L’apporto persiano alla cultura araba nella visione di Aḥmad Amīn

Aḥmad Amīn was an important figure in Egypt during the first half of the 20th century. Prominent among his works are the trilogy Faǧr al-Islām (The Dawn of Islam, 1929), Ḍuḥà al-Islām (The Morning of Islam, 1933-1936), Ẓuhr al-Islām (The Noon of Islam, 1945). This is a valuable contribution to the history of Islamic civilization, critically reinterpreted. Although this work is considered the first attempt to introduce modern scientific methodology into Islamic historiography and is still influential today, it has not been the subject of in-depth analysis by scholars. In the following contribution, I analyze the parts of the first volume of the trilogy that Amīn devotes to the influence that other cultures and civilizations had on the Arab-Islamic one, with particular reference to the Persians. What emerges is a very interesting portrait of recognition of the valuable contribution of the “Other”, particularly the Persian “Other”.