Religion, society, and culture in Malik Bennabi's thought
This chapter attempts to provide a condensed account of the philosophical and sociological thought of the twentieth-century eminent Algerian thinker Malik Bennabi (1905–73). It focuses on his views pertaining to religion, society, and culture. The present chapter consists of three main sections th...
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| Format: | Book Chapter |
| Language: | English |
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Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
2007
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/7099/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/7099/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/7099/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/7099/1/Religion%2C_Society_and_Culture_In_Malik_Bennabi%E2%80%99s_Thought_-_Blackwell__Companion_-_2006.pdf |
| Summary: | This chapter attempts to provide a condensed account of the philosophical and sociological thought of the twentieth-century eminent Algerian thinker Malik Bennabi
(1905–73). It focuses on his views pertaining to religion, society, and culture. The
present chapter consists of three main sections that are prefaced with a short biographical sketch outlining the major stages of Bennabi’s life and career.
As will become clear in the pages that follow, Bennabi’s works in general and his The
Qur’anic Phenomenon in particular stand out as one of the most well-informed intellectual responses to, and engagement with, modern Western philosophical and scientific
thought. A sense of the unity of human history, a critical and profound philosophical
bent of mind, and a sharp awareness of the cross-cultural and intellectual currents
at work in the West and the Muslim world: these are major traits of his treatment of
various theological, moral, social, and cultural issues. These features are consolidated
and given full scope by what can be seen as a visionary passion driving toward transcending the prevailing thought categories, not through shallow and haughty ideological attitude, but through a conscious and creative intellectual commitment to
analysis and systematic theorizing. This, it seems, is what enabled Bennabi to boldly
question some of the fundamental intellectual premises of modern Western culture and
civilization and to realize some of their grave epistemological and moral consequences,
while at the same time appreciating the achievements and the benefits it has brought
to mankind. |
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