History Hash Outs | Alexandria Again: Islamic Philosophy and Decolonisation in Mid-20th Century Egypt

Join Simon Conrad, research associate at the Orient-Institute Beirut, for a talk on how modern Egyptian university philosophers reclaimed the legacy of Alexandrian cosmopolitanism from colonial narratives for an independent Egypt.

This talk discusses how modern Egyptian university philosophers reclaimed the legacy of Alexandrian cosmopolitanism from colonial narratives for an independent Egypt. The focus is on the life and work of Abu al-‘Ila ‘Afifi (1897-1966), an editor, translator, journalist and philosophy professor at the young public universities in Egypt, first in Cairo, later in Alexandria. Conrad shows how ‘Afifi and others pioneered "a new school of Alexandrian philosophy" amid world war, decolonization and the reconstitution of Islamic philosophy as a field of study. Mirroring the attempts of Egyptians to reclaim the built environment of Alexandria following the Capitulations regime, Conrad argues that this new school sought to reclaim Alexandria as an idea by positing Muslim thinkers who reconciled Sufism and philosophy—Avicenna, ibn ‘Arabi, al-Suhrawardi and others—as the true heirs of late-antique Alexandria. In addition to discussing some of the principal characteristics of this new school, the presentation points to some of the openings it provided for intellectuals like ‘Afifi in mid-twentieth century Egypt and beyond. The talk ends with conclusions on the importance of studying the modern Arabic rescripting of Islamic literature and thought for scholars in Islamic studies and Middle East cultural and intellectual history alike.