Author
Al-Rifai, Zakaria
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Royal Danish Library
Library Asset ID
ISSN: 1026-9576, EISSN: 2959-9830, DOI: 10.34120/ajh.v39i153.2855
Record ID
cdi_crossref_primary_10_34120_ajh_v39i153_2855
Library Location
EBSCOhost Humanities International Complete
Notes
This study aims to provide an example of the clear overlap between Orientalism and politics, and to understand and analyze aspects of Orientalism’s working 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 Vambiri's work, especially his vision of the era of Ottoman reforms or regulations, and we also need to translate Vambiri's legacy to better understand the relationship of Orientalism to politics during the nineteenth century. The study aims to examine the connection between Orientalism and politics. It attempts to understand and analyze aspects of the tools and mechanisms of Orientalism. Moreover, the study sheds light on the stereotypical image of the Ottoman Empire in the circles of Orientalism. In order to achieve this aim, the paper explores the life and activities of the Hungarian, Arminius Vambéry, that embody the relationship between politics and Orientalism. The main challenge for the study was the fact that Arminius Vambéry’s political activities in his published works (The Life and Adventures of Arminius Vambéry, 1883, and The Story of My Struggles: The Memoirs of Arminius Vambéry, 1905) have been neglected. His career as a secret agent or a mediator remained controversial until The British Foreign Office released his secret correspondence in 2005. Moreover, the International Conference held in 2013 revealed many of his activities and opinions. Seeing as these aspects about Vambéry remain unknown in general and to the Islamic and Arab world in particular, this paper seeks to fill this gap in the literature. The study applies a historical approach to understand Vambéry’s background, especially his Jewish roots and the Hungarian culture, which heavily influenced him as a young man and that continued to influence the stances he took on foreign policy later on in his life. The results of the study clarify that Vambéry was an exceptional and unusual personality, and he succeeded in adopting various identities. He had to convert to Islam and declared himself a Christian for the sake of being employed at the university. He also became actively involved as a political agent to serve British interests. From the mid-1870s he was officially employed by the British Foreign Office. He consistently supported the idea of the greatness of the British Empire and considered the idea of Pan-Islam as a threat against the European Civilization. He advised not to lose precaution particularly in places like India and Egypt. Additionally, Vambéry never abandoned his Jewish roots and believed himself to be acting on behalf of Hungarian Jews as well as the Jews of the world. Nevertheless, the researcher recommends that further investigation is to be done on Vambéry’s works, especially on his views regarding the Ottoman Tanzimat or the period of reform in the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, Vambéry’s heritage ought to be translated in order to better understand the relationship between Orientalism and politics during the nineteenth century. The study aims to examine the connection between Orientalism and politics. It attempts to understand and analyze aspects of the tools and mechanisms of Orientalism. Moreover, the study sheds light on the stereotypical image of the Ottoman Empire in the circles of Orientalism. In order to achieve this aim, the paper explores the life and activities of the Hungarian, Arminius Vambéry, that embody the relationship between politics and Orientalism. The main challenge for the study was the fact that Arminius Vambéry’s political activities in his published works (The Life and Adventures of Arminius Vambéry, 1883, and The Story of My Struggles: The Memoirs of Arminius Vambéry, 1905) have been neglected. His career as a secret agent or a mediator remained controversial until The British Foreign Office released his secret correspondence in 2005. Moreover, the International Conference held in 2013 revealed many of his activities and opinions. Seeing as these aspects about Vambéry remain unknown in general and to the Islamic and Arab world in particular, this paper seeks to fill this gap in the literature. The study applies a historical approach to understand Vambéry’s background, especially his Jewish roots and the Hungarian culture, which heavily influenced him as a young man and that continued to influence the stances he took on foreign policy later on in his life. The results of the study clarify that Vambéry was an exceptional and unusual personality, and he succeeded in adopting various identities. He had to convert to Islam and declared himself a Christian for the sake of being employed at the university. He also became actively involved as a political agent to serve British interests. From the mid-1870s he was officially employed by the British Foreign Office. He consistently supported the idea of the greatness of the British Empire and considered the idea of Pan-Islam as a threat against the European Civilization. He advised not to lose precaution particularly in places like India and Egypt. Additionally, Vambéry never abandoned his Jewish roots and believed himself to be acting on behalf of Hungarian Jews as well as the Jews of the world. Nevertheless, the researcher recommends that further investigation is to be done on Vambéry’s works, especially on his views regarding the Ottoman Tanzimat or the period of reform in the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, Vambéry’s heritage ought to be translated in order to better understand the relationship between Orientalism and politics during the nineteenth century.
Görüntüle
al-Majallah al-ʻArabīyah lil-ʻulūm al-insānīyah, 2021-01, Vol.39 (153), p.129-156
