Mohammed Aziz Lahbabi

Mohammed Aziz Lahbabi (born Dec. 25, 1922, Fès, Mor.—died Aug. 23, 1993, Rabat?) was a Moroccan novelist, poet, and philosopher whose works are marked by a humanist perspective that stresses the importance of dialogue and of the universal.

Lahbabi taught philosophy at the University of Rabat, where he was dean of the faculty of letters as well as professor, and at the University of Algiers. He also founded the Union of Arab Writers of the Maghrib, over which he presided, and he directed the review Afaq (“Horizons”).

Lahbabi’s training in philosophy in Paris led to a doctorate, and his dissertation was published in two parts as De l’être à la personne (1954; “From Being to Person”) and Liberté ou libération (1956). Lahbabi attempted to forge a philosophy based on Muslim humanism, using a personalist methodology influenced by the writings of Henri Bergson and Emmanuel Mounier. With the Qurʾān and traditional Islāmic writings as his guides, Lahbabi analyzed the autonomy of the person, personal awareness, responsibility, the sense of self, and the conscience. From this work came Le Personnalisme musulman (1964), an overview of Muslim thought, and Du Clos à l’ouvert (1961; “From the Closed to the Open”), a study in culture and civilization.

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In addition to numerous essays on literary and philosophical subjects, Lahbabi published a number of volumes of poetry and a novel, Espoir vagabond (1972), which appeared in both Arabic and French. His works also include L’Économie marocaine: notion essentielles (1977; “The Moroccan Economy: Essential Elements”), the first volume being Les Fondements de l’économie marocaine (1977; “The Foundations of the Moroccan Economy”), and Le Monde de demain: le Tiers-Monde accuse (1980; “The World of Tomorrow: the Third World Challenges”).