Shibli Shumayyil (; 1850–1917) was a
Lebanese doctor who published on topics such as
Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism is a political philosophy that incorporates elements of Islam into a system of socialism. As a term, it was coined by various left-wing Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Islamic socialists believe ...
and
social Darwinism
Charles Darwin, after whom social Darwinism is named
Social Darwinism is a body of pseudoscientific theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economi ...
in leading Arabic-language journals of his day.
Early life and education
Shibli Shumayyil was born in 1850 to a Greek Catholic family in
Kfarshima
Kfarshima (), also spelled Kfarchima, is a town in the Baabda District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, southeast of Beirut and is part of Greater Beirut.
The town is populated by Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christians: mainly Melkite C ...
, Lebanon.
[Reid, Donald M. “The Syrian Christians and Early Socialism in the Arab World.” ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'', vol. 5, no. 2, 1974, pp. 177–193. ''JSTOR'', www.jstor.org/stable/162588.] After leaving Kfarshima, Shumayyil would go to the
Syrian Protestant College
The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs lead ...
in Beirut.
Career
Trained as a doctor at college, he would practice in
Tanta
Tanta ( ' ) is a city in Egypt. Tanta had a population of 658,798 in 2018, making it the fifth most populous city in Egypt. Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia Gove ...
for a decade before moving to
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
. In Cairo, he would continue practicing as a doctor, and, in 1886, he would start a medical journal called ''Al-Shifa''. This journal would fail five years later, though he would write for other journals, such as
''al-Muqtataf''.
Politics
Shumayyil classed himself as a socialist Darwinist. This included his argument that rather than competition, that man relied on cooperation to progress. As part of his socialist beliefs, Shumayyil thought that the government should guarantee employment, provide education, medical care, and control wages. He also advocated against the current legal system and advocated for its removal.
Historian
Fawaz Gerges
Fawaz A. Gerges (Arabic: فواز جرجس; Lebanese pronunciation: ) is a Lebanese-American academic and author with expertise on the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy, international relations, social movements, and relations between the Islamic ...
describes Shumayyil as "an ardent proponent of Darwinism, materialism, and socialism" and names him as a key contributor to influential scientific journals of his time.
Death
Shumayyil died in January 1917.
External links
Shibli Shumayyil, portrait d’un darwiniste révolté par Marwen Bouassida, Kapitalis, 27 juillet, 2017Secularism and Secularization in the Arab World Bingbing Wu∗
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shumayyil, Shibli
1850 births
1916 deaths
Lebanese physicians
Greek Catholics
Lebanese writers
American University of Beirut alumni
Nahda