The Arab Islamic Philosophy between Fairness and Unfairness: The Orientalist Vision
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35516/Hum.2026.9919Keywords:
Orientalists, Orientalism, Islamic Philosophy, Arabian Civilization, Modern CriticismAbstract
Objectives: Historically, orientalist studies addressing Arab Islamic philosophy have been divided into two perspectives—fair and unfair. This study aims to explore the orientalist vision of Arab Islamic philosophy by discussing both positions and demonstrating the attitudes of prominent orientalists, thereby revealing the argumentative debate and contradictions between them.
Methods: The study adopts a historical-critical approach, recognizing its value in understanding the history of both orientalism and Arab Islamic thought, while critically analyzing their developments.
Results: The study finds that the orientalist view of Arab Islamic philosophy was one of the most controversial and debated topics among orientalists, resulting in a division into two dissenting groups. Each group had its own supporters, with the group holding an unfair attitude disparaging the originality of Islamic philosophy based on unsubstantiated allegations and misrepresentations. Furthermore, the study reveals that orientalist research on Islamic philosophy was often fragmented, addressing certain questions or focusing on specific philosophers. These studies were influenced by the traditional European tendency to either ignore or undermine Islamic philosophy, even over trivial misrepresentations.
Conclusions: The study concludes that the fair view of Islamic philosophy, which presents a more objective and influential perspective, was more significant and widespread than the unfair group’s stance.
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Accepted 2025-02-03
Published 2026-02-01
