Identity and Self-Representation in al-Hajari's Travel Account

Abstract

This study focuses on some important aspects concerning the contacts between the Arab-Islamic World and Western Europe in the Ottoman period and, more specifically, the nature and typology of relationships between al-Maġrib al-aqṣā’ and Europe in the 17th century, with particular attention to the modalities of cultural exchanges and the role of the ‘ulamā’ in the process of transmission of knowledge. The choice of considering Travel Accounts or Riḥlāt as historical sources of this study is motivated by the intention of analysing the issue “from within”, according to a methodological approach that privileges the philological-comparative analysis. Within the large framework of this genre, the selection of al-Ḥağarī’s riḥla “Kitāb Nāṣir al-dīn ‘alā’l-qawm al-kāfirīn” answers the purpose of analysing the direct evidence of an Andalusian traveller with a peculiar social and political role. After moving to Marrakesh (1599), in fact, al-Ḥağarī was received at the court of the Sa‘dian Sultan Aḥmad al-Manṣūr al-Dahabī (1578-1603) and participated in the intellectual life of the city. Then, he became secretary and Spanish interpreter to Mawlay Zaydān (1603-1627), who entrusted him with a diplomatic mission to France. Al-Ḥağarī’s riḥla is a detailed report of all the events the author/traveller went through during his journey to Europe, with special attention to the discussions with Jewish and Christian scholars (priests, monks and judges) and it stresses relevant cultural topics such as the identity of the ‘ālim, his role in the process of transmission of knowledge and the connections between the ‘ālim and the sultan