Leaping Decolonization – Idriss Jebari (1)

These colonial authorities relied on his insights to argue that Arab cities lacked administrative and insti- tutional structure and thus needed colonial input and management.104 Yet, like von Grunebaum, Djaït demonstrated that Massignon was guilty of severe historical shortcomings in his study, particularly that he overlooked material traces of an urban organization model in the early stages of Islamic history, a phase of rapid expansion. Indeed, Massignon had relied in his writings on religious texts rather than historical sources in his search for “an internal reality, living meaning, the intentions of real content, as it is perceived by those who believe .

. . in the Quranic Revelation and the Prophet Muhammad’s mission.”105 By critiquing this pillar of French Orientalism, the Tunisian historian showed that Arab cultural stagnation (or chaos) was a notion perpetu- ated by this field of knowledge that rested on flawed foundations. In contrast to Laroui, he offered a more substantive historical alterna- tive. Djaït penned several studies in the Annales historical journal. This included a 1973 overview article on “Arab Africa in the 8th century.” In this revisionist study, he retold the story of the Ifriqiya province after the conquest, the story of institutional establishments, administrations and courts, streams of economic exchanges, and social formations, which showed the existence of a “spiritual and intellectual life” in the religious center of Qayrawan.

By retelling the history of this 102 Françoise Micheau et. al., “Le monde arabo-musulman au Moyen Age,” in Actes des congrés de la Société des historiens médiévistes de l’enseignement supérieur public, XXth Congress Paris 20 (1989), 363–367; Janet L. Abu- Lughod, “The Islamic City – Historic Myth, Islamic Essence, and Contemporary Relevance,” International Journal of Middle East Studies 19.2 (May 1987): 158; Jean-Louis Triaud, “L’Islam vu par les historiens francais,” Esprit 246.10 (October 1998): 119.

In the wake of independence from French colonialism, a generation of North African nationalist leaders and progressive thinkers reimagined their futures through essays, periodicals, and publishing networks. Leaping Decolonization explores how these debates unfolded from the early 1960s to the early 1980s, when intellectuals across Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia challenged colonial legacies, questioned the mean- ing of progress, and redefined the role of tradition in their societies.

Idriss Jebari constructs a transnational intellectual history grounded in the lived experience of the region’s post-colonial transformations. It is organized in a series of “debates” on the meaning of decolonization, ranging from national culture to social emancipation. This study further sheds light on how radical thought was produced under authoritarianism, seeking to capture the aspirations of youth movements, and how North Africa’s decolonization connects with other historical experiences. In doing so, Jebari addresses ongoing questions about the meaning of global history and the voices of intellectual peripheries from the Global South on the world stage.

idriss jebari is a lecturer in Middle East studies at Trinity College Dublin. His research focuses on North African cultural and social history after its independences from France, on the radical sixties and seventies, on collective memory in the Arab world, and contemporary Mediterranean history.

His work has appeared in International Journal of Middle East Studies, Middle East Critique, and History of the Present. The Global Middle East General Editors Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, SOAS, University of London Ali Mirsepassi, New York University Editorial Advisory Board Faisal Devji, University of Oxford John Hobson, University of Sheffield Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, University of Pennsylvania Madawi Al-Rasheed, London School of Economics and Political Science David Ryan, University College Cork, Ireland The Global Middle East series seeks to broaden and deconstruct the geographical boundaries of the “Middle East” as a concept to include North Africa, Central and South Asia, and diaspora communities in Western Europe and North America.

The series features fresh scholar- ship that employs theoretically rigorous and innovative methodo- logical frameworks resonating across relevant disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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• Language: English (en)

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