Abd al-Rahman Badawi's Stance in criticizing Orientalists through his book "The Works of al- Ghazali"

Abstract

This research presents a critical analytical study of the contribution of the Egyptian philosopher Abd al-Rahman Badawi (1917-2002) to the field of Islamic heritage studies, focusing on his seminal work, "The Works of al-Ghazali" (1977), as a central case study. The research aims to uncover the philosophical and methodological dimensions contained within this work and to analyze the nature of the intense scholarly debate it sparked in Arab academic circles, reflecting a methodological crisis in dealing with heritage in contemporary Arab thought. The research proceeds from the premise that "The Works of al-Ghazali" was not merely a technical reference work, but rather a bold methodological statement embodying Badawi's existential and critical philosophical vision, and that he applied the tools of historical criticism, derived from Western studies, to a foundational Islamic heritage text. The personal and intellectual context of Badawi has been traced, from its formation under the currents of liberalism and existentialism, to its clash with political authority during the era of Abdel Nasser, up to the stage of migration and encyclopedic production, in order to understand how to formulate her critical vision of heritage.