An Imam in Paris

In the 1820s, Rifa‘a Rafi‘ al-Tahtawi, a young Muslim cleric, was a leading member of the first Egyptian educational mission to Paris, where he remained for five years, documenting his observations of European culture. His account, Takhlis al-Ibriz fi Talkhis Bariz, is one of the earliest and most influential records of the Muslim encounter with Enlightenment-era European thought, introducing ideas of modernity to his native land. In addition to its historical and literary value, al-Tahtawi’s work offers invaluable insight into early conceptions of Europe and the ‘Other’. Its observations are as vibrant and palpable today as they were over 150 years ago; informative and often acute, to humorous effect. An irrefutable classic, this new edition of the first English translation is of seminal value. It is introduced and carefully annotated by a scholar fluent in the life, times and milieu of its narrator.
‘An Imam in Paris lets us share the responses of a highly intelligent scholar ... Daniel L. Newman is to be congratulated on making the first translation into English of this remarkable book, and on supporting the text with a first-class introduction and with footnotes that are as full as one could wish.’ Times Literary Supplement ‘A touchstone for thinking about the tangled relations between Islam and modernity’ Jewish Quarterly ‘[A] fine translation ... extensively and meticulously notated’ The International History Review

Auteur
Daniel L. Newman is Professor of Arabic and Course Director of the MA in Arabic-English Translation and Interpreting at the University of Durham. His other works include Modern Arabic Short Stories: A Bilingual Reader (with Ronak Husni, Saqi Books, 2008).

Résumé
In the 1820s, Rifaa Rafi al-Tahtawi, a young Muslim cleric, was a leading member of the first Egyptian educational mission to Paris, where he remained for five years, documenting his observations of European culture. His account, Takhlis al-Ibriz fi Talkhis Bariz, is one of the earliest and most influential records of the Muslim encounter with Enlightenment-era European thought, introducing ideas of modernity to his native land. In addition to its historical and literary value, al-Tahtawi's work offers invaluable insight into early conceptions of Europe and the `Other'. Its observations are as vibrant and palpable today as they were over 150 years ago; informative and often acute, to humorous effect. An irrefutable classic, this new edition of the first English translation is of seminal value. It is introduced and carefully annotated by a scholar fluent in the life, times and milieu of its narrator.

Contenu
Contents: Note on Transcription 9 Preface to the Second Edition 11 Preface 13 Part one: Introduction 1. The 'Egyptian' Mission to Europe17 Background17 The Students29 2. Life of al-Tahtawi 31 Auspicious Beginnings 31 The First Exile 33 Hasan al-Attar: An Early Reformist Alim 36 Return of the Prodigal Son 40 Teacher, Trainer, Translator, Editor (1835 - 49) 47 The Second Exile (1850 - 54) 53 Ali Mubarak: 'The Father of Education' 56 al-Tahtawi the Reformer (1854 - 73)68 3. al-Tahtawi in Europe 72 4. The Book 87 Genesis and Themes87 Format and Style94 Part two: Takhlis al-Ibriz fi Talkhis Bariz Preface 101 Introduction 107 First Chapter. Regarding what seemed to me to be the reason behind our departure for this Land of Infidelity and Obstinacy, which lies far away from us and where there are great expenses because of the high cost of living 107 Second Chapter. Regarding the required sciences and desirable skills and crafts 117 Third Chapter. On the position of the Lands of the Franks in comparison with other countries, on the advantage the French nation has over all other Franks, and the reason why His Excellency decided to send us there and not to any of the other Frank kingdoms 119 Fourth Chapter. On the leaders of this mission 132 Core of the Book 135 First Essay 136 First Section. From the departure from Cairo to the arrival at the port of Alexandria 136 Second Section. Treatise on this city, which is an abridgement of several Arabic and French books, from which we have retained that which appeared to be accurate 136 Third Section. On the voyage on the sea on which the port of Alexandria lies 141 Fourth Section. On the mountains, countries and islands we saw 144 Second Essay 150 First Section. On our stay in the city of Marseilles 150 Second Section. From our departure from Marseilles to the arrival in Paris and on the itinerary between the two cities 162 Third Essay 163 First Section. On the topography of Paris; its geographical location, soil, climate and surrounding area 163 Second Section. On the people of Paris 176 Third Section. On the organization of the French state 192 Fourth Section. On the housing of the people of Paris and related matters 216 Fifth Section. On the food of the people of Paris and their eating and drinking habits 222 Sixth Section. On the clothing of the French 225 Seventh Section. On the entertainments of Paris 228 Eighth Section. On hygiene in the city of Paris 236 Ninth Section. On the interest in medical sciences in Paris 237 Tenth Section. On charity in the city of Paris 240 Eleventh Section. On earnings in the city of Paris and the entrepreneurial skills there 245 Twelfth Section. On the religion of the people of Paris 251 Thirteenth Section. On progress by the people of Paris in the sciences, arts and crafts, the way these are organized, as well as an explanation of related matters 254 Fourth Essay 276 Introduction 276 First Section. On the organization of instruction in reading and writing, etc., which we received at the beginning 277 Second Section. On the supervision of our comings and goings 279 Third Section. On how our ruler exhorted us to work and show diligence 282 Fourth Section. On some of the letters between myself and some of the leading French scholars, other than Monsieur Jomard 284 Fifth Section. On the books I read in the city of Paris; the nature of the exams; what Monsieur Jomard wrote to me; reports of the final exam in scholarly journals 291 Sixth Section. On the exams I took in the city of Paris, especially the final exam before my return to Egypt 300 Fifth Essay 305 First Section. Being an introduction in order to understand the reason why the French no longer obeyed their king 306 Second Section. On the changes that were introduced and on the revolution that ensued from them 310 Third Section. On the actions of the king in this period and what happened after he agreed to a conciliation when it was too late, and his abdication in favour of his son 317 Fourth Section.