Nationalism, Islam And World Literature ― Sites of Confluence in the Writings of Mahmud Al-masadi

Nationalism, Islam and World Literature questions patterns of influence in the study of world literature and suggests new pathways to approach the connections between Western and Arabic literatures. It makes close readings of the original writings of Tunisia's most important modern writer, Mahmud al-Mas'adi (1911-2004), combining tools from literary theory and Arabic poetics. It demonstrates that the work is embedded in the Arabic literary and spiritual heritage and deeply mindful of Western culture, hence references to Sufism and medieval Arabic literature alongside Greek tragedy, Goethe and French existentialists. The book also deals extensively with the connections between writing and political activism in the contexts of anti-colonial struggle and nation building. It addresses cultural history in a specific geographical area, Tunisia during and after French colonialism, within global trends and perspectives.

Mohamed-Salah Omri is lecturer in Arabic at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter in Britain.