Author
Al-Rifai, Zakaria
Publication Place
Kuwait -
Kuwait University - Scientific Publishing Council
Type
Book
Language
ara,eng
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Royal Danish Library
Library Asset ID
ISSN: 1026-9576, EISSN: 2959-9830
Record ID
cdi_emarefa_primary_1459865
Library Location
Humanities international complete
Notes
This study aims to provide a model of the clear overlap between Orientalism and politics, and to understand and analyze aspects of Orientalism’s tools and mechanisms, in addition to highlighting the stereotypical image of the Ottoman Empire in Orientalist circles. Perhaps the main difficulty of the study is ignoring Vambiri’s political activity in his published works (The Life and Adventures of Arminius Vambiri, 1883, and The Story of My Struggle, Memories of Arminius Vambiri, 1905). His work as a secret agent or intermediary remained a subject of controversy until the British Foreign Office released his preserved secret correspondence in 2005, and the international conference held in 2013 revealed a lot about his activity and opinions. The study relied on the historical approach to understand Vambéry’s background, especially his Jewish roots and Hungarian culture, which left a strong impact on him as a young man, and whose impact continued on him later in his positions on foreign policy. The study showed that Vampiri's personality was exceptional and unusual, and he succeeded in adapting to different identities. He was forced to convert to Islam and declared that he was a Christian in order to work at the university. He became involved as a political agent to serve British interests, and since mid-1870 he became an official employee of the British Foreign Office. He was always supportive of the idea of the greatness of the British Empire, and that the idea of an Islamic university represented a threat to European civilization. He advised against neglecting precautions, especially India and Egypt. Vambiri also never abandoned his Jewish roots, and I believe that he is acting on behalf of the Jews of Hungary and the Jews of the world. We still need to conduct more studies on Vambéry’s work, especially his vision of the era of Ottoman reforms or regulations, and we also need to translate Vambéry’s legacy to better understand the relationship of Orientalism to politics during the nineteenth century.
Görüntüle
al-Majallah al-ʻArabīyah lil-ʻulūm al-insānīyah, 2021, Vol.39 (153), p.130-155
