Mohammed Abed al-Jabri

Mohammed Abed al-Jabri was a professor of philosophy and Islamic thought at Mohammed V University from 1967 to 2002. His works include الديمقراطية وحقوق الانسان (Democracy and human rights), Beirut, Markaz Dirasat al-Wihda al-ʿArabiyya, 1997; الدين والدولة ةتطبيق الشريعة (Religion, state and applying shariʿa), Beirut, Markaz Dirasat al-Wihda al-ʿArabiyya, 1996; مسألة الهوية: العروبة والاسلام والغرب (Question of identity: Arabism, Islam and the West), Beirut, Markaz Dirasat al-Wihda al-ʿArabiyya, 1995; نقد العقل العربي (Critique of Arab reason), 4 vols., Beirut, Markaz Dirasat al-Wihda al-ʿArabiyya, 1984, 1986, 1990, 2001; and الخطاب العربي المعاصر: دراسة تحليلية نقدية (Contemporary Arab discourse: a critical and analytical study), Beirut, Markaz Dirasat al-Wihda al-ʿArabiyya, 1982. Born in 1935 in Figuig, Morocco, al-Jabri now resides in Casablanca. He holds a M.A. (1967) and a Ph.D. (1970) in philosophy from Mohammed V University.

The establishment of an authority that would connect the past to the present and guide the latter toward the future requires the adoption of what is called: "The Strategy of Renewal from Within." This strategy operates on two complementary fronts: first, the critique, reorganization and reconstruction of our cultural tradition and its various currents, and second, the return of the cultural values of modernity and principles of modernization to the roots….

The initial matter consists of building bridges that link the future to the past, where it could establish a base. On the first front, the past is linked to the present, unlike on the second front where the present is linked to the past. Work was done on the first front in the past, and we must continue in our efforts to rebuild our tradition in such a way as to connect it to our present and render it pertinent to our contemporary concerns.

On the second front, we must work on contextualizing and returning our present issues (values of modernity and principles of modernization) to the roots of our culture by identifying those roots that could help in establishing these issues in our religious, moral and general cultural conscious.

We believe that democracy (including human rights) and rationality (including the critical spirit) cannot be deep-seated, in theory or in practice in the field of education– which is the backbone of every cultural renewal aiming towards the future–unless they are returned to the roots of the general cultural system, and particularly the educational system….

–Mohammed Abed al-Jabri, "Strengthening the Values of Modernity," Al Ittihad, February 5, 2008