The Cultural Forum at Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation will host prominent Arab thinker and academic Dr. Fahmi Jad'an on Monday, August 3, for an intellectual dialogue titled "Fahmi Jad'an: The Dialectics of Arab Ideals and Reality." The session will be moderated by critic and academic Dr. Ghassan Abdul Khaliq, who will also lead the audience discussion.
Dr. Jad'an's intellectual journey spans several decades and has focused on some of the most pressing questions facing the Arab world, including renaissance and progress, rationality, heritage, religion, politics, ethics, freedom, and justice. Throughout his work, he has remained deeply engaged with the question of the Arab individual, their future, and their ability to build a society grounded in reason, dignity, and meaning.
The dialogue's title reflects the tension between the ideals that intellectual thought seeks to promote, such as rationality, justice, and progress, and the realities of the Arab world, including divisions, conflicts, setbacks, and unresolved challenges. It will explore a range of key issues, including the relationship between Arab intellectual heritage and contemporary reality, and whether that heritage can still meaningfully inform present and future social development.
The discussion will also address the complex relationship between religion and politics in modern Arab history, examining the future of political religious movements as many have lost their former influence or redefined themselves in response to changing realities.
In addition, the session will explore contemporary questions surrounding Arab consciousness, language, and thought. It will revisit Dr. Jad'an's influential book The Road to the Future, with its optimistic vision of progress, as well as his engagement with critical modern rationality in the postmodern age. The discussion will ultimately consider the question of relevance and purpose in the Arab context, including the role of thought, culture, reform, education, and writing, and the enduring value of reason and progress in challenging times.
Dr. Fahmi Jad'an is a leading scholar of classical and modern Arab thought. Born in the Palestinian village of Ein Ghazal, he holds a State Doctorate in Literature from the Sorbonne University in Paris and has served as Professor of Philosophy at the University of Jordan, Kuwait University, and the Sorbonne.
Among his most notable works are the landmark studies The Foundations of Progress among Modern Arab Muslim Thinkers and The Ordeal: A Study of the Dialectic of Religion and Politics in Islam. His other publications include The Road to the Future, Outside the Flock, Emancipating Islam and Letters in a Time of Transformation, The Meaning of Things, and The Swan Bird: Stories of Life's Journey and Days (memoir). Dr. Jad'an has received numerous distinguished Arab and European awards and honors.