Youssef Seddik ( aeb, يوسف الصديق) (born in 1943 in
Tozeur
Tozeur ( ar, توزر, ; ber, ⵜⵓⵣⴻⵔ, Tuzər) is a city in southwest Tunisia. The city is located northwest of Chott el Djerid, in between this Chott and the smaller Chott el Gharsa. It is the capital of Tozeur Governorate. It was the ...
) is a noted Tunisian
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
specializing in
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
and the anthropology of the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
.
Biography
In 1966, he obtained a master's degree in philosophy and a degree in French literature and civilization. During the next four years, he taught at the French school in
Compiègne
Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''.
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:
* Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...
in 1967 and obtained a DES (', roughly equivalent to an
MA) in Philosophy and a degree in Ancient Greece.
[Portrait of Youssef Seddik]
From 1971 to 1977 he taught philosophy in secondary schools in Tunisia and at the
University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle, before becoming director of a publishing company specializing in books for young people between 1984 and 1987. He was also a reporter of the journal ''
La Presse de Tunisie
''La Presse'', founded in 1934, is a large-circulation French-language daily newspaper published in Tunis, Tunisia.
History
''La Presse de Tunisie'' was founded in 1934 by Henri Smadja, a Tunisian and French Jewish doctor and lawyer, born ...
'' between 1975 and 1983.
Based in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1988, he obtained a DEA in the Greek language and civilization from the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle (1988) and a doctorate at the
École des hautes études en sciences sociales
The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...
(1995).
He lectured there and also in modern Islamic philosophy at the Sorbonne from 1995 to 1996.
Seddik has published many books and translations based on Ancient Greece and Islamic heritage, including works related to the Prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
,
Imam Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
, and the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
. He also attempted to publish a Qur'an in the form of seven volumes of comics, but was halted after objections from the Tunisian religious authorities in 1992.
In 1999 he published a book entitled ''Brins de chicane. La vie quotidienne à Bagdad au Xe siècle'' about daily life in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
in the tenth century.
His book, ''Nous n'avons jamais lu le Coran'', released in September 2004 explores the language and symbols that are present in the Koran. In the book the author begins with the questioning of the politics of Islam and the role of God.
He also directed documentaries including a series of five episodes on Muhammad.
Publications
* ''Éloge du commerce'' (editing and translation of Ibn 'Alî al-Dimashqî's book), ed. MédiaCom, Tunis, 1994
* ''Penser l'économique'', éd. MédiaCom, Tunis, 1995
* ''L’Abaissé. Première somme de la jurisprudence islamique'' (editing and translation of the book of Mâlik ibn Anas), ed. MédiaCom, Tunis, 1996
* ''Épîtres d’Avicenne et de Bryson'' (Translation with Yassine Essid), ed. MédiaCom, Tunis, 1996
* ''Dictionnaire historique de la pensée économique arabe et musulmane'' (With the collaboration of Yassine Essid), ed. MédiaCom, Tunis, 1998
* ''Brins de chicane. La vie quotidienne à Bagdad au Xe siècle'' (editing and translation of Tanûkhî's book), ed. Actes Sud, Arles, 1999 ()
* ''De l'interprétation des rêves'' (editing and translation of Muḥammad 'Ibn Sīrīn's book), éd. Al-Bouraq, Beyrouth, 1999
* ''Dits de l'imam Ali'', ed. Actes Sud, Arles, 2000 ()
* ''Le Coran : autre lecture, autre traduction'', ed. L'Aube, La Tour d'Aigues, 2002 ()
* ''Dits du prophète Muhammad'', ed. Actes Sud, Arles, 2002 ()
* ''L'arrivant du soir : cet islam de lumière qui peine à devenir'', ed. L'Aube, La Tour d'Aigues, 2004 ()
* ''Nous n'avons jamais lu le Coran'', ed. L'Aube, La Tour d'Aigues, 2004 ()
* ''Qui sont les barbares ? : Itinéraire d'un penseur d'islam'', ed. L'Aube, La Tour d'Aigues, 2007 ()
* ''Le Grand malentendu. L'Occident face au Coran'', ed. L'Aube, La Tour d'Aigues, 2010 ()
* ''Unissons-nous ! Des révolutions arabes aux indignés'' (Interview with Gilles Vanderpooten), ed. L'Aube, La Tour d'Aigues, 2011
* ''Tunisie, la Révolution inachevée'' (Interview with Gilles Vanderpooten), ed. L'Aube, La Tour d'Aigues, 2014 ()
* ''Ce que le Coran doit à la Bible : un dialogue contemporain sur l'islam et le judaïsme'' (With Isy Morgensztern), Paris, La Découverte, 2018
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seddik, Youssef
People from Tozeur
Tunisian philosophers
20th-century Tunisian historians
University of Paris alumni
Tunisian journalists
Anthropologists of religion
Islamic philosophers
21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam
Academic staff of the University of Paris
1943 births
Living people
21st-century Tunisian historians