“An Oriental Orientalist”: Aḥmad Zakī Pasha (1868-1934), Egyptian Statesman and Philologist in the Colonial Age

The article sheds light on an important episode of the Arab-Orientalist encounter inthe late nineteenth and early twentieth century by highlighting the role of the Egyptianscholar Aḥmad Zakī Pasha (1868-1934) in Orientalist circles, his travels to Europe, andhis contributions to Arabic linguistic and cultural revival as well as politics. The studylooks at his contribution as a member of the international scholarly circles of Arabicand Islamic studies. It will be shown that his engagement with European Orientalistswas inseparable from his endeavors to ‘revive’ the Arabic heritage (iḥyā’ al-turāth), anengagement that was rooted in his discourse of ‘Arabism’ (al-‘urūba).

Publication year:2018