Bassam Tibi
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Bassam Tibi (), is a Syrian-born German
political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
and professor of
international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
specializing in
Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...
and Middle Eastern studies. He was born in 1944 in
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
,
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
to an aristocratic family, and moved to
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
in 1962, where he later became a
naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
in 1976. He is known for his analysis of international relations and the introduction of Islam to the study of international conflict and of civilization. Tibi is known for introducing the controversial concept of European '' Leitkultur'', as well as the concept of '' Euroislam'' to discussions about integration of Muslim immigrants in European countries. Tibi has done research in Asian and African countries. He publishes in English, German, and Arabic.


Academic career

He studied in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
under
Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer ( ; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist best known for his role in developing critical theory as director of the Institute for Social Research, commonly associated with the Frankfurt Schoo ...
, obtaining his Ph.D. there in 1971, and later habilitated in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Germany. From 1973 until his retirement in 2009, he was Professor for International Relations at
Göttingen University Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
. Parallel to this appointment he was, from 1982 to 2000, at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in a variety of affiliations, the latest being a 1998 to 2000 stint as The Bosch Fellow. Currently, he is an A.D. White Professor-at-Large at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
. Tibi had eighteen visiting professorships in all continents including fellowships in
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
,
UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and most recently (2010) at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, Washington D.C. Tibi was also a visiting senior fellow at Yale University. After his retirement in 2009, he published ''Islam's Predicament with Modernity'', a book embodying his life's work.


Views

Bassam Tibi's views can be accurately stated by a quote from the German distinguished Professor Walter Reese-Schäfer. This scholar writes on Tibi "Unlike other authors Bassam Tibi bases his views as a scholarly observer on his participation in the matter he deals with", that is he writes as an insider. The views of Bassam Tibi can be best referred to by quoting from his twelve books written and published in English. In his book on
Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...
"The Shari'a State" (2013) he enlists himself among the other Muslims identified as "enlightened Arab thinkers who are clear about the need for the introduction of democracy into the Arab world". Thus, Bassam Tibi subscribes to the "enlightened Muslim thought". This is a contemporary school of thought in Islamic civilization. In another book on "Islamism and Islam" published by Yale University Press (2010) Bassam Tibi discards the Islamist rejection of democracy (chapter 4) and concludes in the final chapter 9 with a commitment to "civil Islam as an alternative to Islamism".


On Islam

Tibi is a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, but criticizes Islamism and advocates "reforming" Islam. Tibi also suggests that Muslim immigrants should refrain from engaging in religious missionary activities, '' Dawa''.


On Europe

When it comes to Europe, Tibi distinguishes positive and negative elements of European culture. The positive ones are, according to Tibi, enlightenment, pluralism,
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
and
secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
. Tibi argues that there is a need for Europe to defend these values, especially in times of
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
and
migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
from Muslim countries. On the other hand, Tibi argues that
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
is a European invention, and that Europeans must overcome what he calls "Euro-arrogance" and
xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
to integrate immigrants. He criticizes
European imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
, arguing that it disrupted and deformed other cultures. Acknowledging that Muslim conquerors also did wrongs, Tibi argues that, unlike the European conquests, Muslim conquests were not driven by any kind of racism.


On Germany

He has criticised the left-green dominated German media for stifling debate about Islam in Germany, leading to ordinary people being afraid to state their opinions. As an example he gives Uwe Tellkamp, who expressed criticism against the German policy of migration and was attacked in
mainstream media In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large Mass media, mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Noam Chomsky, Choms ...
and painted as a right-extremist. He has also criticised authorities in Germany for not standing up to the large organised Islamic community organisations like the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs and for not supporting liberal Muslims like Seyran Ateş and Necla Kelek.


On Israel

Bassam Tibi has criticized the
Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
party of Israel as blocking the peace process. He states that in the 1990s, the Likud adopted the "Three Nos" policy:
"No to the Palestinian State, no to dividing
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, no to returning
Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...
to Syria.
According to Tibi, the Likud government of 1996 engaged in provoking Arabs by constructing Har Homa in Arab Jerusalem, and digging a tunnel under the
Temple Mount The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...
, and thereby exposing Israel to terrorism.


Awards

In 1995 he was decorated by the President of Germany, Roman Herzog, with the Bundesverdienstkreuz, cross of merits first class. In 2003, the Swiss Foundation for European Awareness granted him in Zurich with the annual prize.


Published works


Books in English

*''The Crisis of Modern Islam: A Preindustrial Culture in the Scientific-Technological Age''. Translated by Judith von Sivers. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1988. *''Islam and the Cultural Accommodation of Social Change''. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1990. *''Conflict and War in the Middle East: From Interstate War to New Security'', new expanded ed. 1998, published in association with WCFIA/Harvard University. *''Arab Nationalism. Between Islam and the Nation-State'', first ed. 1980, second ed. 1990, third expanded and revised ed. 1997, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. *''The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the New World Disorder''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998; updated edition 2002. *''Islam between Culture and Politics''. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York Cambridge, Mass: Palgrave, in association with the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, 2001. 2nd edition, 2005. *''Crusade and Jihad: Islam and the Christian World''. Wilhelm Goldmann Verlag, München, Random House GmbH, 2001 *''Political Islam, World Politics and Europe''. Routledge, New York, 2008. *''Islam’s Predicament with Modernity: Religious Reform and Cultural Change'' Routledge, NY and London, 2009, *''Islamism and Islam''. Yale University Press (May 22, 2012)


Articles and book chapters (selection)

*"Islam and Modern European Ideologies." ''
International Journal of Middle East Studies The ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' is a scholarly journal published by the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA), a learned society. See also * Middle East Research and Information Project * Association for ...
'' 18, no. 1 (1986): 15–29. *"The European Tradition of Human Rights and Culture of Islam." In ''Human Rights in Africa Cross Cultural Perspectives'', ed. Abdullahi Ahmed An Na`im and Francis M. Deng, 104. Washington DC: Brookings Institution, 1990. *"The Simultaneity of the Unsimultaneous - Old Tribes and Imposed Nation-States in the Modern Middle East." In ''Tribes and State Formation in the Middle East'', ed. Philip S. Khoury and Joseph Kostiner, 127–152. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. *"Islamic Law/Shari'a, Human Rights, Universal Morality and International Relations." '' Human Rights Quarterly'' 16, no. 2 (1994): 277. *"The Worldview of Sunni Arab Fundamentalists: Attitudes toward Modern Science and Technology." In ''Fundamentalisms and Society'', ed. Martin E. Marty and R. Scott Appelby, 73–102. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. *"War and Peace in Islam." In ''Ethics of War and Peace'', ed. Terry Nardin, 128–145. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996. *"The Fundamentalist Challenge to the Secular Order in the Middle East." '' The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs'' 23 (1999): 191–210. *"Post-Bipolar Order in Crisis: The Challenge of Politicised Islam." ''Millennium'' 29, no. 3 (2000): 843–860. *"Europeanizing Islam or the Islamization of Europe," in: Peter Katzenstein, ed., Religion in an Expanding Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) *"The Totalitarianism of Jihadist Islamism and its Challenge to Europe and to Islam." in: ''Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions'', Vol. 8, No. 1, March 2007, 35–54. *"A Migration Story: From Muslim Immigrants to European “Citizens of the Heart?“" in: '' The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs'' Vol.31 (Winter 2007) 1: 191-210. *"Euro-Islamic Religious Pluralism for Europe. An Alternative to Ethnicity and to "Multiculturalism of Fear"," in: '' The Current'', Vol. 11 (Fall 2007) 1: 89-103. *"Islamism and Democracy: The Case of the Arab World," in: Leonard Weinberg, ed., Democratic Responses to Terrorism (New York: Routledge, 2008), 41–61. *"Religious Extremism or Religionization of Politics? The Ideological Foundations of Political Islam", in: Hillel Frisch and Efraim Inbar, eds, Radical Islam and International Security (New York: Routledge, 2008), Chapter One, pp. 11–37, . *"The Return of the Sacred to Politics as a Constitutional Law. The Case of the Shari’atization of Politics in Islamic Civilization", in: Theoria. A Journal of Social and Political Theory, vol. 55 (April 2008), issue 115, pp. 91–119, . *"Turkey’s Islamist Danger. Islamists Approach Europe", in: Middle East Quarterly, vol. 16,1 (Winter 2009), pp. 47–54. *"Euro-Islam: An Alternative to Islamization and Ethnicity of Fear", in: Zeyno Baran (Ed.), The Other Muslims: Moderate and Secular, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010


References


External links


Homepage of Bassam Tibi


Bassam Tibi argues for Euro-Islam as a bridge between civilisations
''Voices on Antisemitism'' Interview with Bassam Tibi
from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum
From Sayyid Qutb to Hamas, The Middle-East Conflict and the Islamization of Antisemitism
in Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism, online working paper, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tibi, Bassam German political scientists Syrian political scientists Cornell University faculty Middle Eastern studies in the United States 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Muslim reformers Harvard Fellows Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German Muslims Syrian emigrants to Germany Academics from Damascus 1944 births Living people Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts German scholars of Islam University of Hamburg alumni