Abdallah Laroui (; born 7 November 1933) is a Moroccan philosopher, historian, and novelist. Besides some works in French, his philosophical project has been written mostly in Arabic. He is among the most read and discussed Arab and Moroccan philosophers.

Biography

Laroui was born in 1933 in

Azemmour Azemmour or Azammur () is a Moroccan city, lying at the Atlantic ocean coast, on the left bank of the Oum Er-Rbia River, 75 km southwest of Casablanca. Etymology The word Azemmour comes from the Berber word ''Azemmur'' ("wild olive tree" ...

. His mother died when he was two. He studied at the ''

kuttab A kuttab ( ''kuttāb'', plural: ''kataatiib'', ) or maktab () is a type of elementary school in the Muslim world. Though the ''kuttab'' was primarily used for teaching children in reading, writing, grammar, and Islamic studies, such as memorizing ...

'' before entering the public primary school at seven, where he studied from 1941 to 1945. In 1945, he obtained a grant to study at the College Sidi Mohammed in Marrakesh, where he stayed five years. Afterwards he studied at Lycée Lyautey in Casablanca from 1949 to 1951 and at Lycée Gouraud in Rabat from 1951 to 1953. He obtained his

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

in 1953, and then studied history and economics, at the

Institut d'Études Politiques An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

in Paris, where he studied under and

Raymond Aron Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (; ; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist, political scientist, historian and journalist, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century. Aron is best known for his ...

. In 1958, he obtained a ''Diplôme d'études supérieures.'' After receiving his ''

agrégation In France, the () is the most competitive and prestigious examination for civil service in the French public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all stu ...

'' in Islamic studies in June 1963, he was appointed as an assistant professor of history at the

Mohammed V University Mohammed V University (, ) is a public university in Rabat, Morocco. It was founded in 1957 under a royal decree ( Dahir). It is the first modern university in Morocco after the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez. It is named after Mohammed V of ...

in Rabat. In 1976, he defended his Doctorat d'Etat with a thesis titled "''Les Origines sociales et culturelles du nationalisme marocain, 1830–1912''" (Social and Cultural Origins of Moroccan Nationalism, 1830–1912) and published it in 1977. Laroui taught at the University Mohammed V until 2000. He has written five novels (o.a. L'Exil (Sindbad-Actes Sud, 1998)). Historian

Albert Hourani Albert Habib Hourani, ( ''Albart Ḥabīb Ḥūrānī''; 31 March 1915 – 17 January 1993) was a Lebanese British historian, specialising in the history of the Middle East and Middle Eastern studies. Background and education Hourani was bo ...

describes him as a significant Arab thinker of the post-1967 era. Hourani, Albert. "A Disturbance of Spirits (since 1967." In ''A History of the Arab Peoples.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belnap Press of Harvard University Press, 1991. Laroui's philosophy was guided by a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

reading of

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and a commitment to radical critique of culture, language, and tradition.

Awards and honors

* In 2000, he was awarded the ''Premi Internacional Catalunya'' (Catalonia International Prize). * In 2017, he was awarded the

Sheikh Zayed Book Award The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a literary award presented yearly to writers, intellectuals, publishers whose writings and scholarly publications contributed to Arab cultural, literary and social life. The award has been described as “the Arab ...

for "Cultural Personality of the Year", the premier category with a prize of 1 million dirhams.

Partial bibliography

* * * ** * * ** * * *

References

External links

* . Lecture by Abdallah Laroui, Fulbright 50th Anniversary Distinguished Fellow, (Lecture delivered at the Middle East Studies Association annual meeting in Providence, RI). {{DEFAULTSORT:Laroui, Abdallah Moroccan writers in French 20th-century Moroccan historians Moroccan novelists Moroccan male writers Moroccan male novelists 1933 births Living people People from Azemmour Moroccan editors Moroccan male journalists Members of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco

Biography

Awards and honors

Partial bibliography

See also

References

External links