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The Republic of Arabic Letters: Islam and the European Enlightenment
A Longman-History Today Book Prize Finalist
Winner of the Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize
A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year
"Deeply thoughtful...A delight."
--The Economist
"[A] tour de force...Bevilacqua's extraordinary book provides the first true glimpse into this story...He, like the tradition he describes, is a rarity."
--New Republic
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a pioneering community of Western scholars laid the groundwork for the modern understanding of Islamic civilization. They produced the first accurate translation of the Qur'an, mapped Islamic arts and sciences, and wrote Muslim history using Arabic sources. The Republic of Arabic Letters is the first account of this riveting lost period of cultural exchange, revealing the profound influence of Catholic and Protestant intellectuals on the Enlightenment understanding of Islam.
"A closely researched and engrossing study of...those scholars who, having learned Arabic, used their mastery of that difficult language to interpret the Quran, study the career of Muhammad...and introduce Europeans to the masterpieces of Arabic literature."
--Robert Irwin, Wall Street Journal
"Fascinating, eloquent, and learned, The Republic of Arabic Letters reveals a world later lost, in which European scholars studied Islam with a sense of affinity and respect...A powerful reminder of the ability of scholarship to transcend cultural divides, and the capacity of human minds to accept differences without denouncing them."
--Maya Jasanoff
"What makes his study so groundbreaking, and such a joy to read, is the connection he makes between intellectual history and the material history of books."
--Financial Times
Winner of the Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize
A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year
"Deeply thoughtful...A delight."
--The Economist
"[A] tour de force...Bevilacqua's extraordinary book provides the first true glimpse into this story...He, like the tradition he describes, is a rarity."
--New Republic
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a pioneering community of Western scholars laid the groundwork for the modern understanding of Islamic civilization. They produced the first accurate translation of the Qur'an, mapped Islamic arts and sciences, and wrote Muslim history using Arabic sources. The Republic of Arabic Letters is the first account of this riveting lost period of cultural exchange, revealing the profound influence of Catholic and Protestant intellectuals on the Enlightenment understanding of Islam.
"A closely researched and engrossing study of...those scholars who, having learned Arabic, used their mastery of that difficult language to interpret the Quran, study the career of Muhammad...and introduce Europeans to the masterpieces of Arabic literature."
--Robert Irwin, Wall Street Journal
"Fascinating, eloquent, and learned, The Republic of Arabic Letters reveals a world later lost, in which European scholars studied Islam with a sense of affinity and respect...A powerful reminder of the ability of scholarship to transcend cultural divides, and the capacity of human minds to accept differences without denouncing them."
--Maya Jasanoff
"What makes his study so groundbreaking, and such a joy to read, is the connection he makes between intellectual history and the material history of books."
--Financial Times
368 pages, Paperback
Published March 3, 2020
24 people are currently reading
585 people want to read
About the author
Alexander Bevilacqua
2 books8 followersAlexander Bevilacqua, Assistant Professor of History, specializes in the cultural and intellectual history of early modern Europe (ca. 1450 to 1800). His research examines Western understandings of human diversity and of non-Western religious and intellectual traditions.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 2, 2018
Before the term "Orientalist" gained its negative connotation, there was a small yet dedicated generation of European scholars working at the beginning of the Enlightenment era who sought to understand the peoples of the Muslim world and their beliefs. They did so not in the service of raw power or to patronize the Muslims and their religion. Rather, these Catholic and Protestant scholars saw Islam and the civilization that it created as comparable to their own Christendom (albeit as an ultimately heretical deviation), and saw Islamic antiquity as the site of noble human dramas directly analogous to the classical achievements of Greece and Rome. These Christian scholars thought there was something of universal worth to learn in the study of Islam, Muslims and their history, even as they studied in order to provide intellectual defense against the erosion of their own communities of faith.
This book is the story of this group of 16th and 17th century scholars and how they came to plant the first seeds of knowledge about Islam into the soil of the European intellectual culture of the time. As Bevilacqua describes, much European knowledge about Islam initially came as the result of individual scholars and their patrons literally traveling to the bazaars of Istanbul, Aleppo and Cairo to physically purchase books and manuscripts. These books included translations of classical Greek works as we know. But there were also many Islamic religious texts and commentaries sought out and carried back to the libraries and collections of Europe. These works helped stimulate a renaissance of European understanding of Islam. Surprisingly it was a far more sympathetic one than what exists for the most part today.
Europeans wanted to know about the Muslims, on some level to refute their false religion and thus protect the integrity of their own faith. But to the credit of their intellectual tradition they also genuinely wanted to understand on its own terms what to them, at the time, seemed like a great and powerful civilization that had changed the course of the world. Most notably these scholars gave respect to the Muslim tradition by citing and using Arabic commentaries written by Muslims when developing their own works. This is something that is a bare minimum for anyone genuinely seeking to understand a foreign tradition, yet is something that many modern Westerners who consider themselves intellectuals often fail to do. This is a sign of a debilitating hubris that exists today, but which was less prevalent in the European past.
Interestingly many of these scholars viewed Islam's perceived rationality and comportment with natural law (i.e. the idea of the unity of God was seen as more natural than a trinity) as a sign of its falsehood, as it was somehow a sign of the trickery entailed in the creed. Such opinions only make sense in the light of zealous faith, but its notable that for all the great faith these scholars had in their own religion they were still able to appreciate the heroes and achievements of Islamic civilization. Hazrat Ali, Muawiyah, Abu Bakr, Harun al-Rashid, Al-Mamoun, Salah al-Din and Prophet Muhammad himself were all highly praised and respected on their own terms as heroes, lawgivers and patrons of learning, even by scholars who ultimately considered them heretics and propagators of a false religion. Even the Ottomans came in for a sympathetic hearing for helping incubate an orderly and dynamic society, rather than being merely the tyrannical "sick men" that later European philosophers described.
Despite being religious Christians with their own metaphysical commitments, the European scholars of Islam at this time were in large part more charitable and sympathetic to Islam than many liberal-secular commentators in the contemporary West. Interestingly, political philosophers like Niccolo Machiavelli and Edward Gibbon (who was actually less sympathetic to Islam than, say, Voltaire) saw Islamic civilization as one of the inheritors and continuers of ancient Rome. This would be a surprise to clueless modern Islamists who sometimes inveigh against "Rome" as representing an imagined Western civilization. As the book notes, European views on Islam only turned definitively sour during the age of imperialism, when Muslims came to be seen less as a respected rival civilization and more as an inferior race. Once Westerners began to disdain their own religion they also started to lose sympathy for the beliefs of their neighbors, whose power now appeared to be in terminal decline and whose religious faith suddenly started to look to them less like an inspiration and more like a hindrance.
The book is written in academic style but is nonetheless benefitted by its very clear and lucid prose. It was nice to read the stories of these European scholars who lived the life of the mind and devoted it to the study of the history and beliefs of a foreign people. In their own personalities these scholars exemplified the best of the Western intellectual tradition. The men of the "Republic of Arabic Letters" achieved herculean intellectual feats, translating foreign languages to write their histories and using source materials that literally needed to be scoured from across the world to get the job done. Given the challenges it was amazing what a good job they did. It also goes to show that the history of European engagement with Islam, even by Christians studying to prove the superiority of their own faith, was something more than a simplistic narrative of crusades and colonialism.
This book is the story of this group of 16th and 17th century scholars and how they came to plant the first seeds of knowledge about Islam into the soil of the European intellectual culture of the time. As Bevilacqua describes, much European knowledge about Islam initially came as the result of individual scholars and their patrons literally traveling to the bazaars of Istanbul, Aleppo and Cairo to physically purchase books and manuscripts. These books included translations of classical Greek works as we know. But there were also many Islamic religious texts and commentaries sought out and carried back to the libraries and collections of Europe. These works helped stimulate a renaissance of European understanding of Islam. Surprisingly it was a far more sympathetic one than what exists for the most part today.
Europeans wanted to know about the Muslims, on some level to refute their false religion and thus protect the integrity of their own faith. But to the credit of their intellectual tradition they also genuinely wanted to understand on its own terms what to them, at the time, seemed like a great and powerful civilization that had changed the course of the world. Most notably these scholars gave respect to the Muslim tradition by citing and using Arabic commentaries written by Muslims when developing their own works. This is something that is a bare minimum for anyone genuinely seeking to understand a foreign tradition, yet is something that many modern Westerners who consider themselves intellectuals often fail to do. This is a sign of a debilitating hubris that exists today, but which was less prevalent in the European past.
Interestingly many of these scholars viewed Islam's perceived rationality and comportment with natural law (i.e. the idea of the unity of God was seen as more natural than a trinity) as a sign of its falsehood, as it was somehow a sign of the trickery entailed in the creed. Such opinions only make sense in the light of zealous faith, but its notable that for all the great faith these scholars had in their own religion they were still able to appreciate the heroes and achievements of Islamic civilization. Hazrat Ali, Muawiyah, Abu Bakr, Harun al-Rashid, Al-Mamoun, Salah al-Din and Prophet Muhammad himself were all highly praised and respected on their own terms as heroes, lawgivers and patrons of learning, even by scholars who ultimately considered them heretics and propagators of a false religion. Even the Ottomans came in for a sympathetic hearing for helping incubate an orderly and dynamic society, rather than being merely the tyrannical "sick men" that later European philosophers described.
Despite being religious Christians with their own metaphysical commitments, the European scholars of Islam at this time were in large part more charitable and sympathetic to Islam than many liberal-secular commentators in the contemporary West. Interestingly, political philosophers like Niccolo Machiavelli and Edward Gibbon (who was actually less sympathetic to Islam than, say, Voltaire) saw Islamic civilization as one of the inheritors and continuers of ancient Rome. This would be a surprise to clueless modern Islamists who sometimes inveigh against "Rome" as representing an imagined Western civilization. As the book notes, European views on Islam only turned definitively sour during the age of imperialism, when Muslims came to be seen less as a respected rival civilization and more as an inferior race. Once Westerners began to disdain their own religion they also started to lose sympathy for the beliefs of their neighbors, whose power now appeared to be in terminal decline and whose religious faith suddenly started to look to them less like an inspiration and more like a hindrance.
The book is written in academic style but is nonetheless benefitted by its very clear and lucid prose. It was nice to read the stories of these European scholars who lived the life of the mind and devoted it to the study of the history and beliefs of a foreign people. In their own personalities these scholars exemplified the best of the Western intellectual tradition. The men of the "Republic of Arabic Letters" achieved herculean intellectual feats, translating foreign languages to write their histories and using source materials that literally needed to be scoured from across the world to get the job done. Given the challenges it was amazing what a good job they did. It also goes to show that the history of European engagement with Islam, even by Christians studying to prove the superiority of their own faith, was something more than a simplistic narrative of crusades and colonialism.
March 23, 2018
The Republic of Arabic Letters is an enlightening investigation of European efforts between about 1600 and 1800 to acquire, translate, and characterize great works of Islamic literature. Bevilacqua seeks to undermine the view that the Enlightenment writers ‘discovered’ these works and spread knowledge of them through Europe. In particular, he asserts that earlier efforts to translate the works and convey knowledge of the Islamic world to European readers were in general more erudite, objective, and accurate than the subsequent ideological use of translations by Voltaire and the uneven evaluation by Gibbon.
These early scholars worked from books in Arabic, Turkish and Persian that European diplomats and library agents had purchased in the Middle East, primarily in Constantinople. The deepest holdings were in Rome, Leiden, and Oxford, with other important libraries in Germany and Spain. The very earliest Catholic translators were trying to understand Islamic belief with an eye to undermining it in efforts to convert Muslims to Christianity.
While crass tales of Islamic beliefs were common, these cleric-scholars thought it would be more persuasive to find arguments for Christianity that did not rest on false claims that would be dismissed by knowledgeable Muslims. This attitude lay behind, first of all, the translation of the Qur’an by Marracci in 1698, but also other works. George Sale produced a long-influential translation into English in 1734. The scholars brought philological expertise, patience and rigor to the task. Some interspersed refutations alongside the Qur’an text, but the most influential kept their opinions distinct from the original text. Many recognized the similarities between the three Abrahamic religions, and in fact searched for keys to Biblical questions in the belief that study of ancient Arabic writers might solve questions about Hebrew texts.
All of these writers differed on the extent to which they believed Mohammed was a conscious ‘imposter’, as opposed to an enthusiast who blurred the source of his ‘revelations’ through zeal. Bevilacqua also discusses how these writers basically sympathetic to the general value of Islam as a monotheistic religion with many values shared with Christianity dealt with the Qur’an’s portrayal of Paradise as a distinctly sensual experience.
There was a parallel (or perhaps interwoven) line of scholars who were working in the Renaissance tradition of expanding knowledge and simply believed it was natural, beneficial, to understand other parts of the world. There was a recognition that a culture that had created a vast empire in a very short time required study. Deeper knowledge sometimes led to comparisons to classical writers as justification for study and the basis for esteem. This period also saw the development of comparative religion studies. Bevilacqua writes a whole chapter on d'Herbelot’s Bibliotheque Orientale, a sort of one volume encyclopedia based on Arabic, Turkish and Persian sources that treated all sorts of history, religious and literary issues and was widely influential.
As part of this interest in Islam, scholars began to consider Mohammed as a leader, particularly a leader considered using Machiavelli’s writings.
Both sorts of translators approached the work with the rigor of philologists. Bevilacqua argues that they were generally accurate their work, to the extent of their resources. They brought not only the Qur’an itself to Europeans but also the important commentaries, again to the extent that these were available to them in European libraries. They were generally at the mercy of whatever had been collected by the agents working decades before in Constantinople.
Bevilacqua’s penultimate chapter presents European scholars’ efforts to synthesize a western-style comprehensive history of the Arabs from the diverse works of a culture that didn’t have a tradition of such histories. (Which irritated the Europeans mightily.) The major players here were Edward Pococke and Simon Ockley in England, Johannn Jacob Reiske in Germany, and Eusébe Renaudot in France. They often focused on medieval Islam, which they perceived as fostering the high point of literary, scientific, and philosophical achievement. Bevilacqua faults them as being too credulous of their sources, but credits them for acknowledging their sources evaluation of events rather than overlay only a Western perspective. Comments throughout the volume remind the reader how the relationship between Europe and the Ottoman Empire changed over this period, reducing the perceived threat of the ‘Orient.’
Bevilacqua finishes with his assessment of Enlightenment use of Islamic resources that had been developed by these earlier scholars. He gives credit to Gibbons, quoting him liberally, but is generally critical of Montesquieu and Voltaire for manipulating knowledge of Islamic culture to fit their preconceived ideas.
Bevilacqua’s scholarship appears to be sound; the notes and bibliography are very extensive. I just had a hard time with his convoluted prose. I kept having to reread sentences that didn’t have difficult concepts, because he juxtaposes unrelated clauses or uses odd conjunctions. Unnecessarily complex syntax (eg multiple negatives) slows down other sentences. There is also a rather dissertation-like repetition of his points throughout. Finally, and this isn’t a fault but the result of the difficulty of dealing with such wide ranging material over two centuries and many countries, I had trouble tracking some of the authors and books. Bevilacqua treats material thematically, starting with acquiring library material, moving on to translating the Qur’an, then to translations of other types of materials, and finishing with the Enlightenment. This made it hard to keep the works in mind in sequential order in order to follow the discussions of influence and citation. I ended up making a timeline of translations by country which I’ll try to upload here (the table format didn’t upload, but the list is below).
But, well worth putting up with the writing for the information. I found it a valuable stretching of my ideas about how information about Islam was made available to European readers.
Spain
Italy
France
England
Netherlands
Germany
These early scholars worked from books in Arabic, Turkish and Persian that European diplomats and library agents had purchased in the Middle East, primarily in Constantinople. The deepest holdings were in Rome, Leiden, and Oxford, with other important libraries in Germany and Spain. The very earliest Catholic translators were trying to understand Islamic belief with an eye to undermining it in efforts to convert Muslims to Christianity.
While crass tales of Islamic beliefs were common, these cleric-scholars thought it would be more persuasive to find arguments for Christianity that did not rest on false claims that would be dismissed by knowledgeable Muslims. This attitude lay behind, first of all, the translation of the Qur’an by Marracci in 1698, but also other works. George Sale produced a long-influential translation into English in 1734. The scholars brought philological expertise, patience and rigor to the task. Some interspersed refutations alongside the Qur’an text, but the most influential kept their opinions distinct from the original text. Many recognized the similarities between the three Abrahamic religions, and in fact searched for keys to Biblical questions in the belief that study of ancient Arabic writers might solve questions about Hebrew texts.
All of these writers differed on the extent to which they believed Mohammed was a conscious ‘imposter’, as opposed to an enthusiast who blurred the source of his ‘revelations’ through zeal. Bevilacqua also discusses how these writers basically sympathetic to the general value of Islam as a monotheistic religion with many values shared with Christianity dealt with the Qur’an’s portrayal of Paradise as a distinctly sensual experience.
There was a parallel (or perhaps interwoven) line of scholars who were working in the Renaissance tradition of expanding knowledge and simply believed it was natural, beneficial, to understand other parts of the world. There was a recognition that a culture that had created a vast empire in a very short time required study. Deeper knowledge sometimes led to comparisons to classical writers as justification for study and the basis for esteem. This period also saw the development of comparative religion studies. Bevilacqua writes a whole chapter on d'Herbelot’s Bibliotheque Orientale, a sort of one volume encyclopedia based on Arabic, Turkish and Persian sources that treated all sorts of history, religious and literary issues and was widely influential.
As part of this interest in Islam, scholars began to consider Mohammed as a leader, particularly a leader considered using Machiavelli’s writings.
Both sorts of translators approached the work with the rigor of philologists. Bevilacqua argues that they were generally accurate their work, to the extent of their resources. They brought not only the Qur’an itself to Europeans but also the important commentaries, again to the extent that these were available to them in European libraries. They were generally at the mercy of whatever had been collected by the agents working decades before in Constantinople.
Bevilacqua’s penultimate chapter presents European scholars’ efforts to synthesize a western-style comprehensive history of the Arabs from the diverse works of a culture that didn’t have a tradition of such histories. (Which irritated the Europeans mightily.) The major players here were Edward Pococke and Simon Ockley in England, Johannn Jacob Reiske in Germany, and Eusébe Renaudot in France. They often focused on medieval Islam, which they perceived as fostering the high point of literary, scientific, and philosophical achievement. Bevilacqua faults them as being too credulous of their sources, but credits them for acknowledging their sources evaluation of events rather than overlay only a Western perspective. Comments throughout the volume remind the reader how the relationship between Europe and the Ottoman Empire changed over this period, reducing the perceived threat of the ‘Orient.’
Bevilacqua finishes with his assessment of Enlightenment use of Islamic resources that had been developed by these earlier scholars. He gives credit to Gibbons, quoting him liberally, but is generally critical of Montesquieu and Voltaire for manipulating knowledge of Islamic culture to fit their preconceived ideas.
Bevilacqua’s scholarship appears to be sound; the notes and bibliography are very extensive. I just had a hard time with his convoluted prose. I kept having to reread sentences that didn’t have difficult concepts, because he juxtaposes unrelated clauses or uses odd conjunctions. Unnecessarily complex syntax (eg multiple negatives) slows down other sentences. There is also a rather dissertation-like repetition of his points throughout. Finally, and this isn’t a fault but the result of the difficulty of dealing with such wide ranging material over two centuries and many countries, I had trouble tracking some of the authors and books. Bevilacqua treats material thematically, starting with acquiring library material, moving on to translating the Qur’an, then to translations of other types of materials, and finishing with the Enlightenment. This made it hard to keep the works in mind in sequential order in order to follow the discussions of influence and citation. I ended up making a timeline of translations by country which I’ll try to upload here (the table format didn’t upload, but the list is below).
But, well worth putting up with the writing for the information. I found it a valuable stretching of my ideas about how information about Islam was made available to European readers.
Spain
manuscript 1143, printed 1543, Robert of Ketton at a Toledo monastery for Frenchman Peter the Venerable, translation of the Qur’an into Latin
Italy
1547 translation into Italian of Robert of Ketton’s Latin version of the Qur’an
1688 Ludovico Marracci Prodromus ad Refutationem Alcorani (Preliminary to the refutation of the Qur’an); preface to the subsequently published translation, life of Mohamad, etc.
1698 Ludovico Marracci: Alcorani Textus Universus (entire text of the Qur’an into Latin with commentary by Islamic scholars, all in Latin translation)
France
1674 Richard Simon Histoire Critique de la crėance et de coûtumes des nations du Levant
1697 Barthélemy d’Herbelot reference work of Islamic history & letters Bibliothèque Orientale
England
1650 Edward Pocock Specimen Historiae Arabum; notes on Arabic history drawn from many Arabic writers
1734 George Sale’s translation of the Qur’an into English prose, relying on Marracci and Al-Baydāwī’s commentary; wide & long influence, including his Prelimiary Discourse intro
1708 Simon Ockley, Conquest of Syria, Jerusalem and Aegypt by the Saracens; and The History of the Saracens
Netherlands
1641 translation into Dutch of the German version of Robert of Ketton’s Qur’an
1705 Adriaan Reland De Religione Mohammedica Libri Duo, widely translated, used SE Asia texts on Islam.
Germany
1616 translation into German by Salomon Schweigger of Robert of Ketton’s Qur’an
1703 translation of Marracci.
1766 Johann Jacob Reiske Introduction of Oriental History
June 6, 2020
الكتاب جميل ومميز بموضوعه وبوفرة مراجعه
ويستحق خمس نجمات بجدارة
فهو من المواضيع التي أحبها، ومبحوث بعناية
وكان من الممكن أن أعيش معه تجربة ثرية كما عشتها مع كتاب نبيل مطر الرائع: االإسلام في بريطانيا
لكن الترجمة أبخسته حقه للأسف
فكثير من الجمل عسرة وفي تركيبها خلل، وتحتاج لإعادة صياغة ككلام عربي فعلا
مما أفقدني متعة القراءة
-_-
ويستحق خمس نجمات بجدارة
فهو من المواضيع التي أحبها، ومبحوث بعناية
وكان من الممكن أن أعيش معه تجربة ثرية كما عشتها مع كتاب نبيل مطر الرائع: االإسلام في بريطانيا
لكن الترجمة أبخسته حقه للأسف
فكثير من الجمل عسرة وفي تركيبها خلل، وتحتاج لإعادة صياغة ككلام عربي فعلا
مما أفقدني متعة القراءة
-_-
November 27, 2025
It is heartwarming to know this current atmosphere of Islamophobia was not all the case back in the seventeenth century.
Despite an erroneous belief that the late Renaissance period is wholly dedicated to the advancement of scientific studies; this book paints a holistic portrait of historians and knowledge seekers tackling 'oriental' history and writing volumes both admiring and criticising Islamic rule, the Muslim's way of life, the Holy Qur'an and the religion itself.
As it states in the introduction:
Despite an erroneous belief that the late Renaissance period is wholly dedicated to the advancement of scientific studies; this book paints a holistic portrait of historians and knowledge seekers tackling 'oriental' history and writing volumes both admiring and criticising Islamic rule, the Muslim's way of life, the Holy Qur'an and the religion itself.
As it states in the introduction:
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw a transformation in European knowledge of Islam and Islamic traditions. The imprecise and often incorrect body of notions available during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance gradually gave way to a vast and diverse set of translations, insights, and interpretations.
At the same time, a new attitude developed toward the peoples and traditions of Islam. No longer seen as deeply alien, Muslims came to be appreciated, not just for their religious piety and military prowess, but also for their music and architecture, their social customs, the heroism of their histories, and even for their poetry and for the beauty of the Qur’an.
June 22, 2020
موضوع الكتاب جيد يؤرخ فيه قصة ترجمة القرآن والتاريخ الإسلامي إلى اللغات الأوروبية، لكن الترجمة صعبت من فهم محتواه، التراكيب صعبة إضافة إلى الأخطاء النحوية وأخطاء الطباعة في التحويل إلى الهوامش وغيرها.
August 29, 2022
An outstanding historical/historiographal work that conclusively proves that when it comes to the Arabic world, the Enlightenment was a result of intellectual work, not a break from it. The history here is fascinating and really different than what I learned in my courses about European history. Backed up with incredible archival research the book is deep and loaded with amazing references.
It still reads like an epic tale of encounter and careful consideration of difference in religion, language, and culture. The figures engage the Islamic tradition from many angles and many seem a lot more open minded and fair than those who came much later. It's a must read if you are interested in seeing how approaches to a culture or religion can directly shape generations of how that history is taken up and understood, and also how one or two popular texts can really obscure, or even ruin, a really remarkable and beautiful intellectual current.
It still reads like an epic tale of encounter and careful consideration of difference in religion, language, and culture. The figures engage the Islamic tradition from many angles and many seem a lot more open minded and fair than those who came much later. It's a must read if you are interested in seeing how approaches to a culture or religion can directly shape generations of how that history is taken up and understood, and also how one or two popular texts can really obscure, or even ruin, a really remarkable and beautiful intellectual current.
August 20, 2018
يرى المؤلف أنه كان هناك زخم من الترجمة ودراسة كتب المسلمين ما بين ١٦٥٠ إلى ١٧٥٠. تميزت هذه الفترة بنظرة أكثر تقديرا واحتراما للدين الإسلامي كدين مكافئ للنصرانية وللمسلمين كحضارة و شعب له مكانته في التاريخ الإنساني. هذه النظرة اختلفت عن نظرة الأوروبيين في الفترات السابقة والتي ترى في الدين الإسلامي مجرد هرطقة و المسلمين مجموعة من البدو الذين نشروا هرطقتهم بقوة السيف.
يرجع الكاتب هذا التغيير إلى عدة أسباب: أحدها هو توقف حصار العثمانيين لفيينا سنة ١٦٨٣ وسيادة جو من الاستقرار السياسي ما بين العثمانيين والأوروبيين. بالإضافة إلى ذلك كان هناك فضول لمعرفة سبب ديمومة هذه الحضارة الإسلامية. علينا أن نتذكر أن وجود الدولة الإسلامية الممتدة أنذاك كان هو الوضع الطبيعي والسائد فبالنسبة للأوروبي الذي عاش خلال القرن السابع عشر كانت الامبراطورية العثمانية هي القوة العظمى بلامنازع أنذاك، فكانت هناك رغبة ملحة لمعرفة الأكثر عن المسلمين. السبب الثالث هو انتشار المفكرين الأحرار والذين كانوا ينتقدون الخرافات الكنسية وطقوسها المبتدعة. هؤلاء المفكرين وجدوا في الدين الإسلامي من نقاء العقيدة وصفائها ما دعاهم إلى الاستزادة من دراستها.
الكاتب أيضا يرصد التغيير الذي طرأ على نظرة الغربيين للأسلام في الفترة اللاحقة والتي تعتبر فترة التنوير بمفكريها كفولتير و دلامبارت وغيرهما. التنويريون اعتمدوا كثيرا على كتب الأسفار والتي تتضمن الكثير من التلفيقات و القصص المغلوطة بينما في السابق اعتمد الباحثون على كتب علماء المسلمين. أيضا في نهاية القرن الثامن عشر و خلال القرن التاسع عشر بدأت الخارطتين السياسية والاقتصادية بالتغيير. بدأت الطفرة الصناعية في أوروبا وتأخرت كثيرا في الدولة العثمانية. أيضا مني العثمانيون بهزائم في جنوب آسيا و ضد الدولة الروسية. أضف إلى ذلك التغير الفكري والاجتماعي في أوروبا أدى إلى نظرة من الاستعلاء والفوقية ضد الشعوب الأخرى، هذه انعكس في كتابات الغربيين عن المسلمين فما عادوا ينظرون للمسلمين بنفس الاحترام والتقدير الذي وجد في السابق.
الكتاب بعمومه جيد وقصير نسبيا (حوالي ال ٢٠٠ صفحة)
يرجع الكاتب هذا التغيير إلى عدة أسباب: أحدها هو توقف حصار العثمانيين لفيينا سنة ١٦٨٣ وسيادة جو من الاستقرار السياسي ما بين العثمانيين والأوروبيين. بالإضافة إلى ذلك كان هناك فضول لمعرفة سبب ديمومة هذه الحضارة الإسلامية. علينا أن نتذكر أن وجود الدولة الإسلامية الممتدة أنذاك كان هو الوضع الطبيعي والسائد فبالنسبة للأوروبي الذي عاش خلال القرن السابع عشر كانت الامبراطورية العثمانية هي القوة العظمى بلامنازع أنذاك، فكانت هناك رغبة ملحة لمعرفة الأكثر عن المسلمين. السبب الثالث هو انتشار المفكرين الأحرار والذين كانوا ينتقدون الخرافات الكنسية وطقوسها المبتدعة. هؤلاء المفكرين وجدوا في الدين الإسلامي من نقاء العقيدة وصفائها ما دعاهم إلى الاستزادة من دراستها.
الكاتب أيضا يرصد التغيير الذي طرأ على نظرة الغربيين للأسلام في الفترة اللاحقة والتي تعتبر فترة التنوير بمفكريها كفولتير و دلامبارت وغيرهما. التنويريون اعتمدوا كثيرا على كتب الأسفار والتي تتضمن الكثير من التلفيقات و القصص المغلوطة بينما في السابق اعتمد الباحثون على كتب علماء المسلمين. أيضا في نهاية القرن الثامن عشر و خلال القرن التاسع عشر بدأت الخارطتين السياسية والاقتصادية بالتغيير. بدأت الطفرة الصناعية في أوروبا وتأخرت كثيرا في الدولة العثمانية. أيضا مني العثمانيون بهزائم في جنوب آسيا و ضد الدولة الروسية. أضف إلى ذلك التغير الفكري والاجتماعي في أوروبا أدى إلى نظرة من الاستعلاء والفوقية ضد الشعوب الأخرى، هذه انعكس في كتابات الغربيين عن المسلمين فما عادوا ينظرون للمسلمين بنفس الاحترام والتقدير الذي وجد في السابق.
الكتاب بعمومه جيد وقصير نسبيا (حوالي ال ٢٠٠ صفحة)
May 13, 2021
Fascinating, eloquent, and learned!
A powerful reminder of the ability of scholarship to transcend cultural divides, and the capacity of human minds to accept differences without denouncing them.
These men produced the first accurate translation of the Qur’an into a European language, mapped the branches of the Islamic arts and sciences, and wrote Muslim history using Arabic sources.
The Republic of Arabic Letters reconstructs this process, revealing the influence of Catholic and Protestant intellectuals on the secular Enlightenment understanding of Islam and its written traditions. Drawing on Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, and Latin sources, Bevilacqua’s rich intellectual history retraces the routes―both mental and physical―that Christian scholars travelled to acquire, study, and comprehend Arabic manuscripts. The knowledge they generated was deeply indebted to native Muslim traditions, especially Ottoman. Eventually, the translations, compilations, and histories they produced reached such luminaries as Voltaire and Edward Gibbon, who not only assimilated the factual content of these works but wove their interpretations into the fabric of Enlightenment thought.
The Republic of Arabic Letters shows that the Western effort to learn about Islam and its religious and intellectual traditions issued not from a secular agenda but from the scholarly commitments of a select group of Christians. These authors cast aside inherited views and bequeathed a new understanding of Islam to the modern West.
A powerful reminder of the ability of scholarship to transcend cultural divides, and the capacity of human minds to accept differences without denouncing them.
These men produced the first accurate translation of the Qur’an into a European language, mapped the branches of the Islamic arts and sciences, and wrote Muslim history using Arabic sources.
The Republic of Arabic Letters reconstructs this process, revealing the influence of Catholic and Protestant intellectuals on the secular Enlightenment understanding of Islam and its written traditions. Drawing on Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, and Latin sources, Bevilacqua’s rich intellectual history retraces the routes―both mental and physical―that Christian scholars travelled to acquire, study, and comprehend Arabic manuscripts. The knowledge they generated was deeply indebted to native Muslim traditions, especially Ottoman. Eventually, the translations, compilations, and histories they produced reached such luminaries as Voltaire and Edward Gibbon, who not only assimilated the factual content of these works but wove their interpretations into the fabric of Enlightenment thought.
The Republic of Arabic Letters shows that the Western effort to learn about Islam and its religious and intellectual traditions issued not from a secular agenda but from the scholarly commitments of a select group of Christians. These authors cast aside inherited views and bequeathed a new understanding of Islam to the modern West.
February 11, 2020
The audience for this book does not have to be scholarly. It is well written and researched, making it very interesting and informative, not only for the specialist but a general reader as well. Mr. Bevilacqua takes us through the period 1600-1800+ showing the transmission of Islamic culture and works into Latin as well as other languages. He leads us from polemics that are studied to refute the Q'uran, through people who respect if not accept the culture. He introduces and brings to life a number of scholars who are reading, thinking, and translating Arabic during these years. By the nineteenth century, Arabic culture has lost its appeal for the European mind and most of the effort is exerted in travel writings. I would submit that ONLY scholars can appreciate the footnotes that make up a third of the book. Latin, French, German, Dutch are used extensively without translations. Don't let that scare you, though. It is a wonderful read.
December 10, 2022
"For [Gabriel] Naude, the pious need to collect heretical books so as to be able to refute them, but on a deeper level, the library must also emulate Creation itself, which contains evil things -- the vipers, weeds, and thorns. Catholic libraries, he wrote, must not only make Luther's and Calvin's doctrines available to scholars 'so as to refute them,' but also 'must have no scruple about having a Talmud or an Alcoran that vomits forth one thousand blasphemies agains Jesus-Christ and our Religion.'" (39)
"By the second half of the eighteenth century, the sense of kingship with Islam waned both within the broad intellectual culture of Europe and among the community of European scholars of Arabic. ... The European economy had changed from primarily agrarian to increasingly commercial, with shifts in manners, architecture, and urban life, transformations that seemed to support the notion of European singularity." (200)
"By the second half of the eighteenth century, the sense of kingship with Islam waned both within the broad intellectual culture of Europe and among the community of European scholars of Arabic. ... The European economy had changed from primarily agrarian to increasingly commercial, with shifts in manners, architecture, and urban life, transformations that seemed to support the notion of European singularity." (200)
November 15, 2021
An interesting thesis with some compelling evidence, that pre-Enlightenment European thinkers saw an explosion of interest in Islam and in the acquisition and translation of documents from the Middle East and broader Islamic world. Makes a compelling case for emergence of cross-cultural understanding out of antagonistic Christian views of the earlier period. Would have loved if the book had a more complete conclusion, as after four pages, it just stops.
November 27, 2025
a deep and solid history of the influence of the Arab World on Europe, specially in the Enlightening movement of 17th and 18th centuries.
important: is a book that may lead you to understand that Europe (as USA 20th century influence is marked by its "excepcionalism") also had its own "excepcional" moment
important: is a book that may lead you to understand that Europe (as USA 20th century influence is marked by its "excepcionalism") also had its own "excepcional" moment
November 14, 2021
A Fascinating Book
The is a book dealing with the studies of Arabic and Arabic Letters in some detail. It is clearly written and well worth reading by anyone who has a little knowledge of the 7th century and beyond of Arabian cultural growth and Islam. It
The is a book dealing with the studies of Arabic and Arabic Letters in some detail. It is clearly written and well worth reading by anyone who has a little knowledge of the 7th century and beyond of Arabian cultural growth and Islam. It
February 28, 2020
Nothing wrong with the book. Very well researched. Not really interesting or engaging despite its sophisticated writing style
December 21, 2021
This is a historiographical work on the process of Islamic and Enlightenment research. While interesting and eye opening, this is a tedious and detailed, as well as esoteric read.
The concept of this "Republic of Arabic Letters" is well established throughout his book. Clearly, these academics and elites communicated and worked together to understand the complexities of Islam. However, the idea that the Republic of Letters permeated outside of elite academic culture remains unexplored or unproven.
The concept of this "Republic of Arabic Letters" is well established throughout his book. Clearly, these academics and elites communicated and worked together to understand the complexities of Islam. However, the idea that the Republic of Letters permeated outside of elite academic culture remains unexplored or unproven.
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