Arthur John Arberry (1905-1969): A Critical Evaluation of an Orientalist. Richard Owen Watkin Director of Studies: Professor Gary Bunt Second Supervisor: Dr Catrin Williams 2020 Student number 29001081 1 Statement This research was undertaken under the auspices of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and was submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of PhD in the Faculty of Humanities and Performing Arts to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Date of submission: 11th March 2021. Student Number: 29001081. i Declaration Sheet This sheet MUST be signed and included within the thesis The work was previously submitted on 2nd December 2018 for the degree. The thesis is re-submitted in accordance with the decision of the Examining Board dated 14th May 2019. It is not being concurrently submitted for any degree. Signed Date 12th March 2021 Statement 1. This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Where correction services have been used the extent and the nature of the correction is clearly marked in a footnote(s). Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed Date 12th March 2021 Statement 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed Date 12th March 2021 ii Declaration Sheet Statement 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for deposit in the University’s digital repository. Signed Date. 12th March 2021 iii Abstract Arthur John Arberry (1905–1969): A Critical Evaluation of an Orientalist Arthur J. Arberry is widely recognised as one of the leading British scholars of Oriental Studies in the mid-twentieth century. This thesis aims to re-evaluate Arberry’s contribution to the field by examining his works and translations from a post-colonial perspective.1 After having provided a background to A. J. Arberry, this PhD thesis focuses on discussing and defining the concept of Orientalism as under- stood by its critics, especially Edward Said. We analyse the influence of empire and imperialism on Said’s experiences and academic works, concluding that post-colon- ialism informed Said’s views. The post-colonial critique is the foundation to analyse the opus of Arberry and examine concepts of empire and colonialism in his works and his attitudes to the Middle East. A selection of Arberry’s works reveals that his interpretation of Islamic culture is that of a Western scholar. His wartime work for the Ministry of Information and the BBC showed that he was a strong supporter of British values but also that his contributions were evidence of his inability to adjust his scholarly practices to the need to communicate effectively with audiences abroad. Theories of translation provide additional analytical tools to assess his Orientalist views as revealed by his translations of Arabic and Persian texts, including those of Iqbal. His frequently acclaimed versions of the Qur’an will be scrutinised in detail with the result that their accuracy of interpretation and style of translation are open to question. The thesis finds that Arberry was a text-based Oriental scholar who did not consider contemporary life in the countries from which the texts originated. His outlook was conservative, declining to venture into fields of study outside his discipline, being unsuited to fully engage with challenges emanating from a changing world. The thesis agrees with the critique that his works 1 The phrase ‘post‐colonial perspective’ is used to describe a new methodological revisionism which enables a wholesale critique of western structures of knowledge and power; the term indicates the theoretical and methodological approach used in the analysis and critique. For post‐colonialism in general, see E. Said, Orientalism (London: Routledge & Keegan Paul, 1978). iv Abstract show essentialism, absence and otherness. Examination of Arberry’s works has demonstrated the nature of scholarly Orientalism of the mid-twentieth century. v Table of Contents Statement ............................................................................................................................................ i Declaration Sheet .............................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................. vi Notes .................................................................................................................................................. ix Foreword........................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Rationale for Undertaking the Research ............................................................................... 1 1.2 Objectives of the Study ........................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Structure of the Study ............................................................................................................. 4 1.4 Methodology and Statement of the Issues in this Study ...................................................... 5 1.4.1 The Academic Context of Arberry’s Oriental Studies .................................................... 6 1.4.2 Issues of Orientalism ...................................................................................................... 20 1.4.3 Translation Issues .......................................................................................................... 21 1.5 Arthur John Arberry – a brief biography ............................................................................. 22 1.6 Arberry: The Impact of Islam ............................................................................................... 25 1.7 Arberry’s techniques ............................................................................................................. 27 1.8 Résumé ................................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2: Orientalism, Said and Imperialism .............................................................................. 28 2.0 Aims and Objectives .............................................................................................................. 28 2. 1 Review of the Literature on Orientalism ............................................................................ 29 2.1.1 Outline of the theoretical framework ........................................................................... 29 2.1.2 Orientalism under scrutiny ........................................................................................... 30 2.1.3 Anouar Abdel-Malek (1924–2012) .............................................................................. 31 2.1.4 Abdul Latif Tibawi (1910–1981) .................................................................................. 35 2.1.5 Maxime Rodinson and Bryan Stanley Turner .............................................................. 43 2.2 Orientalism and Edward Said ............................................................................................... 47 2.2.1 Orientalism of 1978 ........................................................................................................ 47 2.2.2 Said’s Approach to Orientalism. .................................................................................... 48 2.2.3 Said’s Concept of Orientalism ........................................................................................ 51 2.2.4 Literature Review: The Critical Reception of Orientalism .......................................... 59 2.2.5 The Material ‘Image’ of Orientalism: The Concrete Reality ........................................ 69 vi Table of Contents 2.3 Said, Imperialism, and the idea of Empire: The wider context behind Orientalism ......... 73 2.3.1 Orientalism, Imperialism and Colonialism: Meanings ................................................ 73 2.3.2 What inspired Said’s view of Colonialism and Imperialism? ...................................... 74 2.3.3 ‘Empire’ and Oriental Studies. ....................................................................................... 83 2.3.4 The Practice of Imperialism and Orientalism. ............................................................. 87 2.4 Conclusion: Lessons from Said’s Analysis ........................................................................... 91 Chapter 3: Arberry’s Works: Orientalism in Practice ................................................................... 95 3.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 95 3.1 Arberry’s Works: Peer Appreciation ................................................................................... 96 3.2 Selected works ....................................................................................................................