Adab and modernity2020
a "civilising" process? (sixteenth--twenty-first century)
by Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen
"Adab is a concept situated at the heart of Arabic and Islamic civilization. Adab is etiquette, ethics, and literature. It is also a creative synthesis, a relationship within a configuration. What became of it, towards modernity? The question of the "civilising process" (Norbert Elias) helps us reflect on this story. During the modern period, maintaining one's identity while entering into what was termed "civilisation" (al-tamaddun) soon became a leitmotiv. A debate on what was or what should be culture, ethics, and norms in Middle Eastern societies accompanied this evolution. The resilient notion of adab has been in competition with the Salafist focus on mores (akhlāq). Still, humanism, poetry, and transgression are constants in the history of adab. Contributors: Francesca Bellino,...