Wzory europejskie a muzułmańska tradycja polityczna hayr ad-Dīn at-Tūnusī (1822–1890)

Abstract

Political thought of Hayr ad-Dīna at-Tūnusī originates from 19th century, marked by the confrontation between developed and growing in power West and stagnating and yielding to European power Muslim and Arabic world. The necessity of this confrontation and deep awareness of the impotence of the Muslim society in the view of western supremacy and dominance became the cornerstones of all the future Arabic political ideas and the driving force to find the way to regain former power and strength, which have always been present in the Muslim philosophy of life. The Tunisian reformer was looking for such a way by attempting to answer the basic question bothering the citizens of Muslim and Arabic world – what are the reasons of its fall and underdevelopment and the basis of European supremacy, with consideration of despotic government, anachronistic social structures, lack of modern educational system and other issues, but most of all – crystallization of the ideas and reflections on the relationship between traditions and modernity, modern model of the state, society and politics. Hence the deliberations on the designand character of the relationship with the west, on full or partial reception of the European model of government, assumption of the attitude towards current political system and necessity of its reforming or reshaping, democracy and authoritarianism, the range of civil rights and subjection of the citizen towards the state. His views on the state and society were not a simple reflection of the ideas from abroad, nor the repetition of traditional, religious philosophy of life, but rather an attempt of working out a compromise between the European models and ar and embedding them in Muslim tradition in order to accommodate with Islam and its political theory. At the basis of this method there is the necessity to prove that firstly – European knowledge and science had belonged to Muslim world before they were intercepted by the West, and secondly – there is no contradiction between faith and modernity. The admiration of the author of The Simplest Way for European views on the government, society, legal, political and social systems was free from the implication of surrendering the Muslim traditions, or indifference towards them. Contrary – the basis of this admiration was the conviction that social and political thought of Islam has always been proclaiming the ideas which became the core of the European thought of enlightenment. Political and social doctrine of Hayr ad-Dīn was based on the ideas of the French Revolution and the rule of using the privileges of political and personal freedom, and that the mechanisms regulating the relationships between the government and society should be based on the respect of law. The reformation of Hayr adDīn is a compromise between two cultures – Islam and western civilizations. The meaning of his reformation program and his political thoughts made him the father of Tunisian revival and Aqwam al-masālik fī ma‘rifat awāl al-mamālik one of the most distinguished Arabic works of 19th century and leading manuscript of the Arabic revival.