The Moroccan philosopher and literary scholar Muḥammed ʿĀbid al-Ğābirī (1935–2010) is a pioneering example of how Arab intellectuals can create new spaces for critical thinking and the use of reason. His work has been widely received and has triggered an ambivalent attitude towards him. It has garnered much praise and admiration, but also criticism, and his view of Arab reason in Arab-Islamic thought and the problem of progress is still being discussed today.

This monograph aims to give the reader an insight into al-Ğābirī's intellectual thinking and the history of his ambitious project, Critique of Arab Reason. It is his magnum opus, dealing with topics such as philosophical thought and ideology, as well as offering a different interpretation of the discourse on tradition.

The author addresses the question of modernity in contemporary Arab-Islamic culture, clarifying its relationship to both tradition (tur??) and European modernity. In doing so, al-Ğābirī critically examines Arab liberal reformists and postmodernists.