As if the Arab world had plenty of contemporary thinkers to afford to lose one more. Last week, the Algerian intellectual Mohammed Arkoun, one of the most influential Islamic (some prefer "secular") scholars of the 20th century, died in his Paris home at the age of 82. His demise is the most recent in a series of deaths among Arab thinkers this year, which has left the intellectual scene all the way from Morocco to Oman at quite a loss.
Arkoun, born to a Berber Kabylie family, studied humanities in Algiers before completing his PhD in philosophy in France, where he lived, taught and wrote books in French. He is credited with developing "applied Islamology", a scientific discourse on Islamic heritage that uses cherished western academic tools of epistemology and psychoanalysis. Convinced that "faiths do not fall from the sky" and are instead a function of socio-political dynamics, he rejected the notion that western and Arab-Muslim civilisations are somehow fatefully antithetical. He saw that any civilisation, in the end, is a human model of conduct that must be open to critique and dialogue.
Arkoun was occasionally accused of selling out Islamic authenticity for a modern sensibility that lacked ethics. But despite the criticism, his death is a loss that is heavily felt within the wider context of the intellectual Arab world, particularly as its elite ages and slowly wastes away. Indeed, the Arab-Muslim world cries out for more scholars who understand its cultural schizophrenia and murky identity issues; scholars who know of Orientalism's shortcomings as well as the pitfalls of home-grown dogmatism.
But the sturdy pendulum of time apparently will have none of it. In May, Mohammed Abed al Jabri, the man who deconstructed the Arab mind, heritage and theo-political culture, also passed away in his Casablanca residence at the age of 75. The daunting titles of al Jabri's books alone give the reader an idea of the enormity of his critical enterprise. His seminal Critique of the Arab Mind tackles the constitutional, structural, political and ethical layers of Arab character and rationality in the context of Hellenistic and Renaissance philosophies.
Like Arkoun, al Jabri was no stranger to criticism. Some accused him of excessive reliance on classic theories from the Islamic Golden Age, which witnessed the rise of Muslim polymaths such as the 12th century scholar Ibn Rushd (Averroes). Others found fault with his strict division of Reason into Ancient Greek, western and Arab categories. More hard-line groups objected to his interpretative approach to the stories of the Quran.
As if that were not enough, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, an Egyptian scholar, breathed his last in Cairo at the age of 67 this July. His application of the analytical methods of hermeneutics and exegesis in his Critique of Religious Discourse earned him the notorious kafir (apostate) nomination. As such, he was forcibly separated from his wife as a non-Muslim. Years of self-exile were also part of the price he paid for his ideas.
Yet, overall, the clamours and hoo-ha surrounding these suit-and-necktie critics have been, on a deeper level, healthy for the Arab-Muslim world. These minds posited problems that were hitherto under-debated, undiagnosed or purely taboo. Each in his own way stressed the need for the renovation of Islamic thought. They all posed the question: how can Muslim society wrap its mind around its present, make use of its past and be able to plan for the future if it does not have a clear notion of historical movement; if it does not have an adequate sense of what is and what is not anachronistic?
In the absence of a solid, up-and-coming generation of theoreticians, the vacuum that has been left behind could potentially prove fertile ground for sterile disputes between politicised Islamists and opportunistic secularists. The buffer that these and other Arab scholars worked hard to mount between such extreme factions seems to be quickly disintegrating. What's more, such thinkers are rare and hard to reproduce. Largely self-made one-offs, these men were not products of an academic paradigm that methodically churned out distinguished scholars. And as education ministries in the Arab-Muslim world promote infrastructural and marketing fields - civil engineering, computer science, telecommunications and business administration - over the humanities, the prospect for cultural and theoretical scholarship look all the more dismal.
Sure, good books outlive their authors. But the best books also age, and they need fresher books to rejuvenate and challenge them. This darkening horizon of Arab intellectuallism carries no fluttery winged silhouettes heralding a new generation of able thinkers ready to take up this cause. In an Arab world where illiteracy figures are atrocious, readership is skeletal and book circulation is negligible, it is no wonder that those Arab philosophers who died have left with a twinge in their hearts. But those who are alive still vigorously deplore the strategic failure of Arab governments - decades after independence - to devise a system of academic scholarship that places young talent on the shoulders of the old.
When a civilisation loses its vanguard, it loses its ability to look forward; it becomes a ship without a compass and without stars. Arkoun, Abu Zayd and al Jabri were three among a handful of eminent Arab thinkers who steered the course of a long-troubled ship. A relay baton sits on each one of their books, patiently waiting for the next intrepid hand to grab it. @Email:aelbahi@thenational.ae
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs%20
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MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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More on Yemen's civil war
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
More on animal trafficking
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Brief scoreline:
Crystal Palace 2
Milivojevic 76' (pen), Van Aanholt 88'
Huddersfield Town 0
LEADERBOARD
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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