Mutual othering : Islam, modernity, and the politics of cross-cultural encounters in pre-colonial Moroccan and European travel writing / Ahmed Idrissi Alami.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Idrissi Alami, Ahmed.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Travelers' writings, European--Morocco--History and criticism.

Travelers' writings, European.

Travelers' writings, Arabic--Europe--History and criticism.

Travelers' writings, Arabic.

European prose literature--19th century--History and criticism.

European prose literature.

Arabic prose literature--19th century--History and criticism.

Arabic prose literature.

East and West in literature.

Islam in literature.

Ethnology in literature.

Imperialism in literature.

Morocco--Description and travel.

Morocco.

Europe--Description and travel.

Europe.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (274 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For the first time, readings of Moroccan travel writing in Arabic are juxtaposed with French and British writing about Morocco in a critical exploration of nineteenth-century concepts of modernity. Ahmed Idrissi Alami investigates the complex dynamics concerning colonial expansion, military conflict, and societal values. Mutual Othering sets out to rethink generally accepted concepts of European modernity by critically examining its production and contestation within a subaltern context in which the native other—in this case, religious scholars or imams accompanying political missions to Paris and London—presents aspects of European culture to elite members of the Moroccan imperial court. This work also connects the arguments of these texts to the rethinking of tradition and modernity, the rhetoric of reform, democracy and the Arab state, and the compatibility of Islam with the West and secular values in the post-9/11 world. The inclusion of citations in the original French and Arabic, alongside English translations, allows a range of readers to enjoy this critical addition to the fields of literature, travel writing, North African studies, history, international relations, and philosophy, as well as cultural and religious studies.

Contents:

Introduction: concepts of modernity

Literary depictions of the Moor, travel writing and the Maghreb

The rihla to Europe: transcultural Islam and the Islamization of modernity

Visions of Morocco and its pre-modernity in French travel writing

Slavery, racism and the rhetoric of modernity in British travel writing

Conclusions and contemporary debates.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781461936138

1461936136

9781438447353

1438447353

OCLC:

899261741