The Philological Philanthropy of Muḥammad Naṣīf (1885–1971): Arabic Editions, Salafi Islam, and State-making in the Hijaz

What is it about?

A Hijazi intellectual, Muḥammad Naṣīf (1885–1971), became a central figure in early twentieth-century debates about Islam and Arab Nationalism. He played a behind-the-scenes role encouraging, financing, and coordinating the publication of Arabic editions, His commitment to discovering and publishing ancient Arabic books was a way to fight Western colonialism while also engendering strong Islamic government at home - whether it was under Ottoman, Hashemite, or Saudi rule. It also helped underpin the Saudi state bureaucracy, particularly its imbrication with scholarly book editing and publishing as a means to burnish the state’s discursive legitimacy.

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