Muslim Identities and Modernity: The Transformation of Egyptian Culture, Thought and Literature

by Maha Habib

Overview

What have the concepts of modernity and secularization meant for Islamic tradition, culture and society? How have the discourses which surround all of these issues influenced Muslim self-perception and individual identity? There have been many attempts to describe and analyse the encounter between Islam and modernity in the Middle East, but few have been able so effectively to explore the impact this has on the idea and reality of religious identity and individual religiosity. Maha F. Habib examines modernity from this angle, offering socio-cultural, philosophical and literary perspectives. She assesses how this is played out in Egypt, analysing cultural changes in the country through its intellectual thought and literature, from the nineteenth century to the present day. Her references to the works of Muhammad Abdu, Muhammad Husayn Haykal, 'Abbas Mahmud al-'Aqqad, Naguib Mahfouz, Alaa al-Aswany and Salwa Bakr reveal contemporary issues and concerns which will interest those researching the cultural and social milieu of modern Egypt.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857729989
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	03/16/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Maha F. Habib is a Lecturer at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Previously a Researcher at York University in Toronto, she holds a PhD in Arab and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Exeter.

Table of Contents

Part I: Secularization, Islam and the Predicament of Identity
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Enlightenment Project and Secularization in the West
Chapter 2: Modernity and Islam in Egypt: The Struggle for Self-Representation and the Problems of Orientation
Chapter 3: Islam and Modernity: The Predicament of Identity
Chapter 4: Narrating Islam, Modernity and Muslim Identity
Chapter 5: Egyptian Writing and the Search for Authenticity

Part II: States of Cultural Contestation and the Struggle for Self-Definition
Chapter 6: Narrating the Nation: The Rise of Egyptian (Territorial) Nationalism
Chapter 7: The Rise of Easternism and National Re-definition
Chapter 8: Conclusions

Part III: States of Ambivalence
Chapter 9: Introduction
Chapter 10: From Sacred to Secular: Time and Space, Alienation and Exile
Chapter 11: The Transformation of Social Formations
Chapter 12: The Plight of Women: Vulnerable, Powerless and Subjugated
Chapter 13: Ambivalent Identities and the Sacred

Chapter 14: Conclusion