh published a public refutation in al-Manâr and in the next few months a dramatic polemic took place through the pages of both journals.6 anṭûn was a defender of secularism. For him, religion had to be restricted to the inner world; religion should not interfere with the scientific study of physical reality. He was critical of all religions, particularly islam. according to anṭûn, islam established the direct intervention of god in natural events and discouraged science as the study of natural laws governing these events. ‘abduh’s answer showed his mastery of the islamic classics, and rejected anṭûn’s view that islamic theologians unanimously believed in the doctrine of god’s direct responsibility for every event. ‘abduh espoused the Mu‘tazilite view admitting secondary causation and human responsibility in the world. For him, islam was a religion of reason, the opposite of Christianity. ‘abduh portrayed Christianity as 6 published as a book, with some changes: Ibn Rushd wa-falsafatuhu. alexandria, 1903, new edition, Beirut: dâr ṭalî‘a, 1981. partial French transl. in georges C. anawati, «L’orthodoxie d’ibn Rushd (averroès) à la lumière de la polémique Faraḥ anṭûn et le cheikh Muḥammad ‘abduh», in Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale. Livre du Centenaire, 1880-1980. (Cairo, 1980), pp. 341-354. 16 Josep puig Montada irrational because of its belief in miracles, and rejected anṭûn’s assertion that Christianity was more tolerant than islam. He provided many examples of Christian scholars who had been persecuted because of their scientific opinions. in contrast, he claimed that islam had always been tolerant toward philosophy. in spite of the polemic, anṭûn and ‘abduh agreed on using rational and scientific methods and both did not believe in any conflict between religion and philosophy. But anṭûn wanted to isolate religion from the public space while ‘abduh insisted that civil authority could not be separated from religious authority. 4. the stand taken by anṭûn and ‘abduh influenced the development of philosophy in egypt, but not in an exclusive way. Western scientific ideas made their way on their own. shiblî shumayyil (1850-1917) –a syrian Christian like antûn, but older– was born in the Lebanese town of Kafr shîmâ, studied medicine at the syrian protestant College (now american university) in Beirut, and graduated in 1871.7 He spent some time in paris and, in 1875, he settled in egypt where he practiced medicine, first in tanta and then in Cairo. in 1886, he began publishing ashShifâ’, a monthly medical journal where he wrote articles for the general public. He kept it alive for three years. shumayyil introduced darwinism into egypt and popularized social darwinists, such as spencer and Büchner. according to shumayyil, religions –in plural– were necessary factors for the development of human societies. they may have had a positive influence in the past, but in present time their influence was disputable. shumayyil defended the unity of matter and the forces transforming it, and his belief in the unity becomes a form of pantheism. He quotes a verse of Muḥyî d-dîn ibn ‘arabî as sustaining the same principle as his one. 7 Jean Lecerf, “shiblî shumayyil, métaphysicien et moraliste contemporain”, Bulletin d’études orientales, 1 (1931) 153-186. georges C. anawati, “shiblî shumayyil: medical philosopher and scientist”, The Islamic world from classical to modern times: essays in honor of Bernard Lewis , C.e. Bosworth [et al.], eds. (princeton: darwin press, 1989), pp. 637-650. pHiLosopHY in egYpt: THE PIONEERS 17 His disciples did not follow him in his pantheism; they remained within the scientific borders. ismâ‘îl Maẓhar translated The Origin of the Species in 1927,8 and he founded a journal called al-‘Uṣûr in 1927, which lasted until 1930. another darwinist was salâma Mûsà (18871958), a Copt, disciple of Faraḥ anṭûn and who has left us his autobiography.9 He was more influential because of his socialist ideas. 5. We should not sidestep the social dimension of Faraḥ anṭûn’s works. He envisioned a secular society of Christian-Muslim equality and an egalitarian society, or at least a fairer distribution of wealth. the Christian minority was quite successful in the business world and was prone to advocate free enterprise, as was the case with journalists gurgî Zaydân (1861-1914), editor of al-Hilâl, and Ya‘qûb Ṣarrûf (1852-1927), editor of al-Muqtataf. anṭûn, however, thought that state intervention in the economy and protection of the weak classes was better for minorities, a view that few of his co-religionaries shared. He was familiar with French socialist writers, knew about Marx, and expounded his views in literary form in his novel Religion, Science and Wealth.10 although Moses, Jesus and Muhammad preached equality among men, workers were exploited by their employers. intellectuals rose to defend the workers and showed them how religious leaders were teaching them resignation for their their own benefit. Workers revolted and a moderate intellectual tried to reach a compromise between their demands and the employers’ offers; it failed. troops fired on the workers and cities were burned down. anṭûn’s socialism was as romantic as was his writing. His disciples and friends used more objective ways to buttress their views. salâma Mûsà has already been referenced and niqûlà Ḥaddâd (1870-1954) should be mentioned. He 8 Aṣl al-anwâ̔, 2nd edition, Beirut, 2007. 9 The Education of Salâma Mûsà, transl. L.o. schuman, Leiden, 1961. 10 Ad-dîn wa-l-‘ilm wa-l-mâl, alexandria, 1903; 2nd ed. damascus, 2004. 18 Josep puig Montada was from a Lebanese Christian orthodox family and studied pharmacy at the syrian protestant College in Beirut where shumayyil studied medicine. shortly after 1900, he moved to egypt and married anṭûn’s sister Rûzà. When anṭûn went to america, he followed him and joined in his editorial enterprise and went back to egypt after al-Gâmi‘a failed. He was an active journalist and in the 1920’s he and Rûzà published as-Sayyidât, a conservative ladies magazine. Ḥaddâd was a follower of the socialist ideas of the american economist Henry george (1839-1897),11 and he expounded his ideas in the book al-Ishtirâkîya.12 He fought against the exploitation of the workers and against free enterprise; his utopia was a go- vernment-run eco- nomy where the private sector would be overseen and controlled. salâma Mûsà was the youngest in the group, since he was born in 1887.13 His birthplace was Zaqaziq, a city on the eastern nile delta and his family background, Coptic. in 1903 he went to Cairo to attend the Khedival College. in Cairo he discovered magazines and newspapers, and al-Gâmi‘a, the journal of F. anṭûn, had an important effect on him. in 1907 he went to France for further education and stayed there for two years. then he spent four years in england, and he was immersed in the cultural and political life of the country. He became member of the Rationalist press association (R.p.a.) and of the Fabian society that worked for the improvement of the workmen’s conditions. Bernard shaw was among the theoreticians of the society the one who had more impact on s. Mûsà. Like Faraḥ anṭûn, he sympathized with averroes and considered him to be a victim of Muslim intransigence. For Mûsà, philosophy is religion, and it is “love that integrates and substantiates in action”. it is the love to which 11 Progress and Poverty: An inquiry into the cause of industrial depressions and of increase in want with increase of wealth; the remedy. national single tax League, 1879. 12 “Socialism”, Cairo, 1920. 13 Vernon egger, A Fabian in Egypt: Salamah Musa and the Rise of the Professional Classes in Egypt, 1909-1939, Lanham, Md: university press of america, 1986. pHiLosopHY in egYpt: THE PIONEERS 19 the Muslim sufis refer and Mûsa quotes Muḥyî ad-dîn ibn‘arabî in support of his definition.14 in terms of his social ideas, he was closer to Ḥaddâd with whom he shared a high regard for Henry george. Mûsà published various articles on socialism in the journal alHilâl owned by gurgî Zaydân, but he went further than theory and founded a socialist party in egypt. Mûsà, professors Muḥammad ‘abd allâh ‘inân and Ḥusnî al-‘arabî, and dr. ‘alî al-‘inânî, and probably Joseph Rosenthal, formed al-ḥizb al-Ishtirâkî, and the organizational meeting was held august 16, 1921 in alexandria. Mûsà was a resilient nationalist too and he was expelled in 1923 from the party. in that year of 1923 the first Constitution of egypt was promulgated and sa‘d Zaghlûl formed the first representative government after his nationalist party al-Wafd won an overwhelming majority in the elections of January 1924. Mûsà and other socialists entered the Wafd party.15 around 1950, Mûsà recognized that “the Wafd was not anymore the revolutionary organization that used to fight english imperialism and the tyranny of the palace”.16 6. ‘abduh’s closest disciple was M. Rashîd Riḍà (1887-1935) who has to be seen as more conservative in religious matters than his master.17 M. Rashîd Ridà spread his ideas in favor of the regeneration of islam through the volumes of the journal al-Manâr that he founded in 1898.18 as many conservative reformers, he preached a return to the beginnings of islam and a restoration of islam’s original unity, purity and plainness and his ideas extended to the political field. M. ‘abduh suggested that the islamic government contains principles of national sovereignty and regard for the public 14 15 16 17 The Education of Salâma Mûsà, p. 183. The Education of Salâma Mûsà, p. 137. The Education of Salâma Mûsà, p. 215. Malcolm H. Kerr, Islamic Reform: The Political and Legal Theories of Muḥammad ‘Abduh and Rashîd Riḍâ. Berkeley and Los angeles: university of California press, 1966. Henri Laoust, «Le reformisme orthodoxe des salafiyya et les caractères généraux de son orientation actuelle», Revue des études islamiques, 6 (1932) 175-224. 18 Majallah shahrîyah tabḥathu fî falsafat al-dîn wa-shu’ûn al-ijtimâ̔wa-al-̔umrân, ceased in 1935. 20 Josep puig Montada interest;19 M. Rashîd Riḍà did not trifle with these thoughts. instead he insisted on the indissolubility of the islamic state and religion, making the Caliph a zealous guarantor of orthodoxy who fights against doctrinal innovations. the Muslim suzerain should be elected by a body of learned religious men, the shûrà, and he should not be an absolutist ruler, but should always listen to their advice.20 M. Rashîd Riḍà favored islamic internationalism, but he reserved a higher position for the arabs whose race was bestowed by god with the prophet. Before a possible union of islamic countries, the arab people should be united. When he wrote for al-Manâr, until his death in 1935, France and england were partitioning arab countries among themselves and turkey was being reformed in a secular way. Al-Manâr never approved of these actions, but did not favor violent action. as may be expected, philosophy of the greek tradition did not have a place in Rashîd Riḍà’s world. He wrote in his journal al-Manâr against the study not only of averroes’ philosophy, but also of philosophy at all. Rashîd Riḍà edited a book, Islam, Christianity and their Relationship to Science and Civilization (1902) containing six of the seven answers given by ‘abduh to anṭûn, and added his criticism of the French politician gabriel Hanotaux’s view of islam. Many of ‘abduh’s disciples would take this conservative direction and become forerunners of present day fundamentalists; others accepted philosophy and stressed its islamic nature, and others moved toward positions closer to anṭûn. 7. the press was always a powerful way of disseminating ideas. Muṣṭafà Kâmil pacha (1874-1908) was the founder and editor in 1900 of al-Liwâ’, egypt’s most widely read newspaper. Muṣṭafà Kâmil went to the Khedival school of Law in 1891; therefore, he did not have a traditional azharite 19 Kerr, Islamic Reform, pp. 149-150. 20 His views on the Caliphate are expounded in Al-Khilâfa aw al-Imâma al-̔uẓmà, Cairo: Maṭba̔ at al-Manâr, 1341/1922. French transl. Le Califat dans la doctrine de R. Rida. Beirut: iFd, 1938. pHiLosopHY in egYpt: THE PIONEERS 21 education. in 1894, he obtained his law degree from the university of toulouse.21 His journal became the official medium of the al-ḥizb al-Waṭanî, the “national party” a forerunner of the successful ḥizb al-Wafd “dele- gation party” of sa‘d Zaghlûl (1860-1927). M. Kâmil, other founders of the “national party”, and sa‘d Zaghlûl were freemasons of the French Rite.22 M. Kâmil founded the “national party” in october 1907, shortly before his death in 1908. through his articles in al-Liwâ’, we are informed of Kâmil’s twofold ideology. M. Kâmil and his colleagues put equal weight on promoting a pan-islamic community and on creating an egyptian national consciousness. the pan-islamic dimension strove to resist Western, mainly British, imperialism and was more politically oriented than religious. nevertheless, religion and political power were always closely connected in M. Kâmil’s doctrine. the ottoman empire played an important role in the ideology of al-Liwâ’: the sultan should become the Caliph of the world’s Muslims, but Kâmil envisaged a confederation of turkey and egypt too. turkey should lead the Muslim nations, and Muslim states should contribute to build an islamic fleet. the construction of the Ḥigâz Railway was even a religious test to prove the solidarity of the Muslim world. the railway would unite the Holy places of islam: Jerusalem, Medina and Mecca. M. Kâmil and his party were considered pro-turkish but they always claimed to fight for the independence of egypt. 8. in the course of time, the institutional framework changed. if modern philosophy developed only in egyptian journals and not in the university, this was due to the absence of it in the Western conception. in 1908, such a university was established in egypt by a group of public figures –among them 21 dennis Walter, “pan-islamism as a Modern ideology in the egyptian independence Movement of Muṣṭafà Kâmil”, Hamdard Islamicus 17 (1994) 57-109. “egypt’s arabism: Muṣṭafà Kâmil’s 1893 play (Fathâ al-andalus)on the Muslim Conquest of spain”, Islamic Studies 33 (1994) 49-76. 22 Karim Wissa, “Freemasonry in egypt, 1798-1921: a study in Cultural and political encounters”, Bulletin (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies) 16.2 (1989) p. 151. 22 Josep puig Montada princess nazlî Fâḍil– who appointed prince aḥmad Fu’âd as its rector23. the egyptian university was a private institution which aḥmad Fu’âd as king transformed into a state university in 1925. the egyptian university recruited its faculty among prestigious european scholars: italians like ignazio guidi (1844-1935), Carlo a. nallino (1872-1936), david santillana (1855-1931), Frenchmen like Louis Massignon (18831962), and a spaniard, Vicente galarza y pérez-Castañeda, Vizconde de santa Clara (born in La Habana in 1878).24 He was the son of Vicente galarza y Zuloaga who received the title of Conde de galarza and had two sons. the elder inherited the title of earl but Vicente used it also. Vicente taught in arabic at the egyptian university from 1913 until 1920. thereafter, he taught at the teachers training College, until foreign faculty was expelled from egyptian universities in 1932. galarza moved to india and taught at st. paul’s College in Calcutta; he passed away there in 1938. galarza published some of his lectures, all of them in arabic. His philosophy showed platonic as well as sufi influence. galarza recommended mental exercises in order to perfect the soul and eventually reach the luminous annihilation (fanâ’ nayyir). the French philosophers andré Lalande (1867-1963), abel Rey (1873-1940) and Émile Brehier (1876-1952) were guest professors at the egyptian university and they spurred philosophical vocations among their egyptian students, such as Zâki nagîb Maḥmûd (1905-1993) and ‘abd ar-Raḥmân Badawî (1917-2002). 9. the egyptian authorities also sent graduate students abroad, mainly to France, to continue their education. ṭâhâ Ḥusayn wrote about his experience in the third volume of his wellknown memoirs.25 another student was Muṣṭafà ‘abd arRâzik, whose brother ‘alî will be referenced later.26 23 donald M. Reid, Cairo University and the Making of Modern Egypt, Cambridge university press, 1990. 24 aḥmad ‘abd al-Ḥalîm ‘aṭiyya, “el Conde de galarza y el método crítico en la enseñanza de la filosofía”, Anales del Seminario de Historia de la Filosofía, 20 (2003) 285-300, also my “anotación sobre Vicente galarza y pérez-Castañeda”. Ibid. 22 (2005) 271-273. 25 A Passage to France, (The Days, vol. 3). transl. Kenneth Cragh, Leiden: e. J. Brill, 1976. 26 tahir Khemiri and g. Kampffmeyer were pioneers in the biography of both brothers: Leaders in Contemporary Arabic Literature: A Book of Reference. series Die Welt des Islams, 9, Berlin, 1930. pHiLosopHY in egYpt: THE PIONEERS 23 Muṣṭafà was born in abu gorg in 1885 and was sent, at the age of 11, to al-azhar where he graduated in 1908.27 Muḥammad ‘abduh was among his teachers and the one who impressed him most vividly. Muṣṭafà and aḥmad Luṭfî as-sayyed left egypt in 1908 for France. Muṣṭafà ‘abd ar-Râzik studied at the sorbonne with Émile durkheim (1858-1917), the father of sociology. He went later to Lyon to study with edmond goblot (1858-1935), a logician, and came back to egypt by the end of 1914. the sultan Ḥusayn Kâmil appointed him as a secretary to the Council of al-azhar in 1915. in 1927, he started teaching islamic philosophy at Cairo university where he was later promoted to professor. He published his courses in a book called Introduction to the History of Islamic Philosophy. 28 in 1938, he became Minister of the Religious Foundations, waqf, in the cabinet of Muḥammad pacha Maḥmûd, a post that he occupied in later cabinets. in 1945, he was appointed Rector of the alazhar university and he stayed in office until his death on February 15, 1947. Muṣṭafà ‘abd ar-Râzik discovered the foundations of islamic philosophy in the islamic jurisprudence. there was no need for greek philosophy to start with rational thought in islam. He reacted against Renan’s accusation that arabs, as semites in general, were not qualified for philosophy and, in contrast, he emphasized the logical character of islamic law. M. ‘abd ar-Râzik contended that the principles of truth were laid down by god in the Koran, and that Muslim jurists develop them by applying them to new situations. truth, therefore, is conformity to the Koran’s statements reached by means of a logical discipline. the doctrinal position of M. ‘abd ar-Râzik was brought to extremes by his disciple ‘alî sâmî an-nashshâr (1917-1980) who rejected all Muslim philosophers –he called them 27 georges C. anawati, «une figure de proue: le cheikh Moṣṭafa ‘abd el-Râzeq», Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 59 (1960) 81-131. 28 Tamhîd li-ta’rîkh al-falsafa al-islâmîya, Cairo 1944. 24 Josep puig Montada “islamists”–from al-Kindî to averroes, and accepted only islamic theology, jurisprudence, and to some extent, sufism as properly islamic philosophy. 10. aḥmad Luṭfî as-sayyid (1872-1963)29 –not to be mistaken for Muḥammad Luṭfî gum‘a (1886-1953)– was politically influential as the editor of a newspaper called al-Garîda the base of which was the Liberal party al-Umma, “the nation”. When World War i broke out, he resigned from the Garîda and the party dissolved. He worked for the egyptian university, was appointed the first egyptian head of the national Library, and translated various works by aristoteles from French into arabic. the uprising of 1919 drew him back into politics, first in the Wafd party, and then in the Liberal Constitutional. Muḥammad Ḥusayn Haykal (1888-1958)30 and Qâsim Haykal was born on august 20, 1888 in Kafr al-ghannâm. in 1905 he was admitted to the Law school of the Khedival Madrasa. Being a student, he contributed to the journal al-Garîda. aḥmad Luṭfî as-sayyid introduced him to the world of egyptian politics and to British liberal authors like John stuart Mill and Herbert spencer. after graduating in 1909, Haykal he went to France and realized how materialistic the european society was. When he went to egypt in the summer of 1911 for a field study, he may already have written Zaynab, views and customs of Lower Egypt31 a novel about life in an egyptian village. However, he did not point a finger at the hard conditions and poverty in which peasants lived and he knew from his trip. Haykal received his phd from the sorbonne in 1912 based on research about the egyptian public debt to the european powers. they were exploiting egyptian lands and Haykal denounced this exploitation, primarily by england. england declared egypt as its protectorate in 1914 29 Biography in the works quoted in footnote 1, by dâghir, and tahir Khemiri- g. Kampffmeyer 30 Baber Johansen, Muh ammad H usain Haikal, Europa und der Orient im Weltbild eines ägyptischen Liberalen, Beirut-Wiesbaden, 1967. 31 Zaynab, manâz ir wa-akhlâq rîfîya. transl. J. Mohammed grinsted, London: darf, 1989. pHiLosopHY in egYpt: THE PIONEERS 25 and strengthened its grip on the country. Haykal, ṭâhâ Ḥusayn, Muṣṭafà ‘abd ar-Râziq and others founded the journal Sufûr, “unveiling” in 1915. under such circumstances, British Liberalism was no longer acceptable, and Haykal turned to an author, Hyppolyte taine, for guidance. Historical events are determined by the conjunction of race, environment and temporal situations and taine compared history to mechanics. Historical determinism is not all-powerful for Haykal who hoped and fought for a change in the social circumstances of egypt. in 1917, Haykal began his teaching at the Law Faculty of Cairo university. With Liberal friends, he founded a political party, “democratic party” which he later abandoned. He eventually joined the powerful Liberal Constitutional party of ‘adlî Yakan (founded in 1922). His political career brought him ministerial posts on several occasions and ended when the constitutional monarchy was overthrown in 1952 by a group of army officers. 11. Qâsim amîn (1865-1908) was born into an aristocratic ottoman family that had ruled in Kurdistan during the mid19th century and later moved to alexandria, egypt, where Q. amîn was born. He graduated, at the age of 18, from the Khedival school and started to practice law. in 1881, amîn was given a government grant to study in France at the university of Montpellier. He spent four years there and became acquainted with Western political and legal thought. Muḥammad ‘abduh stayed in paris in 1883 where he edited the journal al-‘Urwa al-Wuthqà with Jamâl ad-dîn al-afghânî; Qâsim amîn was his translator. after his return to egypt in 1885, amîn married the daughter of ibrahîm pacha Khitâb, joining an aristocratic egyptian family, and was appointed a judge. Qâsim amîn published “the Liberation of Woman”32 in 1899 which was severely criticized in leading egyptian newspapers. in 1900, he wrote Al-mar’a al-gadîda “the 32 Taḥrîr al-mar’a. english transl. samiha sidhom peterson, the american university in Cairo press, 1992. 26 Josep puig Montada new Woman” as a response to this criticism. the islamic law Sharî‘a, according to Q. amîn, “stipulated the equality of women and men before any other legal system”33 and the existing situation during his time was contrary to the law. He blamed the succession of despotic governments for being the main cause of the situation because despotism pervaded the whole society, and the more powerful members of society exert their influence over the weaker members – just as men do over women. as a result of this despotism, women did not have access to education which implied negative economical effects. amîn had in mind aristocratic egyptian women whom he perceived as ignorant, idle, and unable to run their households because “a woman cannot run her household well unless she attains a certain amount of intellectual and cultural knowledge”.34 amîn was concerned because of the disastrous economic consequences due to the lack of education for women. since they were not able to earn a livelihood, they were parasites: “there is hardly an egyptian family free from the burdensome expense of supporting a number of needy women unable to work”.35 Because of their ignorance, he believed that egyptian women could not succeed in raising competent children. Children lived most of their childhood among women and their ignorance brought them up following superstition instead of true religion and this improper education would encumber men all of their lives. in his book, amîn dealt in his book with specific issues such as the veil. He was, by no means, revolutionary; he only contended that the prophet and his Sharî‘a allow women to show their faces and palms. in 1889, amîn commented “the veil is one of the most important issues influencing the affairs of our country” and unfortunately, in 2007, it is still an important issue and not only in egypt. 33 The Liberation of Women, p. 7. 34 The Liberation of Women, p. 12. 35 The Liberation of Women, p. 13.3 pHiLosopHY in egYpt: THE PIONEERS 27 amîn believed that reforming the country started with reforming the family and women’s role inside it. He summarized: “the development of a country depends on numerous factors, the most important of which is the development of women”.36 12. Q. amîn did not raise doubts about the very essence of the religious law, but he re-interpreted it from a Liberal view. ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq (1888-1966), the brother of Muṣṭafà (see above) tried to separate the secular from the religious domain which was of a spiritual nature. ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq was born in 1888 in the Minya province. He spent 12 years at al-azhar where he obtained the degree of ‘âlim. He, then, studied at the egyptian university with nallino and santillana. in 1912, he went to england, learned english and studied political economy at oxford. after returning to egypt in 1915, he was appointed a judge in alexandria; after that in al-Manṣûra, and gîza, and for a second time in al-Manṣûra. as a Sharî ‘a judge in alManṣûra, he published his essay “islam and the Foundations of governance”37 in 1925 where he argued for separating islamic from political authority. He also wrote “Consensus in islamic Law” (Al-ijmâ‘ fî ash-Sharî´ah al-islamîyah) which was published in 1947. ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq defines Khilâfa as suzerainty over worldly and spiritual affairs by proxy of the prophet Muhammad. Like the prophet, the Caliph does not share his power with any associate, because his power comes from god. His only limits are established by the revealed religious law. ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq quoted ibn Khaldûn (d. 1406) who considered that only the first Caliphs abided by the rule of the sharî‘a and that followers ruled only as kings.38 Royalty is motivated by the desire to stay in power and enjoy its privileges. 36 The Liberation of Women, p. 72. 37 Al-islâm wa-uṣûl al-ḥukm (1925). French transl. L. Berger, « L’islam et les bases du pouvoir», Revue des études islamiques 3 (1933) 353-391 and 14 (1934) 163-222. 38 Leonard Binder stresses the interaction with ibn Khaldûn in “ali abd al-Raziq and islamic Liberalism”. Asian and African Studies (israel), 16 (1982, March) 31-57. 28 Josep puig Montada ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq considered it necessary to enquire about the origins of the Caliphal authority and found that besides the affirmers of the doctrine of its divine origin, some scholars contended that the Caliphate is for the Muslim nation, umma the source of its authority39. such controversy parallels the one in europe as represented by Hobbes and Locke. He further enquired about whether the Caliphate is a necessary institution or not and realized that views diverged. among the defenders of its necessity, he mentions M. Rashîd Rîḍà whose position is not original because –he argues– ibn Ḥazm the ẓâhirî (d. 1064) had already maintained that the Koran (4.62) and the sunna (i.e., hadiths) established the necessity of the Caliphate.40 ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq found that these sources did not establish the Caliphate, but they refer to authority in general that has to be obeyed if it does not contradict the sharî‘a. He also demolished the argument that consensus established the necessity of the Caliphate: if we look at history “physical supremacy (ghalba) was always the pillar of the Caliphate”.41 ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq quotes, once again, ibn Khaldûn’s Prolegomena saying “Royalty is nothing except physical supremacy and rule by force”. neither the Koran, the sunna, or the consensus institutes the Caliphate, ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq concluded. islam as a religion is possible without the Caliphate, and the material wellbeing of the Muslims does not require this institution.42 the reason is to be found in the very mission of the prophet. ‘abd ar-Râziq differentiates between Muḥammad’s prophetic mission and his creation of a political state and recognizes that it is an affirmation which hurts Muslim ears.43 Most Muslims were not willing to listen to his words and ‘alî ‘abd ar-Râziq was cast out of the organization of the ̔ulamâ’. 39 40 41 42 43 Al-islâm wa-uṣûl al-ḥukm, pp. 9-10. Al-islâm wa-uṣûl al-ḥukm, p. 17. Al-islâm wa-uṣûl al-ḥukm, p. 25. Al-islâm wa-uṣûl al-ḥukm, p. 35-36. Al-islâm wa-uṣûl al-ḥukm, p. 55. pHiLosopHY in egYpt: THE PIONEERS 29 the publication of the “Foundations of governance” in 1925 can be seen as the line separating the time of the pioneers from that of established philosophy in egypt. its subject, however, is still present in today’s discussions. i started the article focusing on the book of Faraḥ antûn on averroes and the subsequent discussion with Muḥammad ‘abduh. the role of averroes and the question whether a secular state is possible for Muslims are different issues, but are often intertwined. When one reads the exhaustive account of anke von Kügelgen about the reception of averroes in the modern arab world,44 one over and over discovers this intertwining. issues which were politically relevant for averroes and his contemporaries, such as the eternity of creation or of human intellect, are now academic matters, more or less. But, the issue about islam and reason is most relevant insofar as it affects the foundations of islamic society. the history of averroes’ reception in modern arabic world is, to a large extent, the history of its philosophy. if we take, for instance, three major figures of egyptian intellectual life, such as Muḥammad ‘imâra (b. 1931), ‘Âtef al-‘irâqî (b. 1935) and Ḥasan Ḥanafî (b. 1935), we can see how important their relations towards averroes were as well as how seminal the debate between ‘abduh and anṭûn has been. on the other hand, although non-Muslim minorities have lost significance in current egyptian society i daresay that their concern for a free, equal society has extended to the rest of the society. Many philosophers strive to give pathbreaking answers from different standpoints, although some go backwards. philosophy, among the pioneers and present figures, has always been concerned with the situation and values of egyptian society. 44 Averroes und die arabische Moderne Ansätze zu einer Neubegründung des Rationalismus im Islam, Leiden: Brill, 1994.