Debate on Houari Touati's book L'Arrivée de l'homme en Islam et sa disparition: d'Athènes à Bagdad, Paris, Vrin, 2024

Presentation of Houari Touati's book

As part of this round-table discussion, organized by CERMOM in partnership with the Fondation de l'Islam de France, Houari Touati is invited to present his latest work, L'Arrivée de l'homme en Islam et sa disparition. D'Athènes à Bagdad, published in June 2024 by Editions Vrin in the Études Musulmanes collection. This dense 514-page book is part of a wide-ranging scholarly effort to explore the genesis and evolution of the concept of man in medieval Islamic thought. Through this study, the author engages in a profound intellectual dialogue with the idea developed by Michel Foucault, who maintains that man is an exclusively European construct. Drawing on primary sources and meticulous analysis, Houari Touati deconstructs this hypothesis, bringing to light the appropriation of the concept of man in Islam long before the modern era.

The author traces the history of the introduction of the concept of man within Islamic civilization, notably through translations of Greek philosophical works into Arabic from the 9th century onwards. It was in Baghdad, then the intellectual center of the Islamic world, that this concept was formed and consolidated, nurtured by both philosophers and theologians, whether rationalists or traditionalists. In this teeming intellectual environment, man is defined according to various components, whether bodily - such as the "bipedal animal" or the reference to the hand - or psychological, such as the "animal endowed with reason". This dual approach, articulating body and mind, manifests itself in distinctive phenomena such as language (whether internal or external) and laughter, perceived as a characteristic peculiar to man.

Another fundamental aspect addressed by the author is the place of women in this reflection on man. In medieval Islamic thought, women were often perceived as men in their own right, reflecting a physiological equality between the sexes. This rapprochement of the female and male condition, far from being limited to a simple biological question, nurtured an ideal of equality and parity in Muslim society, at least in theory. However, this physiological equality is not enough to grasp the complexity of man, whose essence defies simplistic definition. Houari Touati considers the paradox of man's unity and diversity: how can we think of man's universality while recognizing his plurality?

This questioning leads the author to examine the social dimension of man, inseparable from his inclusion in the community and his relationships within a political organization. In this context, the question of free will and individual responsibility occupies a central place. Drawing on an in-depth analysis of philosophical, theological, medical, literary (adab) and geographical sources, the author offers an unprecedented synthesis of the concept of man in Islam, highlighting the interweaving of intellectual, physiological, climatic and social dimensions.

From the Middle Ages onwards, these reflections fueled intense debates between rationalist and traditionalist theologians, a divide which, according to the author, remains relevant today. These oppositions, particularly around the question of free will and man's responsibility for his own destiny, underline the magnitude of what is at stake, threatening even the concept of "man", condemned to disappear from contemporary Islamic thought. This disappearance is not the result of a simple oversight, but rather of the triumph of traditionalist theologians and the paradigm shift that is redefining the very terms of anthropological reflection in Islam.

Houari Touati, a recognized specialist in the history of medieval Islamic thought, is also the author of other reference works, such as Entre Dieu et les hommes. Lettrés, saints au Maghreb (XVIIe siècle) (Paris, Éditions de l'EHESS, 1994), Islam et voyage au Moyen Âge. Histoire et anthropologie d'une pratique lettrée (Paris, Éditions du Seuil, coll. "Univers Historique", 2000), and L'Armoire à sagesse. Bibliothèques et collections en Islam (Aubier, "Collection historique", 2003).

Guest: Houari Touati (EHESS)

Animation and discussion: Ghaleb Bencheikh (FIF)
Francesco Chiabotti (Inalco-CERMOM)

Coordination: Aicha Belabid (Doctorante Inalco)