Encounter with the West from the Perspective of Arab Thinkers

Encounter with the West is probably the most important event that challenged the shape and even the nature of contemporary Islamic society. In other words, after the Islamic society’s confrontation with the West since the nineteenth century, reflection and judgment about its existence, current state, and choice of future path were raised again in a new form. This book first introduces the phenomenon of the West and the components of modernity. Then, it sequentially explores the concept of and encounter with the West from the perspectives of Arab intellectuals including Sayyid Qutb (Egyptian), Hisham Sharabi (Palestinian), Abdallah Laroui (Moroccan), and Hassan Hanafi (Egyptian). It addresses their confrontation with the West on one hand and the colonial aspects of Western civilization on the other. Finally, their viewpoints are compared.