Scholarship on the Islamic eighteenth century has traditionally argued that this is a century of disarray, stagnation, fragmentation of tradition, and decline. This widely accepted scholarly view asserts that the eighteenth century is a century of political and economic decline and intellectual stagnation. According to this view, an era of political and intellectual revival and reform ensues in the nineteenth century primarily as a result of the growth of European influence in, and the resulting intellectual challenges to, the Muslim world. More recently, some revisionist historians convincingly criticized notions of a comprehensive social and economic decline in the eighteenth century, and put forth the thesis of alternative and simultaneous Enlightenments that were not restricted to Europe. These studies often invite historians to shift the focus of research from the sphere of culture to that of political economy. In so doing, however, this approach fails to identify what, if anything, is original about the Islamic eighteenth century.
In this public lecture, based on his recently published book "Islam without Europe. Traditions of Reform in Eighteenth-Century Islamic Thought," Ahmad S. Dallal (Georgetown University in Qatar) offers a revision of both traditional historiography of the Muslim World in the eighteenth century and of the more recent attempts to revisit this historiography.

Professor Dallal will also hold a seminar on the 17th of July dedicated to a close reading and examination of key texts from the 18th century. If you wish to register for the seminar and receive the texts, please contact Katharina Kloss (katharina.kloss@fu-berlin.de).

Ahmad S. Dallal is the dean of Georgetown University in Qatar. He was professor of history and the provost at the American University in Beirut from 2009 to 2017.  Previously an Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies and Chair of the Arabic and Islamic Studies Department at Georgetown University (2003-2009), he has taught at Stanford University (2000-2003), Yale University (1994-2000), and Smith College (1990-1994). He earned his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Columbia University and his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Beirut. His academic training and research cover the history of the disciplines of learning in Muslim societies, as well as early modern and modern Islamic thought and movements. His books and articles are focused on the history of science, Islamic revivalist thought, and Islamic law. He is the author of the comparative study of eighteenth-century Islamic reform entitled "Islam Without Europe. Traditions of Reform in Eighteenth Century Islamic Thought" (2018) and "Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History" (2012). Ahmad S. Dallal has also written essays and delivered numerous lectures on the background and aftermath of the September 11 attacks.