Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition

Description

The story of how Arab editors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries revolutionized Islamic literature Islamic book culture dates back to late antiquity, when Muslim scholars began to write down their doctrines on parchment, papyrus, and paper and then to compose increasingly elaborate analyses of, and commentaries on, these ideas. Movable type was adopted in the Middle East only in the early nineteenth century, and it wasn't until the second half of the century that the first works of classical Islamic religious scholarship were printed there. But from that moment on, Ahmed El Shamsy reveals, the technology of print transformed Islamic scholarship and Arabic literature. In the first wide-ranging account of the effects of print and the publishing industry on Islamic scholarship, El Shamsy tells the fascinating story of how a small group of editors and intellectuals brought forgotten works of Islamic literature into print and defined what became the classical canon of Islamic thought. Through the lens of the literary culture of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Arab cities―especially Cairo, a hot spot of the nascent publishing business―he explores the contributions of these individuals, who included some of the most important thinkers of the time. Through their efforts to find and publish classical literature, El Shamsy shows, many nearly lost works were recovered, disseminated, and harnessed for agendas of linguistic, ethical, and religious reform. Bringing to light the agents and events of the Islamic print revolution, Rediscovering the Islamic Classics is an absorbing examination of the central role printing and its advocates played in the intellectual history of the modern Arab world. Cover Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. The Disappearing Books The Book Drain to Europe The Decline of Traditional Libraries The Emergence of Modern Libraries Chapter 2. Postclassical Book Culture Scholasticism: Only Postclassical Books Matter Esotericism: The Falling Prestige of Book Learning Countercurrents: Pushing back against Scholasticism and Esotericism Chapter 3. The Beginnings of Print Early Printing in the Arabic World: Limited Horizons The Evolution of the Publishing Industry: Expanding Possibilities How Printing Worked: The Role of the Corrector Chapter 4. A New Generation of Book Lovers The Egyptian Scholarly Society ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd Nāfiʿ and the Race for Manuscripts Aḥmad Taymūr: New Intellectual Outlooks Aḥmad al-Ḥusaynī’s Return to the Classics Chapter 5. The Rise of the Editor Aḥmad Zakī’s Early Scholarship and the State of the Field Engagement with Orientalism The Systematic Collection and Preservation of Manuscripts The Role of the Editor (Muḥaqqiq) Chapter 6. Reform through Books Muḥammad ʿAbduh as a Reformer of Language The Multifaceted Activism of Ṭāhir al-Jazāʾirī Chapter 7. The Backlash against Postclassicism A Transnational Network of Book Collectors Ibn Taymiyya as a Model of Broad Erudition Contesting the Power of Saints Chapter 8. Critique and Philology Historical Criticism Pseudophilology Textual Criticism Conclusion Bibliography Index