An Imam in Paris: Account of a Stay in France by an Egyptian Cleric (1826–1831)

In the 1820s, Rifa‘a Rafi‘ al-Tahtawi, a young Muslim cleric, was a leading member of the first Egyptian educational mission to Paris, and meticulously chronicled his experiences with European culture over a period of five years.His seminal book Takhlis al-Ibriz fi Talkhis Bariz is one of the earliest and most influential records of the Muslim encounter with Enlightenment-era European thought, introducing ideas of modernity to his native land. In addition to its historical and literary value, al-Tahtawi’s penetrating account offers invaluable insights into early conceptions of Europe and the ‘Other’. His informative – and often humorous — observations are as vibrant and relevant today as they were over 150 years ago.An irrefutable classic, this new edition of the first English translation is introduced and carefully annotated by a scholar fluent in the life, times and milieu of its narrator.