I. B. Tauris & Company Muslim Identities and Modernity: The Transformation of Egyptian Culture, Thought and Literature (Library of Modern Middle East Studies)

What have the concepts of modernity and secularization meant for Islamic tradition, culture and society? How have the discourses which surround all of these issues influenced Muslim self-perception and individual identity? There have been many attempts to describe and analyse the encounter between Islam and modernity in the Middle East, but few have been able so effectively to explore the impact this has on the idea and reality of religious identity and individual religiosity. Maha F. Habib examines modernity from this angle, offering socio-cultural, philosophical and literary perspectives. She assesses how this is played out in Egypt, analysing cultural changes in the country through its intellectual thought and literature, from the nineteenth century to the present day. Her references to the works of Muhammad Abdu, Muhammad Husayn Haykal, Abbas Mahmud al- Aqqad, Naguib Mahfouz, Alaa al-Aswany and Salwa Bakr reveal contemporary issues and concerns which will interest those researching the cultural and social milieu of modern Egypt. Review At a time when Egypt is once more facing questions regarding its identity, perhaps in a more radical way than at any time during the last half century, with society violently polarised not just between secularisation and religion, but also democracy and authoritarianism, conflicting binaries that have afflicted the country since its first encounter with modernity through Napoleon s invasion at such a time there cannot be a more opportune moment for a study that digs at the cultural and intellectual roots of today s crisis of identity. --Professor Rasheed El-Enany, University of ExeterMost of the books written on the topic take for granted a positive modern influence on this literature, and review tradition, Islam and history as regressive forces. Maha very delicately in her book attempts another approach by which western influence was not always progressive and more importantly shows that the linear line that is suggested by most historians, namely that literature became more westernized and hence modern with time, neglected the very important debates in that literature that represented both sides, and maybe even a third side, of the argument. --Professor Ilan Pappé, University of Exeter About the Author Maha F. Habib is a Lecturer at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Previously a Researcher at York University in Toronto, she holds a PhD in Arab and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Exeter.