The Foundations of Sati‘ al-Husri’s Political Theory

Abstract

Even in his earliest writings, al-Husri’s main philosophical interests are clear. He takes the Greek myth of Pandora’s box to illustrate the political situation which forms the starting point of his theory. The situation of the Arab countries resembles the situation in the world after the opening of Pandora’s box: the Arabs are subject to all the evils of the world because they are divided, and are therefore weak and backward.¹ All that is left to them is hope. The focus of al-Husri’s political interest is the national unification of the Arabs. He seeks to provide a theoretical foundation for this goal, and a means through which it may be achieved. Thus his political theory is exclusively concerned with the idea of the nation and its emergence and development, and his interest in other matters, such as education, remains confined within this general framework. Hence national education is the only meaningful form of education.