Mohamed Talbi
{{Short description|Tunisian academic, historian and Islamologist (1921–2017)}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Doctor of History
| name = Mohamed Talbi
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Mohamed Talbi.JPG
| alt = Mohamed Talbi seated, hands folded.
| caption = Talbi in 11 November 2012
| native_name = محمد الطالبي
| native_name_lang = Arabic
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date |1921|9|16|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Tunis, Tunisia
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|5|1|1921|9|16|df=y}}
| death_place = Tunis, Tunisia
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| nationality = Tunisian
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| education = Doctorate in History from the Sorbonne University
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| occupation = author, professor, Islamologist
| years_active =
| employer = University of Tunis, Tunisian Academy of Sciences and Arts (2011-2012)
| organization =
| known_for = Islamic studies
| notable_works =
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| title = Professor
| movement = Islamic democracy
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}}
Mohamed Talbi ({{langx|ar|محمد الطالبي}}), (16 September 1921{{Cite book |last=Siddiqui |first=Ataullah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZafJ7LR0a2oC&pg=PA136 |title=Christian-Muslim Dialogue in the Twentieth Century |date=1997-04-15 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-312-16510-9 |language=en}} – 1 May 2017) was a Tunisian author, professor, and Islamologist.{{Cite web |title=Muhamed Talbi |url=https://www.babelio.com/auteur/Mohamed-Talbi/104505 |website=Babelio}}
Biography
Talbi was born in Tunis on 16 September 1921, attending school there and going on to study in Paris.{{cite web|url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/437437/culture/hommage-a-mohamed-talbi-1921-2017-ardent-polemiste/|title=Hommage à Mohamed Talbi (1921-2017), un ardent polémiste|date=2017-05-12}} Talbi wrote prolifically on a wide range of topics, including the history of the medieval Maghreb, Islam and its relationship with both women and democracy, and Islam's role in the modern world.{{Cite web |url=http://www.resetdoc.org/story/a-religion-of-dialogue-muhammad-talbi/|title=A Religion of Dialogue: Muhammad Talbi|date=2011-06-13}}
Talbi died in Tunis on 1 May 2017.{{Cite web |date=2017-05-01 |title=Tunisian historian and Islam expert Talbi dead at 95 |url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/266941.aspx |archive-date= |website=AhramOnline}}
Career
Talbi spent most of his educational career teaching Mediterranean and North African history. He taught the Institute of Higher Education of Tunis.{{cite web|url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20170501-tunisie-deces-mohamed-talbi-historien-penseur-islam-musulman-coran|title=Tunisie: décès de l'historien et penseur tunisien Mohamed Talbi|date=2017-05-01}} In 1966, he became the first dean of the School of Letter and Human Sciences of Tunis,{{cite web|url=https://www.leaders.com.tn/article/22458-in-memoriam-mohamed-talbi-1921-2017|title=Sadok Belaid - In memorium: Mohamed Talbi (1921-2017)|date=2017-06-06}} as well as chairing the school's history department. He later directed the scientific journal {{ill|Les Cahiers de Tunisie|fr}}.{{Cite web |url=http://www.leaders.com.tn/article/24525-mohamed-talbi-un-strenuushistoriaescriptor|title=Mohamed Talbi: un historien dans son siècle|date=2018-04-27}}
In 1968, Talbi defended his Ph.D. thesis, The Aghlabid Emirate, a political History, at the Sorbonne. It was focused on Tunisia's first Muslim dynasty,{{Cite web |date=2017-05-01 |title=Remembering Mohamed Talbi, Tunisian Islam expert and historian |url=https://en.qantara.de/content/remembering-mohamed-talbi-tunisian-islam-expert-and-historian |website=Qantara}} addressing especially the history and key role of slavery in the Emirate’s agriculture and economy.{{cite web|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ccmed_0007-9731_1969_num_12_47_1495_t1_0325_0000_3|title= Mohamed Talbi. — L'Émirat aghlabide. 184-296 / 800-909. Histoire politique|date=1969}}
Talbi was appointed president of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts between 2011 and 2012.{{Cite web |url=http://www.omanobserver.om/tunisian-historian-talbi-dead-95/|title=Tunisian historian Talbi dead at 95|date=2017-05-01}}
Views
On the subject of Islam and democracy, Talbi rejected any direct association between Shura and democracy.{{Cite web |date=2001-10-19 |title=The Tunisian historian Mohamed Talbi rejects the sharia |url=http://www.iemed.org/actualitat-en/noticies/the-tunisian-historian-mohamed-talbi-rejects-the |url-status=dead |website=European Institute of the Mediterranean |access-date=2018-02-10 |archive-date=2021-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928132227/https://www.iemed.org/actualitat-en/noticies/the-tunisian-historian-mohamed-talbi-rejects-the }} He argued that shura originated before Western and Islamic concepts of democracy had even developed, and that the two were not analogous .{{Cite web |date=2008 |title=Mohamed Talbi : Religious Dogmas Terrorize the Spirit |url=https://en.qantara.de/content/mohamed-talbi-religious-dogmas-terrorize-the-spirit |website=Qantara}} Talbi also argued that democracy as rule by the people and notions of human rights, religious pluralism, and equality under the law, embodies values which Talbi believed constituted authentic Islam.{{Cite web |date=2017-05-01 |title=Décès de Mohamed Talbi, islamologue tunisien engagé (fr) |url=http://www.leparisien.fr/flash-actualite-monde/deces-de-mohamed-talbi-islamologue-tunisien-engage-01-05-2017-6906405.php |url-status=dead |website=Leparisien |access-date=2018-02-10 |archive-date=2019-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403134242/http://www.leparisien.fr/flash-actualite-monde/deces-de-mohamed-talbi-islamologue-tunisien-engage-01-05-2017-6906405.php }}
Talbi participated in a number of interfaith dialogues with North African and European Christians, but also criticized the practice often. In a 1987 article, Talbi criticized the (at the time) current poverty of Muslim initiatives or even responses to Euro-Arab or Muslim-Christian dialogue.{{Cite web |last=Lazaar |first=Lina |date=2011-06-01 |title=Interview with Mohamed Talbi |url=https://www.ibraaz.org/usr/library/documents/main/interview-with-mohamed-talbi.pdf |website=Ibraaz}} Talbi also explicitly declared Islam to be open to dialogue with other faiths and cultures.{{cite web|url=https://www.jeuneafrique.com/47883/politique/mohamed-talbi-l-islam-est-n-laec/|title=Mohamed Talbi : "L'islam est né laïc"|date=2015-01-09}} Talbi viewed Muslim-Christian dialogue as a significant religious matter.{{Cite web |date=2017-05-07 |title=Tunisian Islamic scholar Mohamed Talbi, a fierce opponent of fundamentalism |url=https://thearabweekly.com/tunisian-islamic-scholar-mohamed-talbi-fierce-opponent-fundamentalism |website=The Arab Weekly}}
Awards
Administrative positions
File:Portrait Mohamed Talbi - صورة محمد الطالبي photo1.jpg
- Member of the Real Academia de la Historia (1970){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
- Member of the editorial team of the Encyclopaedia of Islam (1978){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
- Member of the Universal Academy of Cultures (1994){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
- President of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts (2011-2012){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
Other acknowledgements
- 1979 : Premio letterario internazionale del Mediterraneo (Italy){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
- 1985 : The Léopold Lucas Prize (Germany){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
- 1987 : The Cultural National Prize (Tunisia){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
- 1991 : The Literature National Prize (Tunisia){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
- 1994 : Hiroshima Prize for Peace and Cultural (Sweden){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
- 1997 : The Senator Giovanni Agnelli International Prize (Italy){{cite web|url=https://lepetitjournal.com/tunis/actualites/histoire-mohamed-talbi-est-decede-53892|title=Mohamed Talbi est décédé|date=2017-05-01}}
- 2017 : Ibn Khaldun Award in Humanities (granted posthumously; Tunisia){{cite web|url=https://www.turess.com/fr/lapresse/139613|title=Le savant décerne ses prix : Prix Ibn Khaldûn 2017|date=2017-11-20}}
- 2024 : Prix Fondation de la Maison de Tunisie (granted posthumously; Tunisia){{cite web|url=https://www.leaders.com.tn/article/36376-prix-fondation-de-la-maison-de-tunisie-diasporas-le-sens-d-une-initiative-ou-diasporas-le-sens-d-un-prix|title=Prix Fondation de la Maison de Tunisie: Diasporas, le sens d’une initiative ou diasporas, le sens d’un Prix|date=2024-11-02}}
Bibliography
=In French=
- Al-Mukhassass d'Ibn Sïda : études et index, ed. Imprimerie officielle, Tunis, 1956
- Histoire générale de la Tunisie (collective book), tome II « Le Moyen Âge », ed. Société tunisienne de diffusion, Tunis, 1965
- L'émirat aghlabide (186-296/800-909) : histoire politique, ed. Adrien Maisonneuve, Paris, 1966 ({{ISBN|2-7200-0493-6}})
- Biographies aghlabides extraites des Madarik du Cadi Iyād (critical edition), ed. Imprimerie officielle de la République tunisienne, Tunis, 1968
- Ibn Khaldûn et l'Histoire, ed. Société tunisienne de diffusion, Tunis, 1965, republishing. Maison tunisienne de l'édition, Tunis, 1973, republishing. Cartaginoiseries, Carthage, 2006
- Islam en dialogue, ed. Maison tunisienne d'édition, Tunis, 1970
- Islam et dialogue, réflexion sur un thème d'actualité, ed. Maison tunisienne d'édition, Tunis, 1972
- Étude d’histoire ifrîqiyenne et de civilisation musulmane médiévale, ed. Université de Tunis, Tunis, 1982
- Réflexions sur le Coran (with Maurice Bucaille), ed. Seghers, Paris, 1989 ({{ISBN|2-232-10148-7}})
- Études sur la tolérance (collective book), ed. Beït El Hikma, Carthage, 1995
- Un respect têtu (with Olivier Clément), ed. Nouvelle Cité, Paris, 1995 ({{ISBN|2-85313-188-2}})
- Plaidoyer pour un islam moderne, ed. Desclée de Brouwer, Paris, 1998 ({{ISBN|2-220-04251-0}})
- Penseur libre en islam. Un intellectuel musulman dans la Tunisie de Ben Ali (with Gwendoline Jarczyk), ed. Albin Michel, Paris, 2002 ({{ISBN|2-226-13204-X}})
- Universalité du Coran, ed. Actes Sud, Arles, 2002 ({{ISBN|2-7427-3605-0}})
- Oriente-Occidente : cartografías de una distancia [Direction], ed. Fondation Marcelino Botín, Santander, 2004
- Réflexion d'un musulman contemporain, ed. Fennec, Casablanca, 2005
- Afin que mon cœur se rassure, ed. Nirvana, Tunis, 2010
- Gaza, barbarie biblique ou de l'extermination sacrée et humanisme coranique, ed. Mohamed Talbi, Tunis, 2010
- L'Islam n'est pas voile, il est culte : rénovation de la pensée musulmane, ed. Cartaginoiseries, Carthage, 2010
- Goulag et démocratie, ed. Mohamed Talbi, Tunis, 2011
- À Benoît XVI, ed. Mohamed Talbi, Tunis, 2011
- Ma religion c'est la liberté : l'islam et les défis de la contemporanéité, ed. Nirvana, Tunis, 2011 ({{ISBN|978-9973-855-35-0}})
- Histoire du Christ. Histoire d’une fraude textes à l’appui, s. ed., Tunis, 2011{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.gric.asso.fr/recensions/article/recension-talbi-mohamed-histoire Jean Fontaine, « Recension : Talbi Mohamed, Histoire du Christ, ed. Mohamed Talbi, Tunis, 2011 (555 p.) », Groupe de recherche islamo-chrétien, 20 juin 2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120802040038/http://www.gric.asso.fr/recensions/article/recension-talbi-mohamed-histoire |date=2012-08-02 }}
- Méditations sur le Coran : Vérité, rationalité, I'jaz scientifique, ed. Mohamed Talbi, Tunis, 2016
- Dieu est amour : guide du musulman coranique, ed. Nirvana, Tunis, 2017
=In Italian=
- Rispetto nel dialogo. Islamismo e cristianesimo (with Olivier Clément), éd. San Paolo, Roma, 1994
- Un'urgenza dei tempi modern : il dialogo fra gli universi culturali (with Giovanni Agnelli & Marcello Pacini), ed. Fondation Giovanni Agnelli, Turino, 1997
- Le vie del dialogo nell'Islam, ed. Fondation Giovanni Agnelli, Turino, 1999
- Islam e libero pensiero. Laicità e democrazia nel mondo musulmano, ed. UTET Università, Milano, 2005
- Università del Corano, ed. Jaca Book, Milano, 2007
=In Dutch=
- Dialog mit Afrika und dem Islam (with Léopold Sédar Senghor), ed. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, 1987
=In Arabic=
- Al-Turtûshî, al Hawâdith wa-l-Bida ({{lang|ar|تحقيق الحوادث و البدع لمحمد بن الوليد الطرطوشي أبو بكر}}), ed. Imprimerie officielle, Tunis, 1959
- Tarājim Aghlabīyah : mustakhrajah min Madārik al-Qādī ʻIyāḍ ({{lang|ar|تراجم أغلبيّة مستخرجة من مدارك القاضي عياض}}), ed. Imprimerie officielle, Tunis, 1968
- Manhajiyyat lbn Khaldûn al-Tâ'rîkhiyya ({{lang|ar|منهجية ابن خلدون التاريخيّة}}), ed. Dâr al-Hadathâ, Beyrouth, 1981
- Dirāsāt fī tārīkh Ifrīqīyah wa-fī al-ḥaḍārah al-Islāmiyah fī al-ʻaṣr al-wasīṭ ({{lang|ar|دراسات في تاريخ إفريقيا في الحضارة الإسلاميّة في العصر الوسيط}}), ed. University of Tunis, Tunis, 1982
- Al-dawlaẗu al-aġhlabiyyaẗ (184-296/800-909) : Al-tārīkẖ al-siyāsī ({{lang|ar|الدولة الأغلبيّة : 296 - 184 / 909-808 : التاريخ السياسي}}), ed. Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, Beyrouth, 1985
- Nahnou wa al-ġharb ({{lang|ar|نحن و الغرب}}), ed. Abdelkarim Ben Abdallah, Tunis, 1992 (Collective Work)
- Iyal Allah : Afkar Jadidah fi 'Alaqat al-Muslim bi-nafsihi wa bi al-Akharin ({{lang|ar|عيال الله : أفكار جديدة في علاقة المسلم بنفسه و بالآخرين}}), ed. Cérès, Tunis, 1992
- Fi Tārīkh Ifrīqīyah ({{lang|ar|في تاريخ إفريقية : أعلام – مواقع – قضايا}}), ed. Beït El Hikma, Carthage, 1994
- Ummat al-Wasat ({{lang|ar|أمة الوسط : الإسلام و تحديات المعاصرة}}), ed. Cérès, Tunis, 1996
- Al-Islâm : Hurriyatun wa Hiwâr ({{lang|ar|الإسلام حرّية و حوار}}), ed. Dâr al-Nahâr, Beyrouth, 1999
- Li yatma'inna qālbî : Quādhiyatû el-îmān ({{lang|ar|ليطمئن قلبي : قضية الإيمان}}), ed. Cérès, Tunis, 2007
- Quādhiyatû al-Hâquîqua ({{lang|ar|قضية الحقيقة}}), ed. Mohamed Talbi, Tunis, 2015
- Dalil al-muslim al-Cor'ānî ({{lang|ar|دليل المسلم القرآني}}), ed. Mohamed Talbi, Tunis, 2016
- Al-Ṣiraa' al-lāhoutî fi Al-Qayrawân ayam al-aġhaliba ({{lang|ar|الصّراع اللاّهوتي في القيروان أيّام الأغالبة}}), ed. Sotumedias, Tunis, 2017
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Talbi, Mohamed}}
Category:20th-century Tunisian historians
Category:21st-century Tunisian historians
Category:Tunisian Quranist Muslims
Category:Historians of religion
Category:Historians of the Mediterranean
Category:Members of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts